(24) Feel it too, despair. (3)
The investigation chief narrowed his brows at the sudden mention of his second daughter.
“The Second Princess?”
“Yes. I don’t know if you heard... sigh. Our second daughter has a lot of complaints about her family. If she had stayed in North, she would have been the Princess of North, but since I brought her here and she became a Princess, she must be dissatisfied. Maybe that’s why she tries to find fault with the family at every opportunity...”
Rachel’s eyes reddened as she spoke, and the investigation chief closed his mouth, embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. This is just because our second daughter heard rumors about that man and became interested, so she wanted to meet him briefly, and this happened. I’ll teach her well, so today’s... No, no. I shouldn’t be asking you this.”
Rachel took a handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbed her eyes.
At that moment, Countess Cetirean opened her mouth.
“But it’s strange.”
Countess Cetirean nonchalantly said what the other noblewomen had been unable to say, as they were too busy watching Rachel’s reaction.
“Didn’t we run into the youngest Princess of this house around here earlier?”
Rachel’s heart sank.
Countess Cetirean, who had summoned her with the intention of having her witness Ariana’s incident and spreading rumors to the imperial capital, had instead grabbed Rachel’s ankle.
Rachel glanced around, but Countess Cetirean was looking at the head of the investigation bureau.
“Who are you...?”
“I’m Count Cetirean’s wife from the Empire.”
“Ah, Countess. Could you elaborate on what you just said?”
Rachel hurriedly interrupted.
“Come on, after we see everyone off...”
“Duchess, we are investigating a murder. Those involved must remain until the investigation is complete.”
The head of the investigation bureau of the Empire was merciless to Rachel.
Rachel chewed her lower lip at his cold tone. She clasped her hands together to hide the trembling of her fingertips and glared at Countess Cetirean.
The Countess spoke as if she didn't care about Rachel.
"I ran into Miss Victoria on my way here earlier. I don't know why, but both the Duchess and Miss Victoria seemed very flustered. Then the Duchess told Miss Victoria to hurry and leave."
"When did I do that?"
"That's how it seemed to me, Duchess. This is the Bronte Forest, and it was strange how you sent Miss Victoria away like she was out of place. Everyone said they wanted to take a walk with Miss Victoria, but you sent her away, didn't you?"
The Countess turned to the other ladies and asked.
The ladies hesitated and looked away, but to the Commissioner of Inquiry, their presence seemed deeply suspicious.
"Duchess. I need to see the youngest Princess."
"She's only fifteen, Commissioner."
“Oh my. If you’re going to be that picky, isn’t the Second Princess only sixteen? It’s only a year difference, Duchess. If the Second Princess can do it, the youngest Princess can do it too. Besides, I heard the youngest Princess in this house is more mature than her sisters?”
Rachel’s face paled at Countess Catirean’s words.
For some reason, the more she tried to escape, the tighter the net felt around her feet.
She had an ominous feeling that no matter what she did, she wouldn’t be able to quietly escape this situation.
‘It’s okay. It’s just a sixteen-year-old’s scheme. If we handle it calmly, we can easily turn the situation around.’
Rachel calmed her pounding heart.
As everyone said, Victoria was smarter and more mature than her sisters and Ariana, so she would be able to overcome this situation well.
Victoria, who was suddenly called into the reception room, blinked and looked around at the adults standing before her.
The ladies she met earlier, the men in detective uniforms, and Rachel with her pale face.
Looking at everyone's eyes, the atmosphere was ominous, but she couldn't figure out what was going on.
'Did Ariana die?'
It was clear Rachel was planning something for Ariana today, and she had a rough idea. Perhaps something had gone wrong, and Ariana had died at the hands of the other person.
Victoria smiled faintly, pretending not to notice anything, and greeted everyone.
"Hello."
She greeted them perfectly, but no one smiled back. Her heart pounded.
'I guess Ariana really is dead.'
Then, Rachel stepped forward.
"Victoria, you..."
"Please remain still, Duchess. I will ask the questions."
Victoria was startled by the Director of Investigation's rudeness. How could someone like him dare to treat the Duchess like that?
But Victoria steeled herself as she watched Rachel, whom she'd expected to be furious, back down surprisingly meekly.
'If my mother is like that, then this must be a serious matter. I have to be careful.'
Victoria looked up at the chief investigator with a polite, sullen gaze.
"Do you have any questions for me?"
"Second Princess. Did you go to Bronte Forest today?"
"Yes, I did."
"What brought you there?"
"That's..."
She received a letter. A letter from Rachel, asking her to come.
But she couldn't tell him what the letter mentioned, so she lied.
"I just wanted to go for a walk. I like walking in the forest."
"According to the ladies, the Duchess kicked you out. Is there any reason you'd get in trouble for walking in the forest?"
"Huh? Oh... That's... because I was interfering with the adults' time..."
"But the ladies said it was okay for you to walk together."
“Yes, that... is fine, but I’m young, so wouldn’t it be a bit of a distraction?”
“Yes. Then did you go to the pergola today?”
“No.”
“Then why was this dropped in the pergola?”
The chief investigator pulled out a handkerchief.
Victoria recognized it as hers, but she had forgotten that she had given it to Ariana. She had been so flustered by Ariana’s behavior at the garden party that she had done it unconsciously.
So she just blinked and stared blankly at her handkerchief.
“That is...”
“It is yours, right?”
“Well, yes...”
“But why was this dropped in the pergola, a place you’ve never been before?”
Victoria’s heart pounded at the chief investigator’s sharp question.
Victoria realized that things weren’t going as she had expected.
‘So I’ve been accused of the incident at the pergola. I have to answer properly.’
Victoria controlled her expression and said.
“I don’t know. Could it be that the maid stole it?”
“Aha. The maid stole not a trinket, but a handkerchief with your name on it?”
“A child with bad hands can steal anything. Oh, and come to think of it... I didn’t want to bring this up because I thought it would be a flaw, but Ariana steals from me sometimes, too.”
Victoria was certain that Ariana had been the one who died in the pergola, so she blamed Ariana for stealing the handkerchief. Then, she thought it was only natural that the handkerchief had fallen there.
But for some reason, Rachel staggered as if she was about to faint, and the expressions of the investigators and ladies hardened.
“How strange. The evidence points to the youngest Princess of this family, but why do all of you want to frame the Second Princess as the culprit? Is there some secret I don’t know about?”
Countess Cetirean snickered in response to the chief investigator’s words.
“Exactly.”
Victoria, observing the flow of the situation, realized belatedly,
'It wasn't Ariana who died there!'
Her heart sank.
'What should I do?'
She couldn't take back the words she'd blurted out.
She looked at Rachel for help, but she seemed to struggle to control herself.
"Since everyone wants to frame the Second Princess as the culprit, I guess we should hear her story. Where is the Second Princess?"
Ariana wasn't in the room.
Rachel finally felt relieved.
"She did something and ran away in fear!"
Still, if she said she seemed to have run away, the head of the investigation agency would think it was even stranger, so she called over to the maid who was cleaning the hallway and asked.
"Do you know where Ariana is?"
"Yes, that..."
The maid looked at the ladies and investigators for some reason.
Victoria lifted her chin slightly and stepped forward.
"Why? Where is she? Did she leave the mansion?"
"That..."
"Tell me quickly."
"She's doing laundry in the backyard of the kitchen."
The ladies burst into laughter at the maid's answer.
They had anticipated how Ariana would be treated after the incident at the garden party. But hearing that she was actually doing something that maids did, erupted into laughter.
The chief investigator and the investigators, unaware of the details, looked at each other in bewilderment.
"The Princess is doing laundry?"
"Yes..."
"Since when?"
"It seems like it's been... a while..."
As the maid continued to answer, the color drained from Rachel and Victoria's faces.
The chief inspector checked the expressions of the mother and daughter and shook his head.
He could now guess where the case was going, but he still felt he had to confirm, so he headed to the backyard of the kitchen.
There, the chief inspector witnessed a shocking sight.
A maid with short red hair and a young maid with sky-blue hair were washing the blankets. As far as he knew, the second Princess of the Bronte family was the only girl in the West with "sky-blue hair." Unfamiliar with the gossip of high society, the chief inspector had no idea how the Second Princess of the Bronte family was treated.
So, even though he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it, so he cautiously opened his mouth.
"Second... Princess?"
The dazzlingly beautiful girl with sky-blue hair turned her head.
Her pale skin dazzled in the pouring sunlight, and the smile on her lips was brighter than the sun.
"Yes?"
Despite being a Princess, she wore maid-like clothes and did maid-like work, but her appearance was bright and cheerful, unlike any other girl. Even the chief investigator, with his iron heart, felt his heart ache at the sight.
Ariana, who had been stepping on the blanket in a large basin, stepped out when her name was called, walked barefoot, and stood before Rachel.
She smiled brightly and looked up at Rachel.
“Mother, what is it? Is there anything else you want me to do?”
Rachel swallowed dry spit and a scream simultaneously.
The chief investigator and everyone else there saw this differently.
The cold mother didn’t even answer her daughter’s words.
Instead of Rachel, who remained silent, the chief investigator asked,
“Princess, where were you today?”
“Today? Oh, I...”
Ariana watched Rachel.
“I was... where Mother said.”
The investigation chief narrowed his brows at the sudden mention of his second daughter.
“The Second Princess?”
“Yes. I don’t know if you heard... sigh. Our second daughter has a lot of complaints about her family. If she had stayed in North, she would have been the Princess of North, but since I brought her here and she became a Princess, she must be dissatisfied. Maybe that’s why she tries to find fault with the family at every opportunity...”
Rachel’s eyes reddened as she spoke, and the investigation chief closed his mouth, embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. This is just because our second daughter heard rumors about that man and became interested, so she wanted to meet him briefly, and this happened. I’ll teach her well, so today’s... No, no. I shouldn’t be asking you this.”
Rachel took a handkerchief out of her pocket and dabbed her eyes.
At that moment, Countess Cetirean opened her mouth.
“But it’s strange.”
Countess Cetirean nonchalantly said what the other noblewomen had been unable to say, as they were too busy watching Rachel’s reaction.
“Didn’t we run into the youngest Princess of this house around here earlier?”
Rachel’s heart sank.
Countess Cetirean, who had summoned her with the intention of having her witness Ariana’s incident and spreading rumors to the imperial capital, had instead grabbed Rachel’s ankle.
Rachel glanced around, but Countess Cetirean was looking at the head of the investigation bureau.
“Who are you...?”
“I’m Count Cetirean’s wife from the Empire.”
“Ah, Countess. Could you elaborate on what you just said?”
Rachel hurriedly interrupted.
“Come on, after we see everyone off...”
“Duchess, we are investigating a murder. Those involved must remain until the investigation is complete.”
The head of the investigation bureau of the Empire was merciless to Rachel.
Rachel chewed her lower lip at his cold tone. She clasped her hands together to hide the trembling of her fingertips and glared at Countess Cetirean.
The Countess spoke as if she didn't care about Rachel.
"I ran into Miss Victoria on my way here earlier. I don't know why, but both the Duchess and Miss Victoria seemed very flustered. Then the Duchess told Miss Victoria to hurry and leave."
"When did I do that?"
"That's how it seemed to me, Duchess. This is the Bronte Forest, and it was strange how you sent Miss Victoria away like she was out of place. Everyone said they wanted to take a walk with Miss Victoria, but you sent her away, didn't you?"
The Countess turned to the other ladies and asked.
The ladies hesitated and looked away, but to the Commissioner of Inquiry, their presence seemed deeply suspicious.
"Duchess. I need to see the youngest Princess."
"She's only fifteen, Commissioner."
“Oh my. If you’re going to be that picky, isn’t the Second Princess only sixteen? It’s only a year difference, Duchess. If the Second Princess can do it, the youngest Princess can do it too. Besides, I heard the youngest Princess in this house is more mature than her sisters?”
Rachel’s face paled at Countess Catirean’s words.
For some reason, the more she tried to escape, the tighter the net felt around her feet.
She had an ominous feeling that no matter what she did, she wouldn’t be able to quietly escape this situation.
‘It’s okay. It’s just a sixteen-year-old’s scheme. If we handle it calmly, we can easily turn the situation around.’
Rachel calmed her pounding heart.
As everyone said, Victoria was smarter and more mature than her sisters and Ariana, so she would be able to overcome this situation well.
***
Victoria, who was suddenly called into the reception room, blinked and looked around at the adults standing before her.
The ladies she met earlier, the men in detective uniforms, and Rachel with her pale face.
Looking at everyone's eyes, the atmosphere was ominous, but she couldn't figure out what was going on.
'Did Ariana die?'
It was clear Rachel was planning something for Ariana today, and she had a rough idea. Perhaps something had gone wrong, and Ariana had died at the hands of the other person.
Victoria smiled faintly, pretending not to notice anything, and greeted everyone.
"Hello."
She greeted them perfectly, but no one smiled back. Her heart pounded.
'I guess Ariana really is dead.'
Then, Rachel stepped forward.
"Victoria, you..."
"Please remain still, Duchess. I will ask the questions."
Victoria was startled by the Director of Investigation's rudeness. How could someone like him dare to treat the Duchess like that?
But Victoria steeled herself as she watched Rachel, whom she'd expected to be furious, back down surprisingly meekly.
'If my mother is like that, then this must be a serious matter. I have to be careful.'
Victoria looked up at the chief investigator with a polite, sullen gaze.
"Do you have any questions for me?"
"Second Princess. Did you go to Bronte Forest today?"
"Yes, I did."
"What brought you there?"
"That's..."
She received a letter. A letter from Rachel, asking her to come.
But she couldn't tell him what the letter mentioned, so she lied.
"I just wanted to go for a walk. I like walking in the forest."
"According to the ladies, the Duchess kicked you out. Is there any reason you'd get in trouble for walking in the forest?"
"Huh? Oh... That's... because I was interfering with the adults' time..."
"But the ladies said it was okay for you to walk together."
“Yes, that... is fine, but I’m young, so wouldn’t it be a bit of a distraction?”
“Yes. Then did you go to the pergola today?”
“No.”
“Then why was this dropped in the pergola?”
The chief investigator pulled out a handkerchief.
Victoria recognized it as hers, but she had forgotten that she had given it to Ariana. She had been so flustered by Ariana’s behavior at the garden party that she had done it unconsciously.
So she just blinked and stared blankly at her handkerchief.
“That is...”
“It is yours, right?”
“Well, yes...”
“But why was this dropped in the pergola, a place you’ve never been before?”
Victoria’s heart pounded at the chief investigator’s sharp question.
Victoria realized that things weren’t going as she had expected.
‘So I’ve been accused of the incident at the pergola. I have to answer properly.’
Victoria controlled her expression and said.
“I don’t know. Could it be that the maid stole it?”
“Aha. The maid stole not a trinket, but a handkerchief with your name on it?”
“A child with bad hands can steal anything. Oh, and come to think of it... I didn’t want to bring this up because I thought it would be a flaw, but Ariana steals from me sometimes, too.”
Victoria was certain that Ariana had been the one who died in the pergola, so she blamed Ariana for stealing the handkerchief. Then, she thought it was only natural that the handkerchief had fallen there.
But for some reason, Rachel staggered as if she was about to faint, and the expressions of the investigators and ladies hardened.
“How strange. The evidence points to the youngest Princess of this family, but why do all of you want to frame the Second Princess as the culprit? Is there some secret I don’t know about?”
Countess Cetirean snickered in response to the chief investigator’s words.
“Exactly.”
Victoria, observing the flow of the situation, realized belatedly,
'It wasn't Ariana who died there!'
Her heart sank.
'What should I do?'
She couldn't take back the words she'd blurted out.
She looked at Rachel for help, but she seemed to struggle to control herself.
"Since everyone wants to frame the Second Princess as the culprit, I guess we should hear her story. Where is the Second Princess?"
***
Ariana wasn't in the room.
Rachel finally felt relieved.
"She did something and ran away in fear!"
Still, if she said she seemed to have run away, the head of the investigation agency would think it was even stranger, so she called over to the maid who was cleaning the hallway and asked.
"Do you know where Ariana is?"
"Yes, that..."
The maid looked at the ladies and investigators for some reason.
Victoria lifted her chin slightly and stepped forward.
"Why? Where is she? Did she leave the mansion?"
"That..."
"Tell me quickly."
"She's doing laundry in the backyard of the kitchen."
The ladies burst into laughter at the maid's answer.
They had anticipated how Ariana would be treated after the incident at the garden party. But hearing that she was actually doing something that maids did, erupted into laughter.
The chief investigator and the investigators, unaware of the details, looked at each other in bewilderment.
"The Princess is doing laundry?"
"Yes..."
"Since when?"
"It seems like it's been... a while..."
As the maid continued to answer, the color drained from Rachel and Victoria's faces.
The chief inspector checked the expressions of the mother and daughter and shook his head.
He could now guess where the case was going, but he still felt he had to confirm, so he headed to the backyard of the kitchen.
There, the chief inspector witnessed a shocking sight.
A maid with short red hair and a young maid with sky-blue hair were washing the blankets. As far as he knew, the second Princess of the Bronte family was the only girl in the West with "sky-blue hair." Unfamiliar with the gossip of high society, the chief inspector had no idea how the Second Princess of the Bronte family was treated.
So, even though he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it, so he cautiously opened his mouth.
"Second... Princess?"
The dazzlingly beautiful girl with sky-blue hair turned her head.
Her pale skin dazzled in the pouring sunlight, and the smile on her lips was brighter than the sun.
"Yes?"
Despite being a Princess, she wore maid-like clothes and did maid-like work, but her appearance was bright and cheerful, unlike any other girl. Even the chief investigator, with his iron heart, felt his heart ache at the sight.
Ariana, who had been stepping on the blanket in a large basin, stepped out when her name was called, walked barefoot, and stood before Rachel.
She smiled brightly and looked up at Rachel.
“Mother, what is it? Is there anything else you want me to do?”
Rachel swallowed dry spit and a scream simultaneously.
The chief investigator and everyone else there saw this differently.
The cold mother didn’t even answer her daughter’s words.
Instead of Rachel, who remained silent, the chief investigator asked,
“Princess, where were you today?”
“Today? Oh, I...”
Ariana watched Rachel.
“I was... where Mother said.”
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