“……I’m sure he has.”

He had no desire to continue the conversation. Kaiden turned his eyes to the stack of documents Jasper had left on the desk.

It was a clear dismissal, but Eleanor took it in stride and moved to sit on the sofa.

“When do you leave for the east?”

Kaiden deliberately said nothing.

“Wouldn’t it be faster to just pin various charges on the Bruyang lot and haul them in quickly. If it comes to it, shall I file the complaint myself?”

Eleanor had started out as a war correspondent. The public trusted her deeply.

Right after the revolution, she had won the top journalism award. She had even parlayed that career into a professorship.

Charles had seen her worth when he judged Elsie’s usefulness had run out.

“Yes, that might be best. Let’s go to the police right now. If I show up, they’ll indict them on the spot, don’t you think?”

“Stop. Whatever your methods, Bruyang has a great deal of support right now. You can’t move carelessly.”

Kaiden finally spoke, watching Eleanor rise from her seat.

“Quite right. I’m not that foolish.”

She hummed her reply, as though she had only said it to get a reaction out of him.

“Setting that aside. How is the former Mrs. Grey getting on? We were rivals, after all, unlikely as it sounds. That’s why I’m so curious.”

Whether to get under his skin or not, Eleanor brought up Elsie.

“That’s none of your concern.”

“Even though we were rivals?”

“I don’t have time to humor nonsense.”

“Nonsense, that’s harsh.”

Eleanor pretended to wipe away a tear. The irritating performance drew a short, reluctant laugh out of Kaiden.

“And I have no idea how Elsie Grey is living. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t waste energy on the wrong things.”

“My, Elsie Grey?”

Eleanor zeroed in on the one thing in Kaiden’s offhand remark that stood out.

“You divorced her, and you still say ‘Grey.’ Father will be heartbroken. You married her to play spy, and it turns out you actually meant it.”

She laughed, delighted at having found something worth teasing.

“……I think it’s time you left, Miss Underwood.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll see myself out. Frost Death.”

She used the nickname in a mocking tone, one he clearly disliked. He was about to say something when she slipped out of the office.

Honestly.

Getting tangled up with a woman like that.

Kaiden tilted his head back and pressed himself into his chair.

His adoptive father, Minister Charles Grey, had named Colonel Kaiden Grey and Professor Eleanor Underwood as the icons of the New Midland Republic.

A war hero and a war correspondent.

If he went through with an engagement to Eleanor, it would make exactly the kind of story Charles wanted, and it would spread across all of New Midland.

And Kaiden……

“This is maddening.”

The whole thing sat wrong with him in a way he couldn’t shake.

Elsie had been a tool for extracting information from Count Resleth’s side. Nothing more, nothing less.

That was the only reason he had married her. After the marriage, obtaining various kinds of information had become considerably easier.

But after the revolution succeeded……

Why had he kept the marriage going with Elsie Resleth.

What was it that I wanted. What was I trying to do.

Kaiden forced the confusion in his chest aside and turned his eyes back to the documents.

Saint Bastia’s House.
Lumiera Workshop.
……

It was an approval document listing recipient organizations and donation amounts.

They appeared to be regular donations, but he had no memory of them. Kaiden frowned and called for Jasper.

“Ah, those are places the Resleth woman spent money on.”

“Spent money on?”

“She used the budget allocated to the mistress of the house. Since she was free to use it as she liked, I didn’t check the details. Well, as noble ladies tend to do, she spent it freely.”

What was written in the document looked nothing like free spending.

The workshop was a mystery, but take “Saint Bastia’s House,” for instance.

“You didn’t check.”

“It was money allocated to the mistress, so it didn’t occur to me to look into it.”

Jasper quickly offered an excuse at Kaiden’s displeased expression.

“Is that so. Then it might be worth going to see for ourselves.”

“Oh, sir. You mean, you intend to go in person?”

Jasper stumbled over his words in surprise as Kaiden rose from his seat.

“Is there a reason not to?”

“No, no, not at all!”

Jasper hurried out of the office to prepare for the outing.

Kaiden had been so deeply involved in running the country that he had paid no attention to the estate’s finances. On the rare occasions he had free time, the most he did was check in on the various companies managed by the Grey household.

And yet Elsie had apparently been handling part of that herself.

The unpleasant realization left a heaviness in his chest.

***

Kaiden and Jasper went first to the nearby Lumiera Workshop.

The workshop was close to the Eldenmarche market.

It would have been better to look into it beforehand, but there hadn’t been time. Kaiden knocked on Lumiera’s door without any prior information.

“Who is it? The workshop director said she had nothing scheduled today.”

A woman who appeared to be a staff member came out and looked the two of them over with a flat expression.

“We’ve come from the Grey estate. We didn’t arrange a visit in advance, so we apologize for the inconvenience.”

“Grey…… I see. I’ll show you in.”

Jasper spoke politely, and the woman’s expression eased.

Kaiden and Jasper followed her inside.

The workshop was smaller than expected.

Workbenches were packed closely together, and at each one, four to six women worked treadle sewing machines. Looking at the pieces stacked near the walls, the workshop appeared to handle embroidery, handmade candles, and clothing repairs.

Knock knock.

“Director, I’m coming in.”

The woman opened the door at the far end of the room.

“I’m sorry for the sudden visit. Someone has come from the Grey estate.”

“Not at all. Guests from the Grey estate are always welcome.”

A middle-aged woman sitting at a desk rose from her seat.

She wore an apron with flower embroidery along its crinkled, wavy edges, and gestured toward the sofa in the center of the room.

The woman who had shown them in left.

“This must be Colonel Kaiden Grey, and this gentleman is……”

“Jasper Robert, manager of the Grey estate.”

“I see. What brings you here. You’ve come to such a modest place without any notice, I’m afraid the hospitality will be lacking……”

“It’s quite all right. Director Marceline Brock.”

Kaiden shook his head.

“Thank you for understanding. Hmm…… if you’ve come to review the donation records, I have them organized and can show you now. I was planning to send them over in two days anyway.”

“Yes, please.”

Marceline produced a neatly kept ledger without hesitation, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

“An unannounced audit. The detailed monthly reviews and thorough questions…… you’ve become even more rigorous.”

Marceline smiled faintly. She seemed to welcome this, adding that she was “always grateful.”

She had been checking all of this herself.

Jasper looked as though he was hearing this for the first time. It was easy for Kaiden to conclude that Elsie had been doing it personally.

“The other organizations supported by the Grey estate are our main clients. For instance, there’s a nursery run by a religious order. We supply baby blankets to Bastia’s House.”

“……I see.”

The ledger was as clean and organized as Marceline had said with confidence.

“As you may know, women like me who lost their families in the war need a place like this. Think of it less as a workshop and more as a place for vocational rehabilitation. We all gather, talk, and earn enough to live on our own.”

A craft workshop for war widows.

He had assumed the money was being thrown away carelessly, but that wasn’t the whole picture.

Learning the bitter truth left a sour feeling in his chest.

“By the way, the painting hanging outside looked familiar.”

“The one next to the office door?”

Kaiden nodded.

“That was a gift from a private donor.”

Marceline’s smile deepened.

A private donor?

That painting was unmistakably Elsie’s work.

There was no way he could fail to recognize her paintings.

“She donated anonymously, but one day a painting arrived along with a card. Ah, the donation was enclosed as well, of course.”

“A card?”

“Yes, would you like to see it?”

Something in Kaiden’s voice must have sounded urgent, because Marceline pulled a palm-sized card from her drawer.

To the Lumiera Workshop,
Wishing you a warm end of year.
May the light (Lumière) be with you.

The round, soft handwriting was unmistakably Elsie’s.

“Jasper. What happened at the end of the year?”

“……I’m not sure.”

He had wondered what had happened at the end of the year, and asked Jasper, but no answer came.

Why had she made personal donations specifically at the end of the year.

The nagging question wouldn’t settle. He would look into it when he returned to the estate, Kaiden thought, and handed the card and ledger back to Marceline.

“We plan to maintain the same level of support as in previous years.”

“I see. Thank you.”