He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 135

135. The Grandson of the Duke’s Family (2)

Geoffrey Edwards frowned deeply, criticizing his brother, Duke Garrett.

“Garrett is a terrifying man. He’ll use any means necessary to achieve his goals. You may have come here at Garrett’s request, but Sir Sanderson, you should be careful as well.”

“Sir Geoffrey, if you distrust Duke Garrett so much, why did you allow my visit, knowing I came at his request?”

“Because I am certain that Leo is Dylan’s biological son. And although Sir Sanderson, you may have come at the behest of my devious brother, I believe you will view this situation more fairly than anyone else. Surely, the esteemed Baron Sanderson wouldn’t be swayed by Garrett’s manipulations, would he?”

“Sir Geoffrey, I am not here to listen to your personal grievances against Duke Garrett. I am here to verify the accurate facts.”

“Yes, I understand. Ask anything. Leo is definitely Dylan’s biological son.”

Geoffrey Edwards was full of confidence. His expression and eyes showed no signs of deceit.

“Very well. Then let me ask you this. If Leo Edwards, whom you brought from Jamaica, is truly the son of Dylan Edwards, he should have been born in England and moved to North America. Were you aware of this?”

Geoffrey Edwards looked bewildered and questioned back.

“What are you talking about? Leo was born in England? And North America?”

He was unaware of Leo’s accurate past.

“It seems you are not fully informed. Then how did you become convinced that this young man, Leo, is the legitimate grandson of the Edwards family?”

“A few years ago, I happened to hear a strange rumor. A white administrator living in Jamaica was boasting that he was the grandson of the Edwards ducal family.

At first, I ignored it, but after hearing it several times, there were many details that only a true member of the family would know.

Most people would have overlooked it, but as a member of the Edwards family, I found the details unsettling. Eventually, I couldn’t resist my curiosity and went to Jamaica.”

“It’s a bit difficult to understand. Jamaica is a long voyage of several months, and if you went to such lengths without any significant gain, wasn’t there another special intention?”

“Another intention? Are you referring to the nonsense circulating that I brought a fake grandson to extort money from my brother?”

When Theo nodded, Geoffrey bristled and defended himself.

“Alright, I’ll be honest since there’s no point in hiding it now. Yes, Garrett has been selfish since he was young. It’s only natural for brothers to help each other in times of need, but I was so angry at his self-centeredness that I could hardly bear it anymore. There was even an incident where I wanted to kill Garrett, but it’s too personal to discuss.”

Geoffrey took a sip of his tea, trying to suppress his agitation, and continued.

“For these reasons, even when I left for Jamaica, I thought that if the boy was truly our family’s grandson, revenge might be possible.

But after going there, examining Leo, and listening to him, I became convinced that he was indeed the grandson of our eldest brother, Bentley.

Moreover, seeing Leo, whose parents were both dead, pathetically tending to a farm there, I thought something was terribly wrong.

If he had lived properly in England, wouldn’t Leo be the one holding the Duke’s title now, instead of Garrett?

So, I believed that I had to correct this unreasonable situation and help Leo Edwards regain at least some of the rights he should have enjoyed.

That’s why I brought him back, braving the long sea voyage.”

In those days, noble families used every means to ensure that most of the family’s wealth was inherited by the eldest son when the family’s title was passed down.

In a noble society where the family was valued more than the individual, it was believed that concentrating the title, estates, and other assets on one person was necessary to prevent the family from disappearing and to maintain its name for a long time.

In fact, in cases where the family’s wealth was not entirely passed on to the eldest son but was distributed among relatives, the family often disappeared without a trace after a few generations.

For this reason, most noble families empowered their eldest sons by giving them the title and all the wealth.

However, when there was no such son, inheritance through relatives was considered as a second option.

Garrett Edwards, who became the Duke of the current Edwards family, was clearly an individual who inherited his position through a second option, deviating from legitimacy in this perspective.

If the legitimate heir, Dylan Edwards, had been alive, Garrett, who was only a cousin, would never have dreamed of the Duke’s title.

Of course, even if Leo were recognized as a grandson now that Garrett had already inherited the Duke’s title, Garrett would likely maintain the title for the time being unless there were special reasons.

However, there was a risk that a demand for the distribution of a significant portion of the assets would be made, and if refused, it could lead to a lawsuit. Moreover, if the family emphasized legitimacy and rose up, even the Duke’s title could be transferred to Leo.

For Duke Garrett, it was a considerably troubling situation.

“So, in the end, you believe that Leo Edwards is in a position to inherit the family’s lineage? But all your judgment is based solely on Leo’s explanation?”

“Well, as a result, that’s true, but I am also a member of the Edwards family. Do you think I wouldn’t be able to distinguish between what’s real and what’s fake?

I met Leo in Jamaica and spent several months talking with him in detail. Countless things that Dylan Edwards would only know poured out of his mouth.

Clearly, his father, Dylan, must have told him a lot about our family and his life, which is why Leo knows so much, isn’t it? Where is there more clear evidence than this?”

Theo tilted his head.

“Then isn’t it strange? If he heard a lot about the family from his father, he should have been told where in England he was born, shouldn’t he?”

“Well, Dylan might have deliberately not told his son. He might not have wanted him to have lingering feelings about life in England. He might have planned to tell him later.”

“Alright. Let’s assume that’s possible. Then why didn’t Leo talk about his life in North America? He lived there as a child, so there’s no way he wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

Geoffrey was once again taken aback by the mention of North America.

“But really… has evidence of his time in North America been found? Leo seemed to have said that he was born and raised in Jamaica…?”

Theo said with a firm face.

“We have several reliable witnesses to the evidence we have gathered so far. Dylan Edwards certainly had a son. But if this young man, Leo, is truly Dylan’s son, he should have been born in England and spent his childhood in North America.”

“…….”

Geoffrey seemed genuinely unaware.

Theo cautiously opened his mouth.

“Perhaps, Sir Leo couldn’t mention the events in North America because he had never heard of them?”

“…Never heard of them?”

“He may have only heard information about the Edwards family from someone through some channel, but because he is not the real one, he didn’t know about the events in North America that the real one experienced.”

Geoffrey was visibly flustered.

The conviction he had believed in without a doubt was beginning to crack.

“Really… is it certain that Dylan’s son was born in England and went to North America?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a clearly confirmed fact. Therefore, if Sir Leo is truly Sir Dylan’s son, he must have lived in North America until at least the age of seven. A nobleman exchanged letters with Sir Dylan Edwards during that time, and we have confirmed those letters.”

The data brought by Dawson, the company’s information investigator, contained records of Dylan Edwards in North America exchanging letters with an acquaintance in Liverpool for nearly seven years.

But for some reason, contact was lost after that, and there was no news.

If Leo was real, he should have had memories of North America until at least the age of seven.

Moreover, the investigation data showed that the family’s whereabouts could not be found after that. There was also no official record of them moving to Jamaica.

“Still… it doesn’t make sense that he knows our family’s affairs so accurately….”

Theo brought up an irrelevant story to Geoffrey, who was trailing off.

“If you go to the library on the third floor of the Edwards family’s mansion, there is a book that ordinary people cannot see. It’s a set of 12 books, and surprisingly, those books contain prophecies about the future. For example, stories about terrible diseases or great wars. However, they are hidden away so that people won’t be misled by them, right?”

Geoffrey was startled by Theo’s words.

“Sir Sanderson… how did you know about that?”

He was very surprised that Theo brought up the family’s secret story.

“I told you about the Edwards family’s affairs that most people don’t know. How did I know?”

After a moment of silent thought, Geoffrey slowly opened his mouth.

“…Someone… must have told you.”

“Yes, that’s right. I can say it because someone told me. And if that someone really knows the family’s affairs very well, they can deliver more credible and more certain stories.”

“…….”

Duke Garrett thought that his younger brother, Geoffrey, had told Leo about his family’s affairs.

And he claimed that Leo, a con man instigated by Geoffrey, was threatening the family by pretending to be the real grandson.

“Sir Geoffrey. Have you really never given this young man, Leo Edwards, any detailed stories about the family?”

Theo carefully observed Geoffrey’s micro-expressions and gestures.

Theo was more certain of grasping the other person’s emotions than a lie detector.

A lie cannot escape Theo’s eyes in both body and emotion.

“…….”

Geoffrey Edwards’ jaw, who had no answer, dropped as if he had lost strength, and his eyebrows rose, revealing surprise.

And the waves of his emotions were immediately transmitted to Theo.

‘…….’

He really didn’t know. And unlike Duke Garrett’s thoughts, it seemed that he had not conveyed any words about the family to Leo.

Theo was also confused as he watched his still surprised and embarrassed expression.

‘Unlike Duke Garrett’s thoughts, Geoffrey doesn’t seem to have told Leo anything about the family… Then there was someone else who knew well about the Edwards family, and this young man, Leo, heard it from him?’

The possibility that Leo Edwards is a real grandson seems unlikely at this point.

It is highly unlikely that he, who has only lived in Jamaica, is the real grandson born in England.

Then, he put on a show after hearing the story of someone who knows the family in detail, even surprising the family members, but if not Geoffrey, who on earth told him such a story?

◈ Four days later. London Mayfair, Theo’s mansion.

The candlelight in the study was not extinguished until late at night.

Whirr-

Theo had been sitting at his desk for hours, diligently reviewing the reports.

In his hand was data compiled from the stories that sailors traveling to and from Jamaica had heard from Leo over the years.

It was the content that the information investigators had been running around and organizing for the past week.

‘It’s certain that Dylan Edwards ran away with a maid, got married in Liverpool, and had a son. All the parish’s data was destroyed in the fire, but there are testimonies, letters, etc. from the nobles and gentry there at the time.

And after half a year, Dylan took his wife, who had become a maid, and his newborn son to North America.’

Tok- Tok-

Theo tapped the report with his finger.

‘And he settled in South Carolina in North America and ran a small corn farm for at least 7 years. But this area was the most severely damaged area in the early days of the American Revolutionary War, so it will be difficult to find records of Dylan and his family.’

The official records of Dylan Edwards and Leo disappeared when a fire broke out in the Liverpool parish area.

And to make matters worse, even life in South Carolina in North America was a place that was devastated by the worst attacks in the early days of the war.

In an era when genetic testing was impossible, the possibility that the remaining official records were not intact was very high.

‘But suddenly appeared in Jamaica….’

If he had lived in North America for more than 7 years, there is a very high probability that he would have become a second hometown and lived there.

Not only was immigration not easy at the time, but it was hard to imagine leaving a place that had been difficult to settle in and going to Jamaica to pioneer a new life.

Moreover, when they were staying, it was long before the American Revolutionary War broke out, so there was no special reason to leave.

‘However, the stories that Leo told the sailors traveling to and from Jamaica are all about his father. There is no mention of Liverpool or North America at all. In the end, if Leo cannot explain the definite reason for going to Jamaica, it means that he has no choice but to be fake….’

It could be real or fake, but it was difficult to draw any conclusions with the information so far.

It seemed that a clue to the solution would be found only after meeting the young man named Leo in person.