No Regression for the Victor - Chapter 25

Marcel thought that unless he went this far, the prince would never come to his senses, so he spat out some insulting remarks—but the moment he did, he immediately regretted it.

No matter how urgent the situation, speaking so rudely to a member of the imperial family… If he lost both his minor noble status and his position as investigator for insulting the imperial family, he’d have no grounds to complain.

‘But no matter how you look at it, this just isn’t right.’

If His Majesty himself were to witness this scene, he would fully understand why such words were spoken.

Heart pounding, Marcel waited for the deserved consequences… Yet what he got was an utterly blank response.

“…Do I look like it?”

What kind of answer was that? Marcel blurted out, dumbfounded.

“Excuse me?”

Then Mikhail, embarrassed, averted his gaze.

“Marcel, do you think I’m actually being helpful to him?”

Unbelievable. He’s not even saying ‘the Duke’, but ‘him’? Marcel realized this situation was much more serious than he’d thought, and promptly shut the door and went out into the hallway.

The investigator, who’d said he was done for the day and was going to rest, suddenly emerged from his room wearing a terrifying expression. The caretaker couple, seeing this, quietly nodded with the look that at last, the Duke’s scheming had been discovered.

What kind of sorcery did he use, that such an innocent prince would start spouting such nonsense? Marcel bitterly regretted not having an interrogation warrant, so he couldn’t confront the Duke face-to-face.

Marcel’s official assignment was to inspect the facilities at the Ice Lake place of exile to ensure proper management. Even a noble sentenced as a criminal couldn’t be left in just any conditions, so the entire property, from roof to basement, was to be thoroughly checked.

So far, Marcel had searched everywhere, including the Duke’s study, his bedroom, the basement, and even the empty rooms, but had found nothing particularly suspicious.

‘From what I’ve seen, he spends his days reading, going out to the fields to tend the crops, and then reading some more, so I haven’t noticed any suspicious activity.’

So how on earth had the Duke won the prince’s trust to this degree? Hoping the Duke would finally reveal his true intentions, Marcel deliberately knocked on the study door with a rude attitude.

“This is Investigator Humphries. I’m coming in.”

After a short knock, without giving the Duke any time to prepare, Marcel barged in. The Duke, wearing glasses and reading a book, quietly lifted his head.

“What is it?”

What is it, indeed? Just the fact that the prince he’d cared for so much was now being toyed with by this traitor was enough to make Marcel furious.

Even if he couldn’t do anything without clear evidence, he at least felt justified in demanding to know just what the Duke had done to the prince—as someone tasked with ensuring the prince’s safety.

“I’d like to ask you about my attendant.”

Marcel purposely referred to the prince as a servant, to see if the Duke knew his true identity, and the Duke let out a short sound of recognition.

“Ah.”

“What exactly did you…”

As Marcel was about to question him further, he was interrupted by a completely unexpected line.

“Yes, he’s accompanying you as an extra pair of hands to help. Of course, there’s no way he wouldn’t be dissatisfied. Even if the boy said it was fine, I should have checked with you separately. I apologize for not telling you in advance.”

At that moment, Marcel could hardly believe his own ears.

“Excuse me?”

As he dumbly repeated himself, the Duke continued in a calm, collected voice, showing not the slightest disturbance.

“I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience I’ve caused. I’d like to offer compensation, but as you know, my situation doesn’t allow it, so I can only offer my apologies in words.”

So… did I just hear the Duke apologize to me with his own mouth? Marcel, not trusting his own ears, closed and opened his eyes.

“……?”

All he saw was the Duke gazing back at him serenely. Dumbfounded, Marcel cautiously asked,

“Are you… apologizing to me right now?”