Silent Witch

Book 14: Chapter 16: Abandon

Book 14: Chapter 16: Abandon

On the carriage ride back, Isaac gazed absentmindedly out the window, thinking about a certain girl.

The strange girl who appeared wherever he went.

Shy, timid, and bashful, but when it came to numbers, her eyes changed color.

She didn't seem like an assassin or a bodyguard, so Isaac didn't pry too deeply into her true identity. Instead, he enjoyed observing her.

And gradually, he began to feel affection for her.

Her meek demeanor, how she quickly blamed herself, and how she apologized after every other sentenceit reminded him of the young Felix. Whenever that happened, Isaac couldn't help but want to reach out and care for her.

What was Monica thinking each time he reached out to her?

Her excessively thin body, the old scars on her back. Her fearful behavior around others' gazes.

It wasn't hard to imagine the hardships she must have endured after her father was executed.

Eventually, the carriage arrived at the dormitory. Even after returning to his room late at night, Isaac couldn't sleep.

He made some perfunctory response to the concerned Willdean, then lay in bed, lost in thought.

Isaac Walker was the kind of person who could eliminate any obstacle for his goal. He had resolved himself to that when he cremated an important person's remains with his own hands.

If he adhered to that resolutionthen Monica Norton, who seemed to have realized the truth, should be eliminated.

And yet, Isaac didn't feel the slightest urge to do anything about Monica.

He had noticed that Bridget was shocked when Felix and he switched places. But Isaac felt no pain.

Eliane and Cyril admired the princely Felix Ark Riddil. Even though Isaac knew he was deceiving them, he felt no guilt.

He could be as ruthless as needed to preserve Felix Ark Riddil's name. But when he thought of Monica, his blood froze, and his innards felt as heavy as if he had swallowed a lump of lead.

How should he face Monica from now on?

No matter how much he pondered, he couldn't find an answer. Before he knew it, morning had arrived.

Ah, he probably hadn't spent a sleepless night like this since the night he cremated the real Felix's remains with his own hands.

That night, even as he wished the morning would never come, he had stared unblinkingly as the curtains grew brighter.

"Your Highness?"

"What is it, Willdean?"

"No, it's nothing."

Willdean, in his butler attire helping Isaac dress, seemed to want to say something but closed his mouth. Once Isaac was ready, Willdean stood by the wall.

Isaac sat on the sofa, vacantly gazing at the chessboard he had left out.

Back then Monica had been staring intently at the pawn outside the board. He wondered how that pawn had looked to her then.

Without touching any pieces on the board, Isaac blankly stared at the chessboard.

It was a day off today, but in the morning, there was a meet-and-greet with the new student council candidates. As the current student council president, he had to make an appearance.

Still, he hadn't figured out how to face Monica Until the very last minute, he sat glaring at the chessboard.

"Makes no sense to me! That's our Prez, plain as day!"

Glenn echoed Cyril's raised voice.

But the soldiers paid no heed to Cyril and Glenn.

"What a pity for you, the imposter prince. Your co-conspirator Emanuel Darwin couldn't bear his guilty conscience and committed suicide. His dying confession revealed everything, including that you're an imperial magician!"

Even in this situation, Isaac's head automatically tried to analyze things calmly instead of getting flustered.

If Emanuel had truly committed suicide, it would be strange for his dying confession to state that Isaac was an imperial spy. So either someone was taking advantage of Emanuel's suicide, or Emanuel was murdered.

Isaac asked in a calm tone,

"Is the Duke of Crockford aware of this?"

"Of course. The Duke was deeply grieved to learn that his precious grandson had been killed."

Upon hearing those words, Isaac became certain.

This soldier was working for the Duke.

And Isaac had been abandoned by the Duke.

I had anticipated that one day, the Duke would abandon me but this is too soon.

The swap between Felix and Isaac was a meticulously planned scheme that took immense time, money, and effort.

Isaac hadn't expected to discard it so easily.

Ah, so that's why the Duke brought Prince Albert into the fold.

When the plan to make the Second Prince the king and control the nation from the shadows failed, the Third Prince Albert was kept as an insurance policy.

The Duke of Crockford likely intended to support the Third Prince and maneuver to make Albert the king. And the Third Prince's mother, Princess Phyllis, probably approved of this too.

It wouldn't be too difficult to fabricate a story about the Second Prince being an imposter exposed by the Third Prince, and rally support for the Third Prince.

Even his elaborate scheme of swapping places could be discarded without hesitation if needed That cold pragmatism was the Duke of Crockford's terrifying quality, Isaac realized anew.

"Come now!!"

Two soldiers moved to apprehend Isaac from either side. Cyril's face paled as he shouted,

"Your Highness!"

Almost reflexively moving to intervene, Cyril stopped when Isaac calmly shook his head.

"Cyril."

Cyril waited for "Felix's" command to scatter these insolent soldiers.

"I leave the student council to you."

With only those words, Isaac boarded the prisoner transport carriage along with the soldiers detaining him.

This was my retribution.

To his own surprise, Isaac's heart was serene.