Kisa didn’t know how to respond and kept her mouth shut.
If what Daniel was saying was true, it was difficult to deny that it was quite suspicious.
But there was something bothering Kisa in the back of her mind.
Separate from her faith in Seyard, for some reason she was vaguely recalling something she had heard before.
‘What was it? What was it again?’
It seemed like something that had happened relatively recently.
As Kisa closed her eyes and tried to trace back her memories, she suddenly recalled something from a few days ago.
“Wait, could it be…”
Opening her eyes, Kisa carefully voiced her suspicion.
“Isn’t it because Duke Hillan recently donated a huge amount of development funds to Bonzmos?”
She had once accidentally overheard Seyard talking with Gilliam, and at that time, words like Bonzmos and development funds were mentioned.
Since she had only caught it in passing, it quickly faded from her mind, but as she thought about it now, the memory came back.
Yes, the two of them were definitely discussing how to support the Bonzmos region.
In response to Kisa’s question, Daniel answered sourly.
“Well, that’s what they say.”
“Then of course they’d only say good things! When a neighborhood develops, it benefits the residents in many ways, so why would they speak ill of someone who’s giving money? If the investment decision gets withdrawn, only the people of Bonzmos would suffer.”
Moreover, even without the development fund issue, most people were reluctant to gossip about high-status individuals.
“Especially in a small town, they would have noticed at a glance that you were an outsider, so it’s surprising they wouldn’t tell you about Duke Hillan’s past.”
Daniel clicked his tongue. “Tsk.”
“Do you have to be so critical? You’ve changed. You used to believe what others said at face value.”
He seemed to have detected Kisa’s subtle change. Kisa didn’t try to deny it.
“Yes, I’ve changed. I’m not the same person who used to just nod along to whatever you said.”
He implied that the past Kisa was more sincere and better, but in reality, he just meant she was easier to deceive and therefore more convenient.
He apparently didn’t realize that Kisa wasn’t actually without suspicion, but that she had chosen not to question him because she wanted to believe her fiancé’s words as much as possible.
“So it’s useless to try to cleverly hide the truth and elicit the response you want. How can you portray someone who is working in many ways to develop a town as a villain who’s covering up his corrupt past?”
“Do you really think Duke Hillan poured a massive amount of money into that remote town for purely altruistic purposes? It’s obviously a ploy to use money as bait to prevent people from talking about his past.”
Daniel snapped irritably, as if he couldn’t understand why she didn’t grasp this simple logic.
“How do you know that? He reportedly spent a lot of time in Bonzmos in the past. Is it so strange to want to develop a town full of memories?”
“Fine, let’s say that’s true. Then how do you explain the witness who suddenly disappeared?”
“I obviously don’t know. You seem to want to claim that Seyard did something to that person, but would he even need to?”
Unlike before, Kisa didn’t back down and voiced her thoughts.
“Of course he would. That person could testify about his past.”
“Really? From what you told me before, that person’s testimony wouldn’t be anything special. At most, it would just be rumors that circulated in Bonzmos and that he saw Seyard at a gambling house.”
While Daniel was too flustered to respond, Kisa expressed the doubt she had felt since first hearing about the person’s disappearance.
“Would he be the only one in Bonzmos who heard that rumor? Or would he be the only one who saw Seyard at the gambling house? Anyone could find plenty of people who could testify to that. Why would he go through the trouble of removing one person when it wouldn’t make much difference?”
“Kisa.”
“Above all, the man doesn’t have clear evidence, nor is the information he has damaging enough to Seyard to warrant Seyard secretly—”
“Alright, alright! That’s enough!”
Daniel snapped angrily and glared at Kisa.
“I see clearly now. How deeply you’ve fallen for that man, with your eyes and ears blocked, determined to believe him.”
“Aren’t you the one who blindly assumes Seyard is a bad person, which is why everything looks suspicious to you?”
“He is bad. If stealing another man’s fiancée doesn’t make someone bad, what does?”
“…So that’s why you’re so obsessed with Seyard and me.”
“What?”
“Daniel, your pride is hurt. Well, you’ve probably never faced a greater humiliation in your life. You always thought you were better than others, but now in society’s eyes, you’re the pitiful and inferior man who lost his fiancée to Duke Hillan.”
“Shut up.”
Though he bristled as if to deny it, he couldn’t hide his true feelings from Kisa.
It had been well over ten years. Years that Kisa had spent studying his expressions, listening to his words, and understanding his inner thoughts.
Daniel, who had never shown much interest in his fiancée, seemed not to know much about Kisa, but Kisa knew him all too well.
In some ways, she probably knew him better than the Marquis and Marchioness Lowens who had brought him into this world.
“Since we’ve known each other for a while, let me give you one piece of advice.”
Kisa spoke in a calm voice.
“Stop digging into Seyard’s past with the flimsy excuse of saving me, and live your own life, Daniel Lowens.”
“I told you to shut up.”
“There’s someone who genuinely cares about you. I mean Hazel Turdy.”
“Stop! Stop!”
Indeed, Hazel seemed to still be a sore spot for him, as Daniel showed the most agitated reaction he had displayed all day.
After taking a moment to breathe deeply and calm down, the man looked at Kisa and said quietly.
“It seems pointless to continue this conversation. I’ll visit again, and we can talk then.”
“Don’t come back. Even if you bring new information next time, I won’t listen.”
Daniel let out a soft sigh.
“Fine, let’s say you won’t listen to me. Well, you probably wouldn’t believe me anyway since I have no credibility with you. But what about someone you can trust?”
“Someone I can trust?”
As Kisa looked at him with puzzled eyes, he said triumphantly.
“The monks. Surely people who have devoted their entire lives to God wouldn’t lie?”
“Monks…”
“Yes, ask the monks at the monastery where he supposedly stayed. Find out what kind of person your fiancé really was.”
Kisa’s eyes widened at this unexpected suggestion.
After Daniel left, the carriage headed toward its original destination, the Duke of Hillan’s residence.
Kisa gazed at the setting sun outside the window, recalling what had happened recently.
It was about the day she learned that Seyard had donated development funds to Bonzmos.
That day, she had visited the Duke of Hillan’s residence for a dinner appointment with Seyard.
But even after finishing dinner and taking a walk with him, she somehow didn’t want to go straight home.
In truth, whenever she encountered Count Vansfelt while he was staying at the townhouse, he would subtly nag his daughter, making it uncomfortable for Kisa to be there.
Moreover, strangely enough, these days she found the Duke of Hillan’s residence more interesting than the place she had lived for half her life.
Perhaps it was because it was spacious and fun to explore.
Anyway, sensing Kisa’s reluctance to leave, Seyard invited her to have a cup of tea in his study before going home.
The reason for the location being his study, of all places, was because he had urgent work to attend to.
Thinking it would be an inconvenience to someone so busy, Kisa said she would just go home, but Seyard stopped her and asked.
[I’m getting bored just wrestling with these documents. Would you keep me company?]
In conclusion, it was a consideration to make Kisa feel more comfortable.
Watching him engage in complicated conversations with Gilliam while sipping her tea, Kisa began to doze off after only a few sips.
The satisfaction after a meal and the warm early summer weather naturally brought on a sweet drowsiness.
In the end, she failed to be a proper conversation partner for Seyard and fell into a deep sleep.
[Kisa, Kisa? It’s time for you to go.]
When he woke her up, Kisa, who had been sitting until she closed her eyes, was comfortably lying on the sofa.
Also, it was quite dark outside the window, so it seemed like that was the first time she had fallen so deeply asleep in someone else’s home.
As Kisa felt embarrassed about why he hadn’t woken her earlier, Seyard said this:
[You were sleeping so soundly that I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.]
[But I stayed here to keep Seyard company…]
[It’s fine. There was quite a bit of enjoyment in watching Kisa’s sleeping face.]
It was a moment when she realized once again that he was truly a good person.
And now, that same Seyard was looking at his fiancée who had appeared at his mansion and said:
“Kisa, you’ve come.”
“Yes, I was bored so I came to visit. Is that improper?”
“Of course not. You’re always welcome.”
He smiled brightly but then tilted his head.
“But you came later than usual today. Did something happen?”
After a moment’s silence, Kisa found herself shaking her head.
“No. Nothing happened. I just took a nap and left late.”
Strange. She had definitely intended to tell him all about meeting Daniel again, like last time…
Why couldn’t she speak about it?
