Chapter 6
Is it simply a case of a guilty conscience that makes me feel like he’s mocking me?
In truth, I had avoided meeting with the police by using the excuse that I was devastated by the loss of my parents.
I was only questioned in person during the early stage of the case before the investigator was replaced, and afterward Count and Countess Brough actively stepped in on my behalf.
But that could not continue forever.
Now it was time to steel myself and take my acting to another level.
“I know. I also felt terribly sorry that our communication has been limited to written statements until now. But truly… talking about that incident in person was simply too painful.”
“I can understand that. After all, you lost your entire family.”
“Yes….”
I paused for a moment and gently clenched my teeth.
Keep my eyes moist, lift my gaze toward the ceiling as if trying not to cry.
Blink three or four times, take a deep breath, slowly let it out, and put on an expression that says I’m all right again.
Anyone would see me as ‘a pitiful woman doing her best not to show her pain.’
“Has anything new been discovered since the last update I received?”
“The investigation has been progressing slowly because the mansion was completely destroyed, leaving much of the evidence damaged, but we have found a few suspicious points.”
Ash McCallen did not seem to be moved by my performance at all.
Although his lips were pressed into a straight line, for some reason I kept feeling as though he were looking down at me with a mocking smile.
“I can’t reveal the details yet, but we may have to examine this case from an entirely different angle.”
“What do you mean by a different angle?”
“Everyone believes it’s merely an ordinary fire.”
“But I prefer to keep every possibility open.”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“Whether it was an act of revenge motivated by a grudge, or arson committed to conceal an even greater crime.”
He looked as though he expected me to flinch.
But I had absolutely no reason to.
I had nothing whatsoever to do with that fire.
“My family had only been in Tessis for twenty days. Who could possibly hold a grudge against us?”
“The first person who comes to mind is Miss Emma Hampton.”
“There may also have been other relationships involved.”
“Emma? If Emma wanted revenge, wouldn’t she have gone after the Dartmouth family instead?”
“There are claims that she was framed.”
Why was I only now hearing the words I had wanted to hear so desperately?
I desperately wanted to speak from Emma Hampton’s point of view.
But right now, I was Rosalyn Tessis.
“Framed? What do you mean?”
“There are claims that it wasn’t Emma Hampton who spilled the wine on Lady Dartmouth’s skirt.”
Did someone witness that scene?
That couldn’t be possible.
If they had, they would have spoken up the moment Heather became angry.
After all, she was the daughter of an influential noble family, whereas Rosalyn was merely a country girl who had just arrived, someone everyone felt free to bully.
‘He’s testing me.’
And this was far from the first time I had been subjected to this kind of interrogation.
“No. Emma really did spill it by accident.”
“Of course, she may have come to resent me because I failed to smooth things over properly, but….”
Criminals always said the same thing.
Never admit anything until undeniable evidence appears.
Deny everything with a shameless face, acting as though you’ve truly been wronged.
They said that even if your opponent was a noble, it was the best way to avoid the worst punishment.
Their teachings proved useful once again today.
“I see.”
With the conversation making no further progress, Ash seemed to decide to end today’s questioning there.
But if we parted ways like this, others might start looking at me suspiciously.
So I added one last remark to change the atmosphere.
“Was I the one who was at fault back then?”
“Is that what it was?”
“Even from your perspective, Officer, doesn’t it seem like everything happened because of me?”
I had been saving my tears precisely for this moment.
I recalled the memories of the unbearably unfair days of my childhood and forced the tears out.
Once again, I pretended to hold them back.
But I did not stop my nose from turning red or the tears from gathering in my eyes.
My question was highly emotional and completely inappropriate.
But that did not matter.
Right now, I was a woman grieving the loss of her parents.
A little rudeness would easily be forgiven.
Just as expected, emotion crossed Ash’s expressionless face for the first time.
“No, that wasn’t what I meant.”
“But if you suspect Emma acted because she had been framed….”
“It’s only one possibility among many.”
“I failed to consider how painful this must be for you, Lady Tessis, and I spoke thoughtlessly.”
“I apologize.”
Contrary to my expectations, he admitted his mistake and backed down almost immediately.
To be honest, I had hoped he would push a little further.
Well, I supposed it was about time to end the conversation.
Count and Countess Brough seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
☆☆☆
Ash changed his opinion of Rosalyn Tessis.
She was not an easy country bumpkin.
‘She attacked me. I suppose that was her way of telling me not to underestimate her.’
He possessed a talent for reading sincerity from other people’s reactions.
It was a skill born from his childhood, when he constantly watched his mother, an exceptional actress, anxiously wondering whether she truly loved him or whether she would leave him.
So, honestly, he had expected to obtain clues to the case with just a few words once he met Rosalyn Tessis.
No one had ever described her as particularly intelligent during his background investigation.
“Rosalyn Tessis? Ah, you mean the guest from the mansion that caught fire this time?”
“Well….”
“I honestly don’t remember her very well.”
“She had brown hair, didn’t she?”
“No, I heard it was red.”
Most people barely knew her.
Even those who remembered her had not been particularly impressed.
“She was a typical country noble.”
“She wasn’t knowledgeable, nor was she sophisticated.”
“Well, I didn’t really get a close look at her.”
“I think she was fairly pretty.”
“Or maybe not?”
“She must have been pretty.”
“Otherwise, why would they have bothered bringing her to Herona?”
“Other than that, her family had nothing but an insignificant title.”
He had already spoken with Heather Dartmouth as well.
She confessed everything herself, from mocking Rosalyn to forcing the maid who spilled wine on her skirt to pay enormous compensation.
“I think it was that country girl who spilled wine on my skirt.”
“I suspected she pushed the blame onto the maid, so I demanded compensation.”
“But that maid kept her mouth shut until the very end.”
“Are you certain it was Miss Rosalyn?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m certain….”
“But is that connected to this case?”
Having been forced to admit her childish bullying herself, Heather asked with an injured expression.
“Because it’s possible that the maid named Emma was the one who set the mansion on fire.”
“What?”
“Really?”
“I heard the last time she was seen was when she left the detention cell, saying she was going to borrow money from Baron Tessis.”
“My goodness!”
“Has that already become a rumor?”
Heather appeared genuinely shocked.
Though it was probably because she realized her own reputation could suffer.
At first, he had even suspected that she had ordered Emma to do it.
However, after watching her repeatedly complain that she did not want her own name associated with the fire, he removed her from his list of suspects.
If she had truly been the culprit, she would never have expressed her wishes so openly.
‘Hmm. Even Rosalyn Tessis isn’t particularly meticulous.’
Heather still seemed uncertain.
But he was convinced that Rosalyn had been the one who spilled the wine.
If Emma had really done it, she would have immediately fallen to the floor in panic before Rosalyn could claim that it had been “my maid’s mistake.”
In other words, just as Sergeant Greg Norman suspected, Emma Hampton was a very strong suspect.
‘But jumping to conclusions is dangerous.’
Even if she had set the fire, there were still many things that could not be properly explained.
And the only person who could provide clues to that mystery was Rosalyn.
That was why he had deliberately thrown out that bait.
Whether she had spilled the wine or not, if hearing that story made her panic, this case could be wrapped up easily.
After all, uncovering the truth from someone who wore their emotions openly was not difficult.
But if she remained composed?
Then everything changed.
‘I need to reevaluate the woman named Rosalyn Tessis from the ground up.’
Whether intentionally or not, she kept displaying completely contradictory sides of herself.
At the funeral, she had trembled with grief, yet in the next instant the corners of her lips had twisted into a smile.
At today’s party, she quietly followed Count and Countess Brough around, only to attack him with an innocent-looking face.
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