≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
"The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts." —Proverbs 18:8
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
IN LESS than three days, the shadow guards were able to capture enough evidence to make the fiancé and friend of Lantana be charged to prison and had them exiled in a barren land filled with beasts. The guards also went and gathered information about the couple's families that did so much dirty activities behind the empire's back that could make their golden house turn to rat sewers and had them a lifetime trip to prison with their noble titles revoked until the next few generations.
However, as Citrone wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of, he and some of his other companions stayed at the house unnoticed, monitoring everyone that the duke mentioned and only let one of the shadow guards return immediately with the five magic stones and a letter containing the summary of the content of the stones.
"Make sure this is delivered safely. The duke needs these as soon as possible," Citrone said to his companion naturally as they sat at the front of a cafe beside the hostel where the Floyen's son and Uros's daughter were having a date.
"Definitely. How dare they hurt our young miss? They don't deserve to live!" the man replied angrily as he stood up, blended with the passing people and disappeared.
When the results came, the duke was greatly satisfied that he had planned to raise the salary of all the shadow guards who participated in his order by doubling their already high salary that month once they all came back and granting them a few days of vacation.
Regardless of that, his anger towards the whole family of Floyen and Uros was still brewing and felt like could never be satiated unless his would see them suffer tenfold than what his daughter had already suffered—especially after having a glimpse of the dirty deeds that were done by the two main people who plotted against his innocent lovely daughter.
ON THE other hand, while the duke was busy collecting evidence to avenge his daughter, the nobles from the north were all buzzing like bees disturbed in their colony.
"She was so young…"
"But didn't she already see it coming though? I mean if I was that fat, I'd assume I'd die early…"
"She should have taken care of herself better…"
Some were gossiping with malicious intent, blaming the 'deceased'. That the reason why she died so early was because she was so fat and delusional to even marry a handsome young man with so many achievements so she got choked up from all of her fats.
"If the duke really lost his child, doesn't that mean he will be alone until he dies?"
"Poor, duke. Losing his wife and child together. That must've been painful…"
Some were really sympathizing with the duke for he already lost his wife whom he loved so greatly during his peak age. And now, the one child that they had was also gone. He only had her yet he also lost her. Truly, it was great to have wealth and power with them, one could buy anything they wanted. Yet they were also reminded of the fact that money and influence could never buy genuine happiness. What was the use of those two if the only people who brought him joy were gone?
"Mother! Do you think this dress would suit the duke's taste?"
"Choose a bolder one! You have no taste with clothing. When you're seducing someone, you have to make sure that you'll be able to capture him completely… If only I'm not married to your father, I would have done this myself…"
Some were ecstatic with the mindset of throwing themselves into the duke's arms to comfort his grieving heart with the plan to advance their position and become the next duchess of Montgomery—forgetting that the duke was known for his great love for his late wife and would never marry again, as he stated in a newspaper before.
As it was mentioned, one of the reasons why the duke was still popular to females despite his age was because of his household affairs. He had no relatives left—meaning to say, the woman who could become his new wife no longer had to please her in-laws and act like a submissive kitten until they died before she could reign over the house like the king of the jungle.
The duke was handsome in his younger days but that didn't mean he was not handsome anymore. If a person could ignore the few lines on the duke's face and some of his white hair, the person who would marry him next would really have nothing to lose. Instead, she would gain a lot—the duke himself, his money, his property, and even the power that the Montgomery name possessed.
"Do you think the duke's beloved daughter would die easily just like that? Don't make me laugh! Something else probably happened…"
"Well, it's the duke's beloved naive daughter. What if the people who have a grudge with him decided to attack him through her?"
Some were curious at the real cause of death of the duke's beloved daughter and waiting for the duke to make an official announcement for the funeral to finally get some news to gossip about.
While some… Some were celebrating because finally, the big obstacle of their love that could smash everything was removed.
"Cheers to our successful plan!" the man happily cheered as they drank the wine that they ordered at the hostel.
"Who would have thought it could be done easily like that when we had so much trouble having to conceal all of this?" the woman said as she leaned on his body.
"She finally left us alone. I don't have to bear seeing her face again. We don't have to conceal our love anymore…" the woman said as she faced the man and kissed him.
"Hah! If only we didn't need her back then to get you back to your own house, we could have killed her earlier. Truly, what that person predicted all came true. Now, I can enjoy all of these," the man replied as he put down his wine glass at the table and groped the woman's breasts who then moaned flirtatiously—not knowing everything was actually being captured.
The ones who celebrated were the son of Count Floyen and the daughter of Countess Uros—the same people who caused the news to spread.
Their happiness about the news that was delivered to them one time while they were in the count's house, reached the peak to the point where they openly showed it even to the public—dining at high class restaurants together from time to time without even bothering to disguise themselves, without shame. Sometimes, their parents and other relatives would openly even join them—as if they already became a married couple and each of them already became a part of each other's family.
As soon as the count concluded that the ugly woman who was tied to his son died, he didn't show any sadness or sympathy to the duke. Rather than doing that, he went to his wine cellar and opened one of his most expensive wines and drank happily with his wife while throwing insulting words to the duke for being so arrogant and always looking down on him.
He never liked the duke's fat daughter anyway. He felt that she was so ugly that he always felt like puking whenever he was in her presence in the past. He only tried to bear it deep inside because he knew how rich and powerful Montgomery Duchy was. Aside from that, he knew that the duke only had one child and assumed that once their children married, the properties of the duke's daughter would be immediately transferred to his son since women were useless in business anyway. They were only good in bed. How could that fat woman satisfy his son if her weight was twice as much as his own?
He was even more than happy knowing that the beautiful daughter of Countess Uros became the lover of his son. Speaking in truth, he already knew his son was cheating during his engagement, but who cared? As long as the woman was pretty, it didn't matter how many he would bed. Once they married—which wouldn't happen anymore since she luckily died—she would only have to submit to her husband. She would have no control over him.
While a lot of people were wondering and coming up with their own conclusion about the real situation of the duke and his dead daughter, the duke and his 'dead' daughter were busy with their own plans.
ON THE other side of the duchy, instead of the news about the engagement between the Ducal House of Montgomery and County House of Floyen being broken, the news of the death of the duke's most treasured daughter was what resurfaced between the nobles in the whole northern region.
The news quickly flew around in every household that it even reached the house of the baroness. Though it could be said a fallen noble house, they weren't left in the dark because of how massive the news was.
As soon as the baroness heard of it, she wondered about the previous deal that she made with a very beautiful woman. She even doubted if the deal was real, or if the person she talked to was someone else. However, after being reminded of the tight security of the duchy she experienced as she entered their mansion, how the servants treated the beautiful woman that she met with so much respect and awe, how the beautiful woman introduced herself to her and treated her, and how great her ideas were, she shrugged her doubt off completely.
How could that person be that confident inside the Montgomery house if she was an imposter or someone with a low status? Everyone knew that the duke had no relatives left alive nor siblings for his parents died early and that he was an only child. Since the Montgomery were so famous, most people of Vincequere Empire knew that the duke was a miracle baby, including the baroness. If that was the case, whose daughter would the person she met inside the mansion aside from being the duke's daughter?