I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke Chapter 26

Creak.

The rusty door opened, and two people entered the prison.

Gerold’s face brightened when he recognized the man walking in front.

“You! What took you so long?!”

The man was a lawyer employed by House Valentine.

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been stuck in this horrible place because of you? Get me out of here right now.”

“I’m sorry, Young Master Gerold. That’s a little…….”

“What? Do you have any idea how much my father pays you every year?! You are useless—. Then why the hell are you even here?!”

Gerold snapped at the lawyer, already irritated by his hesitant attitude.

His angry shout echoed through the cramped cell.

The lawyer adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down his sweaty nose, and spoke.

“Well, actually, there’s someone who wishes to see you, Young Master Gerold.”

“What? Someone who wants to see me? Who…… the Grand Duke of Bernstein?”

Only then did Gerold notice the person standing behind the lawyer and shouted in surprise.

Wait.

Why was that man here……?

Perhaps it was because of the setting.

The man who was usually praised for looking like an angel had absolutely no expression on his face, making him strangely frightening.

“Th-Then, I’ll leave you two to talk.”

The lawyer cautiously glanced at the Grand Duke before saying he would return later and backing away.

The two of them were now alone behind the bars.

How had things come to this?

Gerold’s head grew hot from the sudden situation.

‘Fine! If things have come this far!’

“Grand Duke! You’re being deceived! I was deceived by that woman too! The ring…… Of course, I have nothing to say about the ring. But it’s true that she seduced me!”

“…….”

“You should have seen her, Your Grace. Every time we met, she would look at me with such seductive eyes. She openly flirted with me. Who wouldn’t fall for that……?”

Thud!

Gerold, who had been desperately ranting like a madman, suddenly collapsed, clutching his knee.

Even then, he had no idea what had just happened to him.

“Aaargh!”

Only belatedly did he scream, writhing in agony as he clutched the knee that was probably broken.

‘What? What the hell just happened?’

As he tried to comprehend the situation, his eyes met the cold blue gaze looking down at him.

A sharp gaze like an awl, so piercing it seemed capable of drilling straight through his skull.

Overwhelmed by the murderous intent radiating from those eyes, Gerold froze, forgetting even how to breathe.

He could only roll his eyes upward.

Then—

“Was it here?”

“Wh-What?”

“Did you say Erna kissed the back of your hand?”

“What? Ah, aah. Th-That, I mean…… Aaargh!”

Crunch.

Before he could finish speaking, an expensive leather shoe ruthlessly stomped down on the back of Gerold’s hand.

The sound of bones crushing beneath the shoe was followed by a scream of agony that echoed through the cell.

Yet the beautiful man standing before him didn’t even change his expression.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

A moment later.

When the foot finally lifted, Gerold hurriedly raised his hand.

But it was already mangled beyond recognition.

He curled up on the floor, trembling in pain.

But that lasted only for a moment.

A hand reached down and seized Gerold’s disheveled silver hair, yanking his head upward.

“Come to think of it.”

“…….”

“Didn’t you say you kissed her, too?”

“N-No…… I didn’t……! I didn’t!”

Gerold, his face covered in tears and snot, frantically shook his head in terror.

As though he could already foresee what was coming next,

It was all a lie. I’m sorry. I was wrong. I was the one who committed fraud.

Confessions poured out of his mouth—words he had stubbornly refused to utter while being questioned in the city guard carriage.

He desperately begged for mercy with his one good hand, but the beautiful man before him didn’t even blink.

“Ughhhh!”

Once again, a scream rang through the prison.

 

***

 

“Good grief, seriously.”

Meanwhile, Vincent was waiting outside with his ears half-covered, letting out a sigh.

The louder the screams became, the darker the shadows beneath his eyes grew.

“I’m definitely working overtime tonight.”

Vincent muttered as he flicked the cigar from his mouth.

“I mean, sure, you can say whatever you want, but why on earth would he tell such lies?”

He ran a hand through his greasy hair, clicking his tongue as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Suddenly, he remembered what had happened a few days ago.

When was it again……?

Ah.

When His Grace had visited House Zaherette over the Engagement Pledge.

“I’ll be out shortly, so wait in the carriage.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

That day, too, Vincent had been rendered speechless by the sight of his master dressed up like a peacock, holding an enormous bouquet of flowers.

Wow. He really must be serious about her. I never thought he’d go this far.

But while he was surprised, he also understood.

After all, Vincent had stayed by his master’s side for many years.

He knew exactly what Marquess Zaherette meant to Leon Obsidian……

Anyway, it had been a day when Vincent had been quietly cheering him on, because it was nice to see his master putting in so much effort.

“I’m telling you, it’s true. I even showed you the evidence. And you came here today to confirm it, too.”

Huh?

The footsteps of the people coming from around the corner abruptly stopped at the sound of a man and woman’s voices.

“Just wait until you get married. I’ll make sure you learn your lesson properly.”

“Yeah. Once you’re married, you can do whatever you want, so let’s just put up with it a little longer.”

At first glance, it sounded like an older sister soothing her younger brother.

But the content was rather ominous.

Apparently, his master noticed it as well, because his gaze immediately turned murderous.

I have a bad feeling about this.

“Vincent.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Keep an eye on Gerold Valentine and Sylvia Oscar for the time being. If they try anything suspicious, come report me immediately.”

“Understood.”

And so, with his workload suddenly increasing, Vincent had been running off his feet for the past few days.

And then this happened.

“Good grief. That’s why, even if you’re going to do something bad, you still need to have some brains, don’t you?”

Having finished reminiscing, Vincent scratched his head vigorously, thinking that Gerold deserved what he got.

“Let’s see. Cleanup, compensation, cover-ups, illegal activity, bribes, silencing people, and so on…….”

He had a mountain of work ahead of him.

After letting out a deep sigh, he muttered under his breath.

“This is going to be absolute chaos tomorrow.”

 

***

 

“Marquess. Have you heard the rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“You know, the Young Master Valentine.”

Laura entered the study looking strangely excited and immediately began chattering.

“Apparently, he was detained at the city guard prison and released on bail after being questioned.”

“Really?”

Was she actually excited, or had she simply lost her mind?

The news that Gerold Valentine had been released didn’t exactly seem like good news for Laura either.

“They say he was released from the city guard early this morning, but listen to this! Apparently, something happened inside, and his left hand was completely wrecked!”

“What?”

“And apparently, he can’t even speak properly for a while. I only heard this through rumors, but his mouth…… supposedly it was torn open or something.”

Good heavens.

“Apparently, the city guard was in complete chaos at dawn. There happened to be a doctor among the people being detained, so they hurriedly had him treated. But it turns out that the doctor was actually a fraud who had been practicing medicine without a license, so he apparently stitched him up terribly.”

I frowned at that.

His hand was crushed, and his mouth had been damaged to the point where he couldn’t speak.

“How did he end up like that?”

“From what I hear, a fight broke out inside the detention center, and he got caught up in it.”

Laura clicked her tongue.

“Normally, nobles and commoners are detained separately, but apparently a guard accidentally put them in the same cell.”

“Oh dear.”

“And unfortunately, one of the people there had always harbored a tremendous grudge against nobles……”

So someone picked a fight with him, and he ended up getting beaten in retaliation.

“The Count of Valentine was apparently devastated by this, and the Countess took to her bed.”

Laura spoke dramatically, saying the whole family was in chaos.

“The daughter is being investigated for conspiring to commit fraud, and her reputation has fallen so far that she can hardly show her face in high society anymore. And the son has literally been ruined.”

“…….”

“Oh, and I hear things are strange over at House Oscar, too. Apparently, there’s talk of divorce.”

“That’s serious.”

Part of me thought they served them right, while another part felt sorry for them.

I vaguely knew how much Sylvia had treasured and taken pride in her position as the Countess of Oscar.

“And Bernstein is filing a separate lawsuit, too, so apparently the fines they could end up paying are astronomical.”

“I imagine so. House Zaherette will be filing a lawsuit as well.”

“Then House Valentine is finished now, isn’t it?”

Laura said it gleefully.

Her excitement made me smile along with her for a moment.

But then, like a tiny dot of ink landing on an otherwise white sheet, an inexplicably uneasy feeling appeared in my heart.

‘Things have gotten much bigger than I expected……. There shouldn’t be any problems, right?’

Count Valentine was the very embodiment of a hereditary noble among the aristocracy.

He was an authoritarian man.

He definitely wouldn’t just sit still and do nothing.

……Ah, whatever.

He had received the punishment he deserved, so the matter was already out of my hands.

Thinking that worrying about it was pointless, I shook my head.

Then, as I casually checked the time—

“Um…… but, Marquess?”

Laura called out to me in a strangely lilting voice before asking with a meaningful look,

“Do you happen to have plans today?”

Ugh.