“– The maids. I tested the medicine on the maids.”

The Duke of Mayhard silently continued to listen to the conversation.

Throughout the conversation, his expression remained unchanged.

“– Let go of me, Incan Marezon.”

Then, at this part, Duke Mayhard’s eyebrows were narrowed for the first time.

His eyes glanced toward the bedroom where Yelena was sleeping.

The blue eyes sank somewhat darkly.

The video clip continued to play the recorded content.

“– Did you want the position of the duchess? To become the mother of the future duke? Yes, well, I don’t care what reasons made you want to become the monster’s wife.”

Contrary to Yelena’s worries, Duke Mayhard did not respond to the part which was reluctant to let him hear.

The reaction appeared a little later.

“– Bam!”

“– I’ve been listening to you since the beginning, and do you know who the monster is? You’re the monster!”

“– Wife… now…”

“– Don’t call me wife, you scumbag!”

The video clip reproduced the anger in Yelena’s voice.

“– not a monster. He’s my husband! Do you understand?”

After that, there was a disturbance, and the video was cut off a while after.

The Duke of Mayhard stared silently at the silent video sphere.

The light from the video clip went out, and the study was covered with darkness.

The darkness obscured his expression.

In the dark, he stared at the video clip that had turned off for quite some time, without moving.

***

A carriage led by a horse ran on the road despite the dark night.

It wasn’t a smooth road.

The already small carriage did not absorb the shock very well.

Rattle!

“Ugh.”

Whenever the carriage shook, a groan of pain flowed out of the carriage.

There was no pause this time. A train of abusive language followed suit as if it were natural.

“You damn coachman! Can you only drive a carriage like this?”

A furious voice was heard through the window that connected to the coachman.

The coachman answered immediately.

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be more careful.”

“Careful, careful. You said you’d be careful a moment ago.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“The coachman can’t even drive a carriage. How useless… Ugh.”

The coachman clenched his hands that were holding the reins.

‘Damn it. Who would like to drive a carriage with someone like you?’

The carriage departing from the duchy was carrying Incan Marezon.

The coachman caught a glimpse of the fact that Incan was a sinner.

The coachman didn’t know exactly what he committed, but he knew that Incan was not in a good condition due to harsh interrogation.

How could he not know?

Immediately after leaving the castle, whenever the carriage shook slightly, the other party would make a fuss and cause a scene.

‘I didn’t even want to drive a carriage at this hour.’

It was dangerous to drive a carriage in the middle of the night.

It was a matter of course. First of all, it was more difficult to secure visibility at night than during the day.

No matter how much you drove a horse and carriage, you couldn’t see that far away.

When something dangerous appeared, it couldn’t be discovered in advance and avoided.

‘I’ve never heard of anything appearing around here, so it’s all right…’

The coachman grumbled inwardly.

The coachman said it was dangerous to drive a carriage at night, so he suggested to rest overnight at the inn and leave tomorrow morning, but Incan insisted.

Incan insisted that he wanted the carriage to travel all night so that he could get out of this territory and return to the capital as soon as possible.

No matter how sinful he was, the coachman could not disobey the words of the noble Incan.

‘This is why they are nobles. Even if you sin, you are still better than me. Huh… what?’

The carriage stopped suddenly.

Incan’s body, which could not prepare for the sudden change, leaned forward.

“Ah! You son of a…!”

“My, my lord…”

Immediately, Incan shut his mouth that was about to pour out double the curses.

The coachman’s voice was unusual.

Not only that, but other sounds were coming from outside.

Kreuk…kreuk.

Grrrrr.

It was not an illusion or a mistake.

‘What’s that?’

As the thought entered Incan’s head, the coachman stammered, “Mo-mo… It’s a monster.”

“…What?”

“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of monsters on this road… Hi-ik!”

Hee-hing!

The horse went wild. The wheel broke and the wagon sank.

After a while, a desperate scream rang out through the night.

***