It Turned Out to be a Useful Fraudulent Marriage Chapter 13 - 2. Cinderella Who Loses Her Mother at a Young Age, Her Stepmother, and Her New Older Brothers

Nevertheless, Eric continued speaking as if he had no intention of listening to my answer.

 

“If this guy hadn’t fainted, you would have been arrested by the Royal Knights, Emeline Wedgwood.”

 

Eric picked up the glass slipper next to the man who had collapsed on the floor. Then he strode over and knelt in front of me. I couched awkwardly and blushed.

 

No way… is he really kneeling in front of me and putting the shoe on my foot? 

 

“Put it on.”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

Eric placed the glass slipper in front of me and stood up.

 

He watched me putting on my shoes with a tired expression. As soon as I had finished putting my shoes on, Eric began interrogating me.

 

“What on earth are you doing here? Did you know what was going on up there and followed this bastard?”

 

“Do you know this guy?”

 

I pointed to the man sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. Eric nodded.

 

“He’s the one who’s been causing a scene on the first floor earlier.”

 

“The first floor…? So, he didn’t come out from the Princess’s room…?”

 

Eric frowned.

 

“The Princess’s room?”

 

Only then did I realize that this man had come through the dining hall from the stairs, not from the Princess’s room. So who was the man who came out of the princess’s room earlier?

 

Deep in thought, I looked back and forth between the man and Eric. A plain jacket. Unadorned outfit.

 

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him when I realized that the man who came out of the Princess’s room was dressed exactly like Eric.

 

“You came out of the Princess’s room, didn’t you? Am I right?”

 

Eric, startled by my accusation, took a step back.

 

“Shut up.” He snapped as if irritated at himself for retreating.

 

I shook my head in disbelief and stepped back as well.

 

Wow, he acts all prim and proper, but now I see he’s been messing around with the flirtatious Princess. I glared at Eric in astonishment.

 

My anger quickly shifted to the man lying on the floor. I walked over to him.

 

“Ugh, this is so infuriating! Hey, hey. So you weren’t even the Princess’s man?”

 

I angrily nudged the man’s cheek with the tip of my toe. But the man, unconscious, didn’t budge.

 

Is he dead or something?

 

Seeing what I was doing, Eric stepped in to stop me.

 

“What are you doing? You came here without knowing what’s up there?”

 

“I know. It’s a room with walls blocked off on all sides and has a comfy bed….”

 

I muttered to myself as I looked up the stairs where Eric was pointing. At my words, Eric’s cheeks and ears began to flush red. He mumbled something like this:

 

“Why do people come to places like this even though they already know…?”

 

‘What’s he saying? He must have known all about this place and he still came here…’

 

My mind was automatically filled with imagination of the secret rendezvous between the Princess and Eric. At the same time, a dangerous plan popped into my head.

 

‘A huge mess that will ruin the wedding….’

 

Come to think of it… I did come here to catch the Princess’s man….

 

I scrutinized Eric as if he were a delicious meal. First, he’s tall. His shoulders are also broad. His personality was also….

 

Eric suddenly yelled.

 

“Knowing all that, you still came here with only three days left until your mother’s wedding? How much more trouble do you need to cause to feel satisfied? You seemed to care about your mother so much, but was that all just an act?”

 

I grimaced at Eric’s anger.

 

‘His personality is the worst!’

 

I mean, he also came here when his father’s wedding was only three days away, and he’s saying that to me? That was hypocrisy on another level.

 

I was so taken aback that I was left speechless. At that moment, Eric grabbed me, clearly intending to drag me out of the crime scene.

 

“What do you think will happen if word spreads that on the night of your mother’s wedding, her daughter was promiscuous at Roses That Bloom at Night, almost stabbed a nobleman, and got arrested by the Royal Knights? Have you ever thought about that?”

 

As I listened to his lecture, I finally snapped and shook off his hand. I yelled at him in frustration.

 

“Yeah! That would be great! I was already planning to cause a huge mess at my mother’s wedding anyway!”

 

The moment I pushed away Eric’s arm, I slipped slightly on the stairs.

 

Eric reached out to catch me. His hand wrapped around my waist, but he was a little too late, and both of our bodies bent at an astonishing angle.

 

Eric and I were so close that I could feel his breath against my face.

 

As I looked at his handsome features, I thought to myself, ‘Maybe his personality doesn’t matter that much after all…’

 

Just then, something slipped out from inside Eric’s jacket.

 

Tuk.

 

It fell to the ground and came into my sight.

 

An envelope.

 

‘That’s….’

 

I could feel my heart pounding. It was a familiar document envelope. One I had definitely seen before!

 

I reached for the envelope, not caring whether my body would fall. In response, Eric tightened his grip around my waist. As a result, he couldn’t stop me from taking the envelope.

 

The moment I grabbed the document, Eric firmly ordered, “Hand that over.”

 

“No, I don’t think I will.”

 

Eric stretched out his long arms, but I quickly made my way up the stairs. His expression clearly showed how much he hated the idea of chasing me.

 

A large candle flickered at the bend in the stairs. Its flames burning brightly, almost like a symbol of the nobles’s passionate indulgence in the pleasure of Roses That Bloom at Night.

 

Eric, at the bottom of the stairs, gritting his teeth and saying, “Do you even know what that is…?”

 

“Oh, I know exactly what it is.” I pointed at the envelope. My eyes were already fixed on it.

 

Sensing that something was seriously off from the look in my eyes, Eric dropped any pretense of dignity and started climbing the stairs toward me.

 

“Lady Emeline Wedgwood, you’re mistaken if you think that document is something you’ll ever need to see–”

 

Eric tried to comfort me like he would comfort an immature child. This was because I brought the envelope dangerously close to the flame.

 

“You don’t like playing with fire, do you?”

 

“Oh, but I do.”

 

Without hesitation, I pulled the papers out of the envelope and held them to the flame. Eric rushed at me, but it was already too late. The acrid smell of smoke filled the hallway.

 

“What do you think you’re doing, Emeline!?”

 

“Emeline! Wake up! Take these papers and head out the back door right now, run straight to the nearest police station.”

 

My mother’s pale face. I ran out the door with all our valuables in tow. Then the sound of gunfire that followed….

 

And the faint, translucent letters that had revealed when I opened the envelope. I knew, even in my dreams, and long after I had woken up, why those letters were so translucent.

 

When I was caught by those loan sharks and forced to manage their records, I learned about secret inks. If you coat a regular piece of paper with a special solution and then write with invisible ink, once it dries, the letters disappear completely. However, the ink reacts to high temperatures and reveals the writing in a translucent form.

 

Once revealed, the writing doesn’t disappear again until it’s exposed to water. That was the secret of the documents containing the duke’s misdeeds.

 

I covered my mouth and held up the document for Eric to see. He froze as he read the translucent writing that had appeared.

 

I spotted the clearest words illuminated by the candlelight and read them aloud. “Robert von Dennick….”

 

“Twenty million gold.”

 

I grinned slyly at the ledger with Robert’s seal engraved on it. I’d found it.

 

This is the evidence proving that Duke Orleans is plotting treason with Robert. That was it.

 

The documents I had seen in my dream contained evidence that Duke Orleans was plotting treason with the prince, who was second in line to the throne. The rebellion needed the coastal land left behind by Viscount Wedgwood.

 

Eric, who was confused while looking at the documents, saw my smile and snatched the documents from me. I watched as he took them from my grasp, slowly lowering my hand from my mouth. I felt like I could relax now.

 

I watched quietly as he took the document from my hand and slowly lowered his hand covering his mouth. I felt like it would be okay now.

 

“How… How did you do this?”

 

“This is a common trick southern loan sharks use when they create false ledgers.”

 

“… False ledgers?”

 

Eric pressed his hand to his forehead, his eyes clouded. The veins at his temple bulged as he strained to think.

 

I crossed my arms and stared at him. At this point, I only had one remaining question. “This guy…. Why did you steal it?”

 

Eric, leaning against the wall, seemed too drained to even criticize my insolent tone.

 

“How many times have I told you, Emeline! You must always cover your nose and mouth when heating the invisible ink, or you’ll faint. Unless you’re a legendary aura swordsmaster!”

 

Eric’s body slowly collapsed. So, he wasn’t quite an aura swordmaster after all?

 

Still, he lasted longer than most. Any normal man would’ve–

 

Thud.

 

I shrugged as I watched Eric fall to his knees in front of me.

 

‘That’s more like it.’

 

Eric looked up at me with the expression of a fallen hero staring at a villain. His bloodshot eyes, more crimson than usual, glared fiercely at me.

 

“Who the hell are you… Emeline Wedgwood… You… you–”

 

I crouched down in front of him and gently lifted his chin with my finger as he gasped for breath.

 

“Just get some sleep. You’ll feel better after.”

 

“–you crazy woman….”

 

Thud.

 

The next moment, Eric’s head fell helplessly into my lap.