IHDOE Ch 81

[M. Riermont] "...This child is my nephew?"

The Marchioness stared at the boy before her in disbelief. She shook her head slowly.

[M. Riermont] "I can't understand what you are saying. My nephew is clearly out in the party room. Did you not say you were resting because you felt unwell? What is the meaning of this sudden..."

[Satina] "Something about the hunter bothered me, so I secretly investigated their house. I discovered this child there."

She answered in a composed voice.

[Satina] "This child also has four moles on his back, identical to your description. His physical appearance matches as well."

The Marchioness hastily unbuttoned the boy's shirt to inspect his back. The boy trembled at her forceful movement, but he offered no resistance and quietly obeyed.

The four moles on the boy's back made the Marchioness dizzy.

She grabbed the boy's cheeks and frantically examined his face. Reddish-brown hair, slightly redder than the hunter's son. Teal eyes. Four moles.

The Marchioness released the boy's cheeks and staggered back.

Satina hastily supported her as she spoke in a faint voice.

[M. Riermont] "Wait, I need a moment to think... What on earth is happening..."

She pressed a hand over her chest and pondered briefly.

[M. Riermont] "Call those people in first. Confronting them all together should reveal the truth."

---

The Marchioness looked back and forth between the two boys. As they stood side by side, the two shared absolutely no resemblance.

Gaiden, the boy brought by the hunter couple, was tall and well-built for his age. With his chin held high and his voice clear, his confident demeanor verged on impudent, revealing how lavishly the couple had doted on him.

By contrast, Matthew, the boy Satina had retrieved, had messy hair obscuring his eyes, a small frame, and hunched shoulders.

Terrified from the moment he set eyes on the hunter couple, he cowered. Yet he refused to let go of the cookie in his hand, betraying his intense hunger.

Aside from the four moles on his back, the Marchioness inspected every physical trait she recalled, and most of them matched.

Judging by her sister's pocket watch and physical traits, the hunter couple had rescued her nephew. Yet which of the two was her actual nephew?

The hunter couple glared at Matthew and bellowed.

[Bront] "You...! How did you get here?!"

At his shout, Matthew dropped to the floor and pleaded.

[Max] "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Satina stepped forward and pulled him up, shielding him behind her back.

[Satina] "There is no need to apologize like that, so stand up. I brought him here. If you have something to say, speak to me."

The hunter glared at Satina with fury, but remembering her status as a duke's daughter, he held his tongue.

Satina rubbed Matthew's back to calm him. She then addressed the Marchioness.

[Satina] "As I stated, Marchioness, I believe this child is your true nephew. If Gaiden were your real nephew, why would they need to hide this child underground?"

The hunter's wife countered immediately.

[Catherine] "That is a harsh accusation! We locked him away because his mind is unstable. We feared he might cause trouble while we were away!"

The hunter nodded beside her and chimed in.

[Bront] "Exactly! What if he wandered off and got lost in the forest while we visited the castle?!"

[Catherine] "It might look terrible to nobility, but given our poor circumstances, we couldn't afford a maid to care for him. We had no choice!"

Satina asked in a sharp voice.

[Satina] "How do you explain the identical moles on both boys' backs, then?"

[Catherine] "A coincidence, I suppose!"

The hunter's wife shouted brazenly.

[Satina] "A coincidence?"

[Catherine] "Yes!"

[Satina] "And the identical scars on their hands and thighs are coincidences as well?"

When she pressed them using the physical traits the Marchioness had examined, the hunter couple nodded.

[Bront] "Yes!"

[M. Riermont] "Stop uttering nonsense!"

She erupted in anger at the hunter couple.

[M. Riermont] "How could all of that be dismissed as mere coincidence?! Do you dare mock me?!"

The hunter couple exchanged glances and shrugged.

[Catherine] "Since things turned out like this, it can't be helped. Truth be told, that is all Matthew's doing."

The hunter's wife spoke up.

[Catherine] "After picking up Gaiden from the river, we raised him with care as our own son. As you can see, Matthew is my biological son, but... his mind isn't entirely sound."

When the hunter's wife glared at Matthew, the boy accidentally dropped the cookie he was secretly eating onto the floor. He shrank from her gaze and hid behind Satina.

The hunter's wife let out an exaggerated sigh.

[Catherine] "Look at that. How could we feel affection for a child like that? On the other hand, Gaiden was exceptionally bright and quick to learn. Doting on him was only natural, wasn't it?"

The hunter's wife stroked Gaiden's shoulder and continued.

[Catherine] "Growing jealous as a result, Matthew began copying Gaiden. He must have thought doing so would earn him our love. We were horrified when he slashed his own hand with a knife one night just to create a scar identical to Gaiden's!"

Goosebumps broke out along Satina's skin at their shameless display.

What master swindlers.

To pass off their biological son as the Marchioness' nephew, they were framing Max, the real nephew, as completely insane.

Normally, anyone in this situation would step forward to defend themselves, yet Max, abused since he was three years old, lacked the ability to say a word.

Emboldened by Matthew's silence, the hunter's wife pressed him aggressively.

[Catherine] "Now, Matthew! Speak honestly! You hurt yourself out of jealousy toward Gaiden, didn't you?!"

[Max] "I-I, I mean, I..."

[Catherine] "Why can't you speak! You're the one who did wrong!"

[M. Riermont] "Enough!"

As the argument grew increasingly chaotic, the Marchioness shouted over them.

[M. Riermont] "Everyone, cease this at once!"

The Marchioness let out a deep sigh.

The hunter couple seized the brief silence in the room to drop to their knees and plead.

[Bront] "We are being wronged, Marchioness. Gaiden was a gift brought to our home, and we merely did our best to raise him despite our poverty."

The Marchioness pointed at Matthew, who was trembling behind Satina, and asked a question.

[M. Riermont] "While letting your biological son end up in such a state? Does that make any sense at all?"

[Catherine] "As I mentioned, raising a child who isn't sound of mind is immensely difficult. Of course, failing to raise Matthew properly is our fault, but if you doubt us like this..."

Tears streamed down the hunter's wife's face.

[Catherine] "Then we would rather take both children and return home!"

[M. Riermont] "What?"

[Catherine] "With your suspicions, would the child be happy following you to the capital? He would do nothing but walk on eggshells! In that case, we would rather forget about you, Marchioness, and live peacefully as we always have!"

The ongoing argument clearly exhausted the Marchioness.

[M. Riermont] "Let us rest briefly before resuming our discussion."

At her request, everyone except Satina exited the room. She looked at Satina.

[M. Riermont] "What are your thoughts?"

[Satina] "My opinion remains unchanged, Marchioness."

The Marchioness closed her eyes tightly before opening them again.

[M. Riermont] "You believe that child named Matthew is my nephew?"

[Satina] "What are your thoughts, Marchioness?"

[M. Riermont] "...I don't know."

She let out a long sigh.

[M. Riermont] "That child, Matthew... his eyes are identical to my sister's. Traces of my nephew's face undeniably remain."

[Satina] "Then..."

[M. Riermont] "Yet there is no certainty that Gaiden is not my nephew either. The hunter couple's words are suspicious, but not entirely devoid of logic. If, by some slim chance, that child is my real nephew, I..."

She hesitated for a long moment before speaking.

[M. Riermont] "So I intend to bring both children to the capital."

[Satina] "Both children?"

[M. Riermont] "Yes. One of them is my nephew, after all. Taking both would be far better than living in regret."

[Satina] "..."

[M. Riermont] "I am grateful for your assistance. Thanks to you, I learned my nephew is alive. What comes next is my responsibility. Once I keep them close, I am certain I will realize which one is truly mine."

She squeezed Satina's hand tightly in gratitude.

Magic to verify blood relations would be developed in the future...

Forcing the Marchioness to care for a swindler's child until then was far too cruel, yet Satina understood her feelings. Without Liv, she herself would never have been so certain.

Satina looked down in frustration, and her gaze fell upon the Marchioness holding her hand.

Hands...?

A sudden thought flashed through her mind, and Satina hastily pulled her hand back.

She opened her palm and stared down at it. Nothing unusual appeared on her palm, just faint lines and...

Fingerprints.

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