Chapter 44: 44

Chapter 44 – Bait

Two days later, Caitlyn arrived at the Etna Palace, which is said to be ‘as beautiful as heaven’. Queen Yvonne greeted Caitlyn under the shade of a large cypress tree.

“Oh my God, Your Majesty. How did you become even more beautiful? Five years got nothing on you.”
“You are blooming like a camellia flower. Late-blooming flowers are the most beautiful.”
“You flatter me.”

The two women hid their sharp claws and embraced each other softly.

“How is Sir Meyer?”

Caitlyn’s complexion darkened. It was such a reaction that she couldn’t even tell whether it was sincere or not.

“What can I do? It’s fate. There is no other choice but to be willing to accept the Providence of God.”

The Queen patted the back of her hand and led Caitlyn straight to the reception room.

Starting with stories about the weather, rumors floating around in social circles, healthy food, and how to find a servant with good dexterity, the conversations that any noble lady would like to exchange at teatime continued.

Yvonne, who was taking her time, grinned to herself as she found Caitlyn constantly glancing at her watch since a while ago. She moistened her lips with her tongue and opened her mouth slowly.

“There is no other reason for why I suddenly invited you. You must know that your son, Prince Meyer, is negotiating with His Majesty over that matter, right? Yesterday, His Majesty finally made a decision.”

At that moment, Caitlyn felt her heart pound.

No way…

“We will allow the breakup. We’ll summon the administrator and go through the process of notarizing the letter. Under your watch, of course.”

Caitlyn looked at the Queen with her eyes wide open. Yvonne smiled softly and grabbed Caitlyn’s hand.

“As the rumors say, your son is a genius in negotiation. To be honest, I wanted His Majesty to get even one mine in its entirety, but I had no choice but to concede in terms of profit distribution.”
“Oh my… Your Majesty…!”

Caitlyn couldn’t close her mouth. It must have been because she had doubted the sincerity of the successor until just a moment ago.

Her son kept his promise.
He really broke up the engagement.
At least in that matter, he didn’t betray her.

Caitlyn fell into a sense of relief that was close to shock.

“There must have been a lot of disappointing things about the Royal Family, but I hope this will relieve some of your resentment. Isn’t there a saying that yesterday’s enemy is tomorrow’s comrade?”

“It’s such… Such a happy occasion… I can’t… Believe it at all…”

Yvonne and Caitlyn smiled at each other and held hands.

“Now, shall we move to the meeting room? His Majesty is waiting.”

While walking side by side with the Queen, Caitlyn slowly regained her composure.

A sense of shame as great as the joy that the marriage was finally broken came to her. It was a self-reproach for having ridiculous suspicions.
Excessive distrust is worse than being deceived. If you don’t trust anyone and isolate yourself, it will eventually lead to ruin.

At least for now, she shouldn’t be jealous and suspicious of her successor. It’s time to be wary of Hannes Reinen and William Richards, whom she has been trusting and relying on too much.

 

***

 

The next day, King Josef summoned the Meyer’s heir to the small cabin next to the waterfall in Tiso.

“Mrs. Meyer was so excited that she couldn’t control herself. You should have seen it.”

Josef laughed and filled the empty glasses with alcohol. The glasses clinked and laughter erupted.

“Anyway, the not-so-funny ‘cheating fiancée’ operation will naturally not happen.”

Josef, who had been sarcastic, suddenly turned serious.

“No, if it’s your mother, she will push ahead as planned. Just because I approve of the breakup doesn’t mean that the public opinion will subside in an instant. So, she will want to spread the scandal and completely cut out the buds that could pose a threat. Don’t you think so?”
“Yes, that will definitely happen.”
“Then what are you going to do? Are you going to cancel going to the ball?”
“No. I will go ahead and attend as planned.”

Eyes as thin as a thread looked at Hadius as if searching for something.
Of course, the King could not read anything. It was almost impossible to break through his expressionless shell.

“Actually, the way I see it, it’s not bad for a scandal to break out. There’s no better pretext for convincing the parliament to allow the breakup. So wouldn’t it be better to just leave it alone?”
“No. We can’t let the Meyer family get caught up in a scandal.”

Josef smoothed his beard and glanced at him.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“It is Your Majesty’s turn to take action.”
“… Hm?”
“Didn’t Your Majesty declare it at the breakfast meeting last time? You promised to protect her completely from now on.”

 

***

 

Two days later, Caitlyn Meyer reunited with Queen Yvonne.

Even if she is the Queen, it was rude to ask the Lady of the Duke’s family to come and go as she pleases.
But Caitlyn gladly agreed. The fact that the marriage had been broken made her infinitely generous.

“Even though I knew it was rude, I asked you to come to me again all of a sudden. It is such an urgent and important matter.”

In front of the Queen’s hardened face, different from two days ago, Caitlyn’s smile faded in an instant.

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“… Please tell me, Your Majesty.”
“Have you heard? The rumors about your family’s fiancée.”

Caitlyn was stunned for a moment when the unexpected name suddenly came out.

“Rumors about that child… Aren’t they as abundant as a summer forest?”
“Well, this one worries me a little. To the extent that I was worried that I might have to take action as the Royal Family.”

In front of the Queen’s extremely serious eyes, Caitlyn was seized with an ominous foreboding.

“His Majesty heard something very strange in the parliament not long ago.”
“Something strange?”
“What do you mean you’re scheming a hideous plot against that poor child? He heard that you were planning to start a scandal about her fooling around with another man.”

Her heart dropped. Caitlyn looked at the Queen, pretending to be calm.

“Your Majesty… Please tell me exactly. What do you mean I’m scheming against her? Such a thing, how…”
“Calm down. I don’t believe those words. Prince Hadius got permission from His Majesty to break the marriage, so why would you do such a thing? I think someone is trying to frame you.”
“Oh my!”

She covered her mouth with her hand and pretended to be surprised.

“That’s why I called you so momentously like this. I want to ask you a special favor. After all, public opinion has finally calmed down, so there’s nothing good about such rumors circulating in the parliament, right?”

Yvonne continued with a more serious face.

“I’m afraid they will take issue with His Majesty again.”
“Your Majesty, I think there is something wrong with my foolish ears. Why are you saying that they will take issue with His Majesty?”
“His Majesty made it clear at the breakfast meeting the other day. That he will take in that poor, helpless child himself.”
“Ah…”
“Having said that, how can he leave the rumors alone? The parliament is going to take that as a pretext to nitpick him again.”
“That’s right… It’s… Just as you said…”

Yvonne sighed as if her head hurt.

“His Majesty has commanded me to take care of this in advance to avoid any unpleasant incidents. He can’t take care of even the dirty gossip of the social world, right?”
“I apologize for causing concern. Your Majesty.”
“It’s not your fault. However, it is also true that it is regrettable. Hasn’t your family been too stingy with the poor child?”

Caitlyn couldn’t say anything, as if her lips were stuck together. She nodded her head vigorously and tried her best to control her fluctuating mind.

How did this happen? Only three people knew the plan. William, Hannes, and Hadius… Who on earth revealed it, and why?

“What are you going to do?”
“Sorry? Ah…”

Caitlyn strained her blank eyes and looked back at the Queen.

It doesn’t matter who the snitch is. Dealing with this situation comes first.

“Your Majesty, I also don’t want to hear anymore that I shamefully harassed my family’s fiancée. I will take responsibility and find the truth about this.”

The Queen suddenly shrugged.

“I am not interested in the truth. I just hope that it’s not too messy.”
“Do not worry, Your Majesty. I also don’t want to hear any gossip about the breakup.”

The two walked towards the palace again.

“But, Your Highness, I am curious about something. Who was it that informed His Majesty the King?”

Yvonne cleared her throat. It means that it is difficult to answer.

“Isn’t it necessary to know the truth to silence the rumors, and to find out the source of the rumors to know the truth?”

After a long sigh, the tightly closed mouth opened.

“Your words are not wrong, but I cannot tell you everything in detail. If I did that, the royal informant would be discovered. All I can tell you is that it was heard from some washwoman.”

A washwoman?

Caitlyn’s eyes narrowed like a hawk.

 

***

 

“What do you think, Grozhang? Can I divert my Mother’s attention that much?”
“Yes, you have succeeded in getting Mrs. Meyer to dig into the washwoman. And then she will find out. The fact that the washwoman connected to the royal informant is connected to William Richards. Of course, Mrs. Meyer won’t even dream of the fact that she is the bait the master placed.”
“Did you erase the traces well so that her whereabouts will not be discovered?”
“Do not worry. The washwoman was taken to a safe place. She will never be able to track her.”

Hadius nodded.

His master, who was riding the horse diligently, had become a little emaciated over a few days. He pretended it was nothing, but he must have been very emotionally shaken.

Surely, it must be because of the breakup. That one old letter was like the last bastion connecting the two of them.
However, his master threw it away with his own hands.

“Now… What are you going to do?”

It was a question about his fiancée, but Hadius took it in a different way.

“I need to start chasing rats. I have to completely mess up that woman’s head. So that she will be confused about who is the enemy and who is the ally.”

Hadius answered and pulled the horse’s reins as hard as he could. Grozhang also hurriedly stopped the horse.

Before long, they had arrived in Kund, the northernmost point of the border. It was the most extensive forested land owned by Meyer Steel.

Looking down at the world unfolding beneath his feet, Hadius planned many things.
A large-scale smelter and steel mill were built along the wasteland of the river course, and a research institute was established at the boundary between the forest and the seashore. In the fishing village, where small fishing boats were anchored, a large-scale port with a concentration of trade ships was built, and the unpaved dirt road was covered with railroad tracks.

Hadius put down his binoculars and calmed down his excited heart with a deep breath.

That’s right, he will have it all.
He will crawl like a dog or be nastily deceitful if necessary; and if it doesn’t work, he will trample on them mercilessly.

It’s been a long time since he stopped being picky about means or methods. Starting with Meyer Steel, we will have everything that Meyer symbolizes, including the past, present, and future.

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