Walter, who was one step behind the mourners, maintained a stoic expression as he strained his ears.
“Why is Isabelle looking at Sophia so threateningly?”
“The bishop’s eulogy seems more like a love letter…”
“Oh my god. Lady Sophia has turned pale.”
As Walter observed the noisy mourners and Sophia, who had trembling hands and seemed unsure of what to do, it felt like years of frustration were dissipating.
Walter obtaining the love letter that Sophia had sent to the butler was by no means a coincidence.
On the day Whitman noticed something suspicious and went to see Edith in person, Walter heard that the butler had summoned Hans to his office.
There was only one reason why the butler was looking for him.
『 He probably figured out that I was the one meeting Edith instead of Hans.』
When Isabelle regained her composure with Edith’s assistance, she began reviewing the accounting books, while Walter decided to solve the problem simply.
He intercepted the butler, who was on his way to see Edith. Since a rare opportunity had arisen, he had Hans enter the butler’s office.
『 Even if Hans tries to enter the office, the under butler, who received orders from Whitman to bring him, won’t chase him away.』
Originally, Whitman’s office had been a place of high security, making it difficult for Walter to investigate easily.
However, thanks to Whitman’s suspicions about him meeting with Edith, Walter had the opportunity.
When Hans brought him Sophia’s love letter that the butler had hidden in a drawer, he was so satisfied that his heart rate increased.
They were evidence of the affair between those two, a secret weapon that could stop Sophia from taking over the entire Fortrion Estate.
Coincidentally, when the Viscount took his last breath, and the funeral was held, Walter didn’t miss the golden opportunity to expose Sophia’s love letter to the world.
The one who couldn’t bear this situation the most was none other than Isabelle.
“Sophia, did you write this to Whitman?”
“Why… why is this here…? No, it’s not me.”
Sophia stammered and contradicted herself as if she had been struck hard on the head.
Isabelle now recalled how Sophia had clenched her fists when she had decided to imprison Whitman at Karkus.
It was clear that she was doing her best to hide her strong emotions.
“An adultery at the Viscount’s funeral, what is this…”
Isabelle was so dumbfounded by what she had said that she couldn’t help but laugh.
Could she have insulted the deceased any more than this?
However, the letters exchanged between Sophia and the butler were shocking, not only to her.
Elizabeth read the letter enclosed in the paper flower basket she had been holding.
The sender was Sophia, and the recipient was also Whitman.
╭══════
If things don’t work out well, there’s also a way to buy a secluded place in the deep forest and send Nicholas there for recuperation. Since he’s known for avoiding exercise and just drinking excessively, anyone would believe it if he suddenly collapsed.
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The contents of the letter were so cunning that even Elizabeth, who didn’t care much about the Viscount’s death or honor, was astonished.
『 If Gilbert hadn’t sent his people to attack the Viscount, Sophia and the butler would have killed him first.』
Elizabeth had been quietly satisfied with Sophia’s disregard for her social status, which had been going on for quite some time.
At the same time, she became somewhat curious about who had set up such an audacious trap to disgrace Sophia Fortrion’s honor.
Considering that the incident occurred during a funeral with many onlookers, it didn’t seem like something impulsive.
Could it be the stableman, who had the audacity to do such a thing against the master?
『 Judging by the way he’s thinking things through, it seems like he’s not just an ordinary guy after all…』
If Walter were the illegitimate son of a noble family, he would be a very formidable enemy to defeat.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes slightly and fell into thought for a moment.
──────────✿◦•
“We need to address this issue accurately before the inheritance.”
Isabelle said as they returned to the mansion after burying the Viscount.
Sophia pretended not to hear her and walked with long strides into her room.
Edith, after watching Sophia’s back, which seemed more anxious than anything she had seen so far, went to her own room.
⋙“If M’lady is willing, let’s go see together what I have been up to. You haven’t shown any interest in it.”⋘
When she heard Walter say that, she thought he only meant finding Helen to secure her position as the next head of House Fortrion.
『 Today’s letter incident is clearly part of his plan.』
He wasn’t sitting idly by; he was so cunning and audacious that it was hard to believe he had spent his life locked in a manor with lost memories.
Edith silently reread the note Benjamin had handed to her.
╭══════
After the funeral, at 3 p.m., at the same place we last met.
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『 Seeing Benjamin be so cautious, it seems like it’s really important.』
He was not the kind of person who would waste time on trivial matters.
Moreover, he said that he was planning to investigate the kidnapping incident that the Viscount committed several years ago. Edith didn’t know if he obtained information about Walter.
If everything goes well, won’t they be able to escape from this suffocating place soon?
They could climb over the manor walls together, go somewhere side by side, and discuss what they would do next.
It would be even better if the moon was shining brightly, allowing her to steal a glimpse of his deep green eyes.
As Edith was casually imagining a moonlit stroll, Vivian approached her with excited steps.
“Lady Edith. It finally arrived!”
“Arrived?”
“Yes! It’s the reply to the letter you sent to the Headmaid with the questions you were curious about.”
She had resigned herself to the fact that it might be difficult to obtain information about the tower that was said to be in the Viscountcy, as the response had been delayed more than expected. But when she saw the letter envelope that Vivian was handing her, it seemed that the delay was due to the detailed response.
“Thank you, Vivian.”
“It’s nothing. It’s M’lady’s resourcefulness to send the Headmaid an appropriate piece of jewelry.”
“Since you’ve provided such a detailed response, I should express my gratitude to you as well.”
It was a fortunate day, with Walter revealing Sophia’s love letters and being able to briefly greet Benjamin.
Edith opened the envelope, wondering if God was finally looking out for her, given the injustice she had suffered.
However, her expression grew increasingly serious as she read the letter, and soon Edith asked Vivian for a shawl.
“I’ll be in the library for a moment. There’s a book I need to read.”
Edith wanted to immediately confirm some facts from the letter with her own eyes.
──────────✿◦•
The letter began with a greeting, stating that the sender was the Headmaid who had worked at Fortrion Manor for 40 years. It mentioned that she had been able to make medicine for her sick granddaughter by selling the jewelry Edith had sent to her.
╭══════
I heard this from the previous headmaid. Originally, the Viscountcy of Fortrion was located elsewhere in the territory, but for one reason or another, it moved to the current manor about 100 years ago.
══════╯
『 Here it is.』
Edith momentarily placed the lamp on the table and retrieved an exquisite album that had been tucked away in a corner of the library.
This album was specially commissioned to record the family-owned manors, villas, and landscapes of the estate by an artist.
Edith carefully turned the pages.
According to the letter, the place she knew as Fortrion Manor was originally a villa used by members of the Fortrion Family during summer hunting trips.
『 If I hadn’t known this used to be a summer villa, I might have found these records strange.』
Soon, Edith discovered a painting of Fortrion Manor with a tall tower.
The manor itself was exactly as she knew it, but the presence of the tower made it feel somewhat out of place.
On the back pages, there was a structural drawing that contained the layout of the villa, although it was not as detailed as a blueprint.
╭══════
In the past, the late Viscount, Nicholas’ father, used to confine him in the ‘Tower of Reflection’ every time he did something wrong.
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╭══════
But somehow, the Young Master escaped from the tower every time, leaving the Viscount puzzled. I happened to discover Lord Nicholas’s secret while cleaning the library.
══════╯
Edith removed the structural drawing, placed the book back in its original position, and then went to a corner of the library.
There, she found books that had been damaged for some reason but could not be thrown away, neatly placed on a shelf.
『 This is a shelf for damaged books. The second one from the left.』
Edith touched the part that was pointed out in the letter with her hand.
As she did so, her fingertips caught something like a handle at a certain point.
“…!”
With caution, she pulled it, and a hidden entrance was revealed with a clunking sound.
It was a secret passage large enough for one adult male to pass through.
╭══════
The summer villa was built in an area where there were frequent conflicts, and there was a secret passage so that the head of the household could escape in the unlikely event that the villa was attacked. It is a forgotten fact, but it appears that Young Master Nicholas was the only one who accidentally discovered the secret passage.
══════╯
『 This secret passage leads to the tower outside the manor, so that’s why he was able to escape.』
This secret space was indeed a perfect place for the greedy Nicholas to hide something.
There was a high chance that the release spell for the imprisonment spell that had kept Walter imprisoned in the manor for seven years could be found here.
“…”
Edith took a deep breath and carefully entered the secret passage.
Beyond the bricks, she could hear the sounds of people moving around, as if this secret passage had been created between the rooms.
She walked quietly, muffling any noise from her footsteps.
After a while, Edith stopped abruptly upon recognizing a familiar voice.
『 It’s Elizabeth’s voice, isn’t it?』
But she wasn’t alone. There shouldn’t be anyone else wandering around at this hour, yet she heard a man’s voice.
“Aizen. Is that true?”
“How many times do I have to say yes? I checked it several times in the capital.”
The man called Aizen seemed to be someone from the capital, but why was he treating Elizabeth so casually?
As Edith speculated about their relationship, she soon heard shocking words that left her frozen.
“Elizabeth, there’s no other way. As soon as the funeral is over, we have to kill Walter, the stableman.”
❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀
