“And after arriving at Hanover Station?”

“I loaded her luggage into the carriage waiting in front of the station. After seeing the carriage depart, I, I immediately boarded the train back to the capital.”

Bellisa’s face was extremely tense before her master, whom she rarely faced directly. With the serious atmosphere added, her head naturally shrunk down.

Meanwhile, Andert, having failed to obtain any useful information, let out a shallow sigh. Suddenly, he recalled the luggage the maid had mentioned in her previous answer.

“What items were in it?”

“Pardon?”

“The luggage Chloe took with her.”

“Yes, yes. Mainly clothes for a few days, hats, and shoes.”

“Anything else?”

“…As far as I know, nothing besides simple personal items.”

Bellisa was sweating under the interrogation-like questions that came without pause. Not knowing what all this fuss was about made it even more frustrating.

After seeming to think about something for a moment, Andert fired more questions.

“Jewelry or money?”

She didn’t know how much money Lady Dietrich had on hand either. However, there was one fact she knew for certain.

“Bellisa, since I’m attending Mother’s death anniversary, I won’t wear any jewelry. Put away all the hairpins and brooches too.”

Those were the words she had spoken to Bellisa while helping with preparations before heading to the train station. As it wasn’t an incomprehensible situation, she had quietly closed the jewelry box.

True to her word, Chloe had left the mansion in very plain attire.

“Madam didn’t wear any jewelry that day. I apologize, but I don’t know how much travel money she prepared either. However, Madam usually didn’t carry much cash.”

Indeed, there was no reason for Lady Dietrich to carry money herself in the capital. There were always people following her like shadows.

So Madam could have anything she needed. But House Dietrich paid all expenses. Therefore, it was impossible for Lady Dietrich to have any spare money or savings.

After she finished speaking, Bellisa looked worriedly at the butler. Roman’s stiff face was pale. Something had definitely happened.

However, judging there was nothing more to learn, Andert ordered the maid to leave. After Bellisa quietly disappeared, he was confused.

One needed money to go anywhere. But if she hadn’t taken any jewelry, it meant she had left here empty-handed. Given House Hardin’s circumstances, there was no way she could have gotten anything from there either.

Where should I start, and with what?

Andert asked himself. His head, which usually found the most accurate and quickest solutions, kept sputtering as if broken.

But one thing was certain. He needed to find Chloe first.

“Daniel. First find out all train routes that departed from Hanover Station on the day Chloe left.”

“Yes.”

Daniel, after briefly answering, tried to hurry away. At that moment, Andert called him back.

“Look into Chloe’s recent circumstances again. Properly this time, without such useless information.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

It was a sarcastic rebuke. As he finished speaking, one sheet of paper was handed to Daniel.

Checking his reported contents in light of the current situation made him feel even more ashamed. Of course, if he had been given any hint about what had happened, the scope of investigation would have been different. But Daniel kept his honest thoughts to himself and bowed his head.

“I’ll take my leave.”

After the lawyer disappeared with quick steps, Andert took off his suit jacket in frustration. As he swiftly loosened his tie with his fingers, Roman quickly offered him a glass of water.

But Andert closed his eyes as if it wasn’t needed.

“You may leave now.”

“…Yes.”

It was a dismissal spoken in an terribly low voice. Roman, hesitating whether he should leave like this, realized there was nothing he could do right now.

Finally, left alone in the study after everyone had left, Andert slowly opened his eyes. His heavily sunken eyes stared fixedly at the plain ceiling.

“Chloe.”

It was a very small whisper to himself. The faint monologue was repeated once more. Even after receiving the divorce papers, he didn’t worry about what would happen. That was, in other words, a kind of arrogance.

As Viscount Hardin’s scandals repeated, Chloe had become extremely careful in every aspect. He knew that fact precisely.

Roman, his loyal butler, had reported Lady Dietrich’s major schedules without fail. So he didn’t even think she could leave this mansion that served as a safe shield.

That Chloe had such courage.

It was something he hadn’t known.

Clearly, it wasn’t a marriage he wanted first. But looking at the results, Chloe had been a decent partner. After all, what he needed wasn’t someone with just a prestigious name.

‘Chloe, didn’t you want something too? That’s why you silently kept your place. But why now?’

The divorce papers Chloe had presented didn’t list any particular demands. The questions without answers continued endlessly.

Andert remained in his place until the darkness climbing through the window engulfed the entire room. But no matter how much he pondered, no particular answer was filtered out.

That much had Chloe’s choice completely exceeded his expectations.

***

Chloe neatly organized the thick stack of documents. The resource books handed over this morning were two volumes in total.

Only after she finished organizing the materials to be published in this month’s periodical by topic did she raise her head. Her shoulders were stiff from having her head buried in the desk since morning without rest.

As she alternately patted both shoulders, Chloe looked out the window. There were quite a few pedestrians going back and forth on the street as evening approached.

Chloe was alone keeping watch at the office now. Kate was away meeting a new craftsman who had come to Bergen. The two other employees who worked in the same office had also left early for field work today.

The association handled various types of work.

Kate handled almost everything, from guiding artists newly settling in the city to all other tasks. They also handled consignment of artworks from artists for trade or exhibition submissions, all processed here.

In other words, the ‘Bergen Artists Association’ was an organization that supported artists to focus on their creative activities while ensuring certain profits through art trades.

Though there were employees in other offices too, they often worked in the field, so the building was generally quiet. Just as Chloe picked up her pen again after taking a breather…

Someone entered the quiet office. The man with a modest impression was a colleague she had been introduced to recently.

“Oh, you’re still here. Haven’t left work yet?”

“Yes. Did your work go well?”

Chloe responded gently to her friendly colleague’s greeting.

Quincy Bender. That was the name of her colleague who hastily gulped down water like he was parched.

Unlike Gemma, another colleague who showed wariness, Quincy had an easy-going personality. But Chloe, who was used to workplace politics, didn’t mind Gemma’s attitude. Especially compared to the jealousy and subtle dismissiveness of long-established noble ladies in the capital, this was entirely bearable.

Quincy, who had emptied his now-full water glass, took a few steps forward.

“Am I the first one to arrive today?”

“Yes, for today. The others said they’d be quite late.”

“Ah, that’s probably right. There’s a lot to take care of when a new artist joins.”

Quincy shook his head knowingly before asking,

“How’s work? Isn’t it stuffy being in the office all day?”

“I’m in a position to learn, so everything is still new and makes me nervous.”

“That’s good. I actually handled your current duties for a few months before. But it really drove me crazy — it just wasn’t for my personality. Staring at documents all day made my eyes spin.”

Quincy laughed playfully while rolling his eyes. Then he hesitantly pulled out a bundle of papers from his bag.

The stack of manuscripts looked quite substantial at first glance. Chloe, noticing his discomfort, quickly extended her hand.

“It’s fine, give them to me.”

“The poet I met today is known for terrible handwriting… it might take some time.”

“Yes. Don’t worry, it’s my job. When does this need to be finished?”

“About two weeks? It can be a bit later too.”

“Alright.”

Chloe responded casually and secured the manuscripts together with a thick clip.

For the past few days, she had also been tasked with typing up handwritten manuscripts from authors. The results would then go through author review as first drafts before formal publication.

It wasn’t particularly difficult work for the meticulous Chloe. However, when an author had particularly bad handwriting, it could take some time.

7 PM. After checking the clock, Chloe suggested to her tired-looking colleague,

“You should head home. I’ll just finish what I’m organizing and leave too.”

“I’ll leave first today. I actually made plans to have dinner with my family.”

“Alright. See you tomorrow.”

Quincy hurriedly left the office. After the door closed, her feet returned to her desk.

Each day since waking up at the Dietrich mansion had been very long. But now, when occupied with work, time seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye.

Chloe checked the clock one last time as it passed 9 PM. It seemed Kate and the other employee, Gemma, had already left.

“Don’t worry, you can leave right away if it gets too late.”

Remembering Kate’s words from this morning, Chloe gathered her keys. As she stepped out of the building, a gust of wind swept past.

March — she took a deep breath of the air that grew warmer with each passing day and looked around.

The town was most lively from evening until midnight. That was also when most of the residents, mainly artists, were active.
After passing bustling restaurants and coffee shops, Chloe entered a grocery store.

After picking up bread for tomorrow’s breakfast, her fingers hesitated before also selecting a colorful hard candy. It was the first time she had bought such snacks since very early childhood. After unwrapping the crinkly packaging, she gently rolled the round candy with her tongue.