Chapter 59
Something’s Suspicious (5)
“So you even gifted an artifact with a tracking function?”
“How did you… notice that?”
Noel let out an awkward sigh. He thought he had been careful, sneaking it away, so how did she figure it out?
Since Yeri knows, my parents… they must already know too.
He didn’t know why she hadn’t said anything until now, but saying more would probably just sound like an excuse.
“If you have nothing else to say, could you leave now?”
Noel flopped onto the bed, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation.
Yeri seemed to think for a moment, touching her chin before standing up.
“If my brother doesn’t want to answer, I won’t ask further. But, brother—”
“Again, why?”
Yeri stared at Noel’s stubborn back for a while, then turned to leave.
“This time, behave properly.”
Noel, unable to hide his embarrassment, turned around, but Yeri had already left the room.
“Huh!”
At a loss for words, Noel ran a hand over his face and let out a sigh as if in pain.
“Behave properly… what the hell does that mean?”
He laughed hollowly, staring at the high ceiling.
A vast, empty white space.
And suddenly, as if painted in his mind, the image of Elusiana’s deeply frowning face appeared above him.
“Will you accept me if I confess?”
Noel covered his face with his large hand. How could he have said such an embarrassing thing with any confidence? Just thinking about it made his face flush.
It had been a word said without any special meaning.
A joke, something said for fun. As he always did.
He had said it to tease her a little because she had been so cold toward him.
“You’re crazy, Noel. You pretended to be a playboy, and now you’ve actually become one?”
Though known as a notorious playboy in the empire, Noel was actually indifferent to women.
Women, captivated by his appearance, came to him willingly, and he had politely rejected them, which only caused the misunderstanding.
So his gaze fell on Elusiana, who openly disliked him.
Most women tried to appear beautiful and elegant before Noel, but she did not.
“Even if I begged her to accept my heart, she would just slam me down.”
Thinking of how Elusiana always spoke her mind left Noel with a strangely mixed feeling.
“Lucy? From today onward, Lucy will only work in the afternoon.”
A few days ago, when he habitually visited the fragrant garden, he had overheard this from a stranger.
Seeing the employment contract stamped with the Seal of the Sestain Duchy, he understood what her absence meant and left quietly, though a small part of his heart felt uneasy.
So Noel picked up his sword. He had swung it just to pass the time, but somehow it became a daily habit.
It had even become enjoyable to use the sword after so long.
But—
“No matter how I think about it, something’s suspicious.”
The Sestain Duchy—an extremely closed-off family—hiring an outsider…
Moreover, her status was that of a commoner. The notoriously picky Sestain Duchy employed a mere commoner as a servant?
What could the reason be?
Noel’s purple eyes flickered sharply with suspicion.
“I need to find out more about the current duke.”
Yeri, having left Noel’s room, stared at the door for a while.
Yes. It’s done.
She let out a long sigh and a self-deprecating laugh.
It had been seven whole years—Noel wandering, unable to forget Edelweiss.
So if someone had come to occupy that tattered heart, it was something to be thankful for.
You think so too, Eva.
Noel had been a promising heir of the Klaus Marquis family.
He trained daily to master the ultimate sword techniques, tempering himself despite his natural talent.
By the time he was sixteen, his skills had far surpassed ordinary people.
But after Edelweiss’ death, Noel became a completely different person.
He flaunted his beauty to play with women, leaving a trail of scandals.
Yeri could not understand it.
Even though Edelweiss’ death had been shocking, he should not have behaved like this, indulging in the admiration of women he once found distasteful.
Once, she had confronted him, unable to hold back, and asked why.
Then Noel had said:
“They were after Eva from the start, not me. They aimed at me, thinking Eva would intervene. Isn’t that cruel? Using someone’s heart to make them die.”
His dark eyes flickered ominously.
“So I will find them. I will strip the bastard’s skin and cut off his limbs, letting him die in unbearable pain. Right in front of Eva’s grave.”
Everything Noel had done was a means to catch the one who killed Edelweiss.
Yet now, with someone else in his heart, that blind desire for revenge could weaken.
Brother… now you can be at ease. It’s okay now. Eva will… understand.
Yeri nodded sadly, forcing a bitter smile.
Just then, her head snapped back.
A servant had rushed in, and when their eyes met, he bowed deeply, pale as a sheet.
“L-Lady.”
Yeri’s eyebrows twitched. She knew this servant’s face, though he was not assigned to either her or Noel.
A servant here on the third floor, where the Klaus family’s direct line resided?
“Who are you?”
Her icy voice echoed down the quiet hallway.
The servant swallowed hard.
“…I am Hyulingo.”
“Hyulingo?”
“Yes, Lady. The head maid ordered me to replace the door handle, so I was just finishing and returning.”
Yeri looked at the handle in Hyulingo’s hand and frowned. The evidence was clear—the handle had been replaced with a new one.
Yet, why did it feel so suspicious?
“Since you replaced it, it must have been truly broken. Very well. You may go.”
“I-I will take my leave, then.”
Hyulingo, bowing deeply, left the corridor in a rush. Though pretending calm, the increasing speed betrayed him.
Yeri watched quietly before turning her gaze out the window.
“A completely broken handle in the quarters of the main family… what an absurd excuse.”
As expected, Hyulingo ran off toward the stables.
Apparently, this new recruit had little patience.
Yeri went down the corridor to the first-floor hall and called a knight standing at the entrance.
“Sir Mahomet.”
“Yes, Lady.”
“Follow the servant who just went to the stables.”
“Obediently, my lady.”
The carriage entering the Eragost mansion came to a slow stop.
The door slid open, revealing an extremely enchanting woman with a slight upward curve to her eyes in a smile.
The knight, waiting nearby, trembled as he extended his hand.
“Thank you, Sir Hal.”
The woman pressed her hand subtly, stepping out of the carriage. At that moment, a servant seemed to have run up, panting heavily.
“And who might you be?”
“I… I am Hyulingo, here to meet Miss Eragost.”
A maid standing beside Camilla whispered who he was.
“He’s the new servant hired from the Klaus Marquis family, miss.”
“Oh. That’s why I didn’t recognize him.”
Camilla let out a sly laugh, then asked in a seemingly gentle tone:
“Hyulingo, what brings you here?”
Hearing his name, Hyulingo bowed deeply in excitement.
“I have brought what the lady requested.”
“And what I requested… is it regarding Sir Noel?”
“Yes, yes, exactly.”
“Very good. And what did you find out?”
Camilla lightly placed her hand on Hyulingo’s bowed shoulder. Nervously, he stammered:
“It seems Sir Noel is meeting someone privately.”
“Sir Noel is meeting someone privately?”
Camilla’s eyes turned icy.
“And who is it?”
“I-I don’t really… know…”
Hyulingo’s face went pale as he trembled. Camilla grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her.
“Lady…”
“Don’t say you don’t know. I didn’t give you treasures to hear that. Now, continue. Who is Noel meeting?”
“I-I… I’m sorry, my lady. I will confirm and return with certainty. Please… forgive me.”
Terrified, Hyulingo prostrated himself.
Risking danger to gain information to please the Eragost lady, he had avoided suspicion from the Klaus lady. But the information he had gathered was extremely fragmentary.
I have to say something. If I don’t, I’ll fall out of favor with the lady.
With his face flushed red, he continued:
“They have… known each other for about two years. And he mentioned a flower shop in the commoner district, and also—”
Camilla’s mouth twisted into a chilling expression. Two years, completely deceiving her. But instead of anger, she felt a strange urge to laugh.
