ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 213: Ivanka’s scar

Demian finally moved.

He walked forward.

His steps stopped right in front of Celia.

The woman seemed to tremble slightly when Demian’s gaze fell upon her.

But Demian only stared at her in silence.

A few seconds.

Then a few seconds more.

Then he spoke in a low voice.

"Ivanka."

Celia frowned.

"I already told you—"

But before she could finish her sentence Demian raised his hand.

With one swift motion he grabbed Celia’s wrist.

Everyone in the room was startled.

Celia tried to pull her hand back.

"Sir, let go of me—"

But Demian did not move.

He stared at the woman’s wrist with sharp eyes.

Because there on the inside of her wrist was a small scar that looked very familiar.

A scar he remembered very clearly.

The scar Ivanka Kosler had gotten as a child when she fell from a horse in the courtyard of Kosler Castle.

Demian slowly lifted his head.

His gaze returned to the woman’s face.

And for the first time since they met a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Ivanka."

His voice was quiet.

But it was enough to make the entire room feel colder.

"You were always bad at lying."

The town hall felt smaller and smaller under the weight of the tension.

Everyone held their breath.

Demian’s hand was still gripping the wrist of the woman who claimed her name was Celia.

The woman tried to pull her hand away in panic.

"Sir, let go of me!"

But Demian did not move even slightly.

His gaze remained fixed on the small scar on the inside of her wrist.

A scar he knew very well.

Slowly, he lifted his head.

His eyes met the woman’s face.

A faint smile cold and sharp appeared on his lips.

"Ivanka."

His voice was quiet.

"It seems you are still bad at lying."

The room immediately filled with whispers.

The woman looked even more panicked.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

She tried to pull her hand away again.

But Demian’s grip did not loosen.

On the other side of the room, Kaiser who had been observing silently the whole time finally let out a long sigh.

He stepped forward a few paces.

"So..."

Kaiser said lazily.

"This is why you summoned me all the way here?"

He looked at the scar on the woman’s wrist.

Demian answered without turning his head.

"That scar."

"She got it when she fell from a horse in the courtyard of Kosler Castle when she was nine years old."

Celia or Ivanka fell silent.

Her face turned pale.

Some of the villagers who had defended her earlier began exchanging uncertain looks.

Kaiser raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting."

He stepped closer and examined the woman’s wrist more carefully.

Then he looked at her face again.

"So..."

He tilted his head slightly.

"You really are Ivanka Kosler the woman who was supposed to be dead?"

The woman bit her lip.

Her eyes began to fill with tears.

"I... am not..."

But her voice sounded unsteady.

Demian finally released her wrist.

The woman immediately stepped back several paces as if afraid of being touched again.

Demian looked at her coldly.

"You can deceive the villagers."

"You can deceive those who never knew you."

He paused for a moment.

His gaze grew sharper.

"But you cannot deceive me."

A heavy silence filled the room.

Everyone was now waiting for one thing.

The woman’s answer.

Whether she truly was Celia.

Or Ivanka, who was supposed to have died in the ravine with the burning carriage.

The investigation lasted for two full days.

The town hall had begun to resemble a courtroom. Guards moved in and out carrying reports, witnesses were called one after another, and the city officials barely dared to lift their heads in front of the two men seated at the end of the hall.

On the main seat sat Kaiser, while beside him stood Demian, his face showing not the slightest trace of emotion.

In the middle of the room, the woman who claimed her name was Celia sat uneasily.

At last, the investigators returned with the final report.

One of the guards knelt before Kaiser.

"Your Highness... we have examined everything."

Kaiser raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

The guard lowered his head further.

"The carriage accident... was not an accident."

The atmosphere in the room tightened instantly.

Demian did not move, but his gaze grew sharper.

The guard continued,

"Marquess Kosler planned it from the beginning."

Several people in the room drew sharp breaths.

The guard opened the scroll of documents he had brought.

"On the night before the incident, the Marquess ordered several of his trusted men to prepare a substitute body."

"The body of a woman with a height and build similar to Ivanka Kosler."

Demian remained silent.

But behind his back, his hand slowly clenched into a fist.

The guard continued carefully.

"The carriage that fell into the ravine was intentionally made to look like an accident."

"But before the carriage fell... Ivanka had already been taken out of it by the Marquess’s men."

The room fell silent.

Kaiser looked at the report with an expressionless face.

"And then?"

The guard swallowed.

"The substitute body was placed inside the carriage."

"After that, the carriage was pushed into the ravine and set on fire."

Several city officials looked pale.

Because everyone remembered how tragic the news of Ivanka’s death had been at the time.

The burned body.

Unrecognizable.

And now it turned out—

everything had been planned.

Kaiser crossed his arms.

"So the Marquess saved his own daughter."

The guard nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness."

He continued,

"After that, Ivanka was secretly taken away and hidden in this port town."

Kaiser’s gaze then shifted to the woman sitting in the middle of the room.

The woman looked confused as she listened to everything.

Her eyes widened.

"I... don’t understand..."

she said softly.

"I’m Celia..."

Her voice trembled.

"I’m the daughter of a fruit seller..."

But the investigator slowly shook his head.

"There is one more thing."

He opened the last note.

"The men who brought Ivanka to this town said that during the journey, a small accident occurred."

"They said Ivanka fell and struck her head."

"After that..."

The guard paused briefly.

"She did not remember anything anymore."

The room fell silent again.

Kaiser let out a long breath.

"Amnesia."

he said shortly.

His eyes returned to the woman.

The woman who now looked more confused than ever.

"She doesn’t remember who she is."

"She doesn’t remember her family."

"She doesn’t remember her life as a noble."

Kaiser then turned toward Demian.

"And now she lives as a village woman named Celia."

Demian still stood in the same place.

His gaze rested on the woman’s face.

A face he knew very well.

But the eyes of that woman now held not even the faintest shadow of the woman he once knew.

The woman clutched her clothes nervously.

"I... really don’t understand..."

Tears began to gather in her eyes.

"I’m Celia..."

"I have never been a noble..."

Kaiser rubbed his temple in annoyance.

"This situation is becoming troublesome."

he said quietly.

Then he looked at Demian.

"So what now?"

"This woman is Ivanka Kosler."

"But she doesn’t even remember herself."

Kaiser sighed again.

"And what’s even more interesting..."

He glanced at Demian with a faint smile.

"You’re the one who made her a widow before she ’died.’"