It was late afternoon when Carola left the wine cellar.
When she saw the patriarch’s face, she cried and clung to him like a child.
“Lord! Please don’t abandon Carola. We are wronged. The bad one is Prince Jewel! He tried to drag Carola into the temple and humiliate her! Prince Jewel always looked at Carola with evil intentions!”
There was no use in her blaming Elisha. Because before she could disclose that she had fallen into Elisha’s trap, she would first have to explain the trap she had set up for Elisha. Carola decided to blame Jewel to save herself in this crisis.
“Then what is this note! Prince Jewel says you tempted him by giving him this note during mealtime.”
A message fell in front of her.
[I’m wearing white clothes… … .]
It was clearly her handwriting. Carola and Jacob sent courtesans to Jewel this way, with this code. This was something she really didn’t know about.
“It’s a trap! Carola didn’t write this!”
“Prince Jewel told me everything. It’s definitely not rape. Do you think the people in this family are fools? Carola, you were obviously embracing Jewel.”
“Well, to Carola… … . it’s kind of pills… … . She was drugged… … .”
“Kind of? What drug? The pills you brought from your parents’ house?”
As if Gaju found this defense ridiculous, he threw the empty capsules in front of Carola.
“Blossoms are the main ingredient of this medicine. That flower is an herb that only your family handles. And this medicine was produced by your family but was discontinued decades ago.”
The Head spoke with his teeth vibrating in rage. Even the head of the family knew about this medicine. It was a medicine used by nobles to indulge in debauchery. The narcotic was suddenly discovered in his mansion. Through whom could it have appeared?
Moreover, the rumor that Carola had spread in advance properly reached the ears of the duke. The Lord heard the detailed story through Gale. He said that there were women in the family who secretly engaged in fornication at the temple. It has been rumored that the temple was used for that purpose for a long time.
And now the only woman in the Cartier family was Carola. She was caught in a trap of her own making.
“Carola, do you take this family lightly? Do you find us funny after everything we’ve done for you? No matter how much your parents may fly in the sky or crawl in sewers, they are nothing more than bugs that feed on the food I throw at them. Except for the imperial family, there is no family in this country as prestigious as ours.”
Carola’s face turned white.
“Well, Carola… … .”
The door quietly opened then, and Lucerne and Elisha entered the room. She glared at Elisha with bloodshot eyes.
“This is that woman’s trap! That’s the problem. In the first place, Carola wanted Zain… … .”
She suddenly came to her senses.
“That woman is bigamous! She signed a marriage contract with another man! Carola has proof.”
Tuk.
The patriarch threw some documents in front of her.
“You mean this?”
Carola’s eyes widened. She crawled over and looked at her wedding vows. It was clearly a marriage vow written by Zain and Elisha.
“How do you… … .”
“Then, why didn’t you even do a basic investigation into such a big case? You must have had a hard time living with an intelligence below that of an average person.”
Lucerne sneered in amazement. Even at times like this, Elisha thought that his vitriol was incredible.
“Carola investigated—”
“Have you not investigated because you were too busy with Prince Jewel?”
the Head said, looking at Carola like she was a bug.
“It’s the same thing if she’s not innocent. Besides, that thing is mean. Why, why only to me… … .”
Carola’s true nature emerged when she faced a dead end. She was wicked with a childlike personality. Carola looked aggrieved.
The patriarch didn’t even flinch an eyebrow.
“Lucerne already told me everything. The whole story of how Elisha signed this contract.”
The day they arrived at his mansion to prepare for the memorial service.
Lucerne came to see Gaju alone.
‘Elisha seems to be having trouble with Jacob. When Jacob first captured her, he forced her to sign a marriage contract with the man who killed her father.’
Lucerne spoke calmly and politely to the head of the family.
‘But it’s in the past, so I don’t plan on making an issue of it. It is also confirmed through the temple that Elisha was not already married. Since the misunderstanding between us has been resolved, there is no need to worry even if the story reaches the owner’s ears in the future.’
Even in this situation, Carola was shocked that Lucerne would act like that.
‘Why? Why are you so protective of a woman like that?’
Carola had kept an eye on Lucerne for a long time. He was distrustful and callous; he was not the kind of person who would cover up and shield someone.
She might simply be pretty. However, a relatively weak person like Elisha was not someone Lucerne had to sacrifice something to gain.
That was common sense in the world Carola lived in. Lucerne was from the same world as her. Her common sense had to be shared with him, too.
If done well, the relationship between Lucerne and Elisha should have been shaken before this event even took place. And as conclusive evidence, he should have kicked her out after seeing Zain sleeping with Elisha.
It all came back to Carola like a boomerang. She felt like she had been hit on the back of the head several times.
“Compared to Lucerne and Elisha’s attitude, you as a couple… … . No, Carola. You are the biggest problem. Jacob, that guy is crazy too. No matter how bad the relationship between Count Lor and our family was, how could you plan to marry Elisha to the man who killed Count Lor?”
Previously, the patriarch would not have blamed Jacob for his actions. It didn’t matter whether she married Zain or not.
Because before, Elisha was a slave to the family. But now things had changed.
To Gaju, Elisha was a person. The Head’s favor turned slaves into humans and animals into spirits. He could make an ordinary person into a very noble and precious being.
Such is the class structure of the Cartier clan. And Lucerne’s protection was at the heart of the Lord’s favor. Therefore, under that shelter, Carola could fall into a rank far below Elisha.
