To My First Love, With Regret - 32

Choosing between an unfavorable truth and an unsettling lie, Eve chose evasion.

 

—I say things like that too.

—Ah, so the Lady commissioned her lover to kill her brother?

—You intend to hound him like a hunting dog until he confesses to a murder he didn’t commit?

 

There was only one reason for this relentless pursuit.

 

—Because you have no evidence.

 

They had nothing to rely on but a confession.

 

—If Ethan is forced by your coercion to give a false confession, I will do the same. We’ll wait and see how my father changes his story then.

 

This wasn’t the Middle Ages. If his heirs were involved in mutual slaughter and imprisoned, the Kentrell authority would plummet into the gutter, and her father would be the laughingstock of the world. Therefore, he wouldn’t want Eve to be dragged into it. At that point, he would be forced to clear the very false accusation he created.

The investigator propped his chin on his interlocked hands, staring intently at Eve, then suddenly asked:

 

—Don’t you want to clear yourself of the accusation of being an accomplice?

 

Eve did not answer.

 

—Then don’t cover for the criminal.

 

It wasn’t worth answering.

 

—Surely the Lady must feel it too. That your lover killed your brother.

 

Eve crossed her legs and scoffed.

 

—A criminal leaves evidence. Especially a first-timer. He was probably greatly flustered after the impulsive crime. That’s why he didn’t clean up the bloodstains properly and ran away.

 

Regardless of the detective’s fictional narrative, Eve pulled a cigarette case from her handbag and put a cigarette to her lips.

 

—Ethan Fairchild must have surely shown signs of having committed a crime to the Lady as well.

 

This time, she took out Ethan’s lighter and pressed the lever. Sparks flew, but it didn’t ignite, yet Eve didn’t press it again.

 

—Or being excessively anxious.

 

She was suddenly reminded of his nervousness at the departure gate.

What am I doubting? He couldn’t help but be anxious then.

Eve had been tense too. They were running away behind her father’s back.

 

—Or saying strange things.

 

The next thing that came to mind was what Ethan had muttered while lighting a cigarette on the pier after they passed immigration. This time, she couldn’t simply scoff it off.

 

—So this is what it feels like to commit a crime and flee abroad.

 

…Ethan, was that not a joke?

Was that why, even after leaving Mercian soil, he couldn’t shake off his anxiety, as if someone was chasing them?

That’s why there were bloodstains in his room.

If he were truly unrelated to the murder, there would be no reason for bloodstains to be in his room. The truth, which was clearly visible to the objective eyes of others, was invisible to Eve, who wore the colored glasses of love. Now, she had reached a point where she couldn’t deny reality even with the colored glasses on.

She wanted to grab Ethan and ask him.

Why did you do such a stupid thing?

She had empathized with his desire to kill Harry. But ‘wanting to kill’ ends with a thought, while ‘killing’ is a reality that demands she stake her entire remaining life on it. Having gotten into the same boat, Ethan had driven ‘their’ future to the ends of the earth.

We’re finished now.

A fire surged up inside Eve while her whole body froze. Being burned at the stake and freezing to death simultaneously would feel this painful and confusing.

She couldn’t fully express her rage and frustration in front of the investigator, who was scrutinizing her every subtle expression.

 

—Ha…

 

She exhaled, disguising a sigh as a sneer.

 

—Investigator, unfortunately, there was absolutely no strange behavior or talk.

 

Eve still loved the foolish man. Even if he was a murderer.

There must have been an unavoidable reason for him to commit a foolish act that he must have known would ruin their entire future.

Circumstantially, Harry must have gone to Ethan’s house first. In the dead of night. And had Harry ever gone there with an innocent intent?

It must have been an accidental killing or self-defense.

Therefore, Ethan must not have killed Harry to get the Duke of Kentrell’s title. Perhaps it was an unplanned murder, and he was so flustered he couldn’t tell Eve.

Or maybe he thought Harry hadn’t died. Yes, that makes more sense.

Ugh… then why didn’t you clean up the evidence properly?

The milk was already spilled. She needed to save him now, postponing any resentment for later.

I need a lawyer.

 

—We didn’t kill Harry, and that’s all I have to say. If you continue to frame us like this, I will call a lawyer.

—Please do.

 

The investigator hinted that he wouldn’t let her leave, then rotated the phone toward her. The situation was unbelievable.

She needed a lawyer, regardless—for both Eve and Ethan.

But Eve couldn’t call the number on the business card she had. Robert Kallas. He was her father’s lawyer. That meant he was on the side of the deceased Harry.

 

—I need a list of lawyers.

 

Asking the investigator who was trying to get her executed to recommend a lawyer was ridiculous, even to her. But perhaps it was a common request, as he didn’t laugh.

It was just as the investigator pulled the list from a drawer and handed it to her.

Knock, knock.

 

—Chief Shepherd. It’s Kallas.

 

The unsummoned lawyer had arrived.

 

—Well, well. It seems the guardians who protect the Duke instead of the citizens have already tattled. This is probably where our conversation ends.

 

The investigator sighed in defeat and sneered, ‘Aren’t you pleased?’ Of course not. Eve was also dismayed.

 

—Don’t open the door.

 

The chief inspector chuckled as if amused.

 

—My apologies, Lady, but this is not your private room.

 

He opened the door, knowing they had come to drag Eve away. The middle-aged, mustachioed lawyer faced Shepherd with a hardened expression. Kallas, putting on an atmosphere of protest, challenged him.

 

—The Duchess of Kentrell is a victim.

—Her story differs, however.

—What are you implying?

 

As the lawyer tried to press him, the investigator gave a slick smile and slipped away.

 

—Since we couldn’t leave a person of your rank standing outside until the Ducal family came for her, we simply had a brief conversation. You may take her.

 

The chief inspector spoke as if handing over a criminal or a child. Kallas was no different.

 

—Come in.

 

He commanded into the hallway, and two women entered. Eve’s fists trembled with rage as she recognized her father’s nurses.

Her father had sent nurses in white uniforms to escort his daughter out of the police station. To make others perceive Eve as mentally unstable.

She glared at Kallas, gritting her teeth as she spat out:

 

—I’ll walk out on my own feet.

 

As Eve stood up herself, Shepherd made a show of respect.

 

—Lady, it was an honor meeting you like this. I look forward to seeing you again.

—Don’t forget my warning. The moment you lay a hand on Ethan, your neck will be severed.

 

Her bizarre, hazel eyes, which were inhumanly strange, turned a terrifying color, tinged with madness. The lady, who was clearly not in her right mind judging by her threat to the investigator, walked out proudly, her back straight.

When the door closed, Shepherd leaned back in his chair and scoffed.

 

—I wonder. The young Lady’s father had a different order for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The father Eve faced after a month was no different from a corpse.

His once corpulent body had shriveled by half, and his skin, hanging loosely like rotting flesh, made him unrecognizable as her father at first. His previously robust complexion was the gray color of a shriveled corpse.

It was as if he had died the moment his son did.

The pity born of human instinct lasted only a moment.

The moment his vacant eyes landed on Eve, they filled with hatred. He lunged fiercely at Eve, rising without the aid of his servant. A hand the size of her face was raised high. Knowing he was about to hit her, Eve couldn’t dodge. She was frozen, having never experienced anything like this in her life.

 

 

Smack!

 

 

A shock, like being hit with a hammer, struck the left side of her face. The taste of metallic blood spread in her mouth the instant she heard the sound of tearing flesh.

 

—Hup…

 

The nurses covered her mouth to stifle her scream. The person who was actually struck didn’t have the presence of mind to express the pain or shock.

As Chantal tried to help Eve, who had been pushed down and thrown to the floor by the force of the blow, her father screamed like a pig whose vitals had been kicked.

 

—Everyone, get out!

 

As the nurses left, Eve pushed herself up from the floor. She did not fully stand, but instead glared at her father, who was receiving a piece of paper from Kallas. The hand that unfolded the paper shook violently.

 

—How dare, how, how dare…

 

His voice trembled as he thrust the paper into Eve’s face. It was her marriage certificate with Ethan.

Why is that in Father’s hands…?

The marriage certificate had been in Ethan’s bag, and the bag was taken when he was arrested. The police must have handed it over.

 

 

Rip!

 

 

The proof that Ethan and Eve were husband and wife was torn into shreds and destroyed by her furious father’s hands. She must protect the other evidence. Eve held her breath, thinking of the ring she had taken off and hidden on the way home.