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Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 25 — His Investigation
Chapter 25: 25 — His Investigation
Walking through the large wooden door, Lucian stepped into the investigation room as the door creaked shut behind him.
The air seemed to grow heavier as his tall figure appeared before the two men in the room.
Before him stood Dylan, his blonde hair shining brighter due to the sunlight and his lips curved into a grin as soon as the dark-haired man entered the room.
"Greetings, Your Highness," the blonde-haired young man bowed respectfully.
Behind the knight’s figure, a dark brown-haired man was seated on the chair— rather bound to the chair with ropes tied around his wrist, his legs and finally his body was wrapped with the rope against the chair. He wore a white shirt with a black pants which appeared shabby due to the few brown spots on the cloth.
Although the sunlight streamed through the window, it didn’t light up the dark and oppressive atmosphere hung in the room.
"Y-Your Highness, I have not done anything wrong!" The man shouted, his voice trembling in fear.
"Who said you did anything wrong? I simply heard that..." Lucian paused.
The brief silence in the Grand Duke’s sentence increased the man’s heartbeat.
Would he be executed?
It wasn’t rare to hear someone was killed by Prince Lucian after all. He was known to be irrational, a man without reason from low origins and one that could kill anyone as he lacked the proper class of a noble.
"No, no, I haven’t done anything wrong!" he thought, reassuring himself.
"You have witnessed someone poison my food, haven’t you?" Lucian demanded with a nonchalant smile which appeared sinister, taking a seat at the chair placed opposite the man’s.
"T-that’s right! I saw someone do it!" The dark-brown-haired man exclaimed, the fear in his voice from earlier slowly faded.
"Who?"
"T-that... it was some maid!"
"And their physical appearance?" Lucian demanded, crossing his arms as he locked gaze with the man in front of him.
"Her...physics..." the man thought for a second before continuing. "Well, Your Highness, almost all maids look the same from behind."
"Is that so?" Lucian rose from his chair and glanced at Dylan who smirked with a nod, understanding what he asked to do.
"I’ll leave it to you, Dylan," the grand duke opened the door and exited the hall.
***
An hour later, Lucian reentered the room, his presence cold and commanding. The bound man sat slumped in the chair, his face marred by fresh bruises, but his eyes still held a flicker of defiance.
Lucian began the questioning again, his voice steady and unyielding. "Tell me again, what did you see?"
The man repeated his earlier story, his words taut with fear. But Lucian was patient, relentless. He made the man recount every detail, each time pressing for more. Slowly, the cracks began to show.
By the fifth hour, the man’s voice wavered, the certainty in his gaze fading. "I... I saw her face," he stammered, contradicting his earlier claim. Lucian’s expression remained unreadable, but inside, he noted the shift.
The hours dragged on, the man’s resistance crumbling under the weight of Lucian’s relentless pressure. By the tenth hour, his face was a mess of blood and sweat, his lips quivering as he spoke.
"I... I know where the poison is kept," he gasped, his voice barely a whisper.
Lucian’s eyes narrowed, a cold smile playing on his lips. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Without another word, he turned and left the room, the man’s broken confession hanging in the air.
Outside, Lucian paused, glancing at Glain, his right-hand man, who stood waiting beside the door.
"Now we’re getting somewhere," Lucian murmured, his voice laced with satisfaction.
Glain nodded, his expression neutral, but he couldn’t ignore the unease growing in his chest. It would be a lie to say he didn’t know this would happen.
Lucian’s methods were always harsh, dangerous even, but they were effective.
Whether it was demons terrorizing the land or a strange assassination attempt, Lucian always found the truth.
Some often called him "truth-seeker" due to his ability to manipulate people into speaking the truth, despite how hard they tried to hide it.
But this time felt different to Glain, who always stood behind the prince ever since they were on the battlefield.
The grand duke was normally quick to dismiss such matters. It wasn’t the first time an attempt on his life had been made, yet here he was, personally overseeing the investigation with an intensity that unsettled Glain.
Could it be... he’s worried about the Grand Duchess? Did he... start liking her?
Glain frowned, quickly shaking the thought from his mind.
No, that couldn’t be it. Prince Lucian was never one to let emotions cloud his judgement. But then again, why the sudden concern?
Perhaps it wasn’t about the Grand Duchess at all.
Maybe Lucian simply wanted to avoid a disaster that could lead to war—another war that might tear the kingdom apart. King Alistair would wage it without hesitation if his sister were harmed, and the last one had already drained them all for a decade.
A new war could stretch on for far longer, with consequences far more dire compared to the first one.
"Glain," Lucian’s voice snapped the young man back to reality.
"Y-Yes?" He stammered, disoriented. Did he miss something the grand duke told him while he pondered in his thoughts?
"I’m saying... you can handle the rest, right?" The dark-haired man turned to face Glain who nodded.
"Certainly."
"Then, let me know when you are done," Lucian sighed, opening the door of his bedroom.
With a nod, followed by a bow, Glain turned his feet, walking through the corridor.
As the door opened, the sunlight nearly blinded Lucian’s vision.
Had his room always been this bright? Maybe he hadn’t noticed as the day turned into night and back into day again.
His gaze travelled through the area, and his eyebrows twitched into a frown.
His room was a mess— rather, everything he put in order was nowhere to be found.
He rushed to his wardrobe to look for the magic stone he safely kept in his possession.
He managed to break the stone he found in his sheath into two before meeting the king. He knew him too well to hand over the whole piece, knowing the king might just keep it.
"Is this what you’re looking for?" a familiar woman’s voice demanded from behind.
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