🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 12
Peter hadn’t returned even late into the night. During that time, Loren took off the clothes stained with soup and enjoyed a perfect bath in comfortably warm water.
She had been honestly startled when the maid offered to help her bathe. She had never experienced such a “noble” lifestyle before.
Still, after finishing the bath, having her hair brushed with a wooden comb was rather pleasant. The maid slowly combed Loren’s straw-colored hair, still damp. The careful movements made her drowsy.
Somewhat languid, Loren studied the maid’s face in the mirror. The maid held the comb with a very serious expression. She was a girl Loren had seen a few times near the kitchen.
Her hair was chestnut-colored, her cheeks sprinkled with freckles, and she had a youthful face that looked barely in her twenties.
Most of the staff working here were older—everyone except this girl.
“…Thank you.”
“Huh? Ah, no! It’s nothing! Of course, it’s my duty.”
“What’s your name…?”
“Please call me Emma.”
“Alright, Emma.”
Loren rolled the newly learned name around in her mouth. By then, Emma had finished combing her hair and set down the comb.
“Could you stay here for a moment? I have something I’d like to ask. It’s nothing serious.”
Before the freckled girl could panic, Loren quickly waved her hand.
“I-I, um, I might, I might not be able to….”
“It’s alright. Just listen to me.”
Emma pressed her lips tightly shut instead of answering. The count must have instructed her to stay quiet.
“I’m not going to ask anything troublesome. Just…”
The young maid’s eyes darted nervously.
“Ah, no. S-Sorry… I’m not allowed to, to talk to you, miss…”
Leaving those words, Emma bowed her head and dashed outside.
Loren looked at Emma’s retreating figure with a bewildered expression. She had suspected she’d been told to stay quiet, but she hadn’t expected such strict adherence.
Her hair smelled of perfume. Loren fiddled with her damp hair, now a dull light brown from the water.
She had intended to ask for all the newspaper articles related to Count Collins—but Emma had run off before she could even ask.
‘This doesn’t feel right.’
Just a short while ago, Loren had secretly been pleased, thinking it a success, but the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Emma’s behavior only fueled Loren’s suspicion.
Blocking all the windows, strictly controlling the servants’ speech, and yet letting an outsider in over just a bowl of cream soup?
‘Loose surveillance and sloppy surveillance are not the same. The owner of this mansion…’
Just as her thoughts began to spiral, there was a knock.
Twice, spaced apart. Clearly done by a person, yet there was no sound of movement outside the door.
Loren, tense, approached the tightly closed door. After a moment’s hesitation, she turned the doorknob.
Through a slight crack, Cedric peered down at her.
“It smells of roses.”
He frowned suddenly.
“I used perfume. Do you dislike it?”
“It’s an unfamiliar scent. No one in this house has used something like this. May I come in?”
Cedric slid his hand through the door crack. Loren still held the doorknob, even pressing harder to lock it in place, preventing him from entering.
“No, speak from there.”
“How harsh of you.”
“…How do I know you won’t get violent if I come in?”
“Well, if you’re that worried…”
Cedric withdrew his hand and pressed his back to the hallway wall. Only then did Loren open the door further, just halfway.
A scene that might make an outsider laugh: two people facing each other across the threshold.
The room was bright, the hallway dark, making it hard to read his expression.
“Loren, you hurt the back of your hand this evening.”
“Yes, it was an accident. Were you scared? You won’t die from a wound like that.”
Cedric rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb. The skin was red and raw. He let out a quiet laugh, as if amused by some small joke.
“No. Not because of the wound, Loren. It’s just…”
He trailed off. The atmosphere sank.
Ready to close the door if needed, Loren gripped the knob tighter.
Cedric’s low laugh stopped instantly.
“You said that redhead was alive. You couldn’t relax until you saw it with your own eyes?”
So this was it. The owner of this mansion was not careless. Loren blinked slowly, tracing Cedric’s form hidden in the shadows with her eyes.
How much did he know?
“Yes. How could I trust you? I wanted to see with my own eyes if she was alive or dead.”
Fortunately, the stakes were still in her favor, and Noah was a hand worth playing.
“I called because I couldn’t leave. Is that a problem, Cedric?”
“Loren, it’s not a problem, which is why I let you in. You need not worry.”
She opened the door fully. The bedroom light spilled into the hallway, illuminating Cedric’s face. Loren turned her body to make room, inviting him in.
Cedric stepped forward, resting weight on a chair’s back. Loren, sitting on the bed at a distance, frowned at his movements.
Even after a long time in the room, he hadn’t spoken, only staring out the window.
“Cedric, if you have something to say, say it.”
“Loren, shouldn’t you be the one to speak first?”
His tone seemed to probe her. His gaze, previously fixed outside, now focused on Loren. An unreadable man.
The only definite fact: Cedric knew Noah.
Loren chose her words carefully.
“The redhead, you mean?”
“Yes, that redhead. I could tell immediately when I saw her face. She was the one beside you that day, wasn’t she?”
“It’s Noah. You probably already know her name.”
“…Let’s pretend it’s the first time I’ve heard it.”
He knew her name. That meant he had likely completed his background check as well.
She had never hidden it, so he probably knew that Noah ran a small detective agency, and that she wasn’t a regular at the restaurant.
That left only one choice: under no circumstances should Noah be connected to the ‘escape.’
Loren swallowed dryly.
“Alright, Cedric. I’ll be honest. Noah… she’s a detective I hired.”
“Did you lose a beloved cat or something?”
“No. I…”
Loren lowered her gaze.
“I was looking for my father’s whereabouts.”
She glanced at Cedric from the corner of her eye.
This insane man didn’t even say a single word of regret despite knowing she was searching for her father.
The only reaction he showed was a hum deep in his throat.
“Anyway, she accompanied me for that reason.”
“I see.”
“I’ll call her here from time to time. I think you’ve tacitly agreed, haven’t you? Noah is, after all, a ‘harmless person,’ as you said.”
Tap-tap. His shoes struck the floor in rhythm. The sound grated on her nerves. Loren crossed her arms, pressing him for an answer.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“You’re not my guardian. Even if I did, what would change?”
Could she even leave here? She sneered internally.
“I could help. I’d be far better than that amateur detective.”
“Cedric, this is a household matter. It’s not something you should interfere in. You said you’d make things convenient for me… but the convenience I want isn’t like a cheesecake that’s always available.”
“I understand. It would be like a ‘jerky cream soup’ that’s always provided.”
Puns aside.
She stared at Cedric. He looked like he was deep in thought.
If Noah could freely come and go here, she could execute her plan much more easily.
“You don’t think Noah is capable enough to break me out, do you? That’s why you allowed her entry, right?”
“There’s no perfect safe zone. Curiosity played a part in allowing it, let’s say.”
“Curiosity?”
“Yes, I was curious about what exactly you wanted to do. ‘Soup’… it was quite clever.”
He spoke as if teasing her. Loren ground her teeth, the spices of the cream soup still lingering in her mouth.
