Looking for a Husband to Confine Me - Chapter 14
Chapter 14
The Div family was renowned in the Lefkind Empire for their potent divine powers. The head of the family, in particular, possessed such formidable strength that rumors circulated about his ability to revive the dying.
Consequently, most Div descendants pursued careers as mages, priests, or knights of the Holy Order, wielding their divine powers. However, Ricardo Div was a unique exception, choosing to join the Crow Knights, an order devoid of any connection to divine powers.
‘Not everyone can just join the Crows.’
They were the Crown Prince’s personal knights, after all. And reaching the rank of deputy commander signified exceptional skill. Yet, Ricardo, despite being the eldest son of the Div lineage, was ostracized from his family for his affiliation with the Knights. This led to whispers and speculation.
‘They say he’s cursed.’
He was born with a curse that rendered him incapable of using divine powers, making him a disgrace to the Div family.
“I apologize for bringing you all this way,” Ricardo’s soft voice echoed. He adjusted his spectacles and offered a faint smile, his voice devoid of any darkness.
“No, it’s my mistake.”
I was relieved to have established some connection with Ricardo Div, but my cheeks flushed at the realization of my own blunder. Ricardo, maintaining his smile, turned his gaze to Damian, his expression hardening.
“You are…”
“I also made a mistake.”
“Is that so?”
Damian’s reply was curt, as if directed at me. He had spoken to Bashar Kisha, the physician, in the same manner. It seemed to be his usual way of speaking.
Despite his stiffening expression, Ricardo appeared unfazed by Damian’s demeanor.
“The crime that night was a conspiracy between Pazl, Prince Haroon’s attendant, and a servant from the banquet hall. It seems the servant was seduced by Pazl.”
Ricardo offered a smile in my direction, but this time, it carried a chilling undertone.
“Pazl is a radical from the Kishan Kingdom who sought to instigate a war between our empires through Bashar’s death. All the radical accomplices who conspired with Pazl within the kingdom have been apprehended.”
I nodded, taking in his words.
It was all rather predictable. Bashar Kisha was the youngest among the many princes of the Kishan Kingdom. He had no exceptional talents and did not receive any extraordinary affection from the King. His mother, a concubine of humble origins, was unable to provide much support. In the kingdom, Bashar was a mere shadow, existing under the protection of none.
It was only natural, then, that his attendant, Pazl, would attempt to poison Bashar, not Haroon.
“Is it alright for you to tell me this?”
“Yes, after all, you saved Bashar’s life.”
His voice seemed to imply that it was only natural. I could only offer an awkward smile in response.
“His initial plan was to carry out the deed without anyone knowing.”
It felt as if the situation had spiraled out of control.
Ricardo Div treated Damian and me with due respect. He appeared amicable on the surface, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was testing me.
While I had successfully prevented the Kishan princes from being poisoned, the entire incident was essentially an accident. It was nothing more than a series of unintentional actions that had led to the princes’ salvation.
Yet, Ricardo was revealing every detail of the case, citing my role in saving their lives.
‘A deputy captain wouldn’t be so careless with his work.’
Damian and my sudden appearance could have seemed unnatural considering the circumstances. It was a reckless act.
And yet, he was treating us with such courtesy?
I couldn’t simply take things at face value. After all, the Crows, being the Crown Prince’s personal knights, were not known for their carelessness.
The commotion Damian had caused in the banquet hall had alerted other nobles to the poisoning incident. However, since that night, there had been no rumors or even a single article in the capital about the Kishan princes.
Reporters, always hungry for sensational news, wouldn’t have missed such a story.
Someone must have acted before any news or rumors could spread. They had silenced the nobles present and prevented any articles from being published.
It was all the work of the Crows.
‘But they haven’t approached me.’
Was it because I was directly involved in the incident? Or were they deliberately observing my actions?
I couldn’t believe they simply trusted me and hadn’t contacted me. The same applied to Damian.
As I pondered whether Damian was in a similar situation, Ricardo, adjusting his spectacles, continued, “The only question is…”
I leaned in, eager to hear his words.
“The servant who conspired with Pazl was found unconscious in the warehouse, not stealing wine, but instead lying there.”
“Really?”
“It seems he was attacked. But the attacker’s identity remains unknown.”
I flinched, trying to conceal my surprise. I could only feign ignorance.
“It’s not like we need to find the attacker, now that we’ve caught the culprit,” Damian remarked nonchalantly, leaning back.
Ricardo’s deep violet eyes briefly met Damian’s.
“You never know. Perhaps it was just a drunken brawl with someone.”
“Hmm.”
“There’s also the opinion that the person was bitten by a snake that happened to be there.”
“Snake.”
Damian, who had been humming in agreement with Ricardo’s words, now muttered “snake” under his breath.
I still stared at the two of them, my eyes wide, pretending not to know anything.
‘Damn it.’
I gritted my teeth inwardly.
If I had handled it quietly, I wouldn’t have to hear this here. No one knew I dealt with snakes.
‘Ah, but there was one person.’
Ronen.
But he wasn’t the kind to blab about me. That’s what informants do. If he was the kind to talk too much, he would have disappeared from the industry long ago.
So there was no way he could connect me to the snake. I could rest assured that I wouldn’t be caught. But hearing this in front of me made me feel a little uneasy.
“Anyway, it’s a good thing the prince didn’t die. Even if the culprit is a Kishanian, it would be a nuisance if he died in the Empire.”
“That’s right. Thank you for your help, Lady Hazel.”
“I’m glad I could be of assistance.”
“You should thank me too.”
Ricardo ignored Damian’s words and spoke only to me.
He smiled kindly, but his gaze seemed to pierce through me until the very end. The coldness that occasionally peeked out from his kindness was, in fact, his true nature.
‘This won’t be easy either.’
Ricardo Div was kind, but he seemed to put up a wall when dealing with people.
The good thing was that he wasn’t a bast*rd like Luke, or a weirdo like Damian.
Three out of four candidates, no, two…
‘Or should I say two and a half?’
Ricardo and Bashar seemed normal enough, but Damian was ambiguous. So thanks to Ronen’s information, I had gotten two and a half leads.
“I’ve had the Knights’ carriage called. I’ll escort you back to the mansion.”
That seemed to be the end of it for today. I nodded at Ricardo’s words.
“And Sir Damian, you…”
He paused for a moment. Damian, meeting Ricardo’s gaze, slowly stood up. As if he had realized what he was about to say.
He even approached Ricardo naturally, as if it was something he did often.
‘Did they know each other?’
I watched the two of them casually as I sipped the prepared tea. It had already gone cold, but since I wasn’t savoring it anyway, it didn’t matter.
“Please wait a moment, lady.”
“See you later, Amelia.”
I simply smiled at the two of them, replacing my answer with a nod. The two men left, and I was alone in the commander’s office.
‘…Is it okay to leave an outsider in his office?’
I couldn’t go around searching his office just because I was alone. I just moved my eyes around the office.
I sighed inwardly, furrowing my brow.
It was strange that they had contacted me in advance, even though they were simply investigating the incident at the banquet, and the atmosphere of the Knights was not good.
‘Did something else happen?’
I was going to ask lightly when Ricardo came back. In any case, I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. If I stayed here any longer, I might run into that guy…
As I was thinking, the door suddenly burst open.
“Commander. We couldn’t find him in Sector C either. It seems like Pazl has already left the Imperial Palace.”
The voice, speaking quickly, was familiar. I looked up in surprise, and saw that guy’s face. A face I didn’t want to see if I could help it.
He also frowned when he saw that I was in the commander’s office instead of Ricardo. He seemed confused, and looked at the door again, as if to check if he was dreaming or if he had come to the wrong place.
He then stared at me, his face full of disbelief.
“Amelia?”
“…Long time no see, brother.”
I forced a smile onto my lips.
I didn’t want to see him so badly. I didn’t even know if I was smiling properly.
Crow, the Imperial Prince’s personal Knights, was the workplace of Amelia’s brother, Kelliard Hazel.
Kelliard Hazel couldn’t come home properly to the Count’s mansion because of overtime and extra work. Even when he did come home, he would sleep and shower, then go straight back to the Knights.
