“You know! Mr. Feldwell is exactly the type of person who would do something like this!”

Marina’s excited words came faster and faster.

“He’s pretending to have lost his memory while being ordered to sneak in here, and then he’ll spread rumors. Just as you said, Butler, he’ll claim that Miss has inappropriately become involved with a strange man of no background. It’s a scheme to claim she’s unqualified as a Baron and seize this castle……”

“Wait! So Feldwell is…… who exactly?”

“Miss!”

This time, even Hubert joined in with genuine concern, and both of them grabbed my arms and peered into my face.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m really fine—no injuries and my head is perfectly clear, so please don’t look at me like that. Actually, I might be a bit fuzzy on some details because I got slightly hurt when I fell, so I just want to make sure.”

“Hmm.”

Marina still looked suspicious as she glanced at me and began her explanation.

“How could you forget that wicked man who has been eyeing our castle ever since the Baron passed away! Now that he’s made plenty of money, he really has no shame. He’d do anything to get his hands on this place!”

Marina’s voice grew increasingly louder.

“I heard he made another fortune recently. His new moneylending business must be doing well. Considering how he started with wheat farming and built it up to a large grocery store, he really has remarkable business skills.”

‘Feldwell’……

“Butler, you said it yourself. When people get money, they next want power.”

As Marina turned to look at him, Hubert nodded gravely.

“So he wants to get his hands on this castle and show off. He might even try to buy a title with his money! Instead of Merchant Feldwell, he’s desperate to be called Baron Feldwell……”

Feldwell, a familiar name……

‘If I were you, Miss, I’d just hand it over to the Mayor.’

‘The Mayor?’

‘Mayor Feldwell wants to buy this place and use it as both the Clairfield City Hall and the Mayor’s residence.’

‘As you can see, it’s falling apart, and no one except the Feldwell family would be interested, so selling it to them cheaply would be the wisest choice.’

“Ah! I remember now!”

I clapped my hands unconsciously, startling the two of them into silence as they stared blankly at me.

Come to think of it, this name appeared frequently in the diary too.

So that family must have been rooted here for a very long time.

And eventually, their descendant became the mayor of this city in the 21st century.

And even after 130 years, they still coveted Clairfield Castle.

Which means that even after Clarence Philoraine’s tragic death, that fellow and his family never managed to get their hands on this castle.

If that’s the case, I can’t just hand it over either, absolutely not!

“If he’s so desperate to get his hands on this castle, he really would do anything, wouldn’t he?”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

Marina nodded vigorously, as if finally being understood.

Yes, he might even be willing to commit murder.

The problem is……

The problem is that I don’t know which of ‘them’ might try to kill me.]

I felt a chill run down my spine as I was lost in thought.

A loud crashing noise came from beyond the door of the room where we had confined the suspicious man.

“Gasp!”

Marina’s eyes widened.

The three of us stood close together.

Then we each picked up our weapons from the floor.

Holding the poker, tin basin, and dry log, we cautiously approached and flung the door open to find the man collapsed unconscious right in front of the door.

It seemed he had somehow freed his hand and tried to escape, but the rope still tied around his ankles had tangled, causing him to fall and lose consciousness again.

“I guess we shouldn’t have loosened even one hand after all.”

Hubert muttered with a grave expression.

“Since he tried to escape, has his memory returned? Where was he trying to go anyway?”

***

50 hours earlier.

“Where are you going?”

“Shh!”

When his valet Kalon’s voice grew louder, Florian put a finger to his lips to caution him.

No one would likely visit the stable at this late hour, but it was better to be careful.

He had worked on this plan for a long time and didn’t want any interference now.

“I can’t tell you right now. I’m going to see what kind of place it is myself.”

“Don’t you trust me? That’s really disappointing.”

Kalon grumbled.

“It’s not that…… But I need to be cautious. And it’s better if you don’t know. Then you won’t be able to answer even if someone pressures you.”

“But I can’t let you go alone to a place I know nothing about. Are you really just trusting the word of some crazy drunk gambler and heading off to a strange place?”

“Hmm.”

“What if it’s all for nothing? Would someone really hand over their estate and castle over a few cards? Does that make any sense? He probably just scammed you to get out of that situation. And it was a year ago!”

As a capable valet, Kalon’s observations were sharp.

At first, Florian had thought the same.

That he had been fooled by a one-night scam designed merely to escape that moment.

Otherwise, what sane lord would hand over his entire fortune like that?

But even if it was a scam, he hadn’t lost anything, so he had simply thought of it as humoring a pitiful man and forgotten about it.

He had forgotten about it for the past year.

But a week ago, everything changed.

He finally found the document and brass key that had been sleeping in the corner of his drawer.

It was a document guaranteeing the rights to a castle called ‘Clairfield’ and its attached estate. Looking at the map, it was about 100 kilometers east of Highcross.

“Riding hard, two or three days should be enough. It’s a reasonable distance for a quick visit. I’ll go see what kind of place it is and verify if what that man said is true.”

“What if Madam asks for you……”

“Will she?”

Florian smiled crookedly.

“She might fervently hope I break my neck while riding.”

“This isn’t a joke.”

Kalon looked worriedly at Florian, who stood holding the reins.

The Count had disguised himself with shabby clothes, a hat, and a fake identification he had prepared earlier, but he couldn’t hide the determination in his eyes.

“At least tell me your real destination. I can’t help but worry. If you go to a strange place in disguise and something happens to you……”

“Do I look like a fool who can’t protect himself?”

The Count smiled sardonically and pointed to the leather pouch attached to his saddle.

“I’ve packed some small weapons, so don’t worry too much. It won’t take long. I left a note for her saying I’ve gone to another city to meet a friend, so a few days should be fine.”

His stepmother Zelda might even be pleased.

While the Count was away from the estate, she would be acting as the lord’s proxy, and dangers always lurked in the outside world.

Dangers that could suddenly cause the young Count to die an untimely death.

“Then a new 15-year-old Count Harford would be born.”

Florian grinned as he put on his gloves firmly and mounted his horse.

The thought of the castle and new territory waiting for him made the chilly night air seem insignificant.

He had thought there was no hope, but to discover such a treasure.

“No need to worry too much. I don’t plan to barge into the castle right away. I’ll just observe from a distance first, then spend a few days mingling with the villagers to see what kind of place it is.”

“What if that person denies knowing anything? Or what if there’s an heir?”

Kalon followed him out, still looking anxious.

“That would be useless. They should blame their father.”

A foolish human who didn’t know how precious what they had was, an irresponsible human who abandoned their duty to protect family and estate residents.

“The heir of such a person has no right and would only be a hindrance. I’ll have to drive them out mercilessly. It’s my castle now anyway.”