6. Suspicion

“Then I'll go first, Grandpa!”

Duke Andrew watched as his granddaughter cheerfully came out of his room after they had finished talking together. The smile that was originally visible on Duke Andrew's lips was completely gone, when the door to his study closed tightly again after Ariana left.

“James, you're here, right?”

Out of the shadows, James came out and bowed respectfully to his master. “I'm here, Your Grace,” he said respectfully. Duke Andrew's brows furrowed from time to time, as his granddaughter's sudden change of mind completely boggled his mind at the moment.

“James, who's in charge of following Aria when she visits the palace?” Duke Andrew asked.

“It's Valencia and the two knights named Luke and Cale, My Lord. Do I need to summon them here?”

Duke Andrew nodded and James took his orders immediately. It didn't take long before the summoned people knelt before the Duke. They all greeted Duke Andrew respectfully, before standing back up when Duke Andrew had allowed them to.

“Tell me, what was Aria doing while you were accompanying her to the palace?”

“Your Grace, as usual, Lady Aria met Queen Melisa and Crown Prince Emilio and then spent time eating together. Since the Crown Prince himself is a busy person, Lady Aria immediately parted ways with the Queen and the Crown Prince after they finished having lunch together. Lady Aria played in the royal gardens for a while, before we finally returned to the duke's residence again.”

There's nothing out of the ordinary about Ariana's routine when she visits the palace. But no matter how many times Duke Andrew tried to think about it, the man remained suspicious because Ariana was found drowned in the back pool after she returned from the palace.

“I understand. You can go now.”

The people bowed their heads and went back to their respective duties when Duke Andrew had finished with them. The old man's gaze now turned to James, who kept an eye on their conversation from start to finish.

“This is too weird,” said Duke Andrew suddenly.

“She has never been so brave to talk to me, like the way she talks to me today. The girl that usually clings to the Queen and the Crown Prince is also surprisingly trying to break off their engagement now. That girl was so stubborn with her decision, that she willingly promised me to pass on the family's sword techniques as long as she could break off the engagement. She's just a little girl. Why does she have to be this stubborn for something she doesn't even understand well enough yet?”

“Lady Aria's actions after she woke up were also a little confusing, Your Grace. She ate perfectly, and wasn't awkward at all when she asked me to talk. Lady Aria also suddenly apologized to me. Her face looked sad, and I didn't understand why would she have to do that to someone like me?”

Since Ariana was from the only family with an almost equal status with the royal family, she had been like a little devil ever since she was spoiled by her parents. She refuses to study like a Lady, she never cares about who serves her, and Ariana isn't the type to apologize even if she did make a mistake. Not to mention that Ariana did it to James, whom the girl only thought of as her servant in the past.

Duke Andrew was silent for a moment. “Continue with your report,” he said when he saw that James still had something to say to him.

“Then I heard from another maid, that while Lady Aria waited until you allowed her to come, she got acquainted with most of the maids and had a friendly conversation with them.”

“She couldn't have done that in the past either, right? My son always pampers Aria more than anything else. The maids are changed every month, so the kid is always used to ignoring whoever serves her in the past.”

The more they thought about it, the weirder Ariana's actions today became. Duke Andrew closed his words as he pondered. Cautiously, Duke Andrew tried to think about the reason for his granddaughter's sudden change. But every time he thought about it, he couldn't help but linked Ariana's sudden change to her granddaughter's last visit to the palace. At that time, the Duke could not accompany his granddaughter because he had urgent matters to attend to. Allowing a twelve-year-old child to come to the palace without the guidance of her family, was definitely a wrong decision. Even if Duke Andrew prepared many servants and knights for Ariana, what could they do in front of the royal family?

Duke Andrew growled. He really had to talk to the king after this. No matter the slightest disturbance to his granddaughter, Duke Andrew would not stand by when someone out there might do something to his granddaughter.

Because not only was Ariana the last reliable heir in his family, she was also the only grandchild he could love and pamper in this world.

Duke Andrew leaned back in his work chair as he finally made his decision. “Send a letter to our spies who are in the palace. For now, they can focus solely on the movements of the Queen and the Crown Prince. It would be best, if they could find out what Ariana was talking about with them when she visited the palace. Then, immediately report to me when they get any progress.”

Duke Andrew's eyes flashed a dangerous glint as he continued his sentence. “And don't let Aria leave this residence for a while. I have to come up with an excuse to break off her engagement with the Crown Prince. You will be responsible for taking care of her from now on. Now that she has chosen the most difficult path to inherit the title of Duchess, she needs a suitable companion that capable of guiding her on the right path.”

James nodded obediently at Duke Andrew's command. “I'll let them know about this new order. And as for any other matter … I'll be calling Jimmy right away to come back and take my place in the service of you, Your Grace.”

Jimmy is James' son who often leaves the Duke's residence to carry out special missions under Duke Andrew's orders. When James was asked to focus on serving Ariana, the butler knew he needed someone else to fill his position as Duke Andrew's right-hand man. Jimmy is the right choice for that. In a place where anyone could harm Alison's family, Duke Andrew could only entrust a few people to be by his side.

“Then … Tell Sir Albert to come to my room. I want to assign him as Aria's sword master from now on.”

For Ariana, who had never had a basic swordsmanship before, learning the sword at the age of twelve would probably be too much for her to endure. But Duke Andrew didn't have the slightest doubt about this decision. He could know his granddaughter's wish. In those passionate eyes, Duke Andrew knew Ariana had the passion to do things as quickly as possible.

“As for the other teacher, should we change it too?" James asked for sure. Duke Andrew then shook his head in response. “They are specially selected by me from families who have sworn allegiance to ours. There is no change in plans. I will personally send letters to those families to continue teaching Aria in the future."

For the sake of his granddaughter's future, Duke Andrew will not let anything go wrong about this matter.