Mahina took a step forward, her hands braced against the edge of the desk.
“Stop acting like a benefactor giving up profits,” she said. “The value ‘Merlin’ and ‘Merlinlia’ bring you is completely different. If ‘Merlin’ had truly been acceptable back then, I wouldn’t have fallen for such obvious attempts to drive us apart.”
“Please believe me. At the time, I was unaware of the situation, and it was not done under my orders.”
Mahina’s voice suddenly rose, sounding like a taut string that had finally snapped.
“Do you even believe that yourself? As the esteemed Head of House Taran, you wouldn’t know? I clearly told you I already had a partner. I said I would return after the war ended and that I wouldn’t stay in the army. You even agreed to it!”
Mahina slammed her hand against the desk. A heavy *thud* echoed through the study, making the quills on the pen rack tremble.
A sharp pain shot through the bones of her hand, but that bit of agony was nothing compared to the regret in her heart.
Colin still looked at her with an expressionless face.
Mahina stared intently at the man before her. Her eyes were bloodshot, yet she stubbornly refused to let a single tear fall.
“I said I wouldn’t necessarily leave Taran. I planned to take Merlin out of those filthy Slums and find a decent street to live on.”
Mahina sighed. The man sitting behind the desk remained unmoved.
“As I said, I respect your choice.”
The fire in Mahina’s eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a bottomless despair and self-mockery.
“Right… I was too naive, too childish, and too impulsive. I actually fell for such a simple scheme to alienate us. I should have believed Merlin until the end. I really want to give my past self a slap.”
She took a deep breath as if to empty the stale air from her lungs. She slowly pushed herself away from the desk, her gaze returning to its initial coldness.
“Whether you truly ordered it or used vague words to let your subordinates guess your intentions, the result is all that matters.”
She locked eyes with the man, declaring her resolve.
“Since Merlin says there was nothing, then there was nothing. Since he said he wrote to me, then he did. Whatever he says is truth. No matter what she thinks, from now on, I will give her 100% of my trust.”
Mahina’s voice grew softer as she spoke. After all, she hadn’t been able to hold on until the end.
“From the beginning to the end… the only person I can truly trust is Merlin.”
“It is not good to trust others too much.”
“No, you don’t understand.”
Mahina shook her head, a tragic and beautiful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“Merlin is special. She would die for me, and I would die for her. Even if I am betrayed, I am willing. I’m not like a calculating person like you.”
Colin finally appeared a bit impatient.
“I have said many times that I don’t intend to become an adopted daughter of House Taran. I said it’s because it would alienate me from Merlin, didn’t I?”
“I told you, I never instructed my subordinates to do such a thing. I hope you can calm down first, Mahina.”
Mahina pressed forward, step by step.
“And then? You feel you didn’t notice anything wrong? I clearly rejected your invitations several times, yet suddenly I agreed?”
Lucia, who had been leaning against the door the whole time, suddenly clapped her hands. She broke the stalemate with her characteristically loud voice.
“I used to talk about Merlin every single day, and then suddenly I didn’t mention her once. You clearly guessed why, but you never asked. You just wanted to play dumb, didn’t you?”
“Hmm… what a coincidence! Speaking of letters, I just happen to know a friend who was responsible for the transition of Taran’s mail back then.”
A trembling man behind her took a step forward.
“I was responsible for the transition of letters between Taran and other territories at that time. The correspondence between Lady Mahina and Highness Merlin was indeed intercepted by me.”
Mahina was startled. She had thought Lucia was only there to watch the fun today or, at most, to back her up. She hadn’t expected her to bring such a surprise.
Colin’s gruff voice interrupted her.
“But I recall the Post Office is a department directly under the Royal Family’s jurisdiction? Doesn’t that further prove it has nothing to do with Taran?”
The man glanced at Lucia and mustered his courage once more.
“That’s because! My wife and daughter were both held captive by Chris of House Taran! He used them to threaten me—”
“Where is the evidence?”
Lucia’s slender but powerful hand cut in, effortlessly severing that murderous gaze.
“Hey now, don’t scare him. I went to a lot of trouble to find him in the middle of nowhere. I can’t let you slaughter him.”
Lucia toyed with a gemstone in her hand, looking at Colin with a smile.
In the silent room, threats and pleas intertwined.
“This can’t be broken. It’s his wife’s dowry. According to him, it was buried in the ground outside his house back then. Perhaps Chris was too careless?”
Colin sighed, looking as if he had aged several years in an instant.
“I’m sorry, Mahina. I’m afraid the Northern Front was in a state of emergency at the time, and Chris was desperate for assistance, leading him to use any means necessary.”
“Ha!”
Lucia let out a piercing laugh.
She looked at Colin with interest, fighting back with an equally powerful momentum. She took a step forward, her presence suddenly soaring.
“Is that so? Looking at your self-righteous appearance, you must have tacitly approved of it, right? Or rather, as your dog, Chris is the best at guessing your thoughts. Although you didn’t give an order, you guessed it. As the Head of House, inaction is a sin.”
The man, bolstered by Lucia’s support, continued.
“Although I was ordered to burn the letters back then, I swapped the real letters… Because when I checked the letters, I saw the contents. I truly couldn’t bear to see such naked sincerity being betrayed like that.”
The man choked up slightly, seemingly recalling the memory.
“If there is someone in this world who loves you so much, I’m afraid anyone would be moved.”
“Where are the letters!” Mahina suddenly shouted. Her eyes were filled with hideous bloodshot veins, and her originally exquisite face was distorted by excessive anxiety and longing.
Lucia glanced at Mahina, then at Colin.
“Don’t be in such a rush, Mahina. Didn’t I just say? I have a big gift for you. It should be delivered tomorrow. Your letters are included as well, though there are far fewer than what Merlin sent.”
Lucia looked at the man again.
“Go on.”
“After the matter ended, I was indeed reunited with my wife and daughter, but I was forced to resign and effectively placed under house arrest in a small border village. After Her Highness Lucia found me, I decided I couldn’t let the heart of the letters’ owner be failed…”
He spoke in fragments.
“I’m ashamed to say that during the inspection, I did check the letters under the supervision of Chris’s men. I resealed them later, which is why I know the sender’s feelings so well.”
Lucia added, “Now, his family is working in my palace. If you ever want to cross-examine them, just come find me.”
Lucia hummed a little tune, her heels clicking against the floor. Each step seemed to stomp on Colin’s frayed nerves.
“Since both the witness and the physical evidence are present, how will you, the ‘innocent’ Head of House, handle this matter?”