“So I proposed documenting serious crimes from the past hundred years using pseudonyms and altered place names, with the aim of protecting victims as much as possible. I believed that at the very least, having such records available to the legal community could help prevent repeat offenses.”

Don’t let him see you’re shaken.

Angela fought to keep her composure.

“Count Maister became very angry. He said that no matter how carefully pseudonyms and altered locations were used, it could still amount to secondary harm for those who had actually suffered.”

“That…… makes sense. That sounds like him.”

“We disagreed on the matter, and the proposal was ultimately tabled. Opinions can differ, but I had never seen Count Maister react so strongly before.”

Ashley let out a deep sigh and spoke his final words.

“So I found myself wondering whether his death might be connected to that matter in some way. I should have told you sooner. I’m sorry.”

The unexpected revelation brought Angela’s thoughts to a complete halt.

Fear took hold of her body, like someone standing before a great surging wave.

“My lady? Your face has gone pale.”

“It must be the night air.”

Stay composed.

Pull yourself together.

If something seems off, he might notice.

Angela steadied her voice.

“If the records span a hundred years, some of the victims of those crimes would still be alive today. I think Joel may have been thinking of them. He would have believed that a life someone had barely managed to piece back together should not be shaken in the name of justice.”

Her voice came out at a slightly higher pitch than usual, as though it belonged to someone else.

Ashley, fortunately, did not seem to notice.

“Yes. That was the kind of person he was.”

“If it were Joel, he might have suggested a compromise, proposing that only cases from before the current generation be documented under pseudonyms, out of consideration for those still living.”

“There was no room for that kind of discussion. He was opposed in an entirely emotional way. I raised my voice trying to make myself clear, but I had no idea it would be the last time.”

“I see……”

Angela raised her hand to her lips. Her hand trembled, beyond her control.

Ashley saw it and misread the cause, letting a look of apology cross his face.

“I had no intention of stirring your grief by bringing up your late husband. I was thoughtless.”

“No. It was something that needed to be said.”

Angela understood better than anyone why Joel had been so angry.

“You must have felt you were receiving an emotional rejection. Were you all right?”

“In that moment, I think I was more bewildered than angry. Count Joel Maister was not someone who acted so intensely.”

“A person cannot always fully control their own feelings.”

It would have been better if she could.

If she could have hidden the wounds carved deep inside her behind an impassive face and noble composure.

If she could have held her trembling hands still through sheer reason.

“And then I went ahead and calculated my way into proposing to a grieving widow. I have no defense if you think me entirely mercenary.”

He looked so deflated that Angela offered a word of comfort.

“That’s not true. A genuine mercenary would not speak the way Ashley does.”

Her heart was pounding from what she had heard, but Angela kept her voice even.

Her face held its detached, composed expression, but the trembling in her hands would not stop.

The shaking hands kept pulling the past back up.

Ashley’s blue eyes could not look away from her hands.

“Angela, if it’s all right, may I hold your hand? There is no other intention. Sometimes the warmth of another person helps bring calm.”

Without waiting for an answer, Ashley gathered her trembling hands and held them gently in both of his.

Looking down at her hands, Ashley spoke as though confessing something.

“Just because you always appear composed doesn’t mean you have no grief or fear. I think I was deceived by that steadiness.”

Then Ashley said with quiet resolve.

“On the name of House Wilton, I will help you find the killer.”

His expression was serious, but his eyes shone like stars.

“And the matter I argued with Count Maister about, I will pursue documentation of serious crimes from the past, excluding the most recent hundred years. I believe that would be another way of honoring Count Maister.”

A face full of conviction and words spoken with clarity.

In his face, Angela saw what Joel had looked like when he proposed to her.

Her heart ached, pressed tight.

She had not loved Joel, but he had been a childhood friend of many years, a kind and understanding person.

Someone who had tried his best to hold her together when she could not love anyone.

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. They were tears for Joel.

“So Angela, please don’t be afraid.”

The words carried a sincerity that moved her.

Ashley Rai Wilton was known for never speaking idly. Unlike those who made promises and never followed through, he was known as someone who always tried to keep what he said aloud.

The trembling in her hands had stopped without her noticing.

Even if she did not lean on this man, was it not at least permissible to think of him as a decent person.

Exposing one’s own wounds was not easy.

He might be someone with genuine character, like Joel.

In that moment, a thought struck her like lightning.

‘But where is the proof that this person is not the killer.’

That single thought froze every wavering feeling in an instant.

The tears that had gathered dried.

“I receive your sincerity with gratitude.”

Angela said so and withdrew her hands from Ashley’s hold. He had been holding them so carefully that pulling away was not difficult.

“I have also fully understood what you wished to say. Please do not carry guilt over that matter. Joel expressed Joel’s opinion, and Lord Wilton did his work. That is all.”

“Angela.”

“It is late. I’ll take my leave.”

“……Yes. I understand. I hope we have another chance to speak. Shall I walk you back?”

“It’s the middle of the night. I’d rather avoid anything that might invite misunderstanding.”

Understanding her meaning, Ashley did not press further.

He did not hide the look of longing in his eyes, however.

Angela turned away from him and stepped outside.

The feet she put forward no longer shook.

But her heart was still pounding.

The reason why gentle-natured Joel had been angry enough to lose his composure.

‘It was because of me.’

Because she had been a survivor of a past crime.

In case that incident drew attention.

In case she got hurt.

Joel. You foolish person.

That old childhood friend had always been that way.

Knowing she did not love him.

And loving her gently all the same.

She was the one who had leaned on that love and pretended not to see it.

Pitch darkness. Large hands. A body bound with no freedom of movement.

In the hazy memory, fear and revulsion tangled together into something nauseating.

The shattered pieces of memory stabbed at her.

❀❀❀

Crackle. Crackle.

In a dark room, only the fireplace lit the darkness.

Cyril sat on the sofa before the hearth.

His silver eyes, deep in thought, were painted orange and yellow by the firelight.

Beside him, Philip took a careful, measured step forward.

Cyril turned to look at him. His gaze was utterly cold, stripped of any trace of emotion.

“Have you looked into everything I asked?”

“Yes.”

Philip handed Cyril several sheets of paper.

He flipped through them quickly, seemed to absorb all the contents, and tossed the papers directly into the fireplace.

Whoosh. The papers caught and vanished in an instant.

“The information is still quite insufficient.”

“I will gather more.”

“Are you keeping someone on Countess Maister every time she goes outside?”

“Yes. Those best suited to concealment are following her.”

“They must not be discovered under any circumstances.”

“Yes.”

Philip asked carefully.

“When you find them, what will you do?”

“They will need to be removed.”

Watching the paper burn down to nothing but ash, Cyril murmured with cold finality.

“Cleanly.”

Within those words, something colder than the flames themselves was present.

〈Continued in Volume 2〉