The End of First Love - Chapter 40

“What a distasteful sight…”

Heinz muttered in disgust as he stepped into the dimly lit corridor and entered the room before him. The iron bars enclosing a bed, the chains and shackles fastened to the walls—there was no need for speculation about the room’s intended purpose.

Had they planned to imprison Elizabeth here, keeping her captive like a caged animal? The mere thought sent a surge of rage coursing through Heinz’s body.

(I should finish what I came here for and leave this place immediately. Otherwise, I might just kill him in my fury.)

Scanning the room carefully, Heinz searched for anything out of place. The chamber was lavishly decorated with ornate furniture, but one item stood out—a bookshelf. A bookcase in a room with iron bars seemed highly out of place.

Stepping closer, Heinz let his fingers run along the neatly arranged books. His keen eyes caught a slight anomaly—a single book protruding ever so slightly from the rest, an imperceptible detail to an untrained eye. Pressing it, a section of the wall shifted, revealing the very item he sought. A sly smile crept onto his lips.

“This will corner the concubine.”

The evidence of secret dealings between the concubine and Count Mareille was now in his hands. Heinz flipped through the papers, his grin deepening.

“Contracts regarding the sale of illicit drugs, requests for male slave courtesans… all bearing the concubine’s personal signature. That man must have been wary of being discarded like a pawn.”

No matter the era, those who operate in the shadows are the first to be discarded when they become inconvenient. The underworld boss must have understood that well, which is why he agreed to Heinz’s covert proposal.

Thinking of the man who had fled toward the neighboring country’s borders, Heinz’s expression turned into a cold, pitying smirk.

(He doesn’t realize… that a pawn remains just a pawn. By now, he’s probably been silenced near the border.)

Pushing the thought aside, Heinz exited the loathsome room.

(Now then, it’s about time for him to arrive. Let’s bring this to its final act.)

“You bastards! What do you think you’re doing?!”

A furious shout rang out in the lavishly furnished room. Heinz, seated comfortably in an opulent chair, frowned at the disturbance.

“Could you lower your voice? It’s rather unpleasant.”

As soon as the doors had swung open, the guards behind him had swiftly taken down Leonardo Mareille, binding his hands behind his back and tossing him to the ground. Heinz looked down at the struggling man and spoke.

“Why are you here?! Where is the manager?!”

“The manager? Ah, those men in black? They’re in the royal palace dungeon, charged with attempting to kidnap the duke’s daughter.”

“What?! That’s impossible… No, this must be a mistake! I have nothing to do with it! The manager and I had nothing more than a business relationship. Release me at once! You have no right to detain me—I am the son of a count! If you don’t let me go immediately, this will become a serious problem!”

“Is that so? Then, I assume you also have no connection to these crimes?”

Heinz casually unfurled a document in front of the fallen man.

“By royal decree, Count Mareille and his son, Leonardo, are to be taken into custody. The charges are as follows:”

“Human trafficking, illegal drug trade, unlawful gambling, blackmail against nobles, kidnapping… Quite an impressive list, isn’t it? Do you understand now? These crimes have been traced back to the Mareille family. I have been granted authority by His Majesty as Chief Inspector of the Royal Guard. Arresting you is well within my jurisdiction.”

“I-I didn’t know! My father did all of this! I had no involvement!”

“Then let’s add one more charge—the attempted kidnapping of Duke Baker’s daughter.”

“That’s absurd! I’ve never even met the Duke’s daughter!”

“So, you deny it?”

The pitiful man still clung to the hope of escape. Heinz decided it was time to crush that illusion.

“Shall I let you in on a little secret? The entire plan to kidnap Elizabeth was completely exposed from the beginning. No, that’s not quite right. You were merely a pawn, dancing in the palm of my hand. You were played as a mere piece in a scheme orchestrated well before you even realized it.”

“No… that can’t be… Then Maria… she was working with you?”

“Hah, what nonsense. Why on earth would I conspire with a frivolous woman like her? The truth is simple: your little scheme with Baroness Maria was under surveillance the entire time. Didn’t anything seem too convenient? That everything was proceeding too smoothly? Let me reveal another truth—your bodyguards were actually operatives of the Schwein Duke’s shadow unit. Every conversation you had with the manager was reported directly to me. From there, I fed you false information about my visit to the church, allowing your little kidnapping plot to unfold precisely as planned.”

“So… everything was a setup…”

“Exactly. I simply manipulated events from behind the scenes.”

“You bastard! You set me up!”

Leonardo roared, thrashing in rage, but Heinz remained unfazed. Standing up, he calmly closed the distance and, without hesitation, delivered a brutal kick to Leonardo’s face. The impact sent the man flying into the wall before he collapsed onto the floor, barely conscious.

Walking over, Heinz seized him by the hair and forced him to look up.

“The moment you laid a hand on Elizabeth, your fate was sealed. With these charges, your entire family will be executed. But mere death is too light a punishment. My rage will not be satisfied. Perhaps I should make you suffer a fate worse than death.”

Terror flooded Leonardo’s eyes. His body trembled violently.

Now, he finally understood the depths of Heinz’s wrath.

“I-I’ll do anything! Just spare my life!”

“Then, you will cooperate. Depending on how useful you prove to be, I might show mercy and have you exiled to a neighboring country. It’s a military state where one’s worth is determined by skill alone. Even commoners can rise through the ranks if they are capable. That would be the most generous concession I could offer.”

Leonardo frantically nodded, clinging to hope. Heinz’s smirk widened.

What a fool. Very well, he would grant the man’s request—exile to the neighboring nation. But he was too ignorant to realize that criminals were treated quite differently there.

Did he really think he could escape so easily?

“Take him away.”

As silence returned to the room, Heinz murmured softly to himself.

“Elizabeth, just a little longer… Soon, you will be mine. At last, my long-held wish will come true…”