Chapter 10.5

It was when they entered the forest where the Nutak Villa was located. The view outside the window was unusually chaotic. Luette Trovill opened his previously closed eyes and looked out.  

The shaded forest was silent. Occasionally, the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard. From somewhere, there seemed to be a faint, acrid smell.  

His uneasy gaze soon turned to the sky.  

The sky visible through the dense leaves was clear without a single cloud, yet a thick column of smoke rose through the gaps.  

As if there was a fire somewhere.  

A foreboding feeling quickly consumed him.  

In the meantime, the carriage passed the last hill and stopped at the entrance to the path leading to Nutak Villa.  

“Young Master!”  

The pale-faced coachman urgently opened the door without even knocking.  

“It seems the villa is on fire!” 

“…”  

Luette Trovill simply stared at the coachman for a moment. It took him a while to comprehend those words.  

Where? What’s on fire?  

His gaze lingered on a certain “pile” visible beyond the coachman’s shoulder.  

“Are you listening? The villa is on fire… Young Master!”  

Luette immediately got off the carriage, walked forward, unfastened the shaft, and mounted one of the horses.  

“Young Master!”  

Leaving the coachman’s voice behind, he dashed off recklessly.  

Had this road always been so long? He couldn’t tell. The more he ran, the more the horrific scene of the villa filled his view.  

The villa’s entrance and one side had completely collapsed. The remaining side, barely standing, was charred black, with no trace of its former beauty.  

Firefighters who had been dispatched were extinguishing the remaining flames and cleaning up the scene. In one corner, Linda, Josh, and Jackson sat with vacant expressions, seemingly in shock.  

“Young Master!”  

Linda, who spotted him stopping his horse, burst into tears like a child. Josh and Jackson were no different.  

Luette dismounted and approached them. Josh greeted him with a face smeared with ash and sweat.  

“What happened?”  

“Young Master… well…”  

“Where is she?”  

The details of the incident were irrelevant to him.  

“Where is my wife?”  

That was the only thing that mattered.  

Josh bit his lip tightly as if trying to hold back tears. Watching his trembling chin, Luette swallowed a rough breath.  

No, she wouldn’t have stayed inside the villa until it reached this state. She must have escaped. She must be safe.  

“I asked where my wife is.”  

“…”  

In the end, Josh couldn’t say anything and broke down crying. The answer was already clear.  

The reason Josh and the other servants looked so disheveled, as if they had thrown themselves into the horrific scene, was for one reason only.  

As soon as the thought struck him, Luette turned and headed toward the collapsed villa.  

“You can’t go in, Earl! The flames haven’t been fully extinguished yet!”  

The voices trying to stop him didn’t reach him. He entered the villa, which was tilted and on the verge of collapsing.  

The villa, now entirely blackened, seemed to cling to his steps. Just hours ago, the peaceful Nutak Villa now greeted its owner in a state like a tattered rag.  

Wet ashes and collapsed debris clung to his shoes, but he paid no mind and moved forward. His wide-open eyes scanned every corner of the villa, which had turned into hell.  

“Solnia!”  

He shouted her name, almost like a roar. Repeatedly, over and over. The more he called, the more his voice trembled. He hated this—he hated it so much—but useless thoughts kept spreading in his mind.  

In a fire large enough to destroy the once-pristine villa, could she have survived?  

It wasn’t just anyone—it was Solnia. The woman who had witnessed firsthand the fire that took her beloved parents in an instant. The woman whose life had changed entirely because of it.  

“Solnia!!”  

No. That’s why she must be alive.  

Despite everything, you must still be alive.  

But the only response to his desperate calls was the beautiful chirping of birds and the sound of the flowing river.  

***

Night had deepened, but the area around Nutak Villa remained chaotic. Although the flames had been extinguished, the cleanup had only just begun, and there were no results.  

Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, no one could tell. Luette and the servants trembled all day, fearing the firefighters might announce they had found a body.  

Even Philip, who joined them late, couldn’t hide his devastation. He didn’t feel particularly good or bad about Solnia, but the scene was indescribably horrific.  

After surveying the situation, Philip sighed deeply and made his way to the carriage. Inside the carriage, Luette Trovill sat. Until Philip arrived, he had been sifting through the ashes like a madman.  

Philip looked at the man staring blankly ahead with hollow eyes.  

“You need to step out for a moment.”  

“…”  

“If you keep going like this, even treatment won’t be possible.”  

Philip’s gaze fell on Luette’s arm. Through his torn shirt, the burns were clearly visible. Despite his condition, he hadn’t left the collapsed villa.  

“Young Master.”  

“…”  

Instead of answering, Luette placed a cigar in his mouth. Understanding his feelings, Philip didn’t press him further and leaned against the carriage.  

“Could she be in the forest?”  

The man’s hoarse voice broke the silence.  

“It’s all forest here.”  

“…”  

“Could she be by the river?”  

Philip exhaled a heavy breath. They had already searched that area thoroughly. The firefighters hadn’t found anything. The man knew that too.  

“I’ll request a search party at dawn tomorrow. We’ll include the surrounding villages. So…”  

At that moment, one of the firefighters came running over, holding something. Philip closed the carriage door and asked, 

“What is it?”  

“We found this. Thought it might be important.”  

“…”  

What he handed over was a canvas with its edges burned. It was unmistakably Solnia’s portrait.  

Of all things, she was smiling so blissfully. Of all things.  

“Understood.”  

The firefighter ran back to the scene, and after a moment of hesitation, Philip opened the carriage door.  

“They found this at the site and handed it over.”  

“…”  

Cold eyes turned toward him. Luette took the canvas and let out a hollow laugh. His bandaged hand caressed the burnt edges.  

Eventually, he clutched the canvas to his chest and slowly curled up. Philip silently closed the carriage door. The man’s suppressed sobs continued for a long time.  

***

The next day, the newspapers reported on the fire at Nutak Villa.  

The Heston Dowager Madame, spotting the bold headline, couldn’t believe her eyes. Nutak Villa—it was certainly the villa where Solnia had been staying.  

「It is presumed that the Countess of Melfir, who had been sleeping, along with two servants, perished in the incident. Additionally, several broken lanterns were found around the villa, leading fire authorities to focus their investigation on the possibility of a crime.」  

“Ha…”  

Dead. That girl died so pathetically.  

The Dowager Madame frowned. She felt neither joy nor sorrow—only confusion.  

She had never ordered anyone to set fire to the Nutak Villa.  

As she was about to summon the butler to hear the full story, someone spoke.  

“Well, the article is quite prominently featured.”  

A clear voice was heard. When she looked up, Alec had approached and was glancing at the newspaper. The grandson, who had been roaming around the mansion in a much-improved state for the past few days, seemed well again today, and the sharp eyes of the Heston Dowager Madame were fixed on his seemingly fine face.

Could it be? No way.

“……Did you do that?”

“You told me to, Grandma.”

Alec said something absurd and smiled brightly. At that moment, a chilly sensation settled on the back of the Dowager Madame’s neck.

“……What did you say?”

“I heard your voice. Telling me to kill that girl. That not being able to kill her sooner was a lifelong regret.”

“…….”

“That now is the opportunity.”

The Dowager Madame stared blankly at her grandson as if she had forgotten how to speak. 

This boy hadn’t gotten better. He had gone mad.

The doctor had said that symptoms like auditory hallucinations or visions could appear. So, she needed to remain calm. She had to act quickly before anyone noticed.

Just then, a supplement slipped out from between the pages of the newspaper and lightly fell to the floor. The Dowager Madame, who was nervously glaring, picked it up, feeling something unsettling.

<Memoirs of an Orphan>

A foreboding premonition swept over her. A very severe anxiety, the worst she had felt in her seventy years.

「This is the wretched memoir of someone who has lived as an orphan all their life, and at the same time, an indictment against the true face of a certain benevolent lady. I dedicate this writing to those children, who believed only her touch was salvation, with whom I sometimes endured and wept together, but who now have disappeared somewhere, and to my sister Susan.」

Thud, her heart, which had sunk, began to pound violently as if it were hammering. Her chest tightened unpleasantly, and her breathing became choked.

“Madam!”

It would be better to die like this, better to die with honor.

But contrary to her wishes, her eyes were wide open, staring at the audacious memoir of some orphan. As if not allowing her to do otherwise.