Love Doesn't Matter - Chapter 112
Translator and Editor: Hue and Tea
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Chapter 112 – Capture
Exiting the palace, Hadius headed straight for Krambitz. The cottage was unusually quiet and had an air of nostalgia.
“Your Grace?”
The butler’s face showed surprise. It was only natural for the Duke, who was known to be in Eringer, to suddenly appear.
“…Please wait a moment. I will inform the master right away. He hasn’t been feeling well these past few days…”
Watching the flustered butler, Hadius could confirm that the letter was indeed having its desired effect.
Leaning against the terrace railing, he enjoyed the warmth of the sun as he patiently waited.
The hour was already late. But the anxious one wasn’t him; it was that woman now.
Only after an hour had passed did Caitlyn come out to greet her son. She was immaculately dressed from head to toe, but she couldn’t hide the dark shadow under her eyes.
“You’re back earlier than I thought, Hadii.”
Caitlyn greeted her son with a wide smile. The two embraced each other sheepishly.
“What’s the matter?”
Hadius deliberately asked with a worried expression.
“Hm?”
“You don’t look well.”
“Really? There’s nothing wrong.”
Caitlyn smiled even wider and touched her face with her hand.
“I heard you didn’t even attend the last council meeting you called for. You entrusted it to your deputy.”
“Ah,”
A long sigh–like laughter flowed from Caitlyn’s mouth.
“We don’t need to bother with such trivial matters.”
She replied, looking up at the high blue sky, and sighed again in admiration.
“You handled the Second Steel Mill’s riot very well, didn’t you? You’re now the representative of Meyer Steel. It doesn’t look good for me to keep taking the lead.”
She swept her hand up the terrace railing and reached Hadius’ shoulder. As she patted her son’s shoulder, she looked every bit like a loving mother.
“By the way, your birthday is coming up. I was thinking of hosting a public ball in Tobaro…. as part of the engagement ceremony.”
“That’s a good idea. It was getting ridiculous to keep receiving birthday wishes even after becoming an adult.”
“Yeah, you’ve never liked that since you were young.”
The two showed a more normal mother-son appearance than ever before.
“Anyway, I plan to stay away from society for a while. I should quietly prepare for the wedding. After the ceremony, I’ll immediately petition His Majesty the King for approval of the succession. I’ll ask for the title transfer.”
The hereditary title of Duke didn’t require the King’s permission. The problem was that it could only be passed on in the event of his father’s death.
As long as the current Duke of Meyer was alive, the successor needed the King’s permission to inherit the title.
Of course, the King didn’t have the real power to decide the succession. It was merely a formal procedure based on long-standing tradition.
“There’s no reason for Josef to deny the succession or to refuse.”
“Yes, we clearly left that part in writing during the negotiations for the marriage annulment.”
“Right.”
Caitlyn smiled contentedly.
“The award ceremony will be held at Ricardi Palace for once. I should ask Raz to prepare the soil in advance.”
The award ceremony was also a formality, but the ritual of granting a lump of soil symbolizing the fief was still observed.
“Speaking of which, I should visit Raz. Just in case. What if Boris is diligently embezzling my property through the back door?”
Caitlyn joked and looked at her son.
“Why don’t you come with me? You haven’t been there since you were young. It’ll be yours soon; you should take a look around.”
Raz was a territory that had been handed down from generation to generation in the Meyer family.
As Caitlyn Meyer abandoned the fertile farmland in favor of the new business of steel and finance, it was entrusted to a manager named Boris.
Of course, even though she was the actual owner of the estate, the term “my property” wasn’t quite accurate. It still belonged to the Duke Meyer.
“Let’s take it easy with Meyer Bank. It’ll be burdensome if you inherit too much at once.”
Caitlyn spoke as if she cared for her son, but Hadius didn’t buy it.
Meyer Bank was the lifeline of the family’s wealth. It meant that she intended to hold on to the most important thing until the end.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Thank you? If you keep saying that, I’ll feel awkward.”
Caitlyn jokingly said as she pressed her temple with the heel of her hand.
Her expression showed a completely different light from everything she had said before.
“By the way, I plan to visit Tobaro on Saturday.”
“Oh?”
“I’m going to meet the Grand Duke of Reinen and negotiate in earnest. Since both sides have appointed negotiation teams, we can now discuss the stakes in earnest…”
“Hadius.”
Caitlyn suddenly stopped talking.
“You should handle that issue yourself.”
Exhaustion settled heavily on her face.
“…Understood.”
“Since you mentioned it, I wish you’d spend some time with Bianca. Even if you pretend, she’ll definitely be disappointed. You haven’t even visited her when she was sick… do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Busy as you may be, go now. I also have an appointment in the afternoon.”
Caitlyn had finally received her son after a long time now didn’t even treat him to tea and hurriedly said goodbye. However, without even realizing it herself, she pushed her son away.
“I’ll come to see you again.”
“Sure, take care of yourself.”
The terrace was left empty after Hadius disappeared.
Caitlyn was left alone again. She untied the tight dress strap around her chest and slumped into a chair.
Though she pretended to be nonchalant, she was sweating and her mind was buzzing with thoughts.
At the moment, marriage or inheritance wasn’t the issue.
You know what you did to Kanoa and the illegitimate child.
Jetson must be closely following William Richards’ footsteps, right?
No, she shouldn’t just wait for Jetson. She needed to prepare for the possibility that he might not be the culprit.
If it’s not Richards, then who could it be?
She had to explore all possibilities.
When she thought about it, there were not just one or two suspicious people. Building Meyer Steel without making enemies was impossible.
Could it be Josef? Or Richards? Or perhaps… Hadius?
She’d rather it be William Richards…
She hoped Jetson would return with evidence…
Caitlyn pressed her hand against her forehead, trying to catch her breath.
For the past three days, William Richards’ carriage had not deviated from its simple route between his home and the clinic. He didn’t even visit the clubhouses or gambling dens he used to frequent.
Jetson found it suspicious.
“If it’s hard to track William Richards’ movements, go find those people, Jetson,” his boss had told him. ‘Those people’ referred to the loyal messengers who had worked for his boss and his family for generations.
The place was filled with assassins, contract killers, forgers, swindlers, smugglers, and fences. It was also where Jetson had sought out call girls and illegitimate children for Mrs. Caitlyn Meyer.
“This time, they’ll help you. Plant someone in William Richards’ house or bribe his servants. Use any means necessary to tail him. William Richards has already used his informants to spy on me before. Even if he’s not the one who sent that letter, we need to investigate.”
Jetson watched as William Richards’ carriage disappeared into the mansion.
After half a day of travel, he arrived at Mondio, not far from Nowak, a poor district.
Houses made of planks were clustered along the smelly river and soggy swamp. Jetson tightly gripped his gun inside his coat as he passed beggars and street urchins on every corner.
After a while, he stood in front of a door covered with several layers of planks.
It was a shabby building, its paint peeling and almost falling apart, but with large men standing guard, it could pass as one of Nowak’s major jewelry shops.
One of the burly men squinted at him, then opened the door.
Exactly one hour later, Jetson emerged again. He cautiously retraced his steps toward the carriage.
Thud!
A strong impact and a flash of light hit him.
Jetson’s hand instinctively reached for his throbbing back of his head. But before his hand reached it, he collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll, unconscious.
“We finally got him,” someone muttered with a sneer, dropping a long metal baton.
It was Hutton, the chimney sweeper at the Krambitz estate.
He had been searching for Caitlyn Meyer’s confidant for months, seeking vengeance for himself and offering freedom to his master.
Hutton carefully tied Jetson’s body with a rope and placed him in a large sack. Just before securing the sack, he took away Jetson’s gun and dagger.
If Jetson caused any trouble upon awakening, it would spell disaster.
“You damn bastard…”
He had been cleaning chimneys at the Krambitz estate for months, but couldn’t get close enough to Caitlyn Meyer to carry out her orders. There were too many people who seemed loyal, from the housemaids to the private tutors and bodyguards.
Hutton was well aware of Caitlyn Meyer’s cautious nature. She never used servants carelessly and didn’t make use of famous crime organizations like Harrel.
That’s what his boss had said.
Caitlyn Meyer never treated servants lightly and kept her words to a minimum. Even though they played their parts, only extracting information, she never truly understood their role.
That’s how Caitlyn Meyer used people.
But now, he finally found the key to revenge and freedom in the form of Jetson, the old man.
Hutton carefully placed Jetson in the carriage.
A few hours later, Jetson woke, feeling like his head was splitting with pain. He was tied to a chair, with his vision obscured by a hood.
In front of him were Hutton and his boss. A little distance away, Hadius stood with his arms folded, coldly observing them.
At the same time, Harrel’s messenger was meeting with William Richards and reporting some intriguing information from the chestnut forest.
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