Chapter 68

Chapter 68

I pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"Tell him I'll be there."

"Yes, Miss, I'll pick you up later."

"Wait a minute."

"Do you have anything else to order?"

Stephen looked at me with a puzzled face.

I thought for a moment and then asked.

"How did you decide to dispose of the remains of Viscount Willis?"

Stephen's expression shook for a moment at my question.

"How do you..."

Joan, who flinched at Stephen's questionable voice, had a sullen face.

She tried to keep a calm face and stood silently in an unnoticed place.

Stephen immediately bowed his head with a troubled expression.

"I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to upset the Lady. I didn't mean to deceive you, so please forgive me."

"I know."

Stephen raised his head slightly and looked at me.

His gaze was very cautious, as if he was worried.

"I'm not going to hide since you already know. This morning, Viscountess Willis hanged herself in prison. It was already too late when the guard found her."

I wasn't surprised because it was something I knew.

But there was one thing I was curious about.

"I know that the nanny has two children. Where and what are they doing?"

"I went to the Willis' residence to deliver the remains, but no one was home. The child is said to have run away, and the last time he was seen at a bar a few days ago is unknown."

Stephen watched my reaction and spoke carefully.

"The investigator, who was suspicious of the mess in the house, confirmed that he had borrowed money from close friends and ran away from debts."

"Ha... It's really amazing. There's no other dog's mess."

The harsh words came out of my absurd mind.

"Lady?"

Stephen, Annie and the maids looked at me in amazement.

I was embarrassed and shut my mouth.

But it was still astonishing.

'I know the family is a mess, but I didn't know it was this much.'

The nanny did a lot of bad things to the people around her.

But only for the children.

She did her best for her children and always sacrificed herself.

But they didn't even know that their mother had died.

Suddenly, my mouth went dry, and I frowned.

"We have released people to find his whereabouts, but it seems to have been deliberate and planned from the beginning, so it may take some time."

"Where are the remains of the nanny?"

"I keep it just in case."

"Right."

"How do I deal with it?"

The nanny's daughter ran away from home, and her son deceived people and went into hiding.

To her, there were only two people in her family, but even that was unknown.

If I turned a blind eye, the remains of the nanny would have been thrown away randomly.

"She's already dead, so what more to blame? Think of the past and bury it in a sunny place."

"Yes. I will."

"Then go ahead."

Stephen greeted me and left the room.

After he left, the atmosphere in the room was somber.

Joan, Tien, and Annie, all three seemed to be in their own thoughts.

I looked over the table.

The tea water, which had been steaming up, had cooled down.

I pondered for a moment, then got up.

"Bring my coat."

"Lady, are you going for a walk? It's raining outside."

Joan asked with a puzzled face.

"The air is cold. If you get rained on in this kind of weather, you might catch a cold."

"Annie is right. If you're feeling frustrated, wouldn't it be better to go to the study as usual? Or is it an attic? Drinking tea from a high place overlooking the scenery will calm your mind a little."

Annie and Tien also seemed to want me not to go out.

But there was one thing I wanted to check.

"No, I'm not going for a walk. Prepare the carriage. I have a place to go for a while."

***

"They did cremation without giving a chance to do an autopsy?"

Elvin asked coldly.

The knight kneeling in front of him reported with his eyes closed.

"Yes. I didn't have time to work because they handled things so quickly.:I'm sorry that I didn't do what you ordered properly. "If you punish me, I'll take it willingly."

Elvin was speechless.

The longer the silence, the worse the knight's complexion.

Elvin seemed to be thinking about something.

A few minutes later, he spoke.

"If it's already too late, there's nothing you can do about it. You don't have to worry about it any more. Go back."

"Yes."

His master was a cold-hearted man.

It was great luck to be able to pass without receiving any punishment even though he failed the mission.

The knight left the place quickly, just in case Elvin might change his mind.

Alvin, who was left in the room, approached the window with an unknown expression.

He looked down at the raining scenery outside with cold eyes.

"It's faster than I thought."

The Princess's nanny, the Viscount Willis, hanged herself in prison.

The maid of Baron Dana's daughter, who was taken with them, also could not stand the interrogation and died.

It was clear that the Crown Prince had his hands on this.

No matter how much the Crown Prince and the Duke were watching, only Lady Dana shouldn't be excluded from the case.

Therefore, the possibility was blocked before the two people who were taken together spoke useless words to involve Lady Dana.

There was no surer way to shut a person's mouth than death.

Elvin sent his own person to stop this from happening, but it was too late.

However, the knight was not to blame.

In the imperial court, even their own people were not allowed to act freely.

There were many eyes around, and, if discovered, he would have to face a terrible death. It was enough risk to hide.

That was why Elvin didn't care much about the failed mission.

"I don't understand."

Elvin muttered as he recalled the appearance of Claire he had seen the day before. She was just one of the many aristocratic ladies. She belonged to the lowest rank and possessed nothing. He couldn't quite understand why the Crown Prince went this far for her.

The struggle for the throne was now more intense than ever.

At a time like this, there was no reason for the Crown Prince to go against the Duke or the emperor. Elvin could not understand those who were so blinded by love to do foolish things such as the Crown Prince or his own father, the Grand Duke of Croix.

The two were similar in many ways.

It was the part where they looked away from their loved woman, or they have poor eyesight.

At least his stepmother, the Grand Duchess, was smart and always had a thorough personality.

On the other hand, Lady Dana was lacking in many areas.

She was wearing a gentle mask, but she turned out to be clumsy and cunning.

All of a sudden, Elvin's eyes sank as he recalled Roxana's face.

Would the Princess be heartbroken over the death of the nanny who raised her, or relieved by the death of the traitor?

It was something he didn't know until he met her in person.

However, when he thought of her in trouble, somehow, his mood subsided.

Then, outside, Noah knocked on the door.

"Princess Lillian has come to visit. What should I do?"

Elvin had thought she was going to find him.

Recently, the number of visits by the Princess to the organization has been increasing more and more.

Whenever something happened, she came to make a request and returned.

He didn't know if she trusted the organization more than the duke's employees or if there was another reason.

"I didn't expect her to come so soon."

When there was no immediate answer, Noah became puzzled and asked again.

"Should I respond?"

This time the answer came right away.

"Okay. I'll come down soon."

"Yes, I will tell her then."

Noah's footsteps faded away.

Elvin paused as he looked at the mirror hanging on the wall before leaving the room.

There was still a slight bruise on his cheek.

It was cumbersome to put powder on his face every time you meet someone.

Elvin picked up the silver mask he had left on the desk.

The tip of his lips turned slightly upward.

It was a minor change that even Elvin himself didn't notice.

***

"Please wait a bit."

The servant at the Hermes guided me to the annex and then disappeared.

I looked at the teacup in front of me.

The steaming tea was accompanied by elaborate refreshments next to it.

I had already visited here several times.

Whether it was because they treated her like a regular, but every time she came, the people here seemed to be getting more and more polite.

The refreshments served were also better.

It was satisfactory for the guests.

As I sat quietly enjoying the refreshments, not long afterward, someone came in.

"What brought you here today?"

Elvin walked slowly with his long legs and sat down on the opposite seat.

His skin, which contrasted with his shiny black hair, was as white and clean as porcelain.

He wore a mask today.

Since we already knew each other's identities, I wondered what the use of that was.

However, he may have strange tastes that other people were not aware of, so I decided to pretend not to notice and respect his choice.

"I didn't know you would come in person..."

"Since a distinguished guest has come, it is only right for me, the owner of the organization, to greet her."

"It's such an honor. I'd like to request an investigation..... Why are you looking at me like that?"

I asked, puzzled.

From the moment he entered the room, Elvin's gaze was on me.

Even though it may seem like a natural thing because there were only the two of us in the room, his gaze was definitely tenacious these days.

It was as if he was observing my expression.

I fumbled with my hand, wondering if there was something on my face.

Seeing that, Elvin shook his head with a smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. But is it the investigation of Viscountess Willis?"

"Yeah. That's right."

I was a little surprised that Elvin already knew why I had come.

He was smarter and more quick witted than I thought.

In addition, the information power was significant.

Elvin was an opponent that could never be underestimated.

I couldn't figure out why he was always helping me.

I asked, thinking I was lucky that I didn't have Elvin as an enemy.

"Did the nanny, or Viscountess Willis, really commit suicide?"

I asked with a serious face.

Elvin was silent for a moment then answered.

"If it wasn't suicide, are you thinking that she was murdered? The security of the Imperial Palace is stricter than any other place. So may I ask why you thought so?"