A Plan (7)
On the way to the end of the meeting, Rowena was able to hear from the palace. She climbed into the carriage in a bright mood, said to cancel the rest of her schedule, and hurried her way to the palace.
Naturally, the speed of the carriage was bound to increase.
The knights surrounding the carriage also sped up. The carriage was running along the capitalâs boulevard, and someone blocked the carriage.
âOh, my!â
The coachman freaked out and stopped the carriage. At that speed, the carriage was able to stop without hitting people because the coachman was skilled, and the carriage of the palace endured the shock.
If something went wrong, the wheel shaft could have been broken and the carriage could have been turned upside down. If it was the coachman of another noble family, they would have chosen to run over and kill the child.
The child who knelt and trembled appeared to be a child in the slum. The clothes that were worn out without shoes flowed.
The knight frowned and got off his horse and approached the child. The child was carrying an unbecoming silver box.
âT-this is to Her Highness the Crown Princessâ¦â
Rowena hadnât married the crown prince yet, but she only has a month and a half left. The knight didnât point that out and he first received the box and opened the lid.
The other knight was taking the boy for questioning and asked who had made him do this.
âI donât know. If I donât do it, theyâll kill my brother.â
Shrinking his shoulders, the boy looked at his face. They didnât think that was a lie, but the knight speculated that he would have received some money.
âLook at this.â
The knight who opened the lid of the box changed his complexion and called his colleagues. There was a cut finger wrapped in silk and a note in the box.
âIt belongs to the Lord, the youngest of Count Adelia.â
Only a few people knew that Louis Adeliad was staying at the palace. The knight took it to the carriage in contemplation.
The boy realized that something was wrong and tried to run away, but he was firmly caught by the driver.
The carriage door was open. Another knight was asking about Rowena and the maidâs condition. Rowena looked at them suspiciously at the sight of the silver box brought by the knight.
* * *
âIs this a trap that Matthias prepared?â
If Louis had not been taken to the palace, she would have been fooled by the trick. Louis learned the sword and had a wound on his hand, especially a deep cut on his little finger.
There was a similar scar on the finger in the box. But it wasnât the same.
In an era where treatment by divine power was possible, it wasnât difficult to make similar scars if you had money.
Rowena went straight back to the palace, but she didnât meet Louis and called.
ââ¦Go to the Marquis of Rasmine and hand this to Count Adelia and get a reply.â
Rowena held a letter to Paul Adelia in her hand. The letter asked if Louis was safe.
This was a procedure to determine if Paul was involved in the case. If Paul had betrayed her until the end, Rowena would have given up her sense of duty to him as a child.
The servant got a letter from Rowena and left the room. As she left the room, she found Cecil, the crown prince.
Cecil approached Rowena with only his head up.
âRowena, you got a letter, didnât you?â
Everything that happened to Rowena was also reported to Cecil.
Rowena didnât even have a family to protect her at present. She also knew that but didnât care.
When Rowena looked around, the maid and her attendants escaped from the room. All that was left was Rowenaâs closest aides, Pina and Edith.
ââ¦I received a finger. With a note saying Louisâ finger.â
âYou must have been surprised.â
Cecil frowned and hugged Rowena. Rowena was able to exhale deeply as soon as she was held in Cecilâs arms. She felt suffocated back in the carriage.
Of course, Louis, who was lying in the bedroom of the palace, was safe. Rowena breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed through a person.
It was clear that the threat could not reach the palace. The person didnât know that Louis was hidden in the Imperial family.
âI ordered them to call someone who could find out if the finger was cut from a living person.â
âWhy? Isnât my brother in the palace?â
âWe have to catch the criminal. And if these fingers belong to a living person, theyâll have a kid about Louisâ age.â
To some extent, it was like saying that he would move according to the criminalâs will. There was no evidence of this blackmailer at the moment.
The boy who stopped the carriage and handed over the box was not a beggar.
It was a child.
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