Chapter 64

Yelena’s eyes widened.

“That means…”

“The ducal couple and the second young master, who were in the carriage, were unaware of this. The dead maid and her brother were half-siblings, so there was a scarce resemblance, and they kept it secret within the Duke’s castle.”

Yelena let out a sigh.

It was natural. They hadn’t known.

Since they were unaware, they could leave the carriage in the hands of the maid’s brother.

“I see…”

Now Yelena understood. The carriage accident that day was no accident.

It was a suicide caused by the servant driving the carriage.

The reason was, of course, for the revenge of his dead sister.

Yelena’s expression sank.

It was a darker truth than she thought.

“But the horseman managed to find out who killed his sister,” Yelena said suddenly.

It was unlikely that the dead ducal couple had poorly concealed the incident.

If they were so sloppy, their rumors and reputations wouldn’t have been so good before they died.

Ben replied, “The second young master learned to drink at an early age. Alcohol can easily cloud a person’s judgment.”

It meant that the criminal was drunk and exposed everything with his own mouth.

“…”

Yelena saved her breath. It was so pathetic yet amazing that she didn’t have the energy to laugh at it.

“Well, yes. Anyway, that’s how it happened… They had, obviously, brought upon their own deaths…”

Wait a minute.

Yelena frowned and opened her mouth. “Why did the Duke keep this a secret?”

Until now, Yelena had only thought that the carriage accident that had killed the family of the former duke couple was an unfortunate accident.

It wasn’t just Yelena. Everyone who knew about the accident thought the same.

Yelena began to feel frustrated.

“Ben, you know about it, right? Because of the accident, all kinds of rumors are stuck to my husband, the Duke.”

Everyone, except the first son, who was rumored to have been cursed by the devil, had died overnight.

The first son, who was now orphaned, was an easy target for the rumors, which grew and conflated by themselves.

“If you had made it clear and corrected that it wasn’t a coincidence…”

“The master was against telling the truth. And so was I.”

“…Why?”

Ben hesitated for a moment but soon responded quietly, “The master believes that he’s partly to blame.”

“Blame?”

“He knew that the servant who drove the carriage that day was the half-brother of the dead maid, but he didn’t tell his family.”

Yelena’s mouth dropped open.

It was because she was stunned.

“…Are you kidding me? So the accident that day, no, is it my husband’s fault that the maid’s brother sought revenge?”

“I’m just telling you what the master thought.”

“What about you? What did you think? Don’t tell me you agreed with that opinion, and that was why you opposed telling the truth?”

If Ben said yes, she wouldn’t let him go.

Ben answered calmly even though his personal safety was under threat.

“Of course not. And in that sense, my responsibility’s much greater than the master. No, rather, you could say that I was the one who caused the accident that day.”

“…what do you mean?”

“I was the one who told the half-brother the truth about his sister’s disappearance.”

Yelena’s eyes widened.

“What? No, wait. A little while ago, you said the young master confessed everything after drinking…”

“I was the one who ordered the servant to serve the wine to the second young master that day,” Ben confessed nonchalantly.

Yelena was rendered speechless and blinked.

“…did you do it on purpose?”

“The day after the wine was served, a servant came to me in tears and thanked me, saying that he would never forget this grace even if he died.”

“…”

Yelena silently stared at Ben.

Her spirits had dampened, perhaps due to the startling story she heard.

“Ben, you’re a little more frightening than I thought.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s a compliment. You did a great job. Well done. Then why did you object to telling the truth about the carriage accident?”

“The servant who caused the accident had a family left. According to the national law, a commoner who kills an aristocrat is executed, regardless of the reason. Consequently, all of their relatives are beheaded.”

If the truth of the accident was revealed, the horseman who drove the wagon would not be able to avoid the price of killing three aristocrats.

It meant that he hid the truth to save the rest of the servant’s family.

At first glance, it sounded plausible, but Yelena’s question had yet to be resolved.

“There’s another reason, isn’t there?

“…”