Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Chapter 95

“If Mrs. Chester had determined the culprit of this accident, I intend to use that investigation method at the risk of getting many people involved.”

“But Mrs. Chester did not answer your question clearly, so you don’t have to carry out meaningless killing, right?” she asked.

“Yes, I ruled out that option without any reservation. The true culprit couldn’t have done the sloppy job of making his name famous by using several servants if he had had planned this without letting her know.”

Considering that, she seemed to figure out the likely culprit among many suspects. Mrs. Chester was a powerful figure who could be singled out as one of the top three anti-emperor figures.

Accordingly, there were only one or two political giants who could plan such a scheme after keeping her out of the loop. While reviewing the names of those figures that Eckart deeply suspected, Marianne corrected her posture as if she had decided something.

“Is it because you thought it would be hard to find the true culprit that you excluded the Grand Duke from the investigation team?”

“… I didn’t know you could find it out. ”

“I’m not that stupid. Master Julia told me that if I had attended the academy, I would have been placed top at least twice.”

“Oh, sorry I didn’t know you were a diamond in the rough,” Eckart answered, grinning at her, thinking she was probably the only woman who could be so arrogant at the emperor’s praise.

Meanwhile, Marianne touched her hair with her lips closed as if she was wrestling with some problems. Her head tilted to the right and the left respectively, and then she shut her mouth.

“Your Excellency!”

Eckart looked at her when she called.

“You mentioned a little while ago that it would be faster to look for those who we didn’t have to doubt rather than those who look suspicious, right?”

“Right.”

“Then, I’m one of those who you don’t have to doubt, right?”

Eckart hesitated for a moment at her unexpected question.

“If you wanted to hurt me, you wouldn’t have shared the carriage with me. And you wouldn’t have had to wake me up after I crashed. And you wouldn’t have had to help me maintain my body temperature at the risk of your life.”

He studied her expression as if to read her intention, and then added a long explanation.

When he was almost done, Curtis and Kloud changed their facial expressions.

“Of course, I can’t rule out the possibility that you might have calculated such a strategy…”

Eckart bit his lower lip without finishing his words.

In his head, he already knew the answer. But he wanted to doubt her to the end because there was no goodwill without any condition.

‘If she really wanted to harm me, she would have considered other methods.”

Above all, he could not ignore what he saw, heard, or felt directly. Pounding herbs and picking green fruit with her scratched hands and checking his body temperature could not be all fake. When she was upset about him, complaining that he didn’t tell her early on, or when she expressed concern about the scars on his back, she was sincere.

If all her actions were fake, he could not keep her alive for long.

“I don’t want to believe your tears and oath were false,” Eckart said, looking at her coldly.

“Okay, that means you don’t want to believe me with your own will, right?” she asked back with a look mixed with expectation and hope.

Her question immediately made him defensive. He frowned a bit unconsciously.

Although she said that after careful consideration, she felt she made a mistake.

He was calm even after he fell from the stiff falls and broke his arm. Nonetheless, he was embarrassed before her innocent and lovely glance at the moment.

“Oh, what I mean is all your actions are not fake…By the way, aren’t you good at hiding your real intentions, are you?”

“Well, only in front of you.”

“That’s what I mean…”

“Thank you anyway. I think you trust me?”

Marianne laughed brightly, cutting off Eckart’s excuse quickly.

He breathed a long sigh, captivated by her eyes.

“… Even if you blame me for selectively distrusting people, I can take it, but…”

“Really? Are you sure? Can you look directly into my eyes and say it again?”

“Okay. And I was looking straight at you anyway for a while…”

At her repeated questions, he strained his blue eyes a bit, but he frowned without finishing his words. He instinctively wrapped his body with his arms.

As a result, the vial held in his left hand rolled on the bed.

“… Marianne.”

Instead of answering, she suddenly hugged him and put her lips close to his ears.

She whispered in satisfaction, “Do not worry. My oath is real. I won’t break my promise to protect you by risking everything. Absolutely.”

“Got it. Thank you…”

Leaning on Marianne’s back with one hand, he spoke hesitantly.

As he accidently put his nose on her neck, he smelled her sweet skin.

“Your Majesty, I will never betray you. Maybe Curtis Kloud will never betray you, too. Nor Sir Jed, Colin, and my father in the capital too… ”

“I hope so, too. But wait a minute…”

“… Pardon? What’s the matter?”

Only then did she released her arm around his neck and pulled it back.

“My arm hurts a bit…”

“…! ”

Even before Eckart was done talking, she stepped backward as if she saw a rat. Then she crawled back onto the bed with her knees. She touched his broken arm with her trembling hands.

“Oh! what can I do. What should I do? Are you okay? I’m sorry. My gosh. I was so happy when you said you trust me…”

She looked hyped up as if she owned the whole world until a moment ago, but she was now about to cry. In terms of facial expression, she looked much more painful than the injured.

How could he blame her when she made a long face like that?

Eckart eventually sighed, pulling her hand.

“OK. Give me some advance notice from next time.”

“I’m sorry…” she replied with a sullen look. Her hands wiggled in his grasp.

He realized belatedly that he was holding her hand too tightly.

He let go of her hand as casually as possible.

He only held her hand for a few seconds, but his palm felt hot.

Then he hurriedly picked up the glass bottle on the bed as if he wanted to hold anything in lieu of her hand.

“By the way, why did you suddenly ask me if I trusted you?”

He just asked her casually, but Marianne felt as if she woke up from her sleep because of his question.

“Ah. You’re right. I didn’t mean to ask that. I know you told me honestly because you trust me…”

He avoided her gaze as if she hit the nail on the head. The glass bottle in his hand changed his perception of her. It was only noon today that he thought he should release her. But before half a day passed, he confessed to her that he trusted her, and a moment ago he heard from her that she was grateful to him for telling her honestly because he trusted her.

Although he was swept away by fragile feelings, he also felt great fear.

Uncontrollable affection was poison. It may ruin everything, but he couldn’t stop it as he was already into it…

“I think that the true culprit couldn’t trust anybody, so he couldn’t share his scheme with even Mrs. Chester.”

Marianne, who did not know his intention, spoke with a friendly voice as always. Her sweet but firm voice filled the room.

“If I can’t pinpoint the true criminal at this point…”

She took the glass bottle from his hand wildly and lifted it at eye level as if demonstrating the substance before doing the magic. Her blue eyes met his green eyes head on with the bottle held in between her thumb and index finger.

“Why don’t you try gambling just once?”

She hid her hands behind her back and held the glass bottle in her other hand.

Then she presented her two equally fisted hands side by side before him.

Eckart was a clever man. He immediately discovered what she metaphorically meant by gambling. At the same time he was impressed by her trick.

He always thought he tried to step side by side with her, but she could now overtake him.

She was no longer a blunt sword with which she could just tear off the cloak behind his back.

Rather, she was a dagger that can stabbed him in the heart in any direction with any force.

“Three times.”

“Pardon?”

“If you had attended the academy, you would have been placed in the top place at least three times, not twice.”

He patted her left hand lightly.

Very pleased with his generous compliment, she grinned and opened her palm.

On top of that was the glass bottle, of course.

“That’s exactly what I was looking for.”

She made a tempting smile at him. It was a dangerous and fascinating smile.