Angela uncovered the double ledger the head maid had been keeping and exposed the fact that she was in a secret relationship with the man she intended to install as the new butler.

All of it had taken six months. After that, the household was reorganized from top to bottom, and anyone who looked could see that the Maister comital house was run with considerably more dignity than before.

“Managing the internal affairs of a noble household in such a short time is a remarkable achievement, Countess Maister.”

Ashley’s praise prompted Isaac to laugh and add his own.

“What I admire most is the decisiveness to cut out the rot in one clean stroke. And the thorough preparation that made that single cut possible.”

Angela sliced a piece of meat and spoke without looking up.

“Speaking so freely about another family’s affairs, and in the presence of that family’s elder, is not exactly a noble virtue either. Is this not a setting where a little more decorum is called for?”

“Ha. I find myself falling for you all over again, watching you speak without the slightest regard for what others think.”

Clang. The knife struck the plate with a sound like a warning. Both Ashley’s and Isaac’s shoulders flinched at the same moment.

“One’s feelings are one’s own business, and I will not interfere, but I would prefer you stop pressing them upon me.”

Angela’s gaze was indifferent and sharp.

“As we are all gathered here, let us begin with the meal.”

Phillip added with a note of quiet sorrow.

“The living must go on living.”

He picked up his portion of food and ate with composure. That composure made it all the more sorrowful.

When the meal was drawing to a close, Phillip set down his napkin and came to the point.

“The truth is, there is a reason I invited you all here, even knowing what people would say.”

The measured tone carried weight equal to the words.

“My son cherished Angela deeply, and I hope she will meet someone who will cherish her just as much. What concerns me is this: if my son was killed out of enmity, the killer may set their sights on Angela as well. That is why I permitted you all to enter this residence.”

Phillip, too, knew that one of these three men might be the killer.

To say this, then, was both a warning to the killer and a sincere plea to whichever two were innocent.

‘He couldn’t change my mind, but he was worried.’

Angela felt a tightening in her chest.

The deep-set, wrinkled eyes had lost their vitality, but something steadfast and quiet had settled in them.

“Young men in this residence will give the killer more pause than a sick old man would. I understand that Lord Knowles, sensing this, even brought soldiers with him.”

“Safety is not a small matter.”

Cyril nodded and answered.

“If that is your concern, then set it aside. The countess’s safety will be my foremost priority above all else. Has nothing been uncovered about the killer yet?”

Ashley asked. Phillip answered.

“According to the last servant to see him, the fleeing figure was tall and powerfully built. Nothing beyond that has been established, which is deeply frustrating.”

When the subject of the incident came up, Angela glanced back at Emily standing behind her.

Emily was trying to appear composed, but her face had already gone pale. She was barely holding herself together.

‘I shouldn’t have brought her tonight. She still hasn’t recovered from the shock, and I didn’t expect this topic to come up. I hope she doesn’t become ill the way she did before.’

The detail about the perfume was something Emily had told only Angela. Since all three men here wore that same perfume, Angela had told Emily to keep quiet about it for now.

Angela herself had not spoken of it to anyone other than Phillip.

In the end, only three people knew that the killer wore that particular perfume.

Above all, the perfume was expensive and difficult to obtain. It was also an intense fragrance that the nobility of this country did not typically favor.

Angela had come across it by chance and had since taken to spraying it into the air or onto scent strips, enjoying the fragrance often. She did not wear it herself, but she liked it enough to have collected several bottles.

Loving the scent as much as she did, Angela found it deeply unpleasant to know that the killer wore it.

She could not quite recall how she had come to love it, but at some point, catching that scent had always brought her a sense of calm.

A longing would rise with it, like the warmth of someone’s embrace. Like a happy dream from childhood, half-remembered and then forgotten.

“Count Maister was a good man, not the sort to make enemies. Is there no possibility it was a simple robbery?”

Ashley asked.

“That seems unlikely, given that he was killed not inside the residence but outside, in a secluded area. Whether he went out for a walk or was called out by someone, no one knows. None of the servants received any request to arrange a meeting.”

“The Maister comital house was well managed by the countess, so there was no financial want. That rules out money. Perhaps someone outside the household, struggling with money themselves, was behind this. For instance, someone who asked Count Maister for a loan, was refused, and harbored a grudge. When people have nothing, they reveal their worst selves.”

Coming from a family awash in wealth, Isaac seemed to reach for money as the first motive. Considering that many crimes were indeed driven by money, it was not an impossible theory.

“I considered that as well, but if there had been such a person, Joel would have told me. He was the kind of man who never hid even the smallest thing and always consulted me.”

“My, did that not become a burden for you?”

Isaac’s remark drew a cool smile from Angela.

“I think it is far wiser than the sort of fool who hides things badly, lets them grow into something worse, and only speaks up when it is too late.”

The atmosphere grew tense. Cyril, who had been silent throughout, ventured to speak.

“Count Maister was a good man who had recently won the Emperor’s commendation through a diplomatic mission, and he had a beautiful wife. Could it not be the work of someone who envied all of that? Jealousy sometimes needs neither enmity nor poverty to become a powerful force.”

Jealousy. A perspective she had not considered.

If that were the case, it would fit the motive of all three men seated here.

None of them had any grudge against Joel. All three were wealthy.

Then was jealousy the motive?

Even the man who had just spoken the word aloud was suspect.

If the killer was among them, what extraordinary nerve. Sitting here calmly, reasoning through who the culprit might be.

“I have heard all three of your thoughts. Since you are staying at this residence on the pretext of courtship in any case, I ask that all three of you put your full effort into helping me find the man who killed my husband. Each of you has more than enough influence, resources, and ability. I believe you will be of great help.”

Ashley answered with a gentle smile.

“Gladly, if that is what you wish.”

Isaac spoke with his characteristic confidence.

“Whatever Angela asks, I will provide. Including myself.”

Cyril answered with measured care.

“Finding the killer will bring you peace of mind, my lady. I will cooperate in any way I can.”

If the killer was among these three……

She would find them before they left this residence.

Instead of a veil for any of them, she wanted a rope to bind the killer.

Joel, I will make whoever took your life pay for it.

Stab, stab. Angela pressed her knife and fork elegantly into a thick cut of meat and held the thought.

❀❀❀

The moment dinner ended and she had seen Phillip off, Isaac fell into step right beside Angela.

“You must have had a difficult time of late. What do you say to a flower outing tomorrow, as a change of pace?”

“The flowers you gifted are more than enough.”

“If flowers are not to your liking, a boat ride would be lovely as well. The Chamberlain River nearby is famous for it, is it not?”

“I feel rather unsettled, so no.”

“Then what about visiting a new dressmaker? I’ll buy you everything, from the latest arrivals to any design you wish.”

Angela narrowed her eyes and gave a dry laugh. Even that expression was so entirely the picture of a refined noblewoman that Isaac caught his breath without realizing it.

“House Maister has more than enough money to buy its own dresses.”

Isaac let out a slightly exasperated sigh.