Chapter 129 — My Brothers Love Me!
Lucian stared at the red rose-shaped hairpin lying on the table in front of him.
"Your Highness, if you keep staring at it like that, you might as well burn a hole through it," Dylan teased, only to receive a sharp elbow to his side from Adrian.
"Hey!" the blonde-haired man yelped but quickly regained his composure when he felt the grand duke’s cold gaze fall on him.
"Why don’t you just give it to her?" Glain asked hesitantly.
Lucian closed his eyes, the weight of the past few days pressing heavily on his mind. The king had passed away, but the queen had forbidden the news from reaching the public. His body had been preserved in a coffin made of glass, encased in cold ice. The image lingered in Lucian’s thoughts, the stench from the chamber clinging to his senses, making him frown in discomfort.
Adding to his unease, he’d instructed his men to monitor everyone present at the ball, including Cynthia. It wasn’t that he wanted to distrust her, but her actions had been too peculiar to ignore.
A day later, a report reached him.
"The grand duchess has been meeting a man in secret inside her bedchamber. Their conversations are inaudible from a distance..."
"A man, you say," Lucian repeated the word, his expression darkening as he mulled over the implications. His stomach churned at the thought of Cynthia meeting another man behind his back. Suspicion crept into his mind, tainting his perception of her every action. Yet, he forced himself to push the thought aside.
"What do you know about him?" Lucian demanded. He needed to uncover the truth before jumping to conclusions.
"He seems to be a subordinate. Ah, and... they’ve been using teleportation magic to leave the estate. I couldn’t follow them—I have no idea where they’re going..."