96.
Feliz Restaurant, the pride of Sortone Harbor.
A surprising guest arrived at the restaurant late at night when even the seagulls were nestled in their nests, fast asleep.
Click.
The restaurant door opened.
The owner, who was sweeping the floor, turned around irritably.
“We’re closed for the day… Gasp.”
In an instant, the owner’s attitude became respectful.
“Isn’t this Count Luneburg? What an honor!”
Count Luneburg.
He was the benefactor who provided the funds to save Feliz Restaurant from the brink of bankruptcy, allowing it to rise again as the pride of Sortone Harbor.
Benedict’s intelligent violet eyes stared directly at the owner.
“Where is the guest?”
Benedict skipped any pleasantries and went straight to the point.
Instead of pointing out his rudeness, the owner looked troubled.
“Well… the guest you mentioned hasn’t arrived yet.”
“What did you say?”
Benedict’s face turned frighteningly cold.
The owner cautiously continued.
“Instead, they sent a pigeon through an errand boy.”
“A pigeon…?”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
The owner hurriedly went to the back of the restaurant and returned with a small cage in hand.
Inside the cage, a pure white pigeon sat quietly.
Coo.
The pigeon let out a soft sound, its black eyes shining.
It was the messenger pigeon Benedict had given to Elze as a gift.
At that moment, Benedict was overcome with a strange sense of unease.
‘Could it be?’
Elze had told him that she no longer wanted to stay by the side of Marquis Offenheir.
She had asked Benedict for help, to find her a fake identity and a way to escape from the marquis’s grasp.
But what if that, too, was a lie?
What if Elze intended to sever ties not only with the marquis but also with Benedict?
“…”
Benedict felt his insides churn.
He felt like a complete fool.
But his sharp mind quickly confirmed that his suspicions were likely true.
Her detached attitude towards the enormous profits related to the Palasso business.
The proposal to take a large 50% share for only three years and then withdraw.
‘By now, Lady Lepherian’s account must be empty.’
Benedict gritted his teeth.
Until now, he had felt a slight sense of superiority over Marquis Offenheir.
‘No matter what, Lady Lepherian chose me, didn’t she?’
It was that kind of superiority.
But now, Elze’s behavior seemed to be… mocking him.
‘To think she would hit me this hard.’
Benedict clenched his fist tightly.
A strange dryness filled his throat.
And at that moment—
Bang!
Someone kicked the door open violently.
“Wh-who are you?!”
The startled owner raised his voice.
Ignoring him, the visitor strode confidently into the restaurant.
“Ugh!”
Without warning, he grabbed Benedict by the collar.
It was Dante.
“Elze.”
His fiery red eyes resembled the gaze of a ravenous beast that hadn’t eaten for a long time, ready to tear Benedict apart at any moment. The look in his eyes was nothing short of menacing.
“…Where did you hide her?”
“Let go of me.”
Smack!
Benedict roughly shook off Dante’s grip and then irritably adjusted his crumpled collar.
“How did you manage to find this place?”
His violet eyes filled with mockery as he looked at Dante. It was a look that openly mocked not only Dante but also himself.
“But what can I say? Lady Lepherian isn’t here.”
“She’s not here?”
Dante’s face turned a dangerous shade of blue.
Benedict smiled faintly, his eyes crinkling as he did.
“Where she is… I’m curious about that too.”
Dante’s brow furrowed deeply.
Benedict, observing him closely, asked in a soft voice.
“How does it feel? To be abandoned, just like me.”
“…”
Dante had no answer to that.
Abandoned.
The weight of that reality hit him hard.
“Ha, haha, ahahaha…!”
Benedict, whose lips had been twitching, suddenly burst into laughter.
The eerie sound of his laughter filled the quiet restaurant, creating a chilling atmosphere.
* * *
<The Secret of Rose Cross Boarding School!>
<The Truth Revealed! Exclusive Interviews with Boarding Students!>
<The Mysterious Special Students Under Strict Supervision at the Boarding School, Who Are They?>
<Duke of Kalleid Speaks Out! It’s Been Revealed That It Wasn’t a Retreat, But an Imprisonment at the Boarding School…!>
The media was abuzz with reports about the downfall of the boarding school.
It was understandable.
The existence of Rose Cross Boarding School had been considered a necessary evil among the nobility, though it was almost unknown to the general populace.
And who wouldn’t want to hear gossip about the nobles, who always carried themselves with an air of superiority?
The media, eager to increase their newspaper and magazine sales, was in a frenzy.
Commoners who always wanted to point fingers at the arrogant and haughty nobles, and even the upper echelons, were all on high alert at the news that two influential figures like the Duke of Kalleid and Marquis Offenheir were involved. To exaggerate just a little, even newborn babies seemed curious about the Rose Cross Boarding School scandal.
Amidst all this, some media outlets approached Brigitte for an interview. After all, the Martin family, to which Brigitte belonged, was considered a prominent central noble family within the Empire. Moreover, Brigitte had a dramatic backstory that the media would love—she was a noblewoman who had been admitted to the boarding school due to her husband’s affair, only to regain her position as the Countess Dowager after her husband and his mistress died on the same day. It was the kind of story that could easily entertain gossip lovers.
However, the Martin family’s response was clear:
‘We will not entertain any questions about the boarding school.’
The current acting Countess Dowager of the Martin family had made it known that she found it distasteful for their family’s name to be mentioned in the press. And that very Countess Dowager was now leaning back in an armchair, intently reading a newspaper.
<The Duke of Kalleid revealed that during the period he was publicly reported to be on a retreat, he was actually imprisoned at the Rose Cross Boarding School.
The Duke claimed that while he was absent, Viscount Craig, who acted as his deputy, conspired with Marquis Offenheir, the owner of the boarding school, to imprison him. Our publication requested a statement from Marquis Offenheir, but multiple attempts were ignored…>
“Sigh.”
Brigitte let out a short sigh, then folded the newspaper roughly and put it aside.
The papers were continuously churning out stories about how terrible the Rose Cross Boarding School was and how many nobles were confined there. The testimony of the Duke of Kalleid, one of the Empire’s top nobles, was particularly effective.
[You must explain this immediately!]
Even the Imperial family, who had turned a blind eye to the existence of the boarding school out of deference to Marquis Offenheir, was now openly challenging him.
[You used to lock away all sorts of trash in there whenever it suited you, and now you’re pretending to care.]
Of course, the Marquis ignored these protests without a second thought.
However, Brigitte’s concern was elsewhere.
‘Is Elze doing alright?’
Elze Lepherian. The only person in that hellish boarding school who had extended a hand to Brigitte. Her dear friend.
Right now, Brigitte was only concerned about news of Elze.
‘Elze… they said she went missing.’
Of course, she believed in Elze. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have agreed to her request in the first place.
But still…
‘It would be nice if she could send a message when she gets the chance.’
Brigitte’s face showed a hint of disappointment.
And at that moment—
“Madam.”
A maid called out to Brigitte cautiously.
“What is it?”
“A guest has arrived.”
“…”
Brigitte’s expression turned cold.
The Martin family had already declared that they would not be receiving guests at this time. There were very few people who could visit the Count’s residence without an appointment.
It would have to be someone from the Imperial family or a high-ranking central noble of the Empire. Only they could dare to barge into the Count’s estate uninvited.
But Brigitte was not surprised. After all, Elze had given her a heads-up, and she had already had a similar encounter the day before.
“Is it Marquis Offenheir?”
“Y-yes.”
The maid looked slightly startled.
Brigitte calmly spoke.
“Please show him i—oh, dear.”
Bang!
The door was flung open roughly.
A man entered the living room with quick, angry strides.
His bloodshot eyes, filled with a menacing aura, stared directly at Brigitte.
“Where is Elze?”
