“If you won’t calm down…” Zhou Jingren’s words echoed inside the Duke’s office. “You will die and people will think I hurt you. Meaning… I would be prosecuted and your family will die.” He calmly said. He eyed the Duke for a few seconds before he smiled. “No one would want that, right?”
As expected, the Duke forced himself to calm down. He started taking long breaths until he finally calmed his raging heart.
“I am not asking you to believe me.” Zhou Jingren said. “I am only hoping that you would listen and consider the fact that some brothers kill each other for wealth. Considering that these people are not your blood brothers then… you get my point, right?” Zhou Jingren shrugged as he thought of his own grandfather being killed by his own brother, for wealth. “Do you really think they will consider you someone special just because… you spent some time when you were kids? Just because you treat them like family?”
The Duke’s face reddened. He could not deny that Zhou Jingren’s words were very much true. Even he, someone from the Royalty, had witnessed people, blood brothers, and blood sisters, killing each other because of random stuff. People are greedy, that is the only explanation that he could come up with. He eyed the man who was calmly staring at him, waiting for him to calm down. “So my Knight Commander and Pierre Weber? And Leandro’s wife… Lady Aurora?”
“Or how else would the heir to your throne be poison when he had people checking his meals every now and then? It needed to be administered by someone that he trusted. Someone… that you trust. Someone that could get close to you and every one else in your family without causing any suspicion.”
Unable to contain his emotions, the Duke rose from his seat and started pacing. He clenched his hand as he thought of instances when his Knight would give him a glass of water. Aside from the Duchess, the only people who could just give him a glass of wine or water was his knight.
Not even his children would dare give him water or drink some of his wine. Meanwhile, his son’s wife… Lady Aurora could also be the closest person that could possibly poison his son. After all, the two had been married for years now.
Aside from this, he could also see how much his son loved Lady Aurora. He could see him literally worship the woman like a goddess. “And you say that some of my wife’s attendants are also working for Pierre?”
Zhou Jingren nodded. “I have no specifics. I have no name. It is your job to find out their identities.”
The Duke stop pacing when he heard Zhou Jingren’s words. “But what about Eliza? And Levi? Surely, some people close to them are also giving them poison. Who was it?” The two have no children yet. The Duke immediately thought of the effects of lead poisoning, which includes infertility.
He immediately paled. “Tell me! What about them?” Slowly, his eyes widened. “And my grandchildren? Are they… ” he felt his hand tremble. Children… Little children tend to show signs of lead poisoning, even if they only consumed small amounts of lead. He immediately scrambled to his table. He needed to call the doctor and have them checked.
“Relax,” Zhou Jingren said. “The children are fine. Weber is not that psychotic to poison his own kids.”
“Then his wife…”
“Princess Mikaela… yes. She has poison in her system.”
“And my twins? What about Eliza and Levi?” He looked at Zhou Jingren and for a moment, he turned silent as memories of Zhou Jingren’s words flowed inside his head. “Someone wanted to frame them.” It wasn’t a question, but a declaration. This meant that the two were not given lead so they could easily make them the suspect as they are the only ones who are not poisoned.
This…
The Duke almost could not believe his own mind. How did this happen? He fell to his seat, defeated and exhausted. How could he put his whole family in danger without even knowing it?
“Trusting people…” Zhou Jingren said. “You can trust them… and be good at them. You can be kind and generous and forgiving. You can be a good leader and a good friend. But… they are not liable to treat you the way you are treating them.” Zhou Jingren continued. “Of course… do not just trust my words. Have someone test them. Silently. I can help you get rid of them… give you the names of their contacts. Give you proof of their illegal activities.”
The Duke mindlessly listened to Zhou Jingren’s words. He nodded as if he understood some words that man sitting opposite him was speaking. On the outside, the Duke was calmly staring at Zhou Jingren. However, on the inside, he almost could not control his emotions. He could not keep his anger at bay.
Everything… Everything about Zhou Jingren’s words sounded painfully true that it hit him right in the middle of his chest. What Zhou Jingren said was true. You can be a good man, a kind man, a respectful human being. However, at the end of the day, no one is liable to treat you the same way that you treat them.
But isn’t this too cruel? All these people… even his attendants and servants… every one of them. He had treated them like family. He respected them and had been generous to them. Yet, in the end…
But how could he complain? Again, they are not liable to treat him or respect him the way he respected them. The painful truth hit him like a nail that was hammered In his chest.
It was simple, direct, and it… was breaking his heart. The betrayal of these people… the betrayal of the trust that he gave them…
“What do you have in mind?” Zhou Jingren asked.
“I want to kill them.” The Duke’s gaze turned dark.
“But… you know you are not allowed to that.”
“I know.” the Duke gritted his teeth. “I know. Mr. Zhou…. I know.”
………..
4/5
