It Turned Out to be a Useful Fraudulent Marriage Chapter 19 - 3. In Bluebeard's Dark Basement

When Eric returned to the duke’s manor by carriage, the butler was there to greet him.

 

The butler, who managed the nearly hundred servants working at the duke’s manor, was always impeccably dressed, with not a single feather out of place. He welcomed guests with a kind and warm smile, rarely showing any signs of agitation.

 

However, as he opened the carriage door for Eric, there was a hint of nervousness in his demeanor. The proof was in the way he awkwardly diverted his words, after opening the door and seeing Eric.

 

“… The weather is lovely today, Young Master.”

 

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

 

Eric frowned, pointing at the gloomy sky in response to the butler’s odd remark. 

 

The butler gazed up at the gray sky with a melancholy expression.

 

As Eric and the butler started walking through the manor, the servants, one by one, stopped what they were doing and greeted the Young Master.

 

The servants bowed politely to Eric and, after he passed by, exchanged peculiar glances with the butler trailing behind. The butler waved his hands with a troubled expression.

 

Noticing these silent exchanges as he passed through the first-floor hallway, Eric addressed the butler. “Are they gossiping about me staying out?”

 

The butler coughed awkwardly as if hit right on the mark.

 

Indeed, Eric’s sudden absence had stirred enough interest among the servants, who were already overly curious about the Young Master.

 

Especially since Eric had joined the knight order at the age of fourteen and spent most of his time outside the manor. After finally returning two months ago, he hadn’t stayed away overnight without notifying the household even once.

 

In contrast to other noble heirs, who frequently spent nights away and often brought back illegitimate children even before marriage, Eric’s behavior was completely different.

 

Even among the young nobles in the knight order, many kept women in the provinces where their missions or hunts took place.

 

So, when Eric, now twenty-four and back at the manor, suddenly disappeared for a night, the servants speculated wildly. Some even imagined that one day a woman with a northern accent might show up at the gate with a baby in her arms.

 

But no such thing had happened.

 

Not only that, Eric continued to train daily with the duke’s knights, just as he had in the royal knight order, and he made no appearances at social gatherings.

 

Rumors even spread that there was something wrong with him.

 

The butler, who had cared for Eric since childhood, was furious at such rumors, but the servants whispered about it behind his back.

 

On the night Eric disappeared, a rumor spread across the capital that he had vanished at the same time as the princess in Roses That Bloom at Night.

 

The butler then asked, “So, at tonight’s royal party, will your first dance be with the princess?”

 

Ah, the royal party.

 

Eric never enjoyed social gatherings. Even spending just an hour in the same space with the young ladies, who would faint at the sight of Eric, or noblemen engaging in crude conversations, drained his energy.

 

But since it was a royal party, there was no avoiding it. Eric felt a headache coming on.

 

“Do I really have to dance?”

 

“Not necessarily, but… if you wish, I can arrange for the best dance instructor in the capital at once!” The butler replied in a needlessly solemn manner.

 

‘Dancing, huh.’

 

Eric thought of Emeline, who had awkwardly danced in Roses That Bloom at Night the previous night. She would undoubtedly be at the party tonight as well, and the thought of witnessing that scene again made him sigh. But more importantly–

 

“Because your father is a psycho.”

 

Why had she been so certain of that? Was it just because his father had allied with Robert?

 

At that moment—

 

Bang!

 

A gunshot rang out from outside.

 

Instinctively, Eric looked out the window, remembering how Emeline had also been startled by something while looking outside from the study.

 

Why had she been so shocked?

 

He could find out by investigating.

 

“Is father out hunting rabbits?”

 

“Yes, that’s correct.”

 

Eric glanced at the forest surrounding the manor, then nodded.

 

“I see. I’ll rest for now.”

 

“Understood.”

 

The butler, with a face full of questions, watched Eric enter his bedroom with a lingering gaze.

 

Standing still in his bedroom, Eric waited for the sound of the butler’s footsteps to fade before opening the window.

 

Eric, who was standing tall in the bedroom, opened the window as the butler’s footsteps walked away.

 

Looking down from the second-floor window, Eric recalled how Emeline had leaped down from this very spot.

 

Unlike her, who had tumbled into the bushes, Eric landed lightly and immediately headed to the duke’s study below. To retrieve the hidden documents.

 

Eric stood once again in front of the bookshelf where he had stood days ago, on the day he had first encountered Emeline in the duke’s study.

 

Just like then, he opened the hidden compartment behind the bookshelf by inserting the necklace—

 

—revealing a smaller, secret space behind the bookcase.

 

Eric stared at the empty space for a moment.

 

He recalled how Emeline had entered the room by opening the very same bookcase.

 

That red-haired woman with the clumsy southern dialect, who spoke formally and informally as if she couldn’t decide which to use. A strange woman.

 

Eric shook his head, as if trying to clear the memory of grabbing her from his mind.

 

‘She’s a strange woman. A strange woman.’

 

Who would dare infiltrate the Duke’s study so fearlessly?

 

Originally, Eric had intended to return the documents today. But he had decided to let Emeline take them.

 

If his father had already noticed the documents were missing, returning them now would mean losing them forever.

 

Besides, Duke Orleans had been busy the past few days with negotiations for a marriage permit from the royal family.

 

Since Eric had kept the key necklace on him the entire time, it was unlikely that the Duke would have checked the secret compartment behind the bookcase.

 

Eric stepped into the empty space and closed the bookshelf behind him.

 

Darkness closed in around him.

 

In the pitch black, Eric couldn’t help but recall the feel of Emeline’s hair brushing his cheek, or the sound of her breathing. Her terrified, cat-like eyes. Her trembling fingers.

 

Those fearful eyes reminded him strangely of the duchess. Was it because their eye color was similar?

 

He waited for his vision to adjust to the darkness. Slowly, his field of vision began to expand..

 

Eric traced his hand and searched the hidden space.

 

It should be here.

 

He clearly remembered removing the stack of documents, separating the blank pages from the important ones, and leaving with the important documents.

 

Now, he could see that those blank pages weren’t actually blank.

 

Eric paused mid-motion, his hand brushing the wall. Something was missing.

 

The spot where he had placed the hidden documents was now completely empty.

 

Eric, feeling uneasy, instinctively reached for the glowing stone in his pocket but ended up pulling out a matchstick first.

 

He struck the match hard against the box.

 

The flame illuminated the space, and he immediately saw it—nothing.

 

‘It’s not here.’

 

The duke had realized the documents were gone.

 

Eric clenched his jaw in frustration.

 

The necklace had been with him the whole time, which meant there was another key.

 

Frantically, Eric brought the burning match closer to the wall. Then, the faintest glow appeared on the wall near the light.

 

‘…?’

 

A thin trail of smoke wafted from the spot where the match had touched the wall.

 

Eric frowned. ‘This is–’

 

As Eric drew the match closer, the smoke intensified. It was the same kind of smoke that had appeared when Emeline brought the documents to the fire.

 

Eric lit another match, bringing it closer to the wall while covering his mouth with one hand.

 

The hidden letters began to reveal themselves slowly.

 

Eric froze in place as he saw the message unfold.

 

“What is tha–”

 

Eric fumbled for another match.

 

Snap!

 

As the new match flared to life, more faint letters became visible.

 

Die, Baldrick Orleans.

 

Eric’s hand instinctively moved to the necklace hanging from his neck. He knew this handwriting well.

 

It was his mother’s. Emily Orleans.

 

Baldrick Orleans was Eric’s father’s full name.

 

“Because your father is a psycho.”

 

Emeline’s words echoed in Eric’s mind.

 

The match went out. He quickly struck another and brought it lower, revealing the next part of the message.

 

You may not know I wrote this. You think only you know about this damned ink.

 

If someone finds this message, let me be clear. I will never kill myself.

 

If I die, the culprit is Baldrick Orleans that monster.

 

Eric stood frozen, overwhelmed by the letters.

 

He remained there for a long time before he finally opened the hidden door. Standing in the doorway was a tall, dark figure.

 

Eric’s hand instinctively went to the sword at his waist.

 

“What? Are you planning to cut me?”

 

The Duke, Baldrick Orleans, looked at Eric with a soft smile.

 

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