Chapter 38
At his command, the servant who had been waiting outside immediately opened the door and entered.
“My lord.”
“Tell the butler to come here right now.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Shortly thereafter, the butler entered the room. He is an old man, well over sixty years old, and his hair is all gray.
“My lord.”
“Astin.”
Iselle raised his hand and pointed to a seat across the table from him.
“Have a seat there.”
Astin smiled faintly and took the seat in front of him. Iselle always treated people with dignity, regardless of their rank, but there were some people he was especially polite to below him: the Knight Commander, the Lieutenant Commander, and Astin, the butler.
“You must have a lot to ask me, Master Iselle, if you’re sitting me down here.”
“It breaks my heart to keep you on your feet for long.”
Astin let out a light laugh. “Before I knew it, I was already this old. How fast time flies.”
Astin had first entered the castle at the age of twenty, and over the course of four decades, he’d seen a lot of things, and now he held the position of butler, overseeing all of the castle’s servants. One of Astin’s satisfactions in this place where he had devoted his youth was to see the Duke grow up so well.
How Astin pitied him, knowing the weight that rested on his tiny shoulders as he went off on his own to the Kingdom of Lysa, so young and so easily dictated by his parents.
That child had grown into this brilliant young man, and now he was the undisputed next master of Hazen. It was a source of great joy to Astin.
“But why are you calling me here?”
So far, Iselle hadn’t called on him directly; Astin would be at his side when he took over as Archduke, but that would be after his marriage. For now, the impending marriage came first. So Astin was curious about the reason for this sudden summons.
“There’s something I need you to look into, Astin.”
“Anything, my lord.”
“I need you to find me a bracelet.”
“A bracelet?”
“Yes.”
A moment of confusion crossed the old butler’s face. “Which bracelet are you referring to? Give me the specifics and I’ll find it for you.”
“It’s a bracelet that you already know about. I’m referring to the bracelet I gave to Princess Rosetta of the Kingdom of Lysa.”
Astin took a deep breath. Yes, he was familiar with the bracelet, for he had personally delivered the order to the craftsman and brought the finished product to the Hazen Castle.
“I beg your pardon, but why are you looking for it? Isn’t it supposed to belong to Princess Rosetta?”
It had already been given to the princess as an engagement gift. The sudden request to find such a bracelet was puzzling.
“I’m asking because I’m curious about it too.”
Astin stopped asking questions and studied his face. Astin was always the first to know what his master was thinking, but this time he couldn’t figure out what the young duke was thinking. There was only the usual calm expression on the duke’s handsome face.
“I want you to investigate whether that bracelet is currently within the archduchy. I need you to search every corner of the castle, every shop that sells jewelry and trinkets, and even the stolen goods exchanges.”
Until now, Astin had never asked why he should carry out whatever orders his master had given him; it was not his place to do so. The master makes the decisions, and the servant follows the master. That was Astin’s belief.
“Very well, Master Iselle. I will search everywhere as you say.”
“That includes my father’s private vault.”
Astin’s head snapped up at the unexpected words.
“The Archduke’s private vault?”
His voice trembled with surprise, but the Duke only smiled weakly.
“I know you have the key to the vault, so I want you to look for it there, as well as my father’s and mother’s rooms, though of course this must never be done without their knowledge.”
“But that’s–”
“Astin.”
The voice was still soothing, but there was a cold, icy warning beneath it.
“Do you really need me to tell you who owns Hazen now?”
Astin suddenly realized that he didn’t really know the duke before him. He was no longer a child; the man sitting before him was a young man whose thoughts were beyond the insight of an old man with a history of reading minds.
He had just asked him who he thought was the owner of Hazen. The answer was simple. From the moment the Archduke announced his decision, it was safe to say that he had already become the master of the Hazen. Everyone in the castle thought so, and they were preparing to let go of the old owner and welcome the new one.
What’s more, he was also Princess Lysa’s betrothed. After the wedding ceremony with Princess Rosetta, he would be granted the title of Archduke not long afterward, and then he would be at the top of the power rankings in the Lysa Kingdom.
“No.”
Astin quickly composed himself. The master of Hazen now was none other than Iselle Scallion, which meant that his master was as well, and all Astin had to do was follow his orders.
“I will find out and report back to you soon.”
“Along with that, there’s one more thing I need you to look into.”
Iselle picked up a pen and scribbled a quick note on a piece of paper on the table. He held it out to Astin.
“This is the name of a man who stood guard at the gates not long ago. I hear he was recently found dead.”
Astin recognized the name and nodded. “I know this man well. He was a hard-working man who was found hanging not long ago, though I’m told he committed suicide.”
“I need you to confirm that his death was really a suicide, and if someone had a hand in it, who it was.”
“Do you think it could be the Archduke behind it?”
“It’s not out of the question, but for now, keep all possibilities open and investigate. And one more thing, have you had any messengers sent to you recently from the Basque tribe?”
Astin shook his head. “No, to the best of my knowledge, nothing like that has happened.”
“Then I want you to look into that as well. Whether a messenger from the Basque tribe visited the castle a week ago, and if so, where he is now.”
“Yes, my lord.”
***
The next day, the butler came back with the answer he wanted.
“I have found it in the vault of His Highness the Archduke.”
He set down an object wrapped in a handkerchief on the table. He unfolded the handkerchief to reveal a bracelet made of gold. In the center of the bracelet, which was decorated with small diamonds, was an emerald that had been specially selected from the finest. It was a dark green emerald, the color only found in the finest quality, yet it was lustrous and radiated an alluring light.
Iselle’s gaze rested on it. It was obviously the one he had given to Rosetta. There could not be more than one emerald like this in the world.
“I also did some research on the death of the guard you mentioned.”
Astin held out the paper to him. “It is true that there was some suspicion in the guard’s death. There was a witness who saw him leave with someone the night he died.”
“Why didn’t the witness tell you that? If he had, the case wouldn’t have been characterized as a suicide.”
“According to him, he tried to talk at first, but was silenced by a high-ranking person who offered him money.”
“A high-ranking person?”
Lieutenant Marshal was the rank of commanding an infantry unit in the Order of the Knights. And Iselle already knew who Lieutenant Marshal Bayan was connected to.
“So the Knight Commander Klaus gave the order.”
“Yes, and the fact that the Knight Commander’s involvement in this means…”
“My father must be directly involved.”
“Probably, because it’s unlikely that the Knight Commander would do something like this on his own.”
“……”
Iselle pressed his lips together.
“I have one more thing to report.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ve been investigating the messenger of the Basque tribe, and the guard wasn’t the only body found in the hills recently. It’s hard to make an accurate identification because the wild dogs have already torn it apart, but he was wearing Basque tribal clothing.”
“What was the cause of death?”
“It’s hard to tell because the body was already so badly damaged, but they say there was a large stab wound in the back. He was found in an area where bandits often hang out, so maybe he was returning home from a mission and was attacked by bandits?”
“Or maybe someone killed him and dumped him there on purpose.”