One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 108

Somewhere in the cold, dimly lit room, Carlisle and Aireen knelt with their hands tied, gazing down at the trembling Haller.

“Boris’s body has been found.”

Carlisle, who always wore a blank expression, pushed Boris’s corpse already blackened and stiff toward Haller.

“I-I didn’t kill him! Do you have any proof, any evidence?”

“You can make as much evidence as you want.”

“That’s illegal!”

“You know who commits murder so easily. And you were right there, helping them.”

Haller bit his lip at Carlisle’s words.

“Think carefully. Should I tell the truth, pretend I was seriously injured, and quietly stay hidden in the mansion to survive… or should I be beheaded along with you by the Marquis of Hessiden?”

At Aireen’s calm but cutting words, Haller suddenly shrieked, as if in a fit of panic.

“You, you! It’s all your fault!”

Pfft. Carlisle kicked Haller without mercy.

“Evil!”

“Watch your mouth.”

“Ugh… ugh… two… two of them…”

“Answer the question.”

Carlisle’s voice remained cold.

“Count Petter—who already sees you as a nuisance—will be here soon. You’d better start talking before he gets involved.”

“No—Father? No! That can’t be true!”

“Answer me.”

“Fine, fine! I’ll do it! I’ll just stay in the mansion. That’s all, right?!”

Aireen stepped forward again, responding to Haller’s desperate cry.

“You chose wisely. If this really is your crime, you should be executed. But I’ll show mercy.”

Haller gritted his teeth. His jaw trembled, but this time, he couldn’t even swear back.

“Then start talking before Count Petter arrives. Tell us everything the Marquis ordered you to do—from the beginning to the very end.”

And so, Haller began to confess everything, one piece at a time.

It was humiliating to bow his head to Aireen—the woman he despised. Confessing all his past schemes felt degrading enough. But what made it worse… was that they had all failed.

He had no choice. With the Marquis of Hessiden’s involvement exposed, Count Petter’s family was doomed regardless.

Worse still, he had failed to recover the communication port Carlisle had stolen—the single most crucial piece of evidence. Without it, he couldn’t even prove his loyalty to the Marquis.

The Marquis of Hessiden wasn’t a man known for patience. If someone became useless, he discarded them without hesitation. He was ruthless—perhaps the cruelest of them all.

“I heard everything. I didn’t know you hated me so much you wanted me dead. Why didn’t you say something sooner? I might have treated you better.”

“……”

“Don’t even think about attacking me.”

Aireen gave a faint smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. Her gaze stayed frozen, as cold as ever.

Just as the tension in the room peaked, Count Petter appeared.

“What is the meaning of this outrageous behavior?!”

As soon as he arrived, he flicked his snake-like tongue. Then, spotting Haller—who was in terrible shape after being kicked by Carlisle—he rushed over to him.

“Hallelujah!”

“Oh, Father.”

Haller’s voice trembled slightly. He was terrified of how furious his father might become—his father who, although he considered Haller a son, was clearly displeased with him.

“What insolence! Count Avergue, you’re the one who caused Haller to end up like this!”

“Yes.”

Carlisle replied in a calm, almost indifferent tone to the angry accusation. It was obvious his attitude had enraged the Count.

“Count Avergue!”

“Please, calm down.”

Aireen, who had been quietly observing the situation, stepped forward.

Count Petter let out a breath of disbelief at the faint smile that lingered on her lips.

“Even Princess Revart? What kind of absurd joke is this? This has gone far enough. I will report everything to my Duke Revart!”

“That’s fine. But before that, please hear me out.”

Her words were short, but her voice remained composed, with a gentle smile. However, Count Petter, unable to hold back his frustration any longer, snapped.

“I never imagined Duke Revart would raise someone so insolent! You’re absolutely useless! What are you doing with my son? Does Her Majesty know this? That you disregard the law so openly?”

The smile vanished from Aireen’s lips. In its place was a cold, hardened expression.

“I’m the one who asked to speak with you about your son’s education, Count. We invited you here with courtesy. So please, don’t get angry and call it rude. It’s not as if you were dragged here against your will, is it?”

“You—!”

“What sort of man comes here on his own after receiving a letter, only to cause a scene? Count, you clearly still don’t understand the situation. Why do you think Lord Haller is in this state? And why are you here?”

Count Petter’s mouth slowly shut.

“I’m busy, so let’s keep this short. Step away from the Marquis of Hessiden—if you truly want to save Lord Haller.”

Aireen smiled again.

“Lord Haller tried to kill the princess. He was caught plotting my death with the Marquis of Hessiden. And yes, we have proof.”

Count Petter turned his head to Haller as Aireen calmly continued, her voice steady as if she were reciting lines from a play.

“Is this true?”

His enraged face was terrifying—it looked as if he might tear Haller apart at any moment.

“Yes, yes. I was wrong. Please forgive me, Father.”

“You disgraceful fool—!”

In a sudden burst of fury, Count Petter forgot that Aireen and Carlisle were present. He slapped Haller hard across the face.

Smack. Haller’s head jerked to the side with a loud crack. Count Petter grumbled and shook his shoulders.

Aireen, who had been silently observing everything, stepped forward again.

“We can talk about the nobles later. Right now, talk to me.”

Count Petter was different from Haller. He had served the Marquis of Hessiden for a long time, so he had a degree of political sense and awareness.

“…Fine. What is it that you want?”

“Come here—and tell me everything you know about the Marquis of Hessiden.”

“Do you really think that makes sense?”

“Very well. From here on, Count Avergue will explain.”

Carlisle, who had been quietly watching from the back, stepped forward.

“Count Petter is guilty of tax evasion and conspiracy to murder. We have the evidence.”

“…What nonsense are you spewing now?”

“We couldn’t bring all the evidence today, but we brought enough. Please look through it.”

Carlisle handed some of the documents he had been holding over to Count Petter.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the soft rustle of pages turning.

Eventually, Count Petter lowered the hand holding the papers. Then he asked:

“Tell me—what exactly do I gain by joining your side?”

There had been countless atrocities committed under the Marquis of Hessiden’s rule. Some of the most serious ones were detailed in the documents.

He couldn’t even pull it out. He couldn’t figure out when it had first begun to dig into his back. If he had kept it hidden all this time and was only now revealing it, then perhaps it truly meant that the time had come—to openly stand against the Marquis of Hessiden.

Count Petter listened in silence to Carlisle’s steady words. And after much deliberation, he finally spoke.

“From now on, let’s work together. I’ll cooperate as much as I can.”

After successfully gaining Count Petter’s support, Aireen and Carlisle met with Edys.

They prepared to report the details and began discussing their next moves based on what Santinu had shared.

And unlike the usual meetings, today there was one more person in attendance.

“It’s refreshing to see everyone gathered like this. Don’t you think so?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The one who replied in a calm, measured tone was none other than the Duke of Revart. Now that Edys knew the full truth, she had summoned the Duke—her most loyal ally.

Carlisle, weighed down by guilt, avoided eye contact the entire time. He hadn’t even noticed that the Duke’s unreadable gaze had been fixed on him all along.

“Finally, the four most critical figures in the Diert Empire are gathered here,” Edys said softly. “And with the Duchess absent, everyone who knows about Carlisle’s curse is now present.”

The room fell into heavy silence as her voice echoed. The other three couldn’t speak—each bound by complicated emotions and tangled circumstances.

Aireen and Carlisle had been notified in advance of the Duke’s presence, but that didn’t make the moment any easier.

For Carlisle especially, the tension was suffocating. His heart had been pounding the moment he heard the Duke would be attending.

Though Aireen’s rejection had hurt him most, the Duke of Revart stood as a separate shadow of his sins—someone he had deeply wronged.

And after Aireen’s cold dismissal of him, how must the Duke have felt? How painful it must have been—to once be promised her hand, only to be cast aside. Did he hate her now?

The fear creeping in made it even harder for Carlisle to meet his eyes.

“Alright,” Edys said gently, cutting through the tension. “Let’s set personal matters aside for now and focus on what really matters.”

Her words shifted the atmosphere in an instant. The air grew clearer, more focused.

“First, let’s look at the last letter Santinu sent.”

After each of them reviewed its contents in turn, Edys spoke again—this time, getting to the heart of the meeting.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea to follow Santinu’s suggestion. I’m curious to know what all of you think.”

“I agree,” said the Duke of Revart. “It seems reasonable. It’s not far off from what we’d originally discussed, and the perspectives we’ve shared so far are well represented.”

Hearing the Duke speak first, the others nodded in agreement.

“Alright. Then this time, we’ll send out all the troops we’d been holding back. With the rest of you, we’ll strike the enemy’s hideout by surprise.”

“If everything goes according to Santinu’s plan,” Aireen added, “there should only be one point of contact. We won’t need to divide our forces again.”

“That’s exactly what I mean. Why did they even split up the last attack like that? Tsk.”

When Edys clicked her tongue in quiet agreement, Carlisle finally opened his mouth cautiously, but with purpose.

Support