Chapter 6.1
Volume 2
Chapter 6.1: Festival
“Living together? Judy and I?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Since Lady Emers hasn’t returned to the Marquisate and continues to stay with Your Highness, such rumors are spreading. Shall I correct the rumour?”
“There’s no need to bother. She’ll be living at the palace soon enough.”
Richard looked quite pleased on receiving Hans’s report. Thinking it was a good time to slip in some bad news while the mood was good, Hans closed his eyes briefly before speaking.
“Your Highness, here is the report on the carriage accident you ordered investigated.”
Hans began detailing his findings.
“Count Benty was in the carriage?”
Richard frowned, his face turning cold. Count Zola Benty was one of the worst high-ranking nobles leeching off Adrian–the first person Richard planned to remove once he ascended the throne.
“Was there something so urgent that he had to drive the carriage so recklessly?”
Richard ran a hand through his dark hair, irritation clear on his face.
“He was on his way to meet his marriage partner.”
“Marriage? Didn’t he just get married a while ago, the fourth…?”
Count Zola Benty was the third prince’s maternal uncle. Backed by his eldest sister being the king’s consort, he had gotten away with countless misdeeds. Even the king had been reluctant to punish him because he was family.
Benty had divorced his first wife, who bore his heir, after ten years of marriage. She now lives in seclusion at a convent. The second wife went mad and committed suicide. The third went missing. He recently married his fourth wife.
“The fourth wife is now reported to also have gone missing. About three months after she disappeared, he filed for divorce. The court made an exception and granted it immediately.”
“They must have been pressured by the royal family.”
Except for the first wife, all died or disappeared before reaching their mid-twenties. If the king’s consort hadn’t protected Benty, he would have been investigated long ago.
“So he’s marrying again? Another young woman from a fallen noble family who’s recently come of age?”
“Yes. But she left home a few days ago.”
“She must have known by the rumours who she was being sold to.”
Still, to drive so recklessly during the festival–he must have lost his mind. If not for Calix, Judy Esther might have been seriously hurt.
“That bastard.”
This wasn’t something that needed to wait until he became king. Count Benty cannot be allowed to get away with this. Many innocent citizens were hurt, yet he isn’t even being held accountable under the absurd claim that commoners blocked the nobleman’s way.
“Find out the exact size and sources of his wealth, and what became of his wives. I’ll handle the rest.”
Richard clenched his fist. Though he wanted to rush out and behead Benty immediately, everything had to follow due process. He would expose the crimes and ensure the guilty are brought to justice and receive proper punishment. It was also an excellent opportunity to weaken the third prince’s faction.
***
Judy Esther sat with her eyes open, dazed.
After eating, she felt drowsy and tired. She had only closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them, she was on Richard’s familiar bed. Even with her life-saving contract in hand, this felt like too much, and she sat up. At this rate, she wouldn’t die by Richard’s hand, but would end up being chased out by her father.
“This is why raising a daughter is pointless. Once she falls for a man, she throws away her parents.”
Muttering to herself, she tried to leave the room, but the maids barged in
Each hand holding a dress and jewelry.
“What’s all this?”
“These are gifts from His Highness to Lady Emers.”
“I was going to go home…”
…but the dresses were too beautiful. Made by the palace’s own tailors, they were as gorgeous as something out of a fairy tale, dazzling her eyes.
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