8. Investigation

Inside the office I had barely managed to enter after wrestling with the door, I smelled the familiar scents of parchment and ink.

The furniture arrangement was almost exactly as I remembered. The drawers and desks piled with bundles of documents, and even the uncomfortably out-of-place, ornate chair that Father had once boasted about finding somewhere, claiming it was made of quality wood, all remained in their places alongside other mismatched chairs.

I went to the desk right next to the bookshelf that Father primarily used.

I searched through the drawers but found nothing. All that was visible inside were odds and ends and broken pen nibs. The only record that existed there was a ledger, but the dates visible at a glance were all within the past few days.

Records about mining rights, my original purpose, were nowhere to be found no matter how hard I looked. I even stubbornly searched through files marked for disposal, but nothing turned up.

While double-checking the drawers I had already searched through, I sensed someone at the door.

“Father……?”

But somehow it didn’t feel like Father.

Suddenly, an inexplicable sense of danger came over me. There was no particular reason, but it felt as if a large warning light had turned on in my head.

I instinctively hid under the desk.

I didn’t know why I needed to hide, but it felt like I should.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but the air seemed to grow heavy in an instant. Because of this, I couldn’t even make a sound as I breathed.

The presence I had sensed was apparently not my imagination.

Even from the dark desk with its musty dust smell, I could see clearly.

Far away, there were someone’s shoes. And I could tell at a glance that their owner wasn’t my father.

Who could it be?

Though we had lost the mining rights, we still owned the mine itself. Who besides Father and me would have reason to visit the mine’s office?

I suddenly realized something chilling.

The shoes I had spotted remained stopped in the same place, not moving.

Had I been discovered? The fact that I was hiding here.

When the tip of those shoes turned toward me hiding under the desk, I felt as if my heart had dropped.

I was too shocked to move.

“What’s the matter……”

Another pair of shoes stopped beside the first person and began to speak to them but then stopped.

The two people remained still in place.

Frozen in hiding under the desk, I couldn’t move either. In the quiet stillness, I felt like I could only hear the ticking of the clock’s second hand and my heartbeat.

The two people made no sound at all, like well-trained spies.

Since I couldn’t hear them leaving, I had no choice but to remain curled up and hiding as if dead.

The tip of the shoe belonging to the person who seemed to have noticed my presence moved slightly.

Too startled, I involuntarily gasped a little after holding my breath.

I quickly covered my mouth, but it seemed too late to hide the sound of breathing that had already escaped my control.

“Yes, shall we leave?”

Though I heard no words like “let’s leave” at all, the person who had followed in responded as if replying to the other.

I should have just gone straight to Father and asked about the mining rights from the beginning, rather than sneaking in here. I began to regret barging into Father’s office without warning.

Fortunately, I soon heard the sound of the two people leaving.

While the door was moving with a creaking sound, someone muttered as if whispering.

“But why was the door open?”

That whisper sounded almost like humming.

My heart sank.

Thinking I hadn’t been discovered in this situation was too optimistic.

I prayed fervently inside.

Please go. Please just go. Don’t come back this way.

Had my desperate prayer been heard by heaven?

Eventually, I heard the sound of the two people completely leaving. But due to my extreme tension, I couldn’t even sigh in relief. Only after a long while did I emerge from the desk where I had been hiding.

My heart was still beating so fast it felt like it might jump out. I couldn’t calm down even if I wanted to.

Who were those people just now? I had no idea.

They certainly weren’t people who worked at Father’s mine. With completely unfamiliar attire, build, and voices, why were they casually entering and leaving Father’s office?

By the way, what kind of etiquette is it to naturally open the door and enter when the owner of the office isn’t present? Even if the door was open, that was uncivilized behavior. Their business etiquette was a complete mess.

I should have said something instead of hiding. Come to think of it, why did I hide in the first place? It was truly foolish behavior.

Yes, the police. I should call the police.

“Rosie?”

“Ah, eek!”

At the sudden call, I steadied my swaying body by placing my hand on the desk.

Father was standing where the sound had come from.

“F-Father.”

I straightened my shoulders that had been leaning back with my arms bent.

Father’s face, which I was seeing for the first time in about a month and a half, seemed quite gaunt. Seeing his appearance, I didn’t even dare to mention the intruders I had just seen.

“……”

Though I seemed to have had a lot to say, I couldn’t readily speak a word. Father’s appearance looked that haggard.

“How have you been?”

Father greeted me first.

“I’ve been, well.”

As if proving my answer, the clothes I was wearing were made of fabric I could never have dreamed of at home. Father, who had been looking at me intently, smiled faintly. Surprised by his reaction, I quickly ran to him with small steps.

Father, who had been observing my gait, twitched one eyebrow as if slightly surprised.

“Wow, when you were young, we hired an etiquette tutor several times but couldn’t correct your walk, yet it’s changed considerably in just a month.”

My face reddened.

“W-what are you talking about? I, I wasn’t that bad originally, was I?”

But thanks to Father’s playful joke about my gait, my awkward and tense feelings eased. Then I naturally recalled the intruders I had encountered earlier.

“First of all, the key here needs to be fixed. It doesn’t move at all. Just now, some strange people even……”

“Rosaline.”

Father interrupted me by calling my name. I stopped mid-sentence and looked at him.

“Let’s get out of here first.”

Father’s dark brown eyes emitted a solemn light.

“Why?”

This place was almost like a playground to me.

Instead of hiring office staff, I occasionally helped with the work. Until the day we lost the mining rights, this was the only place besides home where I spent time.

But Father seemed unwilling to keep me here any longer. Could it be that he’s treating me like a complete outsider just because I’ve moved recently? How cold.

I glared at Father sharply.

Father grabbed my arm and urged me outside.

“Let’s go, this is no longer our office.”

At these thunderbolt-like words, I felt my mind flash.

“Pardon……?”

Since when?

Could it be that the person who trespassed wasn’t those two earlier, but me?

Were those two people the new owners of this place?

No wonder those people’s attitudes seemed so confident. And did I hide under the desk and mentally chant for them to leave?

By the way, what does it mean that the office is no longer ours? What’s going on?

I remembered Father being pleased on the day we first opened the office, saying it was close to both the iron mines and the industrial complex.

We hadn’t lost all those iron mines, so why had Father disposed of this well-located office?

At that moment, Levery’s words came to mind.

‘It would be better not to stay too long by that person’s side. In the end, nothing will remain for you.’

Why would such words come to mind at this moment?

I clutched the hem of my skirt.

What on earth was I thinking?

I recalled Young Master Riverton’s bright smile. That somehow sad and painful smile made a corner of my heart ache.

Having prejudice is wrong. Young Master Riverton was simply an unfortunate person.

Though born with a good background, he couldn’t enjoy any privileges. Moreover, those who served him all died or became unable to work.

Despite all those unfortunate accidents being separate incidents, his reputation fell day by day. Though no one dared to openly criticize him, they couldn’t stop the whispers and ominous rumors surrounding him.

Finally, blaming himself for this series of accidents, the young master ceased all external activities and confined himself to the outer castle built in a remote location.

After it became known that he had completely stopped his heir training, people’s finger-pointing became more blatant.

Thus, he became completely isolated and alone.

“Rosie, what have you been thinking about all this time?”

“What? Nothing……”

Father, who had led me outside, examined me with a puzzled expression.

Seeing Father’s face, I remembered why I had come here. Could the disposal of the mine have something to do with Father’s gaunt state?

“Is something happening with the mine? Didn’t you just sell the mining rights? Why did you dispose of the office?”

“Hmm, the office, you say?”

Father smiled awkwardly.

“It’s nothing. Managing large lands often creates various nuisances. It was also a headache to manage. But then someone appeared offering a good deal.”

“So you did sell the entire mine.”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t understand.

Having to dispose of all the family’s assets overnight suggested nothing but that something had happened to the family.

Such thoughts must have shown on my face, as Father made a gesture clearly trying to avoid the topic of conversation.

Father’s awkward smile, suggesting difficulty, somehow bothered me.

“Father, if something’s wrong, you need to tell me everything. I am your daughter, after all.”

“Rosie.”

Father’s face, looking at me, seemed to be trying hard to act as if nothing was wrong.

“I’ve made even you worry. I’m sorry. There will be nothing more to worry about now.”

“Well, that’s good, but……”

Is it really true?

I wanted to believe it, but could I really?

I felt foolish for only worrying about Theo and Elaine until now.

Mother and Father, each doing their best in their respective positions, must have been struggling too, and I seemed to have been too indifferent.

“Rosie, as your mother said before, if you want to come back, you can anytime.”

“Father……”

I felt even more sorry for Father who only worried about me.

“I’m doing well there.”

Not enough to regret that time.