Acantha was now in their living room; they had just arrived from the Triduexfort County. She looked at the still unconscious Mildred, who was on the floor.
Acantha gasped when she saw the bruises on her face; it seems like Evander did hurt Mildred too much based on the wounds that she had.
How could Evander do such cruel things to Mildred?
Even if Mildred was not his family, he knew Mildred when he was young, and based on what she had learned, Mildred basically also raised him whenever the count was away and couldn’t bring his son with him.
She lifted her hand to caress Mildred’s cheeks, and as she did it, the wound was slowly fading from her face.
"What is happening here?" Acantha heard from the duke who just ca in.
"We got Mildred, Father," she said as she looked at him, who looked shocked at what he was seeing.
"Where did you find her?" the duke asked her, and Acantha was a little bit hesitant as she knew that it would hurt him to know that his own best friend was one of the traitors and even the mastermind and base from her necklace reactions; it seems like the count was Abanoon’s disciple.
"We found her at the Triduexfort County; she was in so old small house their that seems to be abandoned," Flaar answered her father, who was still looking at the unconscious Mildred, who was still lying on the floor.
The duke went and carried Mildred and put her on one of the sofas.
"There’s sothing I need to tell you, Father," Acantha said as soon as her father settled Mildred on the sofa.
"What was it?" the duke asked while he was frowning at her.
"I knew it was going to be painful and impossible, but Count Triduexfort is the mastermind of everything, and he is Abanoon’s disciple." Acantha said, and she saw that the duke was shocked at what she said.
"That can’t be possible! I grew up with Iivan; I knew him since we were kids; we grew up together," the duke said as he looked like he didn’t believe what she said.
"Human, do you think we were lying to you?" Flaar said to the duke, which made the latter stop and stiffen. "You said you really knew the count, but what about your daughter? Do you think she was lying to you? her father? And besides, this is serious, and besides, what would we gain from it?" Flaar asked the duke, who seems to have knocked so sense into him.
"I trust my daughter; it’s just that-"
"It’s just that you knew the count since you grew up with him? Tell , human, do you really know him? Or maybe you’re just afraid to admit that there was sothing with him that you didn’t know?" Flaar continued as he growled at her father.
The duke didn’t say anything but seems like he was lost in his own thoughts at what Flaar asked him.
"I, Iivan, was a sickly kid back then; even when we grew up, he always relayeded to soone, even when he walked, as his body was really frail at that ti, but one day he bid his goodbye’s to us and said that his father had found a cure for him," the duke said while Acantha was just listening to him.
"Iivan left for almost three years, and when he ca back, he seed to be so different, and he even had Evander, who seed to be a month old at that ti. I tried asking him about the baby, and he told us that it was his baby. We asked about the mother, but Iivan didn’t say anything about her; he just said that she was dead and that he was not ready to talk about her, as he was still grieving." The duke said as he was looking on the floor.
"There are so changes with him when he ca back, but we thought that it was just normal as maybe he got so accustod to the place where he found the cure for his illness. The old sickly Iivan was replaced by soone who was so healthy, but his mother and father died, he said when he was there. Acantha looked at her father while he was talking about his friend; she could feel the pain in his voice because of the betrayal of his friend.
"Also, Paul was with him, but he was nowhere to be found, and Iivan said that he ran away with so noble lady whom he has an affair with." The duke said as he smiled bitterly.
Acantha frowned as she just heard about this na, the duke; her father hadn’t ntioned soone nad Paul before.
"Who’s Paul?" Acantha asked as she was frowning at her father. She didn’t know, but sothing was telling her that sothing wasn’t right in here.
Her father looked at her when she asked him about who Paul was.
"Paul was a gardener, but he was also good at painting. He likes painting so things we’ve never seen. He was also the one who was helping and guiding Iivan when he wanted to walk. Paul was a quiet young man back then, but he talked to us, and I did even offer him so help if he needed it, as it was my gratitude towards him for taking care of Iivan, but the help he wanted was beyond my reach." The duke paused and swallowed his saliva.
"When I got married to your mother he beca obsessed about the place she ca from, one ti he went to talk to and asked my wife to make him her butler atthe north which, your mother declined politely as it not allowed that an outsider would take the the role of being the butler in the north as you knew that your mother’s family were protecting the magical forest, but of course Paul got angry and said that the reason why your mother declined him is because he wasn’t noble at birth, I tried to ease his anger by saying I will ask the emperor to give him a low noble status as it was not allowed for soone who didn’t even had anything to own a big tittle, but again he refused it he said I have no words, which is not true, " the duke said as he sighed.
There’s an odd loop there if the duke and his family died while they were in a place where he didn’t tell anyone...
Could it be?
If Evander could copy Mildred’s appearance, then his father could also do it, right?
"You seem to be lost from the things I told you." Acantha lifts her head and sees her father, who is eyeing her.
"It’s just that it doesn’t seem right there." Acantha said, and she saw her father straighten from sitting.
"What do you an?" her father asked her as he put his hands together as if he was nervous about the thing she was about to say.
"I an, you said that when he ca back, he seed to be different from the usual? Isn’t it odd?" Acantha said as she looked at her father. "If you look at it, why didn’t he tell anyone about where he went? And besides, Evander’s mother must be around here, as I heard when they were talking." Acantha said as she put her finger under her chin.
"If I rember, the count said, "it seems like she was more important to you than your mother." This is what he said to Evander, which I concluded that Evander’s mother might be here in the capital, and the reason why he was hiding the identity is because the woman is maybe married." Acantha said as she looked at Flaar, who was also looking at her like he was agreeing with her theory.
"If I understand it, you’re telling that the Iivan that I knew for a long ti was Paul; then where is the real Iivan?" Acantha looked at her father, who looked confused at what was happening with their conversation.
"I don’t want to say it, but I think this Count with us murdered the whole family, including the real Count," Acantha said, and she saw her father gasp at what she said.
"I an, there’s a big possibility, or maybe he died naturally because of his illness." She continued, and she saw his hand form into a fist.
"If what you said were true, I can’t imagine how Paul has the nerve to kill the family who was so kind to him?" The duke said as he looked devastated at what she said.
"Paul must have known that there was no way for him to get a chance to go to the North, if not pretending to be your best friend, and besides, I think one of the reasons was also because of Evander’s mother, who you said was a noble; he did it in order for him to marry her when he got her pregnant, but I think the woman’s family already planned sothing for her and just handed Paul the baby." Acantha, she said as she sighed.
Now, she was wondering who Evander’s mother was, which seed like a mystery for now.
"I just really can’t imagine that I, I an, we’ve been fooled by Paul all this ti." She heard her father sigh as he looked again at the ceiling like he was looking for an answer from it.
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