Chapter 71
While the boutique staff moved busily to organize the dresses, Nora stood silently in front of the display stand.
Splendid necklaces, earrings, and brooches were laid out neatly on fine velvet.
Into the middle of them, Nora slipped a small brooch she had brought.
The antique brooch with a faint luster was a keepsake of the previous Duchess, and it was something Cedric had not let go of until the moment he drew his last breath.
Therefore.
It was also what Lionel cherished most.
However, once mixed among the ornaments, the brooch only stood out slightly; it looked like just another piece of jewelry on display.
To the extent that neither Agnes nor the boutique staff felt any sense of mismatch.
Nora adjusted the brooch with a satisfied look and turned around.
“Lady Agnes. Would it be alright if I assisted you with putting on the dress?”
Nora stepped forward to volunteer for a task the boutique staff could have handled.
However, Agnes did not particularly stop her.
Since she did not want to show the scars on her legs while changing clothes, Nora was actually more comfortable.
“You’ve lost some weight compared to before, but it’s not to the extent that a separate re-fitting is necessary.”
Nora nodded elegantly, checking the fit of Agnes’s clothes.
“It seems the dietary management was worth it.”
Some dresses required alterations, but most headed straight for Agnes’s dressing room.
Nora remarked that the last dress Agnes tried on suited her very well, and subtly suggested that she keep wearing it for today.
She even went as far as picking up the brooch from among the ornaments and pinning it onto the clothes.
The boutique staff cast unfamiliar glances at the ornament for a moment, but because there were so many types of items, they withdrew their gaze, assuming it was just one of them.
“Oh, you are truly perfect. If the Duke saw Lady Agnes right now, he would surely say you are beautiful.”
Nora clapped her hands exaggeratedly, diverting Agnes’s attention.
Meanwhile, one of the servants busily carrying dresses approached with a perplexed expression.
It was because the items Lionel had sent previously were already occupying most of the dressing room.
“Head Maid, there is a lack of space in the dressing room. What should we do with the remaining dresses and accessories?”
“Oh, is that so? We can’t send the rest back, so that is a dilemma.”
Nora, who assumed an equally perplexed face, brought out a solution as naturally and quickly as a pre-planned answer.
“Lady Agnes, until the dressing room organization is finished, would it be alright to temporarily store the remaining items in another room?”
Agnes quietly raised her eyes.
“By another room, which one are you referring to?”
“There is a room where we store items that are not used often. Even if I explain it, the location might not resonate with you.”
“Did Lionel permit me to use that room?”
“Of course. The Duke said that Lady Agnes may use any place in the mansion if she wishes.”
Nora folded her eyes with a smile.
It wasn’t a total lie. It was indeed an instruction Lionel had given. However, she simply did not relay the words that followed: ‘Except for spaces related to Cedric.’
“……If that is the case, then do so.”
Agnes thought about questioning further but stopped.
It was the result of repeated learning.
No matter how many times she asked, the people of the Duke’s residence would not make an effort to make Agnes understand. As always.
Having obtained Agnes’s consent, Nora gave a haughty nod.
Then, as if it had already been discussed, the servants began to move immediately.
‘The room where unused items are stored.’
Upon arriving there, the servants bit their lips as they saw the interior.
Inside the room, old military uniforms, dog tags, and worn-out holsters were neatly organized.
They were Cedric’s belongings.
It was not a place where Agnes’s things should enter.
However, Nora signaled without concern.
“Stack them up on that empty shelf over there. Quickly.”
“Head Maid, will it really be okay to go this far? These are the belongings of Lord Cedric, of all people.”
“As long as you lot keep your mouths shut, there will be no problem. So, keep a tight lid on it.”
Nora, glaring at the servant who offered a timid rebellion, continued her instructions.
Coincidentally, today was the one day of the year that Simon went on vacation.
Thanks to that, there was not a single obstacle.
Nora slowly raised the corners of her red-painted lips.
Everything was falling perfectly into place today.
Nora threatened the servants once more.
“Everyone, keep this in mind. Everything done today was by Lady Agnes’s instruction. You must say the same to those from the boutique shop.”
***
Outside the mansion, at the Knights’ Office Building.
Lionel looked up from among the mountain of documents and glanced at the wall clock.
He had come to work early in the morning and handled tasks as if running a race, but a corner of his heart would not leave Agnes.
“Hmm.”
Lionel tapped the fountain pen held between his fingers.
It was because Agnes’s reaction from a few days ago weighed on his mind.
He thought providing expensive items would be enough, but Agnes did not seem satisfied. She looked unimpressed, as if it were of no great consequence.
It was difficult.
Then, what should he give her?
Since he had never received pure affection without a price even from his parents, it was not easily understood by Lionel’s logic.
Lionel leaned his head back with a tired sigh.
Just then, his gaze inadvertently turned toward the calendar hanging on the wall.
Come to think of it, today was Cedric’s birthday.
“Ha.”
A self-mocking laugh burst from Lionel’s mouth.
He had completely forgotten.
Because he was preoccupied with Agnes. Because he was worried about every single one of her reactions,
Under such an excuse, he had missed the day he actually must not forget.
“Of all things to forget.”
A self-mockery directed at himself flowed out.
In the moment he was sweeping down with a dry hand from above his eyebrows to his chin.
*Tap, tap.*
The sound of knocking on the door was heard.
“Colonel. It’s Kalt.”
“Come in.”
*Creeak—.*
As he straightened his upper body, the chair let out a small shriek.
Kalt, who came inside meanwhile, hurriedly closed the door and opened a file.
“As you ordered, I tracked the whereabouts of the missing Rael Herben Guten. As a result, it has been confirmed that a person matching his description was spotted several times recently near the Castia trading company.”
Kalt immediately continued.
“The possibility that Rael is alive is very high. And according to the investigation, just before the disappearance, Rael was in a romantic relationship with Elena Bardo.”
Kalt handed over a second document and continued.
“This is a document identified during the process of tracking the records of the Bardo trading company. It is a document left by Elena Bardo just before her death……”
As Kalt, whose voice trailed off, turned the page, a document for a change of name was revealed.
“The name of the trading company is registered under Lady Agnes. It appears Elena Bardo had changed it.”
“Under Agnes?”
Why?
Not her younger brother, but specifically the illegitimate child of that younger brother?
Lionel stared at Kalt as if demanding an explanation for this unusual situation.
Then Kalt, slightly furrowing his brow, continued more slowly than before.
“At the time, there is a record that Elena Bardo…… gave birth.”
“Had Elena Bardo ever been married?”
“No. Officially, no. However…… Elena’s time of childbirth is similar to Lady Agnes’s birth year.”
Lionel’s eyes froze instantly.
A certain hypothesis struck his mind with force.
Rael and Elena, who were in a romantic relationship.
The name of the trading company transferred to Agnes.
At the end of it, a single conclusion slowly revealed itself.
The child of Rael and Elena. The possibility that it is Agnes.
Strength entered Lionel’s fingertips.
If so…….
Did Agnes happen to know this fact?
A sharp suspicion slowly reared its head again above Lionel’s reason.
What if Agnes already knew that her biological father was someone else, and that he was a member of Rebelt?
Was all the danger she faced in connection with Rebelt truly just an act?
However, the Agnes he had experienced was not a person who could wield lies so skillfully.
She was not the type of person who could deceive people with an innocent face.
At the very least, that was the Agnes Lionel had judged.
Nevertheless.
The assumption of ‘just in case’ was something he could not entirely exclude.
Was the face of Agnes he had seen truly everything she possessed?
The sprout of suspicion that had been sleeping quietly in his mind began to grow slowly but rapidly, like a hungry beast that had finally bitten into prey after a long time.
The trust that had never once been whole began to crack easily.
At some point, Lionel could no longer stay in his seat.
The documents on the desk blurred before his eyes.
He slowly rose from the chair.
He felt he had to see Agnes’s face right now.
The harsh sound of the chair legs scraping the floor filled the office.
Lionel grabbed his cloak with hurried gestures unlike himself and stepped out.
And quickly mounting his horse, he headed for the Duke’s residence.
However, as soon as he arrived at the main gate of the mansion, Lionel’s face twisted miserably.
It was because the mansion, which should have been quiet, was as noisy as if a festival were being held.
“What kind of…… mess is this right now?”
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