“It’s strange anyway.”
When Dane suddenly spoke, Edwin, who was quietly organizing documents next to him, asked out of habit, without even raising his head.
"What?"
“I mean, Thea. She's so calm all of a sudden.”
He was looking suspiciously at Dorothea, who was planting a peach tree with her father outside the window. Edwin glanced at his younger brother and responded calmly.
“It’s good to be quiet. I guess my uncle was quite worried because of her previous temporary detention in the police station.”
“She doesn’t tend to dwell on things like that, right?”
At Dane's words, Edwin finally stopped writing his pen.
“Will that change anything?”
"Yes?"
“Even if Thea seems calm now because she has a ulterior motive, would you be able to find out or stop it?”
“...”
Dane, who was always the first to get involved and most often the scapegoat, remained silent.
When he thought about it, Edwin was right.
Whether it was true or not, he would eventually get caught up in the incident.
Dane, who was looking down at the yard with a serious face, suddenly got up from his seat, opened the door, and walked out.
He was thinking of taking the time to meet a father and daughter who are passionate about gardening.
***
Ben Everly was immersed in the peaceful atmosphere that had come to the mansion after such a long time.
His daughter, who had been involved in countless accidents due to her extreme temperament and mischievousness, recently became involved in troublesome matters, such as discovering a dead body after becoming interested in strange things outside the mansion.
Due to her inquisitive nature, he was worried about what would happen if she delved deeper into the matter, but fortunately, as if she understood her father's feelings, she had been spending time quietly at the mansion for the past few days.
'This is happiness.'
Moments like this, having small conversations with his daughter and pursuing hobbies together.
For Ben, the long-awaited time alone between father and daughter was very precious.
His daughter, whose eyes would not hurt, tapped the dirt with her long, beautifully outstretched hands and asked.
“When do cherries ripen?”
“Well, it still needs to grow a bit more, so won’t it be a few years before the fruit begins to bear fruit?”
As the question was being answered kindly, the sound of someone's footsteps approached the yard where the two people were.
"Hey! Thea!”
Instead of Dorothea, who didn't even notice the familiar voice, Ben greeted his nephew with a kind and gentle face.
“Dane, do you want to come here and help?”
“No, it’s okay. More than that, Thea.”
“...”
“Why are you quiet these days? That incident hasn't ended properly yet. I brought it from there...”
It was a secret to everyone in the family that they secretly brought evidence from the scene.
Dane, who had almost opened his mouth without realizing it, was embarrassed and stopped talking, and Ben's face turned into worry again.
“That incident. You’re not saying you're still investigating the murder, are you?”
"Uh...”
“Thea, that seems too dangerous.”
Dorothea, who had gentle sheepish eyes in front of her father, smiled brightly.
Ben repeated his request.
“It’s okay to do anything, but you shouldn’t get involved in such dangerous things. The person in charge will finish the job well.”
The corners of Dorothea's mouth curved as she listened to the request.
She already knows from experience that not all fathers with children are like this.
However, it melted her heart to know that while there are fathers who can be heartless in the face of desire, there are also devoted fathers like the man in front of her who is willing to do anything for their children.
She slowly opened her mouth to the worried man.
“Don’t worry, father. At least I won’t jump in first.”
It was at that time that Ben, who knew his daughter to always keep what she said, breathed a sigh of relief at her words.
The manor servant who came running behind Dane gasped and said.
“The Prince is looking for a lady!”
While the two men froze beside her, Dorothea got up with a light sigh.
Then she let out a single exclamation that could only be described as perfunctory.
"Oh my goodness."
The dry exclamation without any pitch was followed by words that did not seem surprising at all.
“Unexpectedly, the Prince came to visit me. I really tried not to get involved in anything, but if the royal family visited the mansion in person and asked for a favor...”
You can't refuse, right?
The words were slurred, but the words behind them were already pleasing to her ears.
It was only when Dane saw his uncle looking at his cousin's calm face with devastated eyes that he realized.
'She's been waiting for this.'
So that she can legally escape from her father's nagging and go out and wander around properly.
In this case, it was clear that it would not be easy for even the Marquis to control Dorothea's behavior.
***
The Prince's surprise visit came at an extremely opportune time.
The Marquis could not chase away the Prince, who had barged in alone without receiving an invitation or prior notice of his visit, nor could he treat him genially.
As it happened, the old man who could deal with the Prince had entered the palace, and Felix was away on official duties.
In the end, the Marchioness came out to meet him and laughed as if he was embarrassed.
“I am fully aware of the hard work your Royal Highness has done for our family, but I am worried that unnecessary words may arise from your personal interactions.”
“Just one visit won’t do that. Because I am not a person with a political standing to begin with.”
Luke looked down at his teacup and said with an indifferent face to the Marchioness, who was still smiling.
“Isn’t the Highclere family a family so poor that the Prince cares about them?”
“You are saying too much.”
A thin sigh escaped from her mouth.
The Marchioness shook her head, smiling bitterly as if she couldn't stop him.
“It would be difficult for this old man to match His Highness the Prince’s bravery.”
Luke spoke firmly as if he did not want to waste any more time going around talking.
“I have business to attend to Lady Highclere.”
“Dorothea...”
“I heard that she has been secluded in the mansion for the past few days. There won’t be any gatherings worth going out for, and I haven’t heard of anyone going to recuperation.”
Looking at the other person's attitude, it was clear that he had deliberately come at the most appropriate time to contact her.
The Marchioness smiled and looked around.
"No. She’s oversleeping right now.”
"Is that so. Then I guess the person who was planting a tree in the yard on my way was her twin sister.”
“...”
With a short sigh, the Marchioness broke the composure she had been trying to maintain and looked at the Prince with distraught eyes.
In the end, she had no choice but to have a servant waiting nearby and call her granddaughter.
***
Freed followed like a shadow behind Dorothea, who entered the living room with brisk steps.
Aside from a brief flinch during their last reunion, he showed no signs of agitation towards his former owner.
Dorothea sat across from the Prince and opened her mouth.
“Bring me milk with honey and an omelet.”
"Yes."
Luke remained silent as he watched her ask for food rather than greeting the Prince with courtesy.
“You came all the way here and found nothing?”
“The gap you found was empty. It’s as if someone erased everything without leaving a trace.”
Dorothea, who had brought a part of the traces with her, gave a nonchalant reply.
"Yes? Too bad.”
Luke's eyes turned to the girl in front of him, leaning back leisurely and smiling.
His dark gray eyes were peering at the other person persistently, like an animal with its prey in front of it.
Dorothea, facing the ferocity in those eyes, smiled again.
“How did you know such a device existed?”
“...”
“What else do you know?”
The girl, who had been waiting for something with her eyes downcast without any answer, showed her joy without filtering when she saw the omelet that had arrived.
When the knife cut the center of the yellow omelet, the almost golden omelet split gently, revealing the soft contents.
The moment she put a mouthful of the omelet in her mouth and gurgled, one of the royal guards standing behind Luke swallowed his saliva without realizing it.
She cut the next piece with a satisfied expression and said as if throwing it away.
“I guess you found out nothing? I guess there wasn’t anything that could identify the corpse?”
"Yes."
“I thought it would come after some time had passed. You found me sooner than expected.”
“There isn’t much time. We have to find clues before the case is covered up.”
Find clues before covering up the case.
To continue investigating this case, you must find clues yourself before 'someone' covers up the case.
Dorothea, who was tapping her fingers on the table repeatedly to make a loud noise, nodded.
“We’re running out of time, so we’ll have to move quickly.”
With those words, she put the remaining omelet into her mouth with elegant movements, and her cheeks puffed out due to the omelet filling her small mouth.
“Is there any way to find clues?”
Gulp.
After swallowing what was in her mouth, she wiped her mouth and nodded.
“You’ll find out when we go there again.”
“Nonsense!”
A scolding voice came from beyond the door.
Dane, who sharply retorted, strode in and blocked Dorothea's path.
Although it was a curious move, the moment he faced the Prince, his eyes began to waver, but he held on quite steadfastly and opened his mouth.
“I don’t know what you think of her, but she is a noble daughter cherished by the Highclere family. Your Highness, just by accompanying you, the rumor would spread in half a day, and she even went to the murder scene?!”
“...”
“What will happen to this child if a scandal arises!”
Luke, who was staring at the tinkling Dane, lifted the teacup in front of him.
He took a gulp of the already cold tea and calmly spat it out.
“It is rumored to be a murder scene, so at least no nobles will come and go in that area. I also plan to take measures to prevent rumors from spreading.”
A dark hood that seemed to have been prepared in advance was placed in front of them.
“We rented a regular carriage so we wouldn’t attract attention, and we also left the site empty for investigation just in case.”
“That is quite considerate, but...”
Dane looked at the Prince in awe.
Surprisingly, it was common sense, and he was probably considering Dorothea's position in his own way.
Moreover, he was asking for help without hesitation to solve a murder case that may remain unsolved.
He could have pressed it because of his status as a Prince, but it wasn't enough to just bend down first and ask for it, so he even prepared these things carefully in advance.
Dorothea glanced up at Dane, who was hesitant and unable to speak, and asked the Prince again.
“Then, will I be able to officially participate in the investigation?”
“No, it’s illegal.”
Dane, who had been frozen by Luke's calm words, looked at him in surprise.
Dorothea looked aloof without any signs of surprise, as if she had already expected it.
"No...If it’s illegal, won’t Dorothea be the only one reprimanded if it’s discovered?”
Luke put down the empty teacup he was holding and said as Dane barely managed to get his mind together and stammered out the words.
“For your information, I was also excluded from the investigation as of yesterday. So, you need to find clues as quickly as possible and catch the criminal before the case is closed. Then it will be okay.”
“It’s not okay at all.”
How can it be okay to calmly say that they should all commit illegal acts together?
Dane's face distorted.
Now that he think about it, he was able to notice that the Prince who visited the Marquis was dressed very plainly, and the guards behind him were also dressed differently from usual as if they were hiding something.
“What happens if I refuse?”
“It looks like you don’t intend to do that.”
Dane looked back at his words and sighed.
Dorothea, who had already finished the omelet and milk, was sparkling with interest.
The boy had never properly stopped Dorothea Highclere from looking at him like that.
So, as always, it was obvious that he would be swept up in her eccentricities.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment