MGN | Chapter 25

“What did you say?”

I couldn’t be sure if I heard correctly. But Manon kept repeating the same words over and over without stopping.

“I pushed Philippe, I mean, I pushed him…”

“Hold on. Manon. Just, please, be quiet for a moment.”

Gripping her trembling shoulders, Maël turned his head. Even the sound of the coffee machine had stopped.

Yves, holding only a white coffee cup with his fingers, walked over leisurely. He pulled out a chair and sat at the now spotless table.

Seeing him, Manon staggered as if all the blood had drained from her. Biting her pink lips, she looked at Maël as if asking what to do.

Maël was just as flustered. His sister was saying she killed her husband, a prince of a principality, on her wedding day, and the man claiming to be an illegitimate child of that principality heard it.

‘What should I do in a situation like this?’

Unable to make a judgment, he just tightened his grip on Manon’s shoulders. Yves pushed the coffee cup in front of an empty seat, as if telling her to sit.

Manon moved first at the silent instruction. Her chest heaved as she sat next to the coffee cup.

Yves, who had stood up again, fetched his black fur coat that he had thrown aside. He draped it over Manon’s shoulders and bent down.

“Where’s the body?”

Manon’s slender body flinched. Maël, who had been just watching, shouted.

“Yves! What are you…?”

“Can I pretend I didn’t hear it now? I can’t.”

Yves returned to his seat leisurely, showing no intention of moving.

Yves, and Manon trembling inside Yves’ coat. To resolve this situation, they couldn’t ignore the fact that Yves had heard.

‘Damn it.’

He needed to think rationally and make a reasonable decision. Maël swallowed a sigh and sat down. The steam from the coffee in front of him seemed to mock him.

“What on earth happened?”

“Not in front of… that person.”

Manon seemed dazed by Yves’ presence. It was natural. No one could comfortably talk about killing someone in front of a stranger, especially someone like Yves.

As if answering, Yves spoke up.

“I’ll be on your sister’s side. As you know.”

Looking at Maël, not Manon. Maël hesitated for a moment before pushing the coffee cup towards Manon.

“Oppa, I don’t drink this.”

“Just hold it.”

It was for his trembling sister under the heavy coat. Maël gritted his teeth, looking at Yves, who wouldn’t leave.

“Don’t worry about Yves. Speak slowly. Start with whatever comes to mind. What happened?”

Maybe it was because he called Yves by his name. Whatever she guessed from that, Manon took a deep breath. After holding the coffee cup with both hands for a while, she started speaking, trembling.

“So, I took the medicine. It makes me really sleepy, so I told Philippe and went up to sleep early. I woke up feeling really nauseous, so I contacted you. Because you had the medicine.”

“The call I missed?”

“Yeah, probably. But Philippe was next to me. He moved my phone away. He seemed really drunk, and suddenly he said the moon was so pretty, let’s go see it on the balcony together.”

Her words were tinged with emotion, perhaps due to overflowing feelings.

The balcony of the Royal Suite at the Riviera Hotel, where they stayed today, was wide. It was a floor above where they were now, and being high up, it looked like a new kind of nest built at the highest point of the cliff.

“He said we should show it to the baby later, when it’s born. He wanted to record a greeting video since today was our wedding day. So, I agreed.”

Manon’s eyelashes were wet. Even as she bit her lips, she forced herself to speak.

“But there, Philippe tried to film something weird with his phone. He said no one would see since it was the balcony, even though it was outside… But when I said I didn’t want to, he got really angry. I got mad too…”

“So that bastard hit you?”

His voice was mixed with agitation.

Maël knew that asking in an agitated manner wouldn’t help. Domestic violence was a common theme in divorce cases.

Admitting to being hit by someone wasn’t easy.

Violence didn’t end with physical wounds. Betrayal, fear, and a damaged self. It was something to always keep in mind during counseling, and even aside from his experience as a lawyer, Maël knew the feeling of being a victim of violence better than anyone. Yet, he couldn’t speak dryly as usual. Tears fell from Manon’s dry cheeks.

It was Yves who broke the silence.

“Did you change your job to a prosecutor?”

His cold eyes meeting Maël’s were a warning to get a grip. Probably more for the information than to comfort Manon.

Even if his intentions were dark, he wasn’t wrong.

“Sorry. You don’t have to say that. Just…”

Maël apologized, and Manon shook her head as if it didn’t matter and continued speaking.

“Philippe kept saying… that I didn’t smile at him today. That I looked angry throughout the wedding, didn’t sign the prenuptial agreement right away, and seemed not to like him. He said he was going crazy with frustration on such a precious day. Even though I avoided him, he tried to grab my neck…”

Maël swallowed a sigh that threatened to escape. His head felt like it was going to explode with anger. His sister took several deep breaths. Clutching the cup with her dry hands, she barely murmured to herself.

“In the end, I chose someone like Dad, even though I said I wouldn’t… I, you told me not to go through with this marriage so many times.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I don’t know. Is it really not? I thought it wouldn’t be. That it would be okay. Philippe had never done that before. But, you know. Once it happens, what comes next. Philippe came at me again, and if I just stood there and took it… what about the baby?”

Manon, who had been staring at the dark coffee, raised her head for the first time.

“So I pushed Philippe. Really, really hard.”

It was the moment she confessed to a crime. But during the entire time she spoke, trembling and sobbing, Manon was eerily calm and resolute when she said those words.

Ha, a breath escaped Maël’s lips. Manon lowered her eyes again and cautiously continued.

“I think I heard a scream, but I really can’t remember. It might have been my scream. I… I ran away. Locked myself in the bathroom and turned on the water.”

It was a familiar method.

It was how Maël and Manon escaped their father’s violence. Running to the bathroom, locking the door, and waiting until their father tired himself out and passed out drunk or went out gambling.

Of course, turning on the sink, bathtub, and shower to the max to block out the sound of curses and banging on the door.

“I don’t know how long I was there. It seemed quiet, so I came out, and he wasn’t there.”

He wasn’t there. Those words held a faint hope. Maël quickly pointed it out.

“Are you sure Philippe ended up like that? He might have just fallen, or gone out drinking.”

“I hoped so too, but when I looked, I thought he had left, but one shoe and his phone were hanging at the edge of the balcony. Like he fell. So I came straight to you.”

She said she pushed him. After saying that, Manon seemed to have given up, strangely calm. Maël checked the time.

‘How long has it been since Manon came to this room?’

If the shoe and phone were placed like that, there was a high chance he fell. But they couldn’t be sure of death. Words tangled with excitement and confusion spilled out.

“Manon, exactly how drunk was Philippe? If we call the rescue team now, I mean, if he’s still alive.”

“That can’t happen. Not for someone like him.”

It was Yves, who had been silent like a picture after one remark. He asked Manon again.

“Do you hope he’s alive?”

Manon’s eyelids fluttered, and her cheeks were wet again. Even as she quietly shed tears, she didn’t say she hoped Philippe was alive. Yves twisted his lips into a smile.

“Fortunately, ten minutes is enough for drowning. He was drunk, and because of lung issues, Philippe never learned to swim. The waves are high, so it’ll take time to find the body.”

The man’s voice, pointing out each detail, was low and calm. In stark contrast to the incident.

“Today, the hotel’s external surveillance is tight. Internal security is a mess.”

Yves spoke up to that point, then pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, and handed it to Maël. It was an official document from the Grand Ducal Palace regarding cooperation requests for the Riviera Hotel’s wedding after-party.

It stated that the hotel’s internal surveillance cameras should be kept to a minimum. It even pointed out specific places where cameras shouldn’t be used, like inside the casino, the suite’s hallway, and parts of the rose garden.

“Recently, some statements made by the Grand Duke’s sons were leaked. They’re trying to find the leaker, so the security personnel are in disarray.”

It meant the Grand Ducal Palace was already concerned about many things. When Maël returned the phone, Yves nodded.

“The siblings are alike. Lucky too.”

Luck. Talking about luck in this situation?

“Yves, if you’re not going to help, please just shut up.”

“Why can’t I help?”

Yves asked back. When Maël glared, he tilted his head.

“A promising young woman shouldn’t ruin her life over a piece of trash.”