| Chapter 13

“Wrong?”

“First, let me tell you this. I’m not trying to defend my father’s womanizing anew. He had many lovers. He wasn’t above using forceful methods at times. That’s how firm his preferences were. So let me tell you.”

His long fingers pointed at me.

“There’s no way my father would have had ill intentions towards this child. She’s completely far from my father’s taste. Too young, underdeveloped. Why do you think my father kept that tacky Mrs. Almon as a lover?”

The man put his lips out and shook his hands below his chest. Embarrassed by the vulgarity of that action, I quickly lowered my gaze to the floor. A troubled look spread across Peterson’s face.

“But the only one who could have killed the baron was this child. This child knows how to handle aponin grass.”

“What, you mean mixing the juice squeezed while wearing gloves with lemon juice and a few herbs becomes poison? If knowing that method makes one a suspect, there are dozens of candidates around me too. Not to mention, most of them are territory residents who worked very miserably under my father.”

Peterson’s lips quivered at the man’s words. He turned around smoothly and looked at me again. His blue eyes, now devoid of laughter, looked serious, and I swallowed dry saliva.

“I’ll ask just once. Did you kill Baron Christopher Bickman?”

This was the first person here to listen to my answer. That fact was so moving that I was on the verge of trembling.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke clearly with the most polite and solemn attitude I could muster. Though my voice wasn’t smooth due to my throat being choked, I said,

“No. I’ve never even met him.”

“Criminals lie, my lord.”

Peterson interjected with a voice full of indignation, as if he couldn’t bear it anymore. However, the man shook his head, paying no heed.

“I’m not convinced. And above all, I think the culprit was identified too quickly without proper evidence.”

The man raised the corner of his mouth, closely observing Peterson who flinched in surprise.

“I, we of the Bickman family, will never forgive the one who murdered my father. So from today, I plan to launch a full-scale investigation. For that reason, I’m taking this child with me.”

“What? No, you can’t!”

“Do you have any other evidence besides the fact that she lived in that house and knew how to handle poisonous herbs?”

“But that alone is enough reason to…”

“Did you know that Mrs. Almon deliberately left the house empty that day, doing something she doesn’t usually do?”

“What?”

Peterson, who had his mouth wide open, quickly rolled his eyes. The man snorted lightly and muttered cynically.

“You really did take us lightly, Peterson.”

“That’s not…”

At that moment, the man roughly struck Peterson’s face with the gloves he was holding. With a slap, Peterson’s head turned, and he knelt down with his face red.

“Fo-forgive me, my lord. That’s absolutely not the case.”

“We’ll handle our family’s affairs ourselves. And don’t worry too much. When I catch the culprit, I’ll definitely leave the disposal of the body to you.”

Strictly speaking, since it happened in the barony, Peterson had nothing to say.

This is why he wanted to handle it quickly, but he didn’t expect the baron’s family to take action so fast. His face twisted as he lowered his head.

The man, who had been looking at the kneeling Peterson with contempt, paused. Following his gaze, I blushed when I saw the crooked writing across the dirt floor.

“Did you write that as a suicide note? Before hanging yourself?”

As I just bit my lip in embarrassment, the man unexpectedly burst into cheerful laughter. I was almost lifted up by his hands gripping my shoulders roughly. I felt dazzled by his face, grinning widely with teeth showing.

“I must take you in as our maid right away. You pass. But you need to study a bit more. A few letters are wrong.”

“What?”

My mind becomes hazy from the situation unfolding before my eyes and the sweet scent emanating from the man. The man ruffled my hair.

“Let’s stop by that house. I’ll have you close the window. Even though they say she’s already like a corpse, we can’t let her die.”

I quietly watched the back of the man as he walked ahead, as if telling me to follow quickly. The man, who was casually passing through the open door, seemed to sense no presence behind him and turned around. To his questioning gaze, I stammered,

“Is it… okay for me to leave?”

“If you didn’t kill my father.”

At the ready answer that flew in, I blinked blankly. I glanced at Peterson, who was still kneeling, but he remained in a humiliating posture with his head lowered.

It’s so unbelievable that I can’t even cry. The loop I made from my skirt hem was still hanging on the candle holder, and the chair was lying on the floor.

Perhaps at that moment, I was already dead, and this might be the process of going to heaven. Thinking that, I took a dazed step forward.

I thought Peterson might grab my arm at any moment, but even after taking another step, nothing like that happened.

The passage leading outside was long and dark. I was overwhelmed with anxiety that hell might be spread out when this path ends, but even if that were the case, I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

I followed the man out of the building, leaving behind the gloomy screams that clung to my feet.

I couldn’t tell the time, but it was deep at night, and a cool breeze was blowing. When I took a breath, it felt like my chest would burst.

How easy this was.

To think I could escape with just a few words.

My eyes grow hot as complex emotions swirl. I never knew that miracles really existed in this world. Not knowing what to do as I stood there, I quickly approached the man and bowed at the waist.

“I, I don’t know how to thank you…”

Since it was my first time dealing with a noble, I was in an awkward posture, not knowing whether to kneel or prostrate myself, when I was startled to see the man suddenly collapse.

“My lord, are you alright?”

The man was breathing heavily. I could see his eyes were greatly swollen as he kept rubbing his chest.

“I have little courage, so I’m really not cut out for this kind of thing. I thought my heart was going to burst. To think I’d enter a prison on my own feet. And that horrible smell of blood, I think I’ll remember it even after 10 years! Would you hold my hand?”

The man who had been muttering non-stop reached out his hand to me. Without giving me time to say my hands were dirty, he grasped my hand.

I was so surprised I could have jumped right there, but I couldn’t pull away for two reasons. One was that his hand was surprisingly soft, and the other was that his large hand was drenched in cold sweat.

I was frozen, not knowing what to do, but the man really seemed to be in distress. With my hand held, I awkwardly patted his back.

“If you take deep breaths, you might feel better. Like this.”

I needed the deep breaths too. As I demonstrated, shrugging my shoulders, he followed like a child. Seeing beads of sweat on his forehead, which seemed deliberately polished, I felt an indescribable feeling.

…He slapped Peterson’s cheek and made him kneel, so what is he afraid of? And he’s a noble at that.

Seeming to have calmed down a bit, he loosened his grip on my hand, which he had been holding as if to crush it, and chuckled.

“Why, suddenly feeling distrustful? Are you regretting coming out with me?”

I thought the self-deprecating expression oddly spread across his handsome face didn’t suit his previously confident attitude.

“My lord, you pulled me out of hell. You listened to words no one else would hear.”

I put strength into my voice.

“If there’s anything I can do to repay your kindness, I’ll do anything.”

I could see the man’s pale complexion gradually returning. He tilted his head back, exhaled with a “hoo,” and muttered,

“Don’t thank me like that. It wasn’t me who saved you.”

“…Pardon?”

“There’s a mark on your neck. When we get home, I’ll apply some medicine.”

The man’s eyes sparkled as if nothing had happened, and he got up lightly. As I stood up with him, he shrugged his shoulders at me.

“And my name isn’t ‘my lord,’ it’s Kirhin. Kirhin Bickman. The unparalleled handsome man born in the Bickman baron’s family. It must be your first time seeing such a handsome man, right?”

He winked with one eye, his expression regaining composure. For a moment, the beautiful green eyes that had silenced everything around flashed through my mind. I mechanically moved my lips, searching for an appropriate expression.

“…I thought an angel had descended.”