I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 74

Vincent felt a little rushed, but he believed this was the perfect time.

About two days ago, when news came that the princess and her entourage were departing from Ardenum, a brilliant idea flashed through his mind.

He knew the route that the Robeheim family primarily used when traveling from Bellucia to Hespania, so he decided to use that to his advantage.

It was a place where people were few, and since there were mountainous areas in between, he could easily pass it off as the work of bandits.

Moreover, the fact that the princess didn’t have much of a guard was clear to anyone from the Robeheim family.

With Yulken out of the castle for an inspection, it was truly the perfect moment to execute the plan.

‘After all, I’ve already taken the necessary steps.’

Vincent was concocting this scheme with one of his loyal retainers, Lux Feltnar, and had entrusted him with most of the risky matters.

Of course, normally those who conspire together wouldn’t easily allow any of them to withdraw, but this time, there was a justification.

If this scheme succeeded and they could eliminate that slippery eel, he promised Lux that he would help connect his child with Ariel.

If that happened, the Feltnar family would ultimately reap the greatest benefits.

This way, Vincent was able to negotiate while relieving himself of the burden of risk.

Now, all he had to do was sit back and leisurely wait for the news of victory.

As he enjoyed a rare moment of leisure, sipping wine with a piece of cheese, a sudden knock caused him to frown.

If it was some trivial matter disrupting his fun, he wouldn’t hold back his displeasure.

“What is it?”

– “Sir Roland, the lady and her party have arrived.”

“…What!?”

At the unexpected news, Vincent slammed his wine glass down and stood up.

If he hadn’t misheard, they definitely said ‘party.’

That meant not only Ariel but others had arrived safely, right?

Feeling that something had gone terribly wrong, Vincent quickly called a servant inside.

He usually hated letting his subordinates enter his room, but today was an exception.

“Y-you called for me?”

The servant was already aware of this situation and was stammering nervously as he was hurried into the room.

“Did the lady return?”

“Y-yes.”

“And the rest of her party? Didn’t she go with a maid, as well as her lover?”

For Vincent, it was humiliating to speak politely to someone with no background like this, but he needed to keep his emotions in check for the moment.

“Yes, they returned together.”

“They’re alive?”

“…Yes?”

“Ah, no. I meant to ask if they made it back safely. I misspoke.”

The servant tilted his head but calmly explained that they had returned without any problems.

Vincent felt like throwing his wine glass against the wall but trembled as he left the room.

He couldn’t possibly believe it without seeing it with his own eyes.

“Lead the way. Since the lady has returned, I should pay my respects.”

“Th-this way then…”

The servant guided Vincent nervously, sensing the strange atmosphere.

Typically, Vincent had a pretty imposing personality and was known for rarely leaving his room unless something significant occurred.

He barely glanced outside unless Yulken returned from battle or something big happened.

In other words, the mere fact that Ariel had gone on a simple errand to another territory didn’t warrant his attention.

‘Is he just being fickle?’

Anyway, the servant was well aware of how uncomfortable it was to deal with Vincent, and he steered clear of bothering him as they safely made it outside.

When they finally arrived at the castle gates, Ariel was stepping down from the carriage, surrounded by servants and other retainers who had come out to greet her.

“Oh, Sir Vincent. What brings you out here?”

At that moment, Hadler, known for being a nice guy in the family, approached him.

Everyone in the castle knew Vincent was infamous for his heavy backside, so Hadler was quite surprised by the situation.

“I heard the lady had returned from a long journey, so I thought I should come out. The king is absent, so I figured I should serve in his stead.”

Vincent replied with a friendly smile, masking his irritation inside.

‘What on earth is going on, Lux!’

Vincent silently screamed at Lux, who was awkwardly trying to keep an eye on Ariel while pretending to smile.

When their eyes met, Lux just sighed with a look of helplessness that made Vincent’s anger rise even more.

‘If I had known it’d turn out this way, I would have handled it myself.’

Since he was supposed to be the head of a family, he believed he wouldn’t handle things haphazardly.

Yet, he realized it was a mistake to put it off and not handle it properly, so he clenched his fists till they were white.

‘Calm down and plan for the future. No need to rush.’

Today was simply the right time, and such moments would come again.

After over sixty years of slithering through life, waiting patiently for the right moment was nothing to him.

However, one thing bothered him: the unusually bright expressions of Ariel and her entourage.

‘Did they not get ambushed after all?’

If they had been attacked by assassins, they wouldn’t be standing there so casually.

He needed to inform his retainers right away and strengthen their defenses.

If they hadn’t been ambushed, how could that have been possible?

Perhaps they traveled via a regular route, not the direct one?

But that would have taken much longer, and they should have arrived after dinner had already begun.

Conversely, if they had been ambushed but were hiding that fact…

That scenario was even more puzzling.

‘This is giving me a headache.’

Anyway, since he was technically here to welcome her, it was better to say something than just stand there awkwardly.

Vincent approached Ariel, who was walking towards the castle, lowered his head, and donned a deceitful smile to welcome her.

“Welcome back, milady.”

“Yes, I’m back safely! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Sir Vincent.”

Vincent felt a slight twinge at her words, but he steadied himself and responded with a gracious smile.

“The king is away, so I thought I should come out. I believe the other retainers felt the same.”

“Oh, right! Father went out for an inspection, didn’t he?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Vincent had originally aimed to act while the king was away, but unfortunately, that plan had gone awry.

“By the way, what’s that thing you’re carrying, Young Master?”

A massive sack like a giant was being held over Edgar’s shoulder right next to Ariel.

It was big enough to fit a person inside, and sensing something odd, Vincent inquired about the contents.

Ariel responded with an unusually bright smile.

“It’s a souvenir. A precious item brought back from Ardenum.”

“Wow, I see. It’s quite large…”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t want it, even if I offered it to you, Sir Vincent?”

“I’m not so cruel that I’d covet something brought back by you.”

Vincent chuckled, flashing another affable smile.

“…!?”

Then suddenly, a strange chill wrapped around him, and his eyes widened in alarm.

It felt like a blade had stopped just shy of his throat.

He quickly lifted his head to meet Ariel’s gaze, but she maintained that sunny smile.

‘Must be getting old.’

Or maybe it was because he postponed the scheme he was supposed to execute today, causing him to feel uneasy.

Deciding to return to his room and drink some wine to settle down, he resolved to get some rest earlier than usual.

Ariel, who was watching him intently, casually turned away and headed into the castle.

‘Sir Vincent, huh?’

This was the first time he had personally come this far out since Yulken returned.

With such silly reasons to smile, Ariel couldn’t help but think there was something more behind it.

‘Perhaps he wanted to confirm something.’

She hadn’t brought up the matter with her retainers for this very reason.

Though she wasn’t entirely sure yet, the circumstances suggested that the assassins had indeed aimed for Edgar’s life.

So who would be most bothered by his presence?

At least it didn’t feel like it would be someone from the outside.

If the main enemies were hiding within the family and secretly pulling such nonsense, they would have known that today the party wouldn’t return safely.

But how would they react to the news that someone who should have died returned unharmed?

Naturally, they would be itching to see for themselves.

And in this situation, three famously heavy-bottomed individuals were present.

‘Vincent, Gale, Dulius.’

There was a possibility that they were all co-conspirators.

What she needed to do now was to slowly uncover the truth based on these deductions.

Ariel, with a cold yet determined gaze, discreetly called Shuri over and made a request.

Whether the target was a high-ranking member of her family or the head of another family, it was none of her concern.

After all, what value did a corpse hold?