Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 107 “Lena!”The loud sound of footsteps approached in the blink of an eye. Helios’s face was white as he roughly flung open the door and stepped in.“Helios? I thought you said you’d be late today…”“You said you were hurt? Where and how bad?”“Oh. Just a little sprain, I’m fine.”Helios, who must have come running as soon as he heard the news, asked again, breathlessly.“Did you get treatment? Doctor?”I smiled as I raised my bandaged wrist.“He came and went a little while ago. I’ll be fine if I’m careful for a few days.”“Are you okay with anything other than your wrist?”I calmly nodded my head, and the tense Helios flopped down on the floor.I walk over to him, feeling like I’ve freaked him out over nothing.“Get Dustin right now.”His body stiffened at the sharp voice that made his back stand up.Dustin, who ran to Helios’ call, bowed his head. Helios glared at Dustin with bitter eyes.“What are you doing?”“……”“Can’t you get a straight escort?”“……”“And yet you wear the name of an elite knight of the Duke of Anthemion?”“I’m sorry.”“I want every single one of you who went to Kingston today put on probation for a month. If anything like this happens again, you’ll be responsible.”“Yes.”Dustin, who had been chasing Helios all day, would have been the most unfair disposition, but he bowed his head without saying a word of excuse.Helios, who publicly rebuked Dustin, nodded at him.“Go to the office.”“Yes.”“I’m going too.”As I followed Helios out of bed, he said with a reluctant look on his face.“You should get some rest, you’re not feeling well.”“I am fine. I the one who got hurt, No one knows this better than I do.”“…….”Helios, well aware of my stubbornness, went to the office without saying a word. As they sat side by side on the couch in the office, Helios turned to Dustin.“Explain. Is it an accident or an incident?”“Someone shot the horse of the carriage you two are riding in.”“An incident.”Helios chewed his molars.For some reason, it was strange that the quiet horse suddenly ran wild.I sighed, fiddling with the bandage around my wrist.The wagon suddenly leaned sideways at the startled horse riot. She quickly grabbed S-Escal and crouched down, not seriously injured, but it was a dizzying moment.Thank goodness the carriage wasn’t fast enough, or I wouldn’t be sitting here.“It was stuck in the side of the horse.”Dustin held out a small slate. It was about two thumbs long and had a pointed end like a nail.If something like this gets stuck in the horse’s side, the horse will run wild.Helios carefully examined the shard.“It’s the first thing I see.”“I asked a blacksmith who knew well, and he said it was for hunting monsters.”“For hunting monsters?”“Yes. It is less accurate than a bow, but it is easy to carry and shoots from a distance, so it is often used when dealing with monsters.”“Are you targeting my family with a monster tool?”Helios muttered in a cool voice.“Have you identified the culprit?”“Well, I haven’t, but I do have a suspect.”Helios raised an eyebrow at Dustin’s answer.“… Harriet Tuffman.”   ***** “What the hell are you doing!”Marquis Melks snorted.“Didn’t I tell you to wait for me to give you instructions! why do you take things at your own whim!”Harriet Tuffman replied with a stern head tilted.“I didn’t kill them, did I?”“That a horse!”“Only the horse was hurt, so even if they do an investigation, it will be fuzzy.”“You don’t know that investigations aren’t the problem! If Helios even notices this…!”“Are you afraid of Duke Anthemion?”“What?”When the Marquis Melks raised his voice, Harriet spoke sternly.“Isn’t this a different story: you offer to help me avenge the Duke’s death, and then you’re going to sit on the sidelines because you’re afraid of him?”“You stupid.”Marquis Melks clicked his tongue as if frustrated.“If you want to hit a giant like Duke Anthemion, you have to inflict a fatal wound in one shot.“……”“If you want to give a blow, give it properly. Did you feel relieved by killing one of those horses?”Harriet’s eyes, which were full of life, softened.Marquis Melks, who lit a cigarette, took a deep breath of smoke and continued.“Don’t you want to kill him? You don’t even know that I’m waiting for the time to come, huh.”“…….”“If Duke Anthemion was easy target, Duke Eaton would have taken care of him in the first place. Why are you short-minded?”Marquis Melks angrily smoked his cigarette. The scattered ashes flew at Harriet.“Do you know why I entered the palace today? I came here to ask Your Majesty the pardon of the Duke of Eaton.”“…… ”“But if this happens to Duke Anthemion, if His Majesty wants to pardon Duke Eaton, can he do it?”“……”“If you do something wrong, it’s all your fault.”Harriet’s head softened at the rebuke of the Marquis Melks.Convinced that his words worked, the Marquis held out a piece of paper with a picture on it. It was a portrait of an older man and a pink-haired girl.“If you want revenge like that, take care of these things.”“These people…?”“This is Baron Hazel, the one who helped Duke Anthemion when he infiltrated the magic crystal mine. If it weren’t for his interest, we could have killed him there, don’t you know?”“… I remember.”Harriet put the portrait in his inner pocket.“Be careful not to get caught by the knights of the Duke of Anthemion as escorts.”“Yes.”“Come to the estate after work.”“All right.” ***** Helios had been waiting for the Emperor in front of the audience for 30 minutes.It was an absurd case.It was a ridiculous case.It was customary to refuse to see the Emperor if he was unavailable, or to excuse him and show him to the parlor if the wait was too long.The fact that no one showed up even though there were people standing outside the door could only be seen as intentional neglect.My stomach swelled up, but I couldn’t back down. ‘Marquis of Melks seems to have hired Harriet Tuffman to get things done.’‘Where is Harriet Tuffman now?’‘Some say they saw him leave the capital a few days ago.’‘Call the Imperial knight and have him arrested.’‘That is… The imperial knight has refused to investigate this case.’‘Are they turning down the investigation?’‘Yes. They said they can’t get involved in every case where a horse, not a person, is injured…’‘I’ll go.’ The security forces had no reason to fight with the Duke of Anthemion, so it was certain that they were under pressure from superiors.And there’s only one person who’s going to take orders from them, even if it means disrespecting the Duke of Anthemion.“His Majesty asks you to come in, Your Excellency.”Helios went into the audience room, suppressing the emotions that were about to overflow.The Emperor was standing by the window, looking out.Helios stopped walking from a distance and knelt down on one knee.The Emperor did not look up, even though he must have heard the appeal.After such a long silent battle of nerves, the Emperor turned his head.“I should have told you not to enter the palace for a while.”“I have an urgent request, so I came to see you.”“The Duke always seeks me when you needs me.”The Emperor spoke coldly and sat down on the chair.“Come on, let’s hear what it is.”“A few days ago my wife and son’s carriage was attacked.”“……”“I tried to conduct an investigation based on the traces left by the criminal, but the security forces refused to accept the case, so I am mobilizing my knights to catch the criminal. Please give me permission….”“Impossible.”Helios raised his head in response without hesitation.The Emperor opened his mouth coldly.“This is an absurd request. The Duke knows that a private soldier of a noble family has no right to investigate. Who do you think you’re going to frame for this?”The words that the guys who solved the Duke of Eaton’s case would be worse than the security force caught in my throat.Helios, who bit his dry lips and let go, answered politely.“We have secured the items the culprit used in the raid. It is not often used, so if you ask the person who made it, you will be able to find out which family it was commissioned from.”“It sounds like you are going to invade the Empire under the pretext of interrogating the blacksmith.”“We just need to check two places, so we won’t make a fuss.”“Two places?”“Give me permission to check the surroundings of Anthony Eaton and the Marquis Melks.”The Emperor grabbed the armrests. ‘I will ease your worries.’ From the moment he received a report that the Duke of Anthemion’s carriage had been attacked, he thought of the Marquis of Melks.If it turns out that this was the work of the Marquis Melks, he will have to punish him.But in doing so, he loses another useful tool.And if he were to reveal his orders to save the Marquis’s life, he might jeopardize his own throne.‘The Marquis Melks has my letter.’The Emperor shook his head with a hard expression.“No.”“Your Majesty.”“The duke intends to make a fuss over the death of a horse?”“It was a horse that died, but it was my people that they targeting.”That is only the Duke’s speculation.”The Emperor rose to his feet, his tone cold.“You’d better get out of here.”