“I know. It’s all right.”

A moonless, clouded night with no trace of moonlight.

A man’s rough voice, panting, his hand over her mouth, his grip on her body.

‘I’m the only one who truly understands you.’

A memory crumpled and broken, clinging to the soles of her feet like something sticky that would not come off.

The skin where he had touched her still felt like something she wanted to cut away.

The jagged, unpleasant feelings jutting out from her fragmented memory crept slowly into her chest.

“Are you all right, Miss? If you’re having trouble breathing……”

“I’m fine.”

Nothing happened.

Nothing happened.

Angela repeated it to herself again and again, then returned to her usual impassive expression.

“You worked hard today, Emily. All of this was possible because of what you found out among the maids.”

Going around asking questions herself would have drawn too much attention.

Emily was naturally sociable and got along well with most people in the residence. She was also good at hiding her true intentions and speaking as though nothing were amiss.

That was why Angela had asked her to look into whether any maid or servant had witnessed something on that day.

“I only did what needed to be done for you, Miss. Who could have known Lady Barton would do something so unhinged. After being allowed to live here through your generosity, not even a word of gratitude.”

Emily answered with a look of firm resolve.

“I suppose so. Once people start wanting more, there’s no end to it.”

Angela asked with a darkened expression.

“Emily, you said you saw Lord Wilton near Lady Barton’s room on the first night. Could he have had any connection to this?”

“Are you thinking Lady Barton might be hiding it because she has feelings for the Young Duke?”

“I hadn’t thought that far, but did it seem that way to you?”

“She was flirting with Lord Wilton even during the incident with the child. I thought if she had feelings for him, she might cover for him. And you mentioned hearing that Lord Wilton had an argument with the late Count.”

Ashley Rai Wilton.

Could the man with that warm, easy smile be the killer.

The motive that had surfaced so far was the most visible one.

“Of the three, you seem to like him the most, Miss. Please don’t be too heartbroken if he really is the killer.”

“I find him decent as a person. That’s different from being drawn to him romantically. Don’t misunderstand, Emily.”

Emily’s eyes went wide.

“Then Lord Wilton isn’t the one who occupies your thoughts the most?”

“The one who occupies my thoughts the most is……”

Lavender hair and silver eyes beneath it. Deliberately avoiding her gaze, yet staring with intensity the moment their eyes met.

The thought of Cyril, who had managed to get under her skin right up until the very end, surfaced, and irritation flared.

“There is someone who infuriates me.”

“Lord Knowles, isn’t it. I honestly thought Lord Galland would be the one to get under your skin the most, Miss. It’s really unexpected that the most quietly handsome one is the one doing this.”

“You’re right. He irritates me and gets on my nerves. But strangely.”

Angela bit her lower lip lightly and released it.

“My eyes keep going to him. Even though I find it nothing but unpleasant.”

Emily answered with a baffled, blank expression.

“Of course, no one could argue he isn’t the most striking of the three, but this is truly unexpected. I thought you found him repulsive.”

“I do feel a resistance toward him. But at the same time, he keeps occupying my thoughts. I don’t know why. That makes it worse.”

“That’s how it is. The feelings a person has for another person often have no reason. That’s what makes them more frightening.”

Emily patted the bed firmly, then added with a playful air.

“Now, a good Miss should wash up and get a proper rest. You did something enormous today.”

Angela nodded.

“Something very enormous. And there will be more enormous things ahead.”

The light joke aside, her heart was heavy.

Even so, Angela smiled for Emily.

❀❀❀

Her eyes snapped open.

The dead of night.

Angela pressed her fingers to her forehead once, then sat up.

She opened the drawer and took out the small flat bottle of whisky she kept there. She draped a shawl over her shoulders and tucked the bottle inside it.

She had no intention of drinking much.

She had never been fond of alcohol.

But tonight, a sip or two felt necessary.

Angela headed for the place where she drank in secret, away from Emily’s eyes.

Emily kept both eyes wide open and never permitted Angela a single drop.

Not because she had a weak constitution.

‘Miss, you get too adorable when you drink. You draw in every man and woman in the room!’

‘Emily would be perfect if not for her rose-tinted glasses and her overprotectiveness.’

Angela smiled to herself at the thought.

There was a small balcony at the end of the corridor.

A few sips while looking at the moon might lift her spirits a little.

She pushed through the curtain and leaned against the balcony railing.

She took out the bottle she had tucked away. The liquor in the clear glass caught the moonlight and shimmered.

Just then.

The curtain moved and someone came through.

Angela quickly tucked the bottle back inside her shawl.

The man was coming in slowly.

Golden hair slightly more disheveled than usual, a face deep in thought.

Ashley.

Their eyes met. The troubled expression shifted to surprise, and surprise shifted to something like joy in an instant.

Undisguised warmth spread across the man’s face.

His blue eyes were working hard to hold down the excitement and pleasure rising in them.

“Countess Maister, I did not expect to find you here at this hour.”

Unable to say she had come to steal a quiet sip of whisky because she could not sleep, Angela answered as though nothing were the matter.

“I couldn’t sleep and came out for some air. I didn’t expect to meet anyone here either.”

Angela stepped away from the railing and moved toward the exit.

“I’ll leave you to enjoy the time. My being here would only be a bother. Good night.”

“Angela.”

Ashley called after her with an urgency that was unlike his usual composed manner.

“You’re not in the way. Please stay.”

“If you have something to sort through, you’ll do it better alone. Having someone else here can make it more complicated.”

“There is something I want to say. Would you stay with me?”

She could have simply walked away, but his expression held something desperate.

“Very well. Just for a moment.”

Even as she said it, Angela made sure to position herself closer to the exit than Ashley.

So she could get away faster than him if anything happened.

“Thank you.”

Ashley spoke with a heavy tone.

“It may sound self-congratulatory coming from me, but I had thought myself reasonably capable when it came to handling matters in social or political circles. And yet in this residence, I have not been of any real use to Countess Maister.”

A self-deprecating smile crossed the man’s face.

“I also suspect I may have come across as the person who harmed the child, or as someone in league with that person.”

“If that is how it felt, the fault is mine.”

“I am not trying to place blame. I consider it my own failing for not having given you enough reason to trust me.”

Ashley looked at Angela several times, then seemed to make up his mind and opened his mouth.

“The truth is, not long before Count Maister passed, there was a serious quarrel between us. To be precise, Count Maister directed his anger at me one-sidedly.”

So it was that.

The matter Allan had mentioned at the racecourse.

But Angela gave no sign that she already knew.

She decided to pretend ignorance and draw out what he was thinking.

“Joel was not someone who lost his temper over ordinary things.”

“That’s right. I was taken aback myself. The matter he was angry about had nothing to do with either of us directly.”

“What was it that made my husband so angry?”

If she learned that, and if this man turned out to be the killer, she might also learn the motive.

Angela focused on Ashley.

“As you know, when a crime occurs against a commoner, the case is recorded under a pseudonym and used as legal reference material or in educational texts. By contrast, crimes involving nobles are often handled unofficially, or the incident is erased entirely.”

Nobles tended to conceal incidents once they were resolved, believing that any record would bring dishonor or scandal to their family.

“I believed this made it difficult to respond effectively when crimes occurred among nobles. In fact, the circumstances surrounding Count Maister’s death were kept as secret as possible, circulating only among the nobility. I thought that was precisely why the killer was harder to catch.”

Angela went rigid.

She tried to manage her expression, but it felt like the air had been knocked from her chest.