Chapter – 20
Kellie’s anxious words left Henry unable to reply.
Of all times, the stolen necklace had returned.
And now, when most people suspected them of being the murderers.
“Should we hide it?”
“That would only make us look more suspicious.”
“But we can’t exactly announce, ‘We found the necklace now!’ either.”
“That’s true. They’d think we killed the servant to get it back. Finding the stolen item would be secondary to the murder….”
The two looked at each other, then down at the necklace.
“I wish we’d never borrowed this wretched necklace.”
“We had no choice. We didn’t have the means until we resolved that matter….”
And before the twins could think further.
-*Knock knock.*
The voice of the Grand Duke’s servant sounded from beyond the closed door.
“Excuse me. His Highness is waiting for you.”
* * *
In the room where the Lemerre twins were led, not only Ludwig was present, but also Acilly, who now seemed a natural fixture beside him, the sharp-eared Count’s young lady, and several other young ladies.
As the twins entered, some of the young ladies consciously avoided their eyes.
They were the very ones who had been gossiping about the Lemerre family.
It didn’t take long for the twins to face the situation they had feared the most.
“You found the necklace.”
“…Yes.”
The dead servant and the returned necklace.
Last night’s argument, and the recent, inexplicable, unusual circumstances surrounding the Lemerre family.
Given all the circumstances, it was all too easy for the twins to be pointed at as the culprits of this murder.
The twins felt the sharp, accusatory gazes piercing their entire bodies.
Towards them, Acilly took a step forward.
“Miss Lemerre.”
“Yes.”
“Can you explain what happened?”
“I don’t know. The necklace was just back, like when it was stolen. We… we didn’t do anything.”
Henry spoke as calmly as she could, but her jaw was trembling faintly.
Kellie, holding Henry’s hand tightly, was also grinding her teeth on her lower lip.
For the twins, every second felt like an eternity.
The next moment.
Acilly nodded readily towards the twins.
“I see.”
She didn’t ask for further details.
Not about the unexpected return of the necklace, nor about last night’s argument.
The twins’ eyes widened in surprise, and the others present also couldn’t hide their bewildered expressions.
They had naturally assumed she would interrogate the Lemerre twins and try to get a handle on solving this brutal murder…
“Is that all?”
Finally, one young lady couldn’t hold back and spoke up.
“All?”
Acilly tilted her head, and another young lady addressed her.
“Under such suspicious circumstances, you aren’t asking anything…”
The young lady didn’t finish her sentence and closed her mouth. Although she had spoken out without thinking because the situation was so strange, she remembered just who she was indirectly accusing.
But even after closing her mouth, she didn’t retract her suspicious gaze.
The Lemerre twins, unable to hide their humiliation at their words and stares, clenched their teeth, their faces pale.
It was obvious no one would believe them no matter what they said now…
“They said they didn’t do anything.”
The gazes of everyone in the room, not just the twins, fixed on Acilly.
Receiving all their stares, Acilly looked straight at the twins with her piercingly transparent blue eyes.
“I believe the young ladies.”
With those quiet words, Acilly left the room, and the other young ladies, as if enchanted, followed her.
The twins also looked at each other, nodded shortly after, and then moved to leave.
Soon after, the place where Acilly stopped was the room of the younger sister, who was lost in grief over losing her precious person.
Thanks to a prior notice, the door was open.
Acilly and Ludwig entered the room first, and with everyone’s tacit agreement, the twins also entered the room.
From behind the open door, everyone who had been in the annex listened intently, trying to understand what was happening.
The one who broke the dead, mouse-like silence was Acilly.
“Tell me, young lady. Is the half-eaten pie still in this room?”
At Acilly’s sudden question, the eyes of everyone except Ludwig and the addressed younger sister widened.
The younger sister, whose face had stiffened for a moment, shook her head exaggeratedly and moved her lips.
But Acilly, completely unperturbed, asked again.
“That pie you hurriedly put away when we first came to investigate this room.”
“Ah, why are you suddenly bringing that up…”
As the younger sister tried to say more, Ludwig cut her off.
“Is it here, or not?”
In that moment, the younger sister had to make a choice.
If she said no, her lie would be exposed immediately. If she said yes, she would have to explain why she still had it.
Ultimately, no choice would benefit her.
Driven into a psychological corner, she instinctively glanced for a split second towards her most precious possession.
Though it was momentary, Ludwig didn’t miss that glance and followed it.
He strode over to the window where her gaze had landed.
Soon, a small pouch was in Ludwig’s hand.
“This is it.”
The younger sister, acting on pure instinct without thinking, lunged towards Ludwig himself.
“Is it a crime that I’m poor and have nothing, so I even hide half-eaten pies?!”
It was a line she blurted out impulsively to avoid the jewels being discovered, but upon saying it, it sounded quite plausible.
Covering the pouch containing the pie with her whole body, she sniffled.
“Must you humiliate me to this extent? First, you accused me of being a thief, and now…”
Those who had been shocked by her audacity to rush towards His Highness the Grand Duke now shook their heads in pity upon hearing her subsequent cries.
Soon, the young ladies gathered densely around, who had been silently observing the situation, began to murmur.
“This is too much.”
“Indeed, even if she is a Bolschevik young lady…”
“To go this far.”
“Earlier, she said she believed the Lemerre young ladies so easily.”
“Good heavens, are they treating her like this just because her family lacks influence?”
One didn’t need to hear everything to know the common theme of their chatter.
They were labeling Acilly as a typical bully, weak against the strong and strong against the weak.
And while hearing all this whispering, both Acilly and Ludwig remained silent.
Because Acilly had told him to.
‘Once this starts, there will be people gossiping about me. Well, it’s obvious even without hearing it.’
‘They should know that lightly flapping their tongues comes with a price.’
‘But since they probably think they’re just expressing what they believe is true, they won’t hold back.’
Acilly lightly shrugged her shoulders and continued.
‘Anyway, just let them be.’
‘Like during the party?’
‘Yes. Let them gossip, and later when it’s revealed not to be true, even if they all return to their own families, they won’t be able to freely chatter about me this way and that. They would have already misspoken once.’
He had felt it since meeting her in dreams, but Acilly was exceptionally sharp.
She considered multiple scenarios for a single issue and often looked ahead to the consequences.
When they needed to instill caution in the careless Crown Prince by staging an assassination attempt, he had received her help then too.
Speaking of which, it was about time for a letter to arrive from the Imperial Palace.
The Emperor would already know that the Grand Duchess’s party caused a stir with the appearance of the Bolschevik young lady.
Probably, the Emperor’s agents were busy working behind the scenes to find out who Acilly was right now.
But since the Crown Prince had already shown interest, the Emperor had no choice but to act, whether Acilly was a real Bolschevik or not.
It was just that with all the commotion happening over the past few days, he couldn’t summon her immediately.
Once this matter was resolved, a summons to enter the palace would likely arrive tomorrow.
Ludwig, who had been gazing intently at Acilly, made a decision.
I should go alone.
As for the rest… it seemed she hadn’t realized it herself, but Acilly was now tightly wound, tension evident throughout her body.
If this continued, she would be exhausted in no time.
‘I have no stamina, hmm. By your standards, I’m probably physically weaker than a ten-year-old.’
She had said that once in a dream. Although her hair and eye color had changed, that part probably hadn’t.
Her skin was delicate too; even a slight press would often turn red or bruise…
She really was weaker than a ten-year-old child.
Regardless of what the Imperial decree said, I should definitely let her rest.
The young ladies, having no way of knowing that Ludwig’s thoughts were elsewhere, raised their voices slightly as he remained silent.
“…This is too much, really.”
“Just for taking some refreshments…”
As the voices taking her side increased, the younger sister’s stiff shoulders gradually relaxed.
And a slow smile spread across Acilly’s lips as she watched her intently.
The younger sister felt a chill run down her spine, faced directly with that smile, now in full bloom like a radiant rose.
“That’s true.”
“…Pardon?”
“You might feel that way, young lady. I was too hasty without properly explaining the context. Sebastian.”
