Chapter 39
“Do I resemble her?”
“Not in appearance, but… there’s a similar atmosphere. Even your names are somewhat alike. I came to see you thinking maybe you’re the Reparentia who’s passed away.”
“You loved her a lot, didn’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
Dettor paused for a moment, nodding firmly.
“We were friends since childhood, so I watched her for a long time.”
Yeah. We spent a long time together. You easily discarded me after knowing me for so long.
“It seems like someone spreading malicious rumors about me, but I truly loved Reparentia a lot. In fact, I still dream about her occasionally.”
His voice was hazy, as if lost in a dream.
“So, I thought I would be there with Reparentia in the end.”
Dettor murmured with a voice soaked in sadness, as if regretting the day he left me alone.
“I thought we would grow old together, lying side by side, owning each other’s last moments and peacefully passing away.”
I thought so too.
I believed that you would be there with me at my end.
And it was you who shattered that trust between us.
So, you have no right to regret the past, nor do you have any grounds for lingering regrets.
Dettor quickly brushed off his melancholy and changed the subject with a laugh.
“So, it seems like you’re catching my eye more and more. It’s only been a few minutes since I saw you, but strangely, you keep drawing my attention.”
“….”
“So, think about it carefully. What suits you isn’t this cold and desolate Violetus, but the sunny and lively Debert.”
“I might be late for work. If you don’t have any other business for me, may I leave now?”
“Huh? Uh… um.”
Seeing that Celly didn’t react even after bringing up my story, Dettor seemed quite perplexed.
“You seem busy, so I’ll leave now…”
“Yes, please excuse me.”
Bang!
As soon as Detor gave his permission, Selie quickly said goodbye and closed the door with a bang. Perhaps startled by the sudden noise, I heard Detor stumble from the other side of the door.
Embarrassed, he quickly got up and seemed to rush over.
“Leah. Are you okay?”
As soon as he closed the door, Selie ran towards me.
“I thought you were hiding something from those two, so I tried to send them off discreetly. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. You’re right. I owe you for that. Thanks, Celly .”
“However, that man is really shameless. He already knows who I came here with, yet he dreams of his former fiancée appearing. Does that even make sense? …Ah, sorry. But still, even though she’s your former fiancée, I shouldn’t have cursed… I’m just so angry…”
Celly, not fully aware of the circumstances before and after the incident, wondered if she had made a mistake and started apologizing.
Even without explaining why I came to the northern region, couldn’t I at least tell her what kind of people those two are to me?
I briefly explained to Celly what Dettor and Delia had done to me.
“What? Is that really true? Are they insane? Then that rumor was true?”
Upon hearing what the two had done, Celly immediately erupted in anger and started cursing.
“And yet he has the nerve to mention his former fiancée to me now? It’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, isn’t it?”
“They’re not even worthy of being called human.”
“How can they commit such atrocities while being from a noble family? It’s no different from dealing with demons. Don’t you want revenge? If it were me, I would’ve already…!”
“…Done it.”
And indeed, I had done it numerous times.
I had sought revenge until it became tiresome.
I had killed the two, made them lose everything. I had even cried, holding onto the clueless two, asking why they did this to me.
But it was all futile.
“Huh? You’ve already done it?”
Celly widened her eyes in surprise, and I couldn’t tell her the fact that I had regressed countless times, so I just chuckled vaguely.
“The rumor about a ghost appearing at the brewery? That was me. I summoned Delia there and pretended to be the ghost of the deceased Reparentia to scare her.”
Celly praised me for doing well but then got angry, saying that wasn’t enough.
It was truly amazing to have someone who would get angry on my behalf.
“But how did Dettor suspect that the maid Leah might be Reparentia? He’s never even seen my face. It’s hard to deduce just because their names are similar. Moreover, Reparentia is dead. It’s generally difficult to think that a dead person is wandering around.”
So Delia must have also thought I was the ghost of Leparentia when she saw me at the brewery.
However, just now Dettor clearly stated that ‘maid Leah’ wasn’t Leparentia and seemed disappointed that it wasn’t her.
In addition, he had mistaken someone for me with his own mouth, and also stated that it was impossible for a dead person to be alive.
“…I need to find out what’s going on.”
Could there be someone else who knows that I am Reparentia Nirielle?
After that, I kept a close watch on Dettor from a distance. I didn’t follow him directly, but monitored his surroundings by reading the memories of people who were around him.
However, there was nothing unusual. Dettor seemed very uncomfortable staying in the Violentus Castle.
Delia seemed even more bored since she got stuck in her bedroom due to the distillery ghost incident.
“Was it just a coincidence?”
After realizing that Lea was not Reparentia, Delia seemed uninterested.
“I feel dizzy after seeing too many people’s memories recently.”
The jumbled memories made it increasingly difficult to distinguish whose memories belonged to whom. Sometimes, after reading numerous people’s memories in a short period, it was hard to tell if they were mine or someone else’s.
“What are you doing here?”
Standing alone in the corridor, trying to clear her dizzy head, Delia heard a familiar voice.
“… Your Grace.”
Perhaps he was the person I needed most right now. A man I could touch but couldn’t read memories from.
“You seem troubled.”
“Maybe you have some kind of detection tool? You always seem to show up whenever I’m troubled.”
“It’s just intuition.”
Laches smiled wearily and took my hand in his large one.
See this? Even though our hands are clearly touching, I can’t read his memories. How great is that?
“You don’t seem to have a fever.”
“I just have some recent things to worry about…”
“Medicine?”
“You always ask for medicine whenever you see me. At this rate, all my salary will be spent on medicine.”
“Why did you call the doctor then? Isn’t this the time to use it?”
“I don’t need to take medicine.”
Laches muttered, “Stubborn, aren’t you?” under his breath.
“Not sick. Just worried.”
“Really? With all the recent worries, is it because you’re following Count Deberti around?”
“…!”
How much does this man know? He always seems to know everything, so it wouldn’t even be surprising if he knew I was Lepherentia Nirielle.
“Not surprised?”
Seeing my unresponsive face, Laches sighed as if disappointed.
“So? Why are you following Count Deberti? You’ve been wandering around so much…”
“I’m not bored.”
I interrupted Laches and replied. Raches shrugged his shoulders, then changed the subject.
“If you’re bored, why don’t you follow me instead? That would be more fun.”
“I’m not following you because I’m bored. I’m just curious about when Count Deberti will leave.”
“Wanna get rid of him quickly?”
“Of course. I’ll have less work if there are no guests. I don’t like working either.”
I responded while recalling Laches saying he liked it when I worked.
“You don’t tell me anything.”
“…What?”
Laches stared at me intently. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he shook his head mischievously.
“Then, since you said you’re bored, shall I tell you something interesting? Only I know.”
“Something interesting?”
“Do you remember why Count Deberti and Pallo Yeongae came to the north?”
Laches asked with interest, as if posing an intriguing riddle.
“…The carriage broke down.”
Is there anyone who doesn’t know this?
“Okay. But why did the carriage break down here of all places?”
“What?”
Are you naturally asking me about a problem that just occurred?
“Maybe the carriage wheel was worn out, or there was some issue… Or perhaps the ground wasn’t good?”
“Yeah, there could be several possibilities. But there wasn’t any issue with the ground. We sent an investigation team to confirm. …It’s strange that the carriage carrying the heir and heiress of the guardian family broke down so easily.”
Now that I think about it… That’s right. There hasn’t been a single instance where the carriage broke down while I was with Nirelle and Yeong-ae.
Except for when someone intentionally sabotaged the carriage to cause harm.
Of course, there have been incidents like wheels getting stuck in muddy ground after rain, but if there’s no issue with the ground, the likelihood of the carriage breaking down is low.
“It’s always been like that. The carriage always breaks down around the same time.”
“What?”
Always? Around the same time? What does that mean? It’s the first time Dettor and Delia have come to the north due to a carriage breakdown.
“Even if the carriage breaks down, it shouldn’t take this long to repair, unless it’s completely broken.”
Laches whispered as if sharing a secret.
“And if it’s going to take this long… usually, if there’s a destination, they’d ask for another carriage to continue the journey, right?”
“….”
Why didn’t I think of that?
The reason why Dettor and Delia are staying in the north.
“…I’ve never read the memories of the carriage repairman.”
The last time I encountered Delia was when she ignored me while I was helping her.
Delia kept pestering about when the carriage would be fixed, but what about Dettor?
What is he doing?
When I scanned his actions and the memories of those around him, there was no memory of him visiting the carriage repairman or inquiring about the progress of the repairs.
I’ve only seen him seducing maids and spending time between them; there’s no other memory of him.
He complains about staying at Violet Sanctum but doesn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.
“Why did you just leave it alone?”
Even though she noticed something suspicious before me, why? It’s not even my territory; it’s her territory.
“Because it’s amusing.”
Laches lifted the corner of her mouth and smiled. But her eyes, devoid of laughter, remained sharp.
“And to know what someone intends, you have to watch first. Just like I watched you.”
Come to think of it, I forgot, but who gave Dettore the goat’s horn?
Why would someone give him a goat’s horn as if they knew he was going to the north?
If Dettor hadn’t been consumed by inferiority and thus hadn’t found out about it? If I hadn’t sent Ronan? Then what would have become of the conflict Dettor instigated?
Everything I once deemed normal and natural now seemed to be interconnected abnormalities.
“I’ll go first.”
The moment a sense of strangeness crept in, everything came crashing like waves.
“I need to read the memories of the carriage mechanic.”
Since the ghost incident, Delia hasn’t emerged from her chambers. Yet Dettor doesn’t leave the north.
Despite the carriage breaking down and their original destination being elsewhere, neither the Deberti nor the Pallo families took any action.
“Where are you going?”
After exchanging greetings, Laches grabbed my arm hastily as I tried to turn away.
It was understandable that this man didn’t know what I was up to.
I glanced at the hand that had grabbed mine for a moment before nonchalantly opening my lips.
“…I’m going to work. My task isn’t finished yet. I have to take Cream for a walk.”
“Ah.”
Laches released the hand he had grabbed, looking somewhat puzzled at the still bright sky.
“Come to think of it, I’m also one of the Marquis’s personal maids, but I haven’t been summoned to do anything separately.”
“Ah.”
Just like a while ago, Laches let out a bewildered sigh.
“Did you assign another personal maid besides me?”
“Surely not.”
If so, I thought we should share the workload since I could work alone.
Laches quickly denied my question.
“I’ve never had a personal maid before. You’re the first.”
Should I thank him for assigning me as the personal maid for the first time?
“I just forgot because everything was fine without a personal maid until now…”
“You forgot?”
Laches stopped speaking, lips sealed and eyes furrowed as if something had clogged his words.
It was rare to see him flustered over something so trivial.
“I’ll call you next time then.”
“Yes. Then I’ll take my leave first.”
After a slight bow, I used Cream as an excuse to head towards where the carriage mechanic was. Laches waved his hand as I distanced myself, leaving a brief message: ‘If your head ever hurts, don’t hesitate to come to me,’ as if he hoped for my reliance.
‘Ridiculous. To think that someone would hope for the support of a mere maid.’
With a disheveled face, I made my way to the carriage mechanic. He was still in the same spot.
“Hello.”
“Oh? Oh, hello!”
The carriage mechanic responded with a smile as if I were a dear friend.
“I just remembered and dropped by. Are you still having a hard time these days?”
“Huh? Well, all my work is hard, you know.”
The carriage mechanic chuckled awkwardly. I nervously pulled out a handkerchief and handed it over.
“Since we’re working together, let’s support each other.”
The carriage mechanic stared at the handkerchief I handed him.
“Yes.”
With a brief reply, he took the handkerchief I offered.
“Let’s support each other.”
The memories were read.
