| Chapter 11

“I have no choice but to peel you layer by layer until you tell the truth. Even the biggest men quickly become honest in front of this. I’m very skilled, you know.”

The ominous voice made my whole body start to tremble finely. Tears welled up in my eyes. Peterson smiled, tapping my cheek lightly with the knife.

“I’ll give you time to think. Choose wisely.”

He lightly folded the knife and released my hair. As I exhaled heavily, tears flowed helplessly down my cheeks.

The words he left behind stabbed at my mind like knives. I opened my mouth to catch Peterson’s attention, who was turning his body while nodding to the scribe sitting in the corner.

“…Really.”

Peterson, who had stopped, looked at me as I raised my head. Barely suppressing the sobs that seemed about to burst out, I tried to keep my eyes clear.

“Do you really think I’m the culprit, and that’s why you’re doing this?”

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.

I know that to administrators or nobles, the life of a maid like me is no different from that of an insect.

But even though that might be true for me, the person who died was none other than a noble, yet Peterson didn’t seem to be trying to find the real culprit. He only seemed intent on resolving the matter quickly.

In the silence, Peterson’s lips slowly curved. It was a pleased expression, like a teacher looking at a child who had given the correct answer. He came close, put his hand on one of my shoulders, and whispered in my ear.

“Your life is like a worm’s anyway, there’s nothing fun to look forward to even if you live longer, right? If you don’t make trouble, I promise to bury you in a good place with your limbs intact.”

Peterson patted my shoulder a couple of times and left the room with the scribe. Left alone, I stared at the torch burning and emitting the smell of oil.

Someone’s desperate screams echoed eerily through the space, diluted by the wind.

* * *

The mountain cabin was quite old but fairly sturdy. Jason was so big that if you met him at night, you might mistake him for a bear, but now he was hunched over, dealing with visitors.

“So, you’re sure Mrs. Almon came here?”

The two men who suddenly barged into the cabin said they were from Baron Bickman’s household. The bearded man was throwing out words roughly, but the one Jason felt uncomfortable with was the one sitting in a chair with his hood pulled up.

Though his face wasn’t clearly visible, even from his silhouette, one could tell he was strikingly handsome. He didn’t speak much, but just from his sitting posture, it wasn’t hard to tell who was in charge.

Jason tended to bow and scrape before nobles or people in power. He had always been like that since he was young, when he was kicked by a horse ridden by a noble’s son and then severely beaten for supposedly blocking the road unnecessarily.

“Y-yes, that’s right. She came at night and only went back home after dawn broke. That woman has extraordinary stamina, once she gets fired up, she won’t let a man go until she’s satisfied. She’s the type to drain a man dry. There’s even a rumor that her ex-husband died from exhaustion.”

Although the bearded man asked the question, Jason politely answered towards the man sitting behind. The bearded man glanced back at the man who was listening as if it was only natural. The languid voice of the man who had his legs crossed resonated.

“Did you know that Mrs. Almon was Baron Bickman’s lover?”

“No. I just found out this time. But I knew she had other lovers. She’s not the type to be satisfied with just one man, and we usually met once or twice a week. I have other women too, after all.”

This country, the Kingdom of Edmus, was quite open about relationships between men and women, so everyone spoke freely about it. Having many lovers was even considered something to boast about.

Suddenly, the sound of clicking tongues made Jason tense and roll his eyes. The man crossed his legs the other way, showing his displeasure.

“How do you arrange meetings? There must be times when you come and find no one if you just show up without warning. Was that day a regular meeting day?”

“No.”

As Jason shook his head, the man raised his face. Bright green eyes shone through the shadows cast by the hood, and Jason quickly lowered his gaze. The piercing, cool gaze covered his nape with tension.

“It was sudden. We usually meet on Tuesdays or Fridays. But the lady knew I stay at the cabin on Thursdays. I always do my bookkeeping on Thursdays.”

The bearded man exhaled and folded his arms. Seeing the muscular forearms no less impressive than his own through the worn shirt, Jason blinked. Another question flew.

“Does she often show up suddenly like that?”

“Uh, no. Besides, she came on Tuesday too. She said she came because she remembered liking something new we tried on Tuesday. That position is difficult unless you have a build like mine. You have to half-lift the woman while crossing one leg. So, it goes like this…”

“I’ll pass on the demonstration.”

The man raised his hand lightly as if to stop him and fell into thought. Jason, who had been standing awkwardly and swaying his hips to demonstrate the position, hunched his shoulders again and watched cautiously.

“But it’s unexpected. I thought you’d be under interrogation by now too.”

“Not at all. They just asked if the lady had been here that day and left.”

The bearded man suddenly frowned and asked back.

“Then you didn’t tell the guard these details?”

“They didn’t ask so thoroughly. They seemed busy and just confirmed a few things before leaving.”

The man and the bearded one looked at each other. Jason smacked his lips with a sour face.

“But I can’t believe that Lucy girl killed a noble lord. Sure, she seemed inscrutable, but she didn’t look like someone who would use poison to kill a person. She’s a careful child, you know.”

“Wouldn’t she use poison because she’s careful?”

“No.”

Jason scratched his neck, refuting the bearded man’s words.

“I mean if that child intended to kill someone, she would have thought about the aftermath too. At least she wouldn’t have left the corpse in a place like a closet. It’s obvious it would be discovered.”

The man let out a faint “Hmm” and stood up from his seat. Although his build was smaller than the bearded man’s, he exuded a strange sense of pressure, and Jason unconsciously adopted a respectful attitude.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Not at all. It’s just what I should do. If you need firewood, let me know anytime. Winter is coming soon, after all.”

Lars left the cabin, leaving behind Jason who was bowing his head deeply. After confirming that the door had closed, Yanken lowered his voice.

“Nora Almon seems suspicious.”

“She probably didn’t kill Bickman directly, but she definitely left the house empty that day on purpose. She’s also the one who reported it.”

“Are you going to meet her?”

Yanken asked, following him as he walked towards the horses tied to a tree. Lars shook his head.

“It’s likely the Count. There must be a connection, so go and find out. I have somewhere to go.”

“You’re not thinking of dropping by the prison, are you?”

At Yanken’s sudden words, Lars slowly turned to look at him. In the darkness, his elongated eyes curved slightly.

“Why are you being so sensitive? Like a jealous mistress.”

“As if I would… for such a young girl…”

Yanken, who was raising his voice with an incredulous face, groaned and held his head. Lars chuckled and gently patted the back of the horse waiting patiently, saying,

“They’ll want to settle this before it attracts too much attention, since a baron was killed. Judging by how they arrested a culprit without proper investigation. The guard seems to have been bought already, so if we don’t hurry, that child will die.”

Instead of saying ‘It’s not particularly regrettable if she dies,’ Yanken wrinkled his nose.

“Even so, there’s no need for the captain to go to the prison. It’s too conspicuous.”

“It’s difficult for me to move, so we’ll have to use another horse. Though I’m not too fond of it.”

Lars mounted the horse with sleek, efficient movements. The horse carrying its master pranced lightly. He took out a pocket watch from inside his vest to check the time and looked down at Yanken, saying,

“Come back by 3 o’clock.”

“2 o’clock will be enough.”

Lars laughed silently at his subordinate’s curt reply and spurred the horse, which galloped away. Yanken shook his head and mounted his horse.

Although he knew Lars’ tendencies well, his primary goal was always to protect him, regardless of the circumstances. Even if it went against his wishes. So if that girl had spoken about Lars’ appearance, there would be no reason to save her.

…I should check the guard’s situation before meeting Nora Almon. It shouldn’t be too difficult to grill that woman.

“Ha!”

The horse started galloping powerfully into the darkness, its mane fluttering. Yanken’s eyes were gleaming as he gripped the reins.

* * *