I Will
Jonathan took the carriage to meet the count, if he could convince his wife and give a statement in his support by himself the case would be nulled.
If the parents of the deceased confirm that he was not the culprit, who would be able to accuse him for murder. He had done so many crimes yet he was never caught, so he could not believe that he would get the punishment for something he had not done.
Amelia was still useful to him so why would he kill her?
But he still could not understand who had killed her. He would have doubted Hazel but he had seen her going out with her husband and she was not someone who could kill this gruesomely.
Lost in his thoughts and speculations, he was still not able to decide who had killed amelia. There are so many people who had a grudge against her but killing in her room without anyone knowldge and cutting her body into so many pieces was not a normal murder.
"Damn! Why am i the only one who is blamed when everyone had a grudge against her." he ran a hand in his hair out of frustration as he asked the coachman to stop there.
The palace of the count had always been a peaceful place as very few people reside in it but today the silence was creeping him out.
It felt like he had come to a graveyard. For a second the thought of Amelia's spirit being there and looking at him from dark crossed his mind too when he felt he was being watched but there was no one around him.
"I am here to meet count!" in a voice full of urgency, he ordered the knights to go and bring permission to meet the count.
The guards exchanged glances and then one of them came forward,
"My lord, the count had been taken to the royal prison and the countess had left for her native house.
Lady Hazel is gone out with her husband. There is no one in the palace." a frown formed on his face as he felt he had wasted his hours in traveling this far for nothing.
How did the whole damn family not stay at home? Wait!
"Why was the count taken to the prison?" wouldn't he be able to meet him there if he stayed there for a day more.
"We did not know that but there is a rumor that he had manipulated his accounts and sold fake goods to the royal family. And then his wife had given a statement that he had killed his first wife and even attempted to kill lady Hazel when she was young. So that the property would end up in his hands.
But everything is just speculation. We believe that our master is innocent and will return soon." Jonathan could see the mockery in the eyes of the guard.
He was only saying that in case, Jonathan would go and tell every word to the count who would somehow return. Then would he not lose his job for spreading rumors and lying about his master.
There was nothing wrong in hiding his true feelings and lies but Jonarhan did not care if the count was going to die or was a criminal.
He was only worried about his life. How was he going to convince them now? More improtanlty, if they were also taken away in the case of murder, would they still be valid as witness for another murder case.
"What a bunch of useless people!" he yelled as he walked away. He could feel the irritation and wanted to beat someone to take off the heat.
It felt like he was in a murky swamp, the more he was trying to struggle and come out of it, the more he was dragged in. walking back towards the carriage with a look full of annoyance, he did not pay much attention to his surroundings as he asked the coachemen to start the carriage again.
With the cold winds, he had kept his curtains and windows closed so he did not notice the path was not going to his home but the darker woods where beasts reside and roam freely at this hour.
Jonathan frowned when he felt the carriage stopped again but it should take at least an hour more to reach his place. He was still mulling over the thought of asking for help from Hazel when his irritation only increased.
"What happened now? Why have you stopped the carriage?" he asked as he opened the curtains to look around.
His frown only grew deeper when he noticed that it was not the place where he lives. He was in a dark area surrounded by trees.
"Where are we now?" The first thought was that the carriage was broken on the way but he was sure that this forest did not come in their path;.
"We are at your destination my lord. Why don't you come down so that I can show it to you." a cold and eerie voice replied to him that left a shudder running down his spine as his hold on the window tightened.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Have you lost your mind? Take me back to the palace this instant!" shouting loudly in a tone full of authority, he glared at the man whom he could not see in the dark yet he felt an ominous feeling in his heart.
It only increased when the coachmen did not move and follow his order but chuckled. Even the laughter was so eerie that he felt scared but tried to hide it thinking it would only boost the fool.
"Tch! Tck! Even in the face of reality, you sure have the nerves to act proud. Come down before I break the door and drag you out.
You do not need to go to the palace when you have to die. This place would be perfect to show that it was an accident."
"You do not have to worry about it, I will manage from here. Thank you for your efforts." The guard bowed and left the room when Hazel chuckled.
It was a lie that she had told that the crown prince was going to visit her. She knew that her father would be going crazy to find a solution. He was looking for a thread he could hold on to, to save himself from drowning.
So, she decided to be the one. She wanted him to hold on to her as tightly as he could so when the time comes, he would realize that it was broken and rusty from the start.
But then it would be too late to let it go and find another one. Her eyes turned colder as she remembered how she was treated all that time. If she was bound to be a villainess then so it be.
"Are you going to keep him waiting?" asked Alex as he entered the room. He had seen the commotion out and knew that was what she was talking about last night.
She picked up the glass from the table and took a sip as she nodded.
"Yes, he is here to meet the crown prince, so he would wait silently for the whole day.
But in the evening when he would realize that he had wasted all day in vain and i didn't even invite him to my office, he would go berserk and then blackmail me by adding my name with you.
He thinks that is his trump card and he can use it on me and I will do whatever he would ask in exchange." she shook her head as if it was all a joke but his face instantly turned worried.
Though he did not care what humans thought about him, he was sure this was not the case with Hazel but she just looked at him as if he was a silly person.
"I am sure he is expecting the same reaction on my face." with a chuckle she took out a letter and passed it to him,
"There is no way that he could prove there is something between you and me and even if he did. I am thinking of divorcing Richard anyway.`` Alex frowned as he opened the letter only to see that it was an application for divorce applied in the church.
In the empire, taking a divorce is no less than a sin. Many nobles just stayed with each other even if they did not love each other to save their family from disgrace.
The relation and vows taken in front of god should not be treated lightly. If she would apply for the divorce then she would have to face a lot of humiliation.
Even if she would marry him after that, she would never receive respect and everyone would look at her with disgust, treating her like a woman with no morals.