Chapter 23 Confession Without Interrogation
Anne lifted her head. "Mother, I don't think I've mentioned what the assassin confessed yet. How do you already know whether this concerns you or not? Unless..."
Her voice suddenly rose a notch. "This matter is related to you?"
Though her tone seemed questioning, everyone present knew she was stating a fact.
Trion sat there feeling like she was on pins and needles.
Ever since Anne brought up the assassination, she had been at a loss.
On one hand, last night Mephist had unusually prevented her from going out to see what was happening, keeping her in bed and deliberately making loud noises, as if purposely creating a reason to ignore what was happening in the hallway.
She wasn't worried that Mephist had planned this - after all, he was her husband. Trion knew exactly what he was capable of. He definitely couldn't pull off something like hiring an assassin. But the problem was, what if someone had forced him to participate?
If he just knew about it, that would be one thing. But if he was involved, or even paid part of the assassin's fee, then whether Anne or the palace handled it later, there would be no good outcome for him!
Right now Trion could only pray that Mephist wouldn't step forward, or better yet, keep playing dumb. Then she could learn what really happened and beg Anne for mercy—for both herself and Mephist.
On the other hand, she was afraid.
Trion was truly scared now - the Titan family would actually use such dirty tricks to steal their daughter-in-law's dowry!
Trion thought about how if she herself had encountered the assassin, she naturally wouldn't have someone protecting her like Anne did. She might be found dead the next day, labeled as having betrayed her husband or died accidentally while fooling around, becoming just another piece of gossip for people to talk about.
If something happens once, it can happen twice. If they couldn't deal with Anne, couldn't they deal with her? She bit her lip, panicked and nearly in tears.
The old lady on the stairs was also panicking. Her instinctive denial that had slipped out just now was like a knife turning back on herself, cutting to shreds the kind and gentle facade she had maintained for years.
She widened her eyes. "Nonsense! Casually suspecting your elders - is this the Virlet family's upbringing!"
Seeing no reaction from the crowd, the old lady thought her words had intimidated them and felt less panicked.
After all, having raised several children and managed household affairs for years, this old fox's eyes darted around and immediately found an excuse. "How could I possibly want to harm you? What good would doing such a thing bring me besides a load of guilt?"
"Last night I heard sounds, but I was in my room playing chess with Drona. I thought the patrolling servants would call the guards to handle it, so naturally I didn't bother with it anymore."
Anne naturally didn't believe her words, but asked good-naturedly, "Then why, Mother, the moment you saw me, were you so surprised that I was still alive?"
"This... I heard someone was being held in the manor, and guards were escorting an assassin to the main hall. The sounds came from the direction of your room, so I..."
The old lady felt guilty. She hadn't actually heard any of this - she'd just guessed from what she saw downstairs. If questioned further, she could claim she heard it from others. As for the assassin...
She narrowed her eyes.
They probably couldn't keep someone who worked for money. She could pay him to take a life, and Anne could naturally pay to pry open his mouth.
Anne laughed coldly. "Mother certainly heard quite a lot."
"But normally, whether there are sounds of weapons in the manor or other commotion, even if it's much later, don't you always have to see it for yourself before you're satisfied? How is it that this time, not only was there no one lighting candles in that hallway, but you also just happened to not want to join the excitement?"
The Titan Old Lady's face turned red from being confronted with these words. She bit her teeth and glared at Holden, who stood silently to the side.
"Look at your good wife, using these words to frame your mother, and you just let her bully me!?"
Holden had been half-believing, half-doubting about this matter. Though his mother's panic earlier seemed genuine, hearing her explain things so logically - and it was indeed guards escorting the assassin on the ground to the main hall - perhaps they really had wronged his mother?
In Holden's eyes, his mother was the most loving person in the world, and also the person with the least reason to harm him. Killing Anne would not only not help his career, but would invite criticism. How could his mother do something so foolish?
On the contrary, Anne - though the assassin on the ground did seem real enough, it wasn't impossible that this was a setup by her. After all, he'd been home so long and hadn't seen anyone besides Elisa around Anne. If someone had been secretly protecting her, it couldn't be that there were no traces at all. But to say Elisa was that legendary...
Holden glanced at Elisa - despite her wary glare, she clearly had no martial arts training and couldn't even react when he'd tried to hit her earlier.e.
If there was no such person at all, then everything made sense.
The assassination, the assassin - all fake, all a setup by Anne.
Whether she blamed Candy or the Titan family, Anne would become a sympathetic victim. Candy would be unable to marry due to attempted murder, or the Titan family would be criminals for trying to assassinate their daughter-in-law. Either way, Anne could take her dowry and leave.The more Holden thought about it, the more alarmed he became, and his gaze toward Anne grew colder and colder.
"I've figured out your scheme, Anne. I was going to leave you some dignity."
Holden pointed at Anne and said coldly, "What Virlet family blade master, what assassination - you're trying to use these false appearances to fool me, and now you want to push all the conspiracy onto my mother!"
"Let me tell you, whether you're willing to intercept the royal decree or not doesn't matter. I'll send you to the asylum immediately. When you're tortured to death, I'll have no wife and can still marry Candy!"