Chapter 30

Chase, listening intently to Elena’s story, asked in a heavy voice.

“So, what happened after that?”

“I waited until the footsteps faded and cautiously peeked into the storage room. The seamstress maid was lying on the floor, bleeding. It seemed she had been struck with a nearby object.”

Chase furrowed his brows. As the horrifying scene from that time resurfaced in her mind, Elena’s eyelashes quivered.

“At first, I thought she was dead. But then, she barely opened her eyes.”

“She was alive?”

“Just barely.”

Elena nodded faintly.

“When she saw me, she was startled. Then, she pointed to the pendant shaped like a key hanging around her neck. She said it was evidence. That was her last moment.”

Elena placed a small pouch on the table.

“That pendant…”

“Yes.”

Chase carefully took the necklace out of the pouch. The key-shaped pendant bore a familiar symbol of a bowler hat.

“…It’s the emblem of Heider.”

Clutching the necklace chain tightly, Chase asked.

“And the maid who fled from the storage room?”

“I pretended not to know. Every time I saw her, my blood ran cold and I felt nauseous, but she was my only clue.”

A chilling resolve flickered across Elena’s otherwise gentle face. Her voice carried no warmth as she continued.

“Thanks to her, I discovered quite a lot. But in the end, she too was killed by someone.”

“They cut the loose ends.”

Elena nodded. After a long pause, she clenched her fists tightly and spoke.

“Your Majesty, I will find the one responsible for my parents’ deaths. I will never give up. I’ll share all the information I’ve uncovered.”

Elena’s determined gaze locked onto Chase.

“So please, Your Majesty, don’t give up either. I beg you.”

***

On the way back to the Imperial Palace, the atmosphere inside the carriage was unusually somber. The conversation with Elena had been far heavier than Chase had anticipated.

It was Chase who broke the silence first.

“For now… it seems certain we need to keep an eye on the Ducal House of Evenheim.”

Clayton nodded in agreement.

“Yes. It may be necessary to adjust the direction of our investigation.”

“Let’s prioritize this matter starting tomorrow.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

With the conversation concluded, silence returned to the carriage. Yet, Chase felt something strange. Clayton, seated across from him, kept stealing glances at his face.

Tilting his head, Chase asked.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Well…”

Clayton hesitated, his lips twitching slightly as if debating whether to speak. In the end, he closed his mouth.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

“How dull.”

Chase chuckled softly and closed his eyes. On any other day, he might have pressed for an answer out of curiosity, but today, a wave of fatigue washed over him.

‘It’s probably not important.’

***

After parting ways with Aaron, Sabrina’s expression had noticeably darkened.

‘Why do I feel so uneasy?’

The position of chief aide was highly visible, which naturally made it a frequent topic of gossip. Among the rumors, there were, of course, plenty of baseless ones.

Normally, she would dismiss them as nonsense fabricated by someone with too much time on their hands. But this time, from the very moment she heard it, something felt off.

‘Could it really be the work of my family?’

There had to be a reason why her suspicions were this strong.

Since their ostentatious appearance at the Imperial Ball, they had been remarkably quiet. But could they really have forgotten the humiliation of being completely ignored by Chase?

Unlikely. Given their personalities, as Sabrina had observed, they would never let it go. If anything, they’d be grinding their teeth in resentment.

In this world, marriage was still very much a matter of alliances between families. It was commonplace for the heads of families to decide their children’s marriages, a sentiment deeply ingrained in society.

Of course, in most cases, the daughter’s opinion was respected. But Sabrina’s relationship with her family was far from “normal.”

‘I never wanted to go back home again…’

She had a bad feeling that something troublesome was brewing. The pleasant mood she had felt while discussing with Aaron had completely soured.

“Hah…”

Sabrina let out a long sigh, burying her face in her hands.

Why couldn’t life ever go smoothly? 

Just when she thought she could finally breathe, another crisis loomed. She was already exhausted at the thought of how long this conflict might drag on.

It was then.

“Sabrina?”

Startled by the familiar voice behind her, Sabrina jumped to her feet.

“Your Majesty, you’re back?”

“Yes. Was everything fine while I was away?”

Sabrina nodded as she followed Chase.

“Yes. There’s nothing particular to report.”

“How’s Aaron?”

“He seemed to be doing well. He looked very healthy, likely because he’s been resting well.”

“That’s good. I should arrange a meeting soon.”

Entering his office, Chase immediately removed his coat. As Sabrina stepped forward to take it, Chase’s gaze fell on her face.

Loosening his cravat, Chase asked in a concerned tone.

“But are you sure nothing happened? You didn’t even notice my presence…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m not trying to criticize you.”

Chase quickly waved his hand dismissively.

“It’s just that you’ve never done that before, so it made me worried.”

Crossing the room slowly, Chase sat down and met Sabrina’s eyes.

“Are you feeling unwell? Or is something troubling you?”

“No, Your Majesty. I must have been lost in thought. Thank you for your concern.”

Sabrina smiled brightly and quickly changed the subject. She didn’t want Chase to see her being swayed by her family anymore.

“Did you have a good meeting with Lady Evenheim?”

“Hmm?”

Chase nodded awkwardly.

“Yes, I did.”

“And did you eat?”

“No, not yet.”

Sabrina frowned slightly in concern.

“You must be hungry. There’s still some time before dinner. Shall I prepare a light snack for you?”

“That would be nice.”

Sabrina nodded.

“I’ll ask Jeremy to prepare something.”

At that, Chase paused.

“Jeremy?”

“Yes. Is there something wrong?”

Sabrina looked at Chase curiously.

They stared at each other in silence for a long time. Chase, looking somewhat sullen, shook his head.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

***

“May I enter, Your Majesty?”

At the gentle voice of a man, Chase looked up. It was his youngest aide, whom he had been seeing unusually often lately, entering the office.

“Ah, Jeremy.”

“I believe this requires your immediate review.”

Jeremy placed a report in front of Chase and explained it with a slightly nervous expression. While he nodded habitually, half of his mind was elsewhere.

‘What is Sabrina doing right now?’

Sabrina had been in a bad mood lately. More precisely, ever since he met Elena and heard her story a few days ago.

Since that day, Sabrina had failed to notice his presence. Professionally, she was as flawless as ever, and she always greeted him with a smile.

But having observed her for so long, Chase noticed subtle differences.

She spent more time at her desk than usual or gazed out the window with a contemplative expression during breaks.

The biggest change, perhaps, was the drastic reduction in her jokes.

Chase, who loved her cheerful remarks, found this change deeply disappointing.

‘She seems to be troubled by something… What could it be?’

Chase’s honest desire was to personally intervene and somehow ease her troubles. He wanted to ask her what the problem was, what he could do to help.  

However, no matter how he felt, their relationship was fundamentally professional. There were clear boundaries they had to observe.  

‘Even if I tell her to speak freely, she wouldn’t be able to. That would only burden her more.’  

Chase decided to think it through on his own. His grand objective was to identify the root cause of Sabrina’s distress and come up with a perfect solution.  

But even after several late nights of pondering, Chase couldn’t find a convincing lead.  

‘We’ve been doing so well lately. Everything was great. So why all of a sudden…?’  

As the gentle spring breeze that had been blowing between them disappeared, Chase grew increasingly anxious with each passing day.  

“…I’d like you to confirm this part.”  

Chase, about to habitually respond with an acknowledgment, froze. Narrowing his eyes, he gazed silently at Jeremy’s youthful face.  

‘Isn’t Jeremy the person Sabrina spends the most time with these days?’  

Perhaps too much time, to the point of being slightly irritating.  

Suppressing his childish jealousy, Chase clung to his rationality.  

‘Then Jeremy must also know Sabrina best right now.’  

If Jeremy sided with him, if he could detect the signals from Sabrina that Chase had missed…  

At that moment, Jeremy, stiff under Chase’s intense gaze, cautiously opened his mouth.  

“D-Did I make a mistake…?”  

Screech.  

Chase slowly rose from his chair and placed a firm hand on the shoulder of the youngest aide, who looked as though he might burst into tears. With a wide, friendly smile, Chase spoke.  

“No. I just have another task for you.”  

“A task… Your Majesty?”  

Chase lightly patted Jeremy’s back, urging him forward.  

“Yes. Let’s sit on the sofa and talk. No need for refreshments, right? Not between us.”