Reborn To Change My Fate-Chapter 102 - Hundred And Two

Marissa, her part not yet finished, continued her tirade. "You must give me an explanation today, Derek! An explanation for all of it! Or I swear, I will not be leaving this cursed place! You must provide answers to my questions today."

The Captain, his face now a deep, mottled red of humiliation, had completely lost control of the situation. His real target, the man in the kitchen tunic, was gone. His other target, the Grand Duke, was a collapsed, drunken fool, who was now being publicly, and very loudly, attacked by his own, clearly insane, wife. This raid was a disaster and prince Liam will surely punish him for it.

"Your Grace," he stammerd, trying to regain some small scrap of authority, as he stepped towards Marissa. " Can you please move aside while we continue with our..."

"And you!" she shrieked, spinning on him, her eyes blazing. "Are you a part of this? Are you one of his drunken friends or the one bringing him new girls?"

"Your Grace, I am Captain Murry of the Royal Guard. We are on official..."

"Derek Thompson!" she screamed, ignoring the Captain completely, her eyes once again on the balcony.

Derek, hearing his cue, let out a small, inaudible chuckle. You intrigue me daily, Marissa. He knew it was time for his own entrance. He groaned, a loud, pained sound, and slowly, clumsily, began to pull himself to his feet, using the balcony railing for support. He swayed, his hair a mess, the wine on his shirt a dark, dramatic stain.

"Duchess?" he slurred, his voice a perfect imitation of a man pulled from a deep, drunken sleep. He blinked, his eyes unfocused, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes. "Marissa? Is that... is that you?"

"Do not play the fool with me, Derek!" she shouted. " You came here to drink to girls, right?"

"No...No...I... I wasn’t drinking with girls," he stammered, his "drunk" logic a beautiful, idiotic defense. "I promise. I was... I was just resting my eyes. Ask them!" he pointed, vaguely, at the terrified, silent dancers cowering by the stage. "Ask them if you don’t believe me."

He then seemed to notice the Captain for the first time. He beamed, a sloppy, foolish, and utterly disarming grin. "Oh! Captain Murry! Welcome, welcome! It’s a pleasure to have you here. What would you like, tea, wine or beer?" he laughed, raising his half-empty wine bottle in a toast. The Captain was silent. "Or are you here on... on busy? Is His Majesty looking for me? Tell him I am... very busy, with... with important business!" He laughed again, a loud, braying, idiotic sound.

The Captain had had enough. His suspect was gone. His target was a useless, untouchable fool. And he was now the star of a public, domestic circus. He ignored Derek and gestured angrily to his men. "Keep on searching. Search the kitchens. Search the cellars. Search the study. Quickly. Bring anything suspicious you find."

But Marissa, her performance not yet over, stepped directly into his path, blocking him. "Sir," she said, her voice suddenly no longer hysterical, but cold, sharp, and suspicious. "What brings you here, to my husband’s... establishment? Is it to investigate him? Are you accusing the Grand Duke of something?"

"Your Grace, it is an official investigation for a fugitive. We will need your cooperation," the Captain said, his hand on his sword, his patience completely gone.

Marissa’s face instantly brightened. A smile, so wide, so fake, and so slightly unhinged, spread across her face. "A fugitive? Oh! Of course! Of course, we will cooperate!" She leaned in, her voice a loud, conspiratorial whisper. "Let me tell you, Captain, you should investigate them." She pointed a dramatic, accusing finger at the cowering, half-dressed dancers.

"They are temptresses," she hissed. "Every single one of them. After my husband gave this establishment to his mistress, they too started going close to him. They are trying to take my husband away from me. They are really suspicious. I’ll bet they are hiding your fugitive! You should question all of them. Immediately. Take them to the palace, if you must."

The Captain stared at her. He was a soldier, a man of order and law, and he was standing in the middle of a madhouse, being given orders by a beautiful, and clearly, completely insane Duchess.

He was done.

"The search is complete," he snarled, his face a mask of pure, humiliated fury. "We are leaving."

He barked an order to his men. They, too, were desperate to escape this circus of aristocratic madness. They began to pull out, forming up by the door, their expressions a mix of confusion and relief.

Marissa, her face still a mask of bright, helpful, and crazy-eyed concern, hurried after them. "Are you leaving already?" she called out, her voice full of false disappointment. "But you must come back! You must take some of the dancers for questioning! They are very, very suspicious!"

The guards did not pay attention to her. They just wanted to leave. They marched out, their retreat as fast and as undignified as their entrance had been grand.

The moment the last silver-and-blue uniform was out the door, Marissa’s frantic, unhinged smile turned into a slow, cold, and deeply satisfied one. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

High above, in a different private balcony across the hall, Prince Liam sat, his own, untouched glass of wine in his hand. He had not moved. He had watched everything.

He had seen the raid. He had seen the servant boy, almost caught. He had seen Derek drunk. And he had seen the Duchess, his cousin’s new, supposedly simple, provincial wife, arrive out of nowhere and, with the skill of a master strategist, create a perfect, chaotic, and brilliant diversion that had saved them all.

He took a slow, thoughtful sip of his wine.

"This woman," he whispered to the empty, shadowed room, "is interesting." He smiled, a thin, cold, and genuinely intrigued expression. "Very interesting, indeed."