The Elven Duke Reluctantly Marries The Cursed Lady - Chapter 45
It sounded like he was claiming that Syran was responsible for turning Violette into a cat.
“What do you mean? Tell me more.”
Just as Hydrangea was about to reach for Tritoma Celsia, a black fog-like object blocked him.
“!?”
With a bang, the bone knife stuck in Tritoma Celsia’s shadow went up in flames.
At the same time, a magic circle surrounded him and he disappeared.
The activated magic circle appeared to be the one used for Transfer magic.
He escaped. The mage working with him must have activated the spell remotely. Hydrangea clicked his tongue and glanced at Count Northpole. The man was cowering on the floor and shaking as he tried to regulate his breathing.
Clear marks appeared on his nape from when he was grabbed earlier.
His arm strength must have been incredible to be able to lift a grown man. Rather than a merchant, Tritoma acts more like a pirate or a bandit.
“Are you alright?”
Count Northpole took the hand that Hydrangea offered him.
After getting him settled on a chair, Hydrangea asked the servants to clear the room.
As soon as Count Northpole regained his composure, he decided to ask him for details.
“I have several questions and I would like you to answer them.”
“Certainly.”
Hydrangea was somewhat relieved when he received a response.
“My first question is this: it seems Tritoma Celsia had proposed to marry Violette, but am I correct to assume that this proposal was made 10 years ago?”
“…Yes.”
He sighed in exasperation.
Violette was only 9 years old 10 years ago. Why would he propose to a young girl?
“It doesn’t seem like… he fancies younger girls.”
If he had a fetish for younger girls, then he would not have courted her even now.
“In other words, that man will gain something if he marries Violette.”
The House of Count Northpole is not influential enough to form a connection with other nobles.
If that is the case, then he must have another purpose. He pressed Count Northpole for more information.
“What does he want? Is he after Violette’s mana?”
“N-no, it seems he wanted to have a connection with nobles.”
“If that’s the case, then it doesn’t have to be from the Count Northpole House, no?”
“That’s… you’re right, yes.”
After that, Count Northpole kept his mouth shut. He did not seem to be willing to tell him further about what was going on and only confirmed what Hydrangea guessed.
Still, it was much better compared to when he chose to remain silent.
“In other words, there is someone else who is after Violette’s mana. For example, could the mage working under Tritoma Celsia want her power?”
“I’m sorry, I do not know anything about the mage who is associated with Tritoma Celsia.”
“I see.”
Let’s just leave this problem for later.
“My second question is, was what he said true that your father was involved with Violette’s curse?”
“I’m sorry, my knowledge of magic has been quite rusty.”
This also doesn’t seem to be a lie.
Curses are activated by the magic user’s mana after all.
So if Syran was the one who put the cat curse on Violette, it would have been lifted long ago.
“I see. So Tritoma Celsia knows about Violette’s cat curse and thinks the late Syran was the one who activated the curse.”
But the condition for activating the curse was a mystery to Count Northpole as well.
“Did he threaten you that he would reveal Violette’s curse to the public?”
Count Northpole awkwardly nodded at the question.
‘’Father said that he only wanted to avoid revealing the curse at all costs…”
However, it seemed like he did not know the real reason behind it.
“This is all I know. As for the rest, Father is the only one who knows about it…”
“I understand. Thank you for talking to me.”
In the meantime, Hydrangea put up a barrier around the Count Northpole estate to keep Tritoma Celsia from barging in.
“You do not have to pay him hush money anymore. I shall take care of this problem.”
“Your Excellency!!”
Count Northpole suddenly prostrated himself before Hydrangea and thanked him while keeping his forehead on the floor.
“I can’t thank you enough…!”
“You do not have to thank me. Violette is my wife after all.”
After saying this, he cast the Transfer magic spell and left.
He sighed after returning to his room.
Today, a lot of things have become clear to me.
I must act immediately.
