Turning-Chapter 816

Yuder ignored the frantic Kiole and returned to his original position after slipping out of the confessional. Thanks to his agile movements, dodging others in the area, no one noticed he had been gone.

“Did you have a good conversation?”

Of course, Kishiar was the exception.

“Yes.”

“You’re a bit later than expected... must have been an interesting topic, I assume?”

“I heard that someone who should be in the Radiance Palace is currently outside here.”

Yuder conveyed the core of the news in a voice low enough for only Kishiar to hear. Despite the shocking news, Kishiar showed no sign of surprise and smiled with a practiced, steady expression.

“Really? Did he suddenly decide to visit the south and throw a tantrum?”

“Something like that. He ran away, saying he had to find the Sage, and hid in a carriage.”

“Ah. So, he finally fell victim to the brainwashing, huh.”

With just one surprising action from Kachien, Kishiar immediately deduced the truth.

“Yes. Duke Diarca doesn’t know yet, but Kiole has asked for help.”

“Not easy for someone with that pride to ask for help. Seems he really trusts my aide.”

Instead of laughing at the absurdity of Kishiar’s comment, Yuder provided the exact reason.

“He’s being blackmailed by Crown Prince Kachien, who has some strange misunderstanding about him. He seemed quite desperate because of it.”

“A strange misunderstanding, huh. I’m curious to know what it is.”

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“You might be better off not knowing.”

“I’m the kind of person who gets even more curious when I hear something like that.”

Right. Yuder expected Kishiar to respond like that. After a small exhale, Yuder opened his mouth.

“Well, in that case, I’ll tell you. The Crown Prince currently... believes Kiole is a homosexual. Apparently, the blackmail was what brought him all the way here, threatening to tell his family.”

Yuder had expected Kishiar to laugh at this. And that expectation was half right. The beautiful man in his black attire still had a picturesque smile on his face, but his eyes were different.

“Hm. That’s quite... an ironic misunderstanding.”

“......”

“Do you think this misunderstanding was influenced by the rumors about Kiole Diarca being found tangled with a mysterious man after the harvest festival?”

Kishiar had mentioned that rumor before, but Yuder hadn’t expected him to remember such nonsense to this extent. Yuder was slightly surprised but didn’t show it, instead giving a small nod.

“Hmm... yes. Well, maybe. To be honest, I think the misunderstanding started when he left the party after the Western mission to meet me. It might have been the direct cause.”

Yuder realized that he had unintentionally contributed to the misunderstanding that Kiole was a homosexual.

“But the fact that Kiole still hasn’t cleared up such an easily resolved misunderstanding, which led to this mess, is probably because he’s just an idiot.”

“Yeah, probably. So, does the Crown Prince have any guesses about who Kiole’s partner is?”

“No. I don’t think he does.”

If Crown Prince Kachien had been a little more persistent in trying to find out who Kiole’s homosexual partner was, he might have figured out the misunderstanding sooner. Kiole’s suffering was another result of Kachien’s lack of determination.

“Right. It’s better to clear up that misunderstanding as soon as possible.”

“I think so too.”

Yuder relayed the fact that Kiole had decided to leave House Hern within the week before falling silent. He did so not for any other reason, but because the atmosphere had become lively, and Kiole had just returned to his original position.

Kiole, who had been the center of their conversation until just moments ago, hurriedly sat down, gasping for air as if he had been running. Yuder could easily guess the reason for this.

‘It seems like he put in a lot of effort to avoid others’ attention and not be late compared to Duke Hern.’

For Yuder, avoiding others’ gaze was as easy as breathing, but for Kiole, it was nearly impossible. Escaping the confessional unnoticed and coming all the way here while avoiding other people’s attention must have been a huge challenge.

Seeing the southern nobles whispering seriously about Kiole’s distressed appearance, Yuder subtly triggered his wind ability to amplify the sound to his ears. He then overheard the following conversation.

“He came in later than anyone else, but not later than Duke Hern. It must have been hard to intentionally choose this precise timing...”

“Seems like we shouldn’t underestimate him.”

“Diarca is antagonizing the Duke of Peleta and the Cavalry, but on the other hand, he has no intention of handing over control to House Hern.”

“I heard from the servants just now that no one saw where Duke Diarca disappeared to and came back from. They said his swordsmanship wasn’t anything special, but maybe that too was a lie...”

Yuder stopped listening there and withdrew his wind ability.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

‘It’s a relief that no one suspects me even after being gone so long... but at this point, it’s just absurd.’

Was no one noticing Kiole wiping the sweat off his forehead while trying to look serious? Or was it just me who could see it?

Yuder’s assessment of the southern nobles dropped to below Kiole’s level.

At the same time, the announcement that Duke Hern had arrived echoed through the chapel. Everyone immediately fell silent as the sound of regular footsteps approached from the small entrance nearest the coffin.

‘Finally, I’ll get to see Duke Hern in person.’

Yuder fixed his sharp gaze, determined not to miss anything.

A moment later, Duke Hern finally appeared.

He looked surprisingly young. Compared to Duke Diarca, whose beard had gone white, Dukes Apeto and Tain appeared relatively young as well, but they still looked like middle-aged men with grown children.

But Duke Hern didn’t look like someone who would # Nоvеlight # have a daughter as old as Mayra. His platinum-colored long hair was gathered and tied to elegantly fall over one shoulder, and he held a black cane adorned with diamonds. No matter how much you tried to imagine, he looked like he had just entered his 40s.

Anyone who saw him would immediately recognize him as a handsome, elegant man, making it hard to imagine that he was the same debauched man Mayra had shuddered at. Even Yuder, who was all too familiar with how appearances could deceive, couldn’t help but feel that way. How much more so would others feel?

He had supposedly been staying in the south due to poor health, but he didn’t look particularly sick.

‘He seems quite thin and leaning on a cane, so maybe it's just natural fatigue like Mayra...’

Duke Hern didn’t enter alone. His other arm was gently held by Mayra, who resembled him in both platinum hair and transparent gray eyes. The two of them, with their striking resemblance, appeared as an elegant and sorrowful family.

But that pleasant sight was short-lived. As soon as Duke Hern and Mayra exited the entrance, about ten women followed behind them.

They must have been either family members or people close enough to the family to be here. However, most of them didn’t seem much older than Mayra. Among them, there was only one person who bore the mark of being a direct family member. Among the otherwise emotionless faces, she alone was wearing a long veil, covering her face, and was crying endlessly while soaking a handkerchief.

“Oh, my son... poor Ashlav!”

It was now certain that the woman shedding tears was the mother of the deceased Second Prince, Ashlav.

‘Indeed.’

Despite looking nothing like it, Duke Hern was indeed the lecherous man Mayra had described. It was a bizarre sight.

After the women, dressed in mourning clothes but looking completely emotionless, exited one by one, the audience waited for quite some time. Only then did the priest appear with a solemn expression and began the funeral rites.

The candles, placed among the flowers surrounding the coffin, were lit. The solemn music filled the quiet space before fading. The sound of freezing rain outside the window echoed mournfully.

“Today, we stand here before this very sad farewell. Prince Ashlav El Hern, the Second Prince, was a talented young man expected to be a blessing for all with his sharp mind and exceptional abilities. But the gods took him from us far too soon...”

And then it happened. Yuder noticed the shadow hanging over the coffin suddenly shake strangely.

‘...Gakein?’