My Arrogant and Insolent Shadow - Chapter 43

Lady Catherine.

Her tearful eyes had now curved ever so slightly, as if satisfied.

As if everything was going exactly the way she wanted.

Why would she go this far?

Was it because she couldn’t bear to see me standing next to Hael?

Or was it, just like the young master had said, because she believed I was reaching for something beyond my place?

“Are you saying I stole it?”

Lady Catherine stepped closer, lowered her head, and whispered near my ear.

“Then who else could it be, if not you?”

Goosebumps ran down my back, but I forced myself to stay calm.

I couldn’t fall apart. Not here. Not now.

I had worked so hard to build something new for myself. I couldn’t let it collapse all at once.

If I was branded a thief, it wouldn’t just be me. My mother would be dragged down too.

“I didn’t do it.”

Lady Catherine responded with a mocking tone, still right beside me.

“Is that so? Then you should have no problem proving it.”

“Proving it…”

She pointed at the silver pouch in my hand.

“May I take a look inside?”

The pouch she was pointing to was one of the gifts the young master had given me for tonight’s banquet.

I had known it might be a trap, but had they actually planted something inside?

I had carried that pouch with me all day.

Except for one moment. When I bumped into a maid while leaving the terrace and dropped it.

So everything had been planned from that moment.

Even the maid, Matil… Was she part of it?

A sickening realization swept over me as our eyes met.

Her pupils trembled, then she quickly turned away.

I couldn’t deny it any longer.

I had been caught in a perfect trap.

Where was Hael?

He would at least say I wasn’t the kind of person to steal. He would defend me.

But Hael was outside, walking with Lady Vivian.

By now, they had probably finished a full round through the garden.

Maybe sending Hael away had been part of Lady Catherine’s plan all along.

Of course, I didn’t think Hael’s words alone could stop everything.

Because once the ring was found inside the pouch, no testimony would matter.

Still, he was the only one I could hope for.

Maybe things would change if her son spoke up.

The seconds I stood frozen felt like hours.

People were shouting around me, demanding to see what was inside the pouch. Their stares stabbed into me. I heard someone mutter that I must be the thief, since I wasn’t saying anything.

All the while, the doors stayed closed.

I turned my head, unable to look at the scene in front of me, and my eyes met his.

The young master was watching me.

A faint, amused smile played on his pale face.

It was a smile that clearly said, “Didn’t you see this coming?”

My hand clenched into a fist, wrinkling the fabric of my dress.

The murmurs grew louder. The room was quickly siding with Lady Catherine.

And just like that, the pouch was brought forward, as if it were walking to the gallows.

Everything was unfolding exactly as Cassian had predicted.

Like a slow-moving classical piece, dull in nature but compelling when performed by a skilled musician.

Sure enough, Lady Catherine’s wedding ring was pulled from the pouch.

The nobles gasped and began whispering again.

In the middle of it all, Yurisiel desperately tried to explain herself.

She said she had never seen the ring. She said someone must have put it there.

But no one listened. Her words were dismissed as the final, desperate excuses of a thief caught in the act.

And there she stood, pale and trembling, her face drained of color.

It was the expected outcome. Nothing about it was surprising.

Cassian’s emerald eyes flicked toward her. For a moment, he hesitated.

Should I step in?

No. Not yet. That would spoil the fun.

That silver-haired fool must still be out there, strolling around with some noble girl, completely unaware of what was happening.

He deserved to see it for himself.

To face the truth.

To learn just how meaningless all his perfect plans really were.

And he deserved to know exactly what kind of woman her mother was.

During that time, Yurisiel’s desperation only deepened.

The lord and Lady Ressler, who had been stealing glances at her before, no longer hid their anger. They stepped forward, voices raised and eyes sharp.

Eventually, the lord began talking about bringing in the constables.

Of course. The bigger the scandal, the more dramatic it would become. There was no way anyone would want to cut short such an entertaining development.

The way the two of them stood together, united and self-righteous, was so perfectly in sync it was almost worth applauding.

“To think someone would lay hands on another’s belongings,” said Lady Ressler with exaggerated sorrow.

“This is a serious matter, and we will uncover the truth ourselves,” the lord replied solemnly.

And then Lady Ressler took over again, wiping away imaginary tears in front of the gathering nobles.

Watching them, you’d think they were the most devoted couple in the world.

It was almost enough to make Yurisiel forget the disgusting way the lord had looked at her that one early morning.

All of it felt ridiculous now.

Lady Ressler kept going, her voice full of theatrical regret.

“We should have been more careful. I’m terribly sorry such an unfortunate incident occurred.”

The rumors about Yurisiel’s background quickly vanished, swallowed up by the louder story of theft, thanks to their performance.

It was exactly what she expected. Nothing about it was surprising anymore.

There was no space for Yurisiel to speak. No one would hear her even if she did.

All the nobles in the hall now looked at her as if she were guilty. Whispered judgments filled the room.

Cassian had thought this scene might be amusing. But as it unfolded before his eyes, it felt flat.

Watching Yurisiel turn pale, second by second, didn’t feel satisfying at all.

By tomorrow, she would likely be taken in for questioning and officially labeled a thief.

And then what would happen?

She would be thrown out of the manor, and out of the Alphonse territory entirely.

To the heir of House Blanchet, someone like Yurisiel was nothing but a liability.

Whether the accusation was true or not didn’t matter. No one wanted a servant who damaged a noble family’s reputation.

Cassian’s eyes lingered on Yurisiel’s tearful face.

And at the same time, an image flashed through his mind. A future without her in Alphonse.

And himself, left behind, standing alone in that empty space.

As she was taken away by the constables, everything felt like a dream to Yurisiel.

When they handed her a form and told her to write down the details of the theft, she couldn’t write a single word.

Details? How could she write anything when she hadn’t stolen anything?

The constable who handed her the papers looked tired and impatient.

He warned her that if she didn’t cooperate with the investigation, her sentence could become more severe.

A sentence? As if it was already decided.

In the end, Yurisiel, who had never once managed to defend herself, was taken to an underground holding cell.

There was no one else there.

She sat curled up on the cold floor, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her soft face quickly turned red and blotchy.

Regret rushed in like a tidal wave, crushing her without mercy.

Would things have been better if she had never met Hael?

When she thought about the sharp and commanding presence of Lady Catherine, she couldn’t help but regret getting close to him.

She had never imagined Lady Catherine would go this far.

She had been around Hael for a while now, but nothing like this had ever happened before.

Biting her tongue, a new thought crossed Yurisiel’s mind like a flash.

Could it be that Lady Catherine had found out Hael gave up Brit because of her?

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like the only explanation.

And if that were true…

Then Lady Catherine would never show her mercy.

The more Hael tried to protect her, the more determined his mother would become.

Especially now, when Hael was expected to form a proper connection with Lady Vivian. In a time like this, Yurisiel was nothing but an obstacle.

She would be removed completely.

And she wasn’t the only one trying to do that.

Yurisiel thought of Lady Ressler, who had coldly accused her of theft and deceit.

It was clear Lady Ressler had made up her mind to cut her off.

She’s no longer pretended to consider the young master’s opinion.

And that made sense. After all, he had said nothing. He had stepped back and let everything happen as if he were just a bystander.

From the beginning, Yurisiel had known how dangerous it was to hide her identity and come to this place.

She had prepared herself for the consequences.

But she had never imagined it would happen like this.

The helplessness and fear weighed on her chest like stone.

Her breathing became shallow.

Her mother must not know what had happened yet.

But someone would tell her. Someone had to.

It could be Aunt Mary. Or one of the attendants assigned to her. Or maybe even Lady Catherine herself.

If her mother heard this from someone else, in her condition, the shock might be too much.

That fear pierced Yurisiel’s heart.

In that moment, strangely enough, what came to her mind was him.

The young master.

She realized painfully, all over again, that without him, she was nothing.

If he stepped in, maybe this whole mess could still be stopped.

Even if everything else was beyond saving, maybe her mother could still be protected.

But that hope felt meaningless now.

She remembered all too clearly how he had just stood there, watching from afar, saying nothing.

She remembered the look he gave her, the same look he had when he spoke about that woman in the novel. Disgusted. Dismissive.

The more she thought, the more her guesses turned into certainty.

He would not come for her.

Her tears, once overflowing, had now dried and crusted on her cheeks.

And still, some part of her had believed he might come.

But with each passing day, that belief was crushed.

Three days passed.

No one came for her.

Then, as she lay in silence, the voices of two constables drifted into her ears.

“Did you hear? Young Lord Blanchet collapsed.”

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