The Stand-In Villainess's Contract Marriage: I Was Divorced After a Year, But For Some Reason, My Ex-Husband Seems to Be Looking for Me - Chapter 27

Kararize did not trust Count Tweed.

He simply had nowhere else to go, so he spent his days in the room that had been provided to him.

It was during this time, when Kararize was living aimlessly, that his father suddenly passed away.

It was only a few days before he was about to graduate from the academy.

While Kararize was sitting idly in a room at Count Tweed’s estate, guards suddenly came to arrest him.

If Count Tweed hadn’t rushed back and sternly reprimanded the guards for barging into his house without permission, Kararize might have been taken away.

It seemed that his father had been found dead in his bedroom.

His half-brother, Braulio, suspected poison, as their father had died with a tormented expression.

And since Kararize was set to graduate from the academy and be disinherited in just a few days, Braulio accused him of poisoning their father.

Indeed, Kararize’s disinheritance and the formal transfer of the title had not yet been finalized.

If their father died in this state, neither process could proceed, and the Kirina dukedom would automatically pass to Kararize.

It was a situation that naturally aroused suspicion.

However, Kararize had no desire to inherit the Kirina dukedom, much less kill his father for it.

Despite this, Braulio continued to accuse Kararize, even bringing up Valentina’s name, stating that Kararize was the murderer.

It was well known at the academy that Kararize, who had no interest in anyone else, would only speak to and smile at his fiancée, Valentina. Thus, many people believed Braulio’s accusations.

Kararize was called in for questioning by the guards and was detained for several days during the investigation.

Valentina even came to visit him there.

With a sad expression, she told him, “Even if you do this, I will not return to you. I was only close to you because we were engaged.”

Kararize remembered seeing Braulio standing behind her, looking triumphant.

If Kararize had killed his father to usurp the title, he could have faced exile or even the death penalty.

But Kararize no longer cared what happened to him.

He believed that his very existence had been a mistake from the start.

It was Count Tweed who saved Kararize from this despair.

The Count testified that he had found Kararize wandering in town and taken him into his home.

He confirmed that Kararize had barely left his room and hadn’t been to the estate or the academy.

Moreover, the Count gathered detailed information from doctors and acquaintances, revealing that the late Duke Kirina had suffered from a heart condition.

He also submitted a report suggesting that the Duke’s sudden death may have been caused by a heart attack, exacerbated by his habitual heavy drinking.

Indeed, no poison was found in the Duke’s body, and the evidence collected by Count Tweed confirmed that he had a serious heart condition.

Even the guards explained that Kararize had not been detained as a suspect, but rather for his protection until the case could be resolved.

Thus, after a long investigation, Kararize’s innocence was proven.

His father had died of natural causes, and because no will had been left behind, the disinheritance and transfer of the title could not proceed, leaving Kararize to inherit the Kirina dukedom.

Braulio, however, continued to insist that Kararize was not their father’s true son and therefore had no right to the title.

Apparently, their father had told Braulio this before his death.

But while Kararize did not resemble his father as closely as Braulio did, there were still similarities between them.

Moreover, relatives from Kararize’s mother’s side testified that he was indeed the son of the late Duke Kirina.

Thus, Kararize narrowly escaped disinheritance and became the rightful head of the Kirina dukedom.

“Enemies should be dealt with swiftly and thoroughly,” Count Tweed advised him.

Following this advice, Kararize decided to take legal action against Braulio, who had falsely accused him of patricide and could potentially cause further trouble for his rule.

As Count Tweed had predicted, Braulio did not easily give up his claim to the title.

It was also unsettling to hear Valentina’s name brought up again, and Kararize suspected that Braulio might even try to target him personally.

Braulio, thinking it was merely a matter of revenge, underestimated the situation, but Kararize was now the head of the Kirina dukedom.

Their statuses were no longer comparable—Braulio was merely the illegitimate son of the former Duke.

The court found Braulio guilty, and he was sentenced to exile in a remote region.

Just as Kararize thought everything had finally settled, Count Tweed passed away.

On one of his last visits to the ailing Count, Kararize had expressed his desire to repay him for all that he had done.

In response, Count Tweed asked Kararize to look after his mistress.

The Count had a young mistress.

Due to his experiences with his own parents, Kararize had a negative view of mistresses.

Thus, he couldn’t bring himself to promise anything in response to the Count’s final request.

While Kararize was still agonizing over his decision, Count Tweed passed away.

Though he regretted not being able to fulfill the Count’s last wish, he learned that the mistress’s reputation was not very good.

Despite inheriting part of the Count’s estate, she continued to live a frivolous life, even going so far as to impersonate the Count’s deceased daughter.

Seeing how selfish and self-centered the mistress was, Kararize concluded that she was no different from his mother or Valentina.

The thought that Count Tweed had been so infatuated with such a woman reminded Kararize of how he had once been similarly obsessed with Valentina, and it left him feeling deeply unsettled.

After Braulio was exiled, Valentina broke off her engagement with him and came to ask Kararize to renew their engagement.

Knowing how deeply she believed Kararize had once been infatuated with her, Valentina likely thought he would gladly accept her offer.