Chapter 2
The first person Frazer sought out was the head housemaid of the estate, Joanne. He had a servant summon her to his room.
Joanne, startled by the sudden call from her master, composed her expression and entered. The atmosphere was different than usual.
“You called, Your Gra—”
“When is Caroline supposed to return?”
“Pardon? Oh, August 15th, of course.”
Despite being abruptly interrupted, Joanne continued calmly without showing the slightest offense.
“…What?”
This time, it was Frazer who looked confused.
“Say that again.”
“It’s August 15th. Why do you ask, Your Gra— oh, Your Grace?”
Before Joanne could finish, Frazer was already storming out, his steps urgent.
He dragged his tired body to the bedroom. All day long, he had been questioning the household staff about Caroline’s return date, but not one gave him the answer he expected.
August 15th. All of them gave the same response as if they had rehearsed it. Frazer was the one being treated like the odd one. Though no one said it out loud, knowing his temper, it was clear they thought so.
Frazer lay sideways on the bed and opened Caroline’s letter. His sharp, well-shaped eyebrows slowly began to furrow.
“…She lied to me?”
But why?
He lay flat on his back and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.
That naïve woman who didn’t know the ways of the world—there was no way she’d pull off something so sly on her own.
Something must have gone wrong.
“Did something… happen to her?”
As that thought hit him, Frazer bolted upright in bed and pulled the bell cord.
“Send someone to Flyke. Immediately.”
—
The servant sent to Flyke returned to the capital four days later—and brought with him news Frazer could hardly believe.
“There was no one at the Flyke villa.”
In fact, the villa staff said they hadn’t even heard of Caroline’s planned visit.
Before she left, Frazer had sent a letter to the Flyke villa, instructing the staff to prepare for her arrival in the coming days. But according to the villa manager, no such letter had ever arrived.
While the servant was away for those four days, Frazer uncovered an even more shocking truth.
“You don’t know the maid who accompanied Caroline?”
“I do know her, but… she’s a new hire—hasn’t even been here a full month.”
A girl barely into adulthood, only two weeks into her job.
Other than her name—Stephanie—and her age, they knew nothing about her.
“So you’re telling me my wife went on a journey accompanied only by a new, barely-adult maid? That absurd, suspicious combination?”
Frazer growled. The intensity in his voice made it seem like he could tear someone apart, and no one dared to respond.
The one who finally gathered the courage to speak was the head butler, Edmund.
“…She also took one of the estate’s coachmen and the butler from the guesthouse, Eric, with her.”
“Eric?”
The name was familiar enough to make Frazer frown. He tried to recall the face of the man called Eric.
But only a vague outline came to mind—he couldn’t quite grasp the features.
There were six butlers in the vast earl’s estate. Under the head butler Edmund, there were butlers assigned separately to the main building, the annex, and personally to Frazer and Caroline.
Besides, Frazer rarely visited the annex. It was only natural that he couldn’t remember Eric’s face.
A headache began to press in, and Frazer let out a low groan.
“So you’re telling me everyone just stood by and watched while my wife prepared to travel with no escort, just a coachman, a butler, and a low-level maid?”
“Well… Madam insisted on keeping the party as small as possible…”
It was Dell, the maid who had taken over after Caroline’s personal maid, Marsha, left. She mumbled the excuse, only to be elbowed in the ribs by Joanne, who silently warned her to hold her tongue.
But it was already too late. Dell’s words had hit a nerve that was already stretched thin.
“You really think that counts as an excuse?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“A personal maid who doesn’t even know where her mistress went or who she went with. Truly, excellent work.”
Dell bowed her head low, biting her lip hard.
She had already been quietly bitter that Caroline had taken the newcomer, Stephanie, instead of her. The frustration she’d been swallowing finally slipped out—unaware of her place.
“Madam said she wanted to keep things simple and not be burdened during the journey. She also mentioned there were already servants at the Flyke villa, so it would be fine.”
Joanne stepped slightly in front of Dell as she spoke.
Frazer let out a humorless scoff.
An unfaithful wife who had fled after lying to her husband, and servants who hadn’t noticed a thing—what a farce.
Rather than waste energy shouting, Frazer decided to take a more rational route.
“Keep your mouths shut. I don’t want any rumors slipping out.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Leaving the three bowing servants behind, Frazer walked to his study.
Logan, who was busy working through paperwork inside, stood from his seat when he saw Frazer enter.
“No need. Just finish what you were doing.”
“But…”
“A secretary is there to assist. So assist.”
Frazer’s firm voice left Logan with no room to argue. He sat back down reluctantly.
He knew from experience that once Frazer got like this, no words would reach him.
‘Sigh…’
Frazer loosened his tie and cuffs with a rough hand and sat down at his desk, taking a deep breath. Then he pulled the documents he had set aside and began working.
Logan watched with a look of disbelief. For all his reputation as a cold-hearted man, he hadn’t expected him to actually sit and work in the middle of this.
“You’re really going to work right now?”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
“…”
“Work is work. My personal affairs are my business. Whatever’s going on in my household, I’ll deal with it. You just focus on your job.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Frazer ignored Logan’s gaze and resumed reading the papers with his usual composed expression.
Logan shook his head and returned to the documents he’d been reviewing.
Frazer signed forms, checked his schedule against the calendar, and occasionally walked to the bookshelf for references.
Outwardly, he looked just the same as always.
But inwardly, his mind was elsewhere—completely adrift.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t focus.
It was all because of Caroline. That damn woman.
After fidgeting with the cap of his pen for a while, Frazer opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a stack of papers—servant contracts.
His eyes quickly scanned through them, searching for the names ‘Eric’ and ‘Stephanie’.
Before long, he found Eric under the section for household butlers.
Eric Foster
Age: 28.
Position: Butler in charge of the annex.
Career: 5 years.
Worked as a servant for 2 years before being promoted to butler due to his impressive skills. Known to be polite and competent.
Frazer’s gaze lingered on the ID photo of Eric on the left side of the document. It was a black-and-white photo, but there was no difficulty in making out his features.
“Now that I see it, I might remember him.”
He was a man with a clean-cut appearance, with a straight forehead and nose. Frazer vaguely recalled meeting him a few times when he visited the annex.
“If he’s from the Foster family, he must be a distant relative of Baron Dylan Foster.”
Frazer thought of the image of Baron Foster, who always walked around with his mustache neatly curled. The man in the photo had no resemblance to Baron Foster at all.
The grip on the paper in Frazer’s hand tightened.
“Acting like no man in the world but me exists… So this kind of man is your type?”
Frazer curled his lips into a wry smile, then picked up the bundle of papers containing the maid contracts. He found the name ‘Stephanie Arden’ within them.
Stephanie Arden’s contract didn’t have a photo attached. There were no special qualifications or references either.
“She’s really made up her mind, hasn’t she?”
The Haunted Earl’s estate was a place where even people with letters of recommendation from other families had difficulty getting hired. Yet here was an eighteen-year-old with no notable background or references, hired as a maid.
Managing the servants was entirely the mistress’s responsibility. And Caroline had handpicked this suspicious maid and taken her with her when she left.
At this thought, Frazer felt his mind calm down.
He didn’t feel particularly twisted inside. He just found it ridiculous.
“Logan,”
“Yes?”
“Where is Hugo?”
“By now… he’s probably…”
Logan checked his wristwatch.
“He’s probably at Hotel Ockix.”
A few days ago, Hugo had gone on a business trip abroad in Frazer’s place. By now, he was probably lying on a hotel bed, leisurely resting.
“Bring him here.”
“…Huh? Just like that?”
Logan’s eyes widened at the sudden order. Frazer’s words were the equivalent of disturbing Hugo’s peace.
Frazer leaned back loosely in his chair and spoke.
“I have something for him to do.”
