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Chapter 47




Chapter 47
Knock, knock.
A knock on the door rang quietly.
As she turned her head, a maid’s voice came from outside the door, “Excuse me, Young Madam, the Duke’s butler has come.”
“Walter…?”
Rosalind’s eyes widened, wondering what had happened. The next moment, he said, ‘I’m coming in,’ and opened the door. When he found Kyle lying there, he had a look like he knew this was going to happen.
“Walter, what are you doing here…?”
“The Master said that he was going to visit the Madam first…”
Walter hesitated as if he was saying something he couldn’t say.
“He said that he would go alone, but somehow I didn’t feel good. I made my own decisions and followed suit. I’m sorry.”
As if to stop him from bowing her head, Rosalind shook her head, saying that was not the case at all.
“No, thank you. As in the past and now, you always treat us with sincerity.”
At her warm reply, Walter smiled.
His eyes turned to Kyle before he opened his mouth again, “…After the Madam left, he started drinking like this. It seems he hasn’t drunk lately, but it’s like this again.”
“Has he been like this often? Enough to get drunk like this?”
“It’s been like this a lot since you left. It’s been a long time since I’ve known him, although it was the first time I’d seen him so disorganized…”
Walter’s eyes, looking at the sleeping master, were dyed dimly.
“…It seemed like he would really do anything to get the madam back. He really did everything. So, after wandering around looking for the Madam, he went to the funeral. He said you would come.”
Funeral…
Suddenly, she remembered that she had met him again at her father’s funeral. Her father must have been a terrible person to him, she couldn’t even fathom how he came to his funeral.
“He had to go. He was sure you would…”
Unlike the strong rain falling outside, Walter’s voice was calm. Still, it sounded affectionate, perhaps because of the increasingly blurry end of his words.
“How much that earnestness touched my heart…”
Rosalind even thought of her in the four years without her. However, it was not easy for her to imagine it. Nonetheless, seeing him so disheveled today, she seemed to know a little.
“I have to come… I’m sure you would…”
Such things have happened in the past…
It was then.
What Albert had said before ran through her mind like the wind that blew in an instant, without warning.
“…It must have been aimed precisely at the target. We cannot rule out the possibility of a crime due to resentment.”
Resentment. Target.
‘I also wondered if high-ranking nobles or high-ranking officials were intertwined.’
High-ranking nobles…
Albert’s voice was piercing her ears.
* * *
Rosalind diligently left the house before Kyle woke up. She wasn’t confident she would see his face again, but above all, she had something else to do.
As she entered a small house in a dark and secluded corner of the market, she was greeted by a man with a grim look who had been waiting for her.
“…I would like you to investigate a person.”
“How much can you give me?”
The man scanned the inside of his mouth with his tongue and smirked. He glanced at her outfit and, as if it was understandable, he was negotiating.
“The higher the person, the more expensive it is.”
She tossed the thick pockets she had been carrying in her arms at the man. As soon as the man, who was showing his yellow teeth and smiling brightly, took the pocket, he started counting the money inside.
Rosalind waited patiently for him to focus on her again, retelling her request.
The man’s eyes, which had been smoky, gradually became serious. He raised his eyebrows for a moment though he nodded his head as if familiar with it, without asking why. Seeing that, she ran out of there as soon as the conversation was over.
She hurriedly got into the carriage and arrived at the mansion where Albert was staying.
“I was surprised that you wrote a letter in such a hurry that you were coming.”
“Was it rude…?”
Albert smiled softly as if denying it.
“If you come with advance notice, it is fun to wait for when you will arrive, and if you come without notice, unexpectedly happy things happen. In a nutshell, it’s good just to have you come.”
The end of his words fell playfully, and she smiled.
Kyle was neat and gentle, although he wasn’t good at saying these strange words.
…Why was she thinking about him again?
Thoughts of Kyle were constantly running through her mind.
Shaking her head to shake him off, she looked at Albert again. He stared at her complexion and opened his mouth again.
“I just… I am ashamed to greet you in the garden in such untidy attire.”
Even though he didn’t look neatly dressed, as usual, he was dressed lightly like a training man. Kyle’s castle was professionally equipped with even a training ground, but the place where Albert stayed was small, so it looked like he was training on one side of the garden.
Although he had always been waiting in the parlor with a fragrant tea ready, he had met her in the garden, as she arrived almost at the same time as the letter of her visit.
“I came too quickly. it’s okay.”
The flowers blooming in the corner of the garden came into her eyes as she was waving her hand.
“…It is an iris flower.”
Rosalind stared intently at the purple flower. It was because Albert had previously presented an iris flower to her.
“Yes. It’s an iris flower. It resembles your eyes.”
His gaze deepened even more.
“Isn’t it pretty?”
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She couldn’t answer anything, only her smile faded.
“If you go in first, I will clean up and go in. I will ask them to bring you tea, so please wait a little bit.”
“Of course.”
Rosalind, who followed the maid inside, sat on the couch and waited for him to come. Not long after, with a knock on the door, Albert, dressed as usual, entered the room.
“Am I not too late?”
“Of course not.”
A soft smile crept onto his face as he sat down.
“…I’m here today because I have a question.”
Her eyes trembled thinly. There was tension in the way she clasped her two hands neatly laid out on her lap.
“Why don’t we have some refreshments and chat while talking?”
With his sweet voice, she nodded her head. Rosalind brought the teacup in front of her to her lips and savored it lightly. The black tea that wets her dry lips had a bittersweet depth. Seeing her like that, he also drank his tea.
“By the way, what is the question you want to ask me?”
“…It’s about father. Did you know more or haven’t made any progress?”
“Yes. I don’t really… I said I would help, but there is no result like this, so I have no excuses.”
“No. Don’t think like that.”
“I can only guess…”
Albert seemed hesitant.
“Since the exact target has been set, there is a high probability that it is a grudge crime…”
It was a fact that anyone could have expected and could have predicted, even if he did not point it out. So, while she recently surveyed people who might have a grudge against her father, no proper results came out.
It was hazy like foggy days, with nothing certain.
“Grudge…”
Rosalind recited the word quietly.
“By grudge…”
Suddenly, someone came to mind.
Embarrassed, she hurriedly shook her head. Albert, who was puzzled by her appearance, asked her carefully.
“…Any guesses?”
“No.”
Rosalind, who had denied it somewhat hastily, bit her lip as if impatiently. After a while, she opened her mouth again.
“…Actually.”
She rolled the hem of her dress tightly. Her hands were trembling with an unknown emotion.
“I have doubts about someone.”
It felt like her throat was choked, so she couldn’t say any more. Rosalind’s complexion darkened noticeably.
Did she have to tell him this? Could she really say it…?
“…Who is it?”
“It’s a little bit…”
Albert didn’t say anything more in response to the gentle but firm answer. Instead, he just smiled generously, as if he understood. The next moment, he picked up the teapot and poured tea into the empty teacup.
The deeply brewed tea fell into an empty glass in a supple curve. For some reason, the scent was very strong.
“…You don’t have to tell me, but you’d better talk to the investigator. You never know what will happen again.”
“What if I can’t talk about it? There is no exact evidence… what if it was just a sentiment?”
Her tone and voice were both urgent and desperate.
“They will come out after you have gone through the evidence, so I think it’s important to say who they are first.”
“…What if I don’t want to talk to anyone?”
When her voice trembled slightly, Albert noticed this and responded cautiously.
“You are worried. I won’t ask anymore, but I’m a little curious.”
Holding a teacup full of the tea, she couldn’t speak her words before she smiled awkwardly. Either she couldn’t speak, or she couldn’t even dare to speak because…
Rosalind, who was in deep thoughts, for a moment lost the teacup she was holding.
Clink!
The sound of a teacup breaking rang out sharply. When she raised her head belatedly, she could see Albert holding his arms around her.
“Baron!”
Rosalind was startled and hurriedly got her body up. The teacup fell and poured hot tea on him.
“Oh, what should I do?”
A small smile crept across his lips as if trying to reassure her anxiousness and fidgety.
“It’s okay. It just splattered a little.”
His clothes were pretty wet with tea to say it just splattered. Albert then said all he had to do was change his clothes, and he comforted her and got up. Meanwhile, she gazed at his back as he headed towards the room, covering her mouth with both hands.
She was at a loss.
Rosalind, who had been walking around the sofa with a nervous face, eventually found him. She knocked on the door of the room he entered.
Thinking she was a maid, she heard Albert’s answer to come in right away, and she opened the door.
“I’m sorry…!”
Rosalind quickly looked down, bewildered at the sight. It was because he was showing his upper body.
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