“I think you are even more beautiful within than without.”

Ashley offered a clean smile.

“I believe I am falling for you once more.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

“Answering so promptly wounds me. You might at least pretend to hesitate, if only to give me a little hope.”

Thud. Thud.

At that moment, Cyril moved and approached the two of them.

His beautiful face carried the particular weariness of someone who found company exhausting.

“You must be tired from receiving guests, Countess Maister. I believe you should rest. Lord Ashley Rai Wilton.”

“You used my full name. I thought you were my mother for a moment. Ha.”

“Then you are aware that you have been inconsiderate of a tired lady.”

“Ha. To think I would hear Lord Knowles, known for his silence, say more than two words at a time. Countess Maister’s influence is truly remarkable.”

Then Ashley added with a light tease.

“Indeed, the woman I have fallen for. To think that Lord Knowles, known for his shyness, would show such concern for the countess.”

“If you wish to continue the conversation, I can go and fetch Lord Isaac Leo Galland.”

Cyril answered with a faintly embarrassed expression. Ashley waved his hand.

“Lord Knowles. Isn’t Isaac a bit much? He’ll make a scene the moment he finds out I was with Countess Maister after he left.”

Ashley bowed to Angela with polished grace.

“Countess Maister. As there is a gentleman here concerned for your fatigue, I shall take my leave for this evening as well.”

“Please rest well.”

“Then I will retire as well.”

Ashley moved, and Cyril followed immediately, as though his business was concluded. From the start, it seemed his purpose had been to check Ashley rather than to win Angela’s favor. He did not spare her so much as a glance as he left.

‘Well.’

What was his motive for courtship.

If he was not the killer, then as the second son of House Knowles with no hope of inheriting, was he simply after a widow who appeared to come with a generous dowry.

Unlike the other two, who were each forward in their own way, Cyril only hovered nearby without showing any direct interest in Angela.

Back in her room, Angela looked into the mirror and murmured.

“Emily, am I not what I used to be?”

“Are you speaking of your appearance? Where in the world is there anyone as lovely as you, Miss? In my heart, you’re an eternal goddess!”

“……Is your bonus coming up?”

“Oh my, what a memory you have. Please make it a generous one this time.”

Emily stuck out her tongue playfully, then quickly changed her manner.

“I’m sorry. I know you didn’t invite those men because you like them, and I was being too flippant.”

“It’s all right. It’s better than staying gloomy.”

Angela looked at Emily and spoke.

“Witnessing Joel’s death must have been a terrible shock. I worry whether all this talk keeps bringing it back for you.”

“Time has passed. You’re facing it all so steadily, Miss, how could I afford to be the one who’s downcast.”

“Even so, if it becomes too much, please tell me. A shock that deep doesn’t fade easily.”

Angela fell quiet after that.

She had grown up beautiful from childhood, surrounded by the goodwill of all manner of people.

She had known there was jealousy and malice mixed in as well, but the good people had always far outnumbered the rest.

So she had not known.

What kind of terrible outcome a feeling, even one that called itself love, could produce when it twisted into something crooked.

Not until that day.

Thinking of that day felt like being pulled into a swamp with no end in sight, somewhere deep inside the fog.

Shackled at the ankles with a heavy stone, sinking into endless dark.

She could tell no one. The moment it left her lips, it would become a weakness, and that weakness would be pressed like a blade against the back of her neck.

She could not ruin the image people held of her. The beautiful, pure, and graceful Angela.

“Miss, I’ve lit a sleep candle with a calming scent. The bed sheets and blankets are fresh and properly aired out. They’ve soaked up plenty of sunshine, so they should help you sleep soundly.”

Emily fussed over Angela, who had been sitting still, and undressed her and helped her into her nightgown.

Then she laid Angela down in bed and drew the blankets all the way up.

“There. Good girls go to sleep now.”

Emily, who knew part of ‘that day,’ would at times like these pretend not to notice and quietly redirect Angela’s attention elsewhere.

Her own way of being kind.

“Thank you, Emily.”

Angela closed her eyes. Emily blew out the light, and the room was swallowed by darkness.

Just as she was thinking that the scent of the candle was drifting past her, Angela fell asleep.

❀❀❀

Flash.

Her eyes opened.

She had been dreaming until a moment ago, but only scattered traces remained. The memory was not clear.

That was a relief.

If it had been vivid, she might have lost her mind entirely.

Angela sat up. Sleep did not seem likely to return.

‘Perhaps a drink.’

She reached for the whiskey kept in her room for such occasions, then set it back down.

She did not want to rely on anything to sleep.

‘I probably won’t be able to sleep anyway. Maybe if I move around a little and come back, it will be easier.’

Emily had seen her fall asleep and returned to the maids’ quarters, it seemed.

She did not want to see Emily staying up all night again, the way she used to, claiming it was for Angela’s safety.

Angela rose and pulled a thick shawl from the wardrobe, draping it around her shoulders. The soft, plush fabric wrapped around her.

There was nowhere in this residence she could not go.

After Joel’s death, security had been doubled, and patrols were conducted regularly. With Cyril’s soldiers added on top of that, there was no cause for concern.

A bright full moon hung in the sky.

Perhaps she would go see Lucy.

It was Lucy’s first night in this residence. She might not be sleeping either. Being an animal, she might be even more sensitive to an unfamiliar environment.

Pad, pad.

Soft footsteps echoed along the corridor.

She arrived at the place where Lucy was kept just as the moon slipped behind a cloud.

In the darkness, the space looked like one vast cave. Sealed shut.

Cold sweat ran down her back.

Angela muttered rapidly to herself.

Not closed in. Not trapped.

Dark, but open on all sides.

It’s all right.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out a wide garden, dim but open. The cloud that had briefly covered the moon drifted away, and bright moonlight flooded the garden.

And then she saw the figure the darkness had hidden.

Cyril Knox Knowles.

Why was he out here.

Thinking back on how familiar he had been with Lucy when bringing her, Cyril might well have been Lucy’s original owner. If so, he could have come to check on her.

‘I don’t want to run into him.’

Angela quietly turned to leave.

Just then, Lucy, who had been with Cyril, caught the sound of her presence and came bounding toward Angela. She pressed herself against Angela’s legs and nuzzled her.

Angela forgot to pet her and simply stared at Cyril.

Moving slowly, Cyril turned to look at her a beat later.

Moonlight settled white across his lavender hair. The pale light reaching his face added something mysterious to his already radiant features.

Silver eyes, the color of moonlight, found her. They blinked once, then dropped quietly. From a distance he had stared so intently, yet now that she was close, he seemed almost to be hiding behind his own shyness.

Angela spoke first.

“I didn’t expect to find you here at this hour.”

“It’s Lucy’s first night. I came to see how she was doing. I didn’t expect to meet you, my lady.”

His voice was lower than it had been around the others. Still a fine, clear tone, but lower, carried in on the night breeze.

Sensing the awkwardness between the two of them, Lucy kept pressing herself against Angela and whimpering softly. Angela finally crouched down and stroked her.

“It looks like the gardener Paul set up a lovely little space for you. What breed is Lucy?”

“A Whippet Hound. Fast, clever, and loyal. Lucy has a particularly good memory, even for her breed.”

“I thought she seemed bright.”

Angela met Lucy’s eyes and smiled warmly. It was the kind of smile she rarely showed people.

Cyril stared at her, startled, then quickly looked away before she could notice.

“The night……”

Still avoiding her gaze, Cyril hesitated before continuing.

“It’s late. And very dark.”

He turned his head as he said it.