The Engagement of the Baron of Flowers and the Withered Tree Lady.

Chapter 70 Julia and the truth 1

When Romand heard from his green fairy, Pakiran, that Julia was feeling lonely, he didn’t take it very seriously.

He thought that it was natural for her to feel a little uneasy since her environment had changed. However, she had already visited the Plant family in the capital many times, and she was familiar with the servants there, so he thought there was no need to worry. Although his closest assistant, Robert, couldn’t return to the mansion to assist him, Ruffie and Viola were still there as usual. Romand even thought that the place had become more lively and comfortable than before.

When Julia was at the Woodcliff Count’s house, he had been constantly worried about her because that place was a den of evil.

Of course, Romand himself desperately wanted to see Julia. Since they were now living in the same house, he felt embarrassed about wanting to indulge and be indulged a bit more as her fiancé.

However, he had resigned himself to the fact that, for the sake of the country and the special forces, this was a critical moment. Honestly, he never thought that Julia would be as lonely as he was just because they couldn’t see each other.

He knew from their time as an engaged couple that she was strong and had a straightforward personality despite her appearance. When she calmly said she wanted to delay the wedding date on the way back from that evening party, it had been quite a shock to Romand. He wondered if he was the only one who wanted to be together and get married soon.

So…

When Julia tearfully said, “Of course I feel lonely. I can’t see the person I love so dearly, and I don’t know when I’ll see you again…”

Romand was astonished. He hadn’t realized that she felt the same way he did. A warm sensation surged from the pit of his stomach like magma, and tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn’t help but whisper:

“Julia, I love you…”

From beyond the bright red roses, he heard Julia’s choked voice responding,

“I love you too, Romand-sama…”

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After that, thanks to Pakiran and Spati, Romand and Julia started communicating with each other every day.

Although they didn’t have time for in-depth conversations, they exchanged simple words to confirm that they were both doing well.

Even so, Romand became noticeably more energetic and devoted himself even more enthusiastically to investigating the black magician fraud case, driven by the desire to resolve it quickly so he could see Julia sooner.

Initially, Fermeel teased Romand about this, but when Romand lightly provoked him by saying, “I’ll get married before you do,” Fermeel took it seriously and worked just as hard in response. He couldn’t stand the thought of being outpaced by Romand, especially since he had been engaged much longer.

✽✽✽

On the night of the royal banquet and the following day, the members of the Woodcliff family were temporarily imprisoned within the castle’s dungeon. Since the arrest had been made after gathering all necessary evidence of their crimes, the process involved obtaining their confessions, recording their statements, and conducting on-site investigations. After that, all that remained was to wait for the trial.

However, because the anti-government activist Donald-Jesus from the Western Country and the “Black Spirit User” Heises-Schnauser were still at large, both the special forces and the knights were tirelessly searching for them.

During this busy period, Hardis Woodcliff, the Earl and Defense Minister, remained in the castle to oversee the interrogation of his former family members. He believed he was the only one who could convey the truth to them.

Hardis’ father, the former Earl Gordon Woodcliff, collapsed from the shock upon learning the truth about the Woodcliff family, particularly the true circumstances of his son Harris’ death. Over half a month later, Gordon was still bedridden, crying as he looked at portraits of his deceased wife and son, as reported by his attendants.

As a son, Hardis should have been there to comfort his father, but he simply didn’t have the capacity. Although he believed his father had been overworked by the country to the point of mental breakdown, he couldn’t ignore that his father was also the root cause of many of the recent tragedies.

The interrogation revealed that Kirk, who had been believed to be the eldest son of the former head of the Woodcliff family, Harris, and his wife Cindy, was not actually their child, just like the adopted daughters Linda and Cathy.

Kirk was the illegitimate child of Cindy and the butler Virgil Hunt, who had also poisoned Harris. The reason for killing the head of the family was twofold: he thought his affair had been discovered, and he knew that the youngest child, Kent, was Harris’s biological son.

“I am not to blame. It was the master’s fault for neglecting the mistress. She was under immense pressure from the master and everyone around her because she couldn’t conceive. But how could she possibly have a child when he barely spent any time with her?” Virgil had exclaimed during his interrogation.

During interrogations, it is common to use tactics to obtain a confession within a limited time. If this time limit is exceeded, the use of a truth serum becomes necessary. Most people confess everything before being administered the serum because it not only forces them to reveal their crimes but also compels them to disclose personal and potentially humiliating secrets and preferences, which they would rather avoid. Therefore, many confess before being subjected to the serum.

Before the truth serum was used, Cindy confessed her infidelity and admitted to mistreating and oppressing Julia and Kent. However, she claimed she was uncertain about whether her son, Kirk, was the child of her husband or the butler. She explained that she had been with the butler shortly after her husband’s return and their intimate encounter. She tried to convince herself that Kirk was her husband’s child. Yet, as Kirk grew, she noticed his resemblance to her lover, the butler, and lived in constant fear that this resemblance would be pointed out.

Hendrick Marquis, Cindy’s father, stood next to Hardis and spoke to his daughter and her lover, the butler, with a worn-out expression.

“What foolishness. Harris loved Kirk as his own son regardless of his paternity, yet you poisoned him! And after that, you separated Hardis from his wife and child, and then abused Julia when she was finally found. That’s inhuman.”

“I didn’t kill Harris. I knew nothing about it. And it’s a lie that he loved Kirk. He never made him his heir despite my pleas! Hardis was the same. He only brought proposals from lower-ranked families for Kirk, mocking us. That’s why I mistreated Julia. A daughter born of commoners deserved to crawl on the floor,” Cindy screamed, tears streaming and her hair disheveled.

“No. Hardis chose suitors for Kirk based on character, not family rank. He knew that happiness doesn’t come from status alone. Even Kirk said he regretted not standing up to you and marrying the viscount’s daughter he loved. He might have been happy if he had,” Hendrick replied.

“What!”

“You are just like your mother. She wanted to be a marchioness despite having a lover, so she married me. For both of you, titles matter more than love,” Hendrick Marquis continued.

Cindy’s eyes widened in shock at her father’s unbelievable words.