Chapter 18
“Miss, don’t trust Lord Belles.”
Seriniel’s face subtly stiffened at Vain’s unexpected words.
“What… happened?”
Vain wasn’t someone to speak lightly like this. Seriniel had a gut feeling that something was going wrong, enveloping her entire body.
“…After you finish your conversation with Lord Belles, please come to the back of the mansion. The garden where you used to play as a child.”
“….”
“Come alone. And make sure not to be caught by Lord Belles. Do you understand what I mean?”
Instead of replying, Seriniel nodded, and Vain continued.
“I’ll be waiting there.”
And as Vain finished speaking, a large carriage was seen approaching.
It was Belles’s.
The luxurious carriage smoothly stopped in front of the mansion….
And he stepped out.
Belles Verdellet. Seriniel’s uncle.
“…Seriniel.”
Approaching Seriniel, Belles called her name with a gentle smile.
…But even as he did, a profound sense of unease began to bloom very quickly.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Everything was as it was in the marquisate.
The table where they used to drink tea with their parents. The soft sofa they sat side by side on. Even the vase with flowers that Mother liked near the fireplace.
So perhaps, it felt somewhat comforting. Seriniel knew her parents had passed away, but it felt like their voices could be heard any moment.
But sitting in front of Seriniel was not her parents but Belles.
“Sorry for making you wait. I’ve been busy lately, my mind is all over the place.”
Sipping the now-cold coffee, Belles spoke.
“Is something wrong? Seriniel.”
Seriniel rarely contacted the marquisate on the same day, even before returning to the past. So Belles looked at her with a slightly suspicious gaze.
“…No, it’s nothing like that.”
Seriniel replied with a smile.
“I was just wondering how you were doing.”
On the day it rained, walking in the cold spring rain…
Seriniel remembered Belles. She had the same thought as Kina. To inform him of the situation roughly and ask for help.
But strangely, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
It wasn’t just because of the embarrassment of admitting her faults to her uncle.
She felt anxious and uneasy, as if something was… going wrong.
“Is Lord Belles alright?”
Seriniel asked.
“You seem quite busy lately. I heard you were on a trip a few days ago, and you came back from work today.”
“Is that so?”
Belles replied briefly.
“I might continue to be busy for a while. So from now on, let me know in advance before coming to the mansion. It’ll be easier for you too.”
Yes, Uncle. Seriniel nodded.
“How’s Calian doing?”
“Anything special going on? Calian seems to be quite busy these days too.”
As soon as Calian’s name left her lips, a heavy lump seemed to descend on the tip of her tongue. But Seriniel smiled.
“So, from now on… I decided to report on business-related matters to you.”
Seriniel handed over the documents she had brought from the workshop.
“It’s a document summarizing how mining is progressing. How much has been mined in which areas, what types of ore have been extracted. It also includes the current market prices.”
Not only that. It also detailed how the prices of the mined ores had fluctuated over the past few months, the expected profits based on that, the labor costs and investments required for continued mining, and even the net profits.
“….”
Belles was silent for a moment. He seemed to be meticulously reading through the documents Seriniel handed him, even squinting slightly.
“….Did you do all this by yourself? Alone?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“No… Nothing.”
“I’ll update you every two weeks. Anyway, Lord, you should know how things are going too, right?”
“….”
“You also obtained tax exemptions and gathered investors.”
Belles hesitated for a moment.
“Calian told me. He said you helped. I don’t know who these people are, but it’s truly appreciated.”
“Calian said that?”
“Yes?”
“He didn’t mention anything else?”
“I didn’t hear anything else separately. Calian just mentioned that Lord Belles had helped so much… That’s all he said.”
Of course, it was a lie. Calian had never told me such a thing, and it was thanks to Lexion that we had secured the list of investors as well.
But just by looking at Belles’s reaction now, I could tell.
There was something I didn’t know.
And the fact that neither Calian nor Belles had mentioned that they had helped each other in business was not a coincidence either.
Belles was silent again for a moment. He seemed to be thinking briefly before changing the subject.
“How have things been between you and Calian lately?”
“If you mean… in that sense…”
“It’s been half a year since your wedding, so I thought there might be some good news.”
Belles often asked such questions, even before I was betrothed due to the alliance. And I always replied with the same bittersweet smile.
“There’s nothing yet. But… if there’s any news, I’ll let you know right away.”
Just like now.
“Alright, if that’s how it is…”
Belles trailed off for a long time. His gaze wandered somewhere other than Seriniel, as it had earlier, giving the impression that he was lost in thought.
Seriniel looked at Belles intently and cautiously parted her lips.
“Lord, soon it will be my parents’ memorial day.”
“…Has it been that long already?”
“Lately, I’ve been thinking of my parents a lot and visited their grave.”
“….”
“But it was a bit strange.”
“What was?”
“There were people I couldn’t recognize lurking around the area.”
“What?”
“I asked out of curiosity, and they said they were investigating something.”
Seriniel looked closely for a moment.
The usually smiling face of Belles seemed to subtly harden.
“What nonsense is that? What are they investigating?”
Then, unlike usual, his voice even sounded somewhat subdued.
“…A few days ago, it seems there was a band of thieves in the area. They were chased and fled, leaving behind stolen goods.”
“….”
“So they said they’re investigating to find the stolen goods and see if there’s a place nearby where they could hide.”
It wasn’t a completely absurd lie. After all, lately there had been an increase in the appearance of bandits, and such incidents were quite common.
“So, Lord, you must be careful wherever you go. Do you understand?”
“Alright, I’ll be careful.”
Seriniel smiled faintly as she finished speaking. Then she quietly sipped her tea.
But even as she did, the emerald eyes looking at Belles were sharp.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
After that, there was no further conversation of significance.
Seriniel and Belles drank tea together and quietly conversed. And before it got any later, Seriniel said she had to leave and bid farewell, leaving the reception room.
“….”
Seriniel’s expression as she walked down the corridor wasn’t bright.
In the end, Seriniel didn’t confide in Belles about what had happened with Calian.
At first, she had been skeptical, but now she simply thought she had made the right choice.
[“What nonsense is that? What are they investigating?”]
Especially remembering his reaction…
[“Do you really think your parents died in an accident?”]
If Lexion’s suspicions were true.
If everything had been manipulated…
The mastermind behind it all…
“Miss.”
Seriniel’s musings were cut short. In the backyard of the mansion. Where Vain was waiting for her as promised.
Seriniel turned back, checking once again if there was anyone around. Vain was the same.
And once the check was done, Vain began to guide Seriniel to the most secluded and inconspicuous place behind the mansion.
“Now, tell me, Vain. What exactly is going on?”
Seriniel whispered in a small voice, and Vain let out a heavy sigh.
“…I’m still not sure if it’s right to tell you about this, Miss.”
And then he started to say something incomprehensible.
“But I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. I am the one who has served the Verdellet family for generations, and the honor of the Verdellet family is also my honor.”
“….”
“The movements of Lord Belles are suspicious.”
“…Suspicious.”
“You also know, Miss. Unlike the previous marquises, Lord Belles is not friendly to the imperial family.”
So before Lord Belles became the head of the family, he was overshadowed by Seriniel’s father. And he left the empire.
“After Lord Belles became the head of the family, I continued to worry about such things. I wondered if he might do something bad.”
Seriniel felt the same. It was everyone’s worry. But Belles never turned that worry into reality.
For the past few years, he had done nothing. Absolutely nothing. He just quietly continued the family line and occasionally invested in profitable businesses.
“….But it seems that wasn’t just an idle concern.”
“What do you know?”
Instead of answering, Vain nodded his head very weakly.
“I couldn’t help but notice, Miss, even if he tried to avoid my gaze. And he couldn’t have put those things somewhere else.”
“Put them away?”
Seriniel’s brow narrowed.
As she bid farewell to Belles and left the mansion, Seriniel hadn’t done anything. She had carefully searched every corner of the marquisate. Just in case. She couldn’t trust anything now.
And nothing had changed.
“…It would be better for you to see it for yourself, Miss.”
Follow me.
Vain seemed to indicate as subtly as possible, bringing his index finger to his lips. Then he began to walk ahead.
