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Chapter : 23
“Alright, Loren. You can call me Elina too. I was curious about the young lady Cedric brought home saying he was going to marry her. I hope you’ll forgive me if I was rude.”
Elina’s tone noticeably softened. Loren coughed lightly.
“Your health doesn’t seem very good.”
“Ah, yes… I’ve always been rather sickly since I was young.”
Her mouth felt dry. She wanted to drink something, but wrapped in a blanket, the steaming black tea in front of her was far too hot. Beside her, Cedric calmly sipped his black coffee.
“I was honestly surprised when I first saw the wedding announcement in the papers. The Count Collins I know isn’t the type to do something like that.”
At last, the real conversation began. To Loren, it felt exactly like an interrogation. She was tense, but since she’d managed to keep her story consistent from their first meeting until now, she was confident she could answer whatever came.
“So… Loren, what exactly did you like about my good-for-nothing nephew?”
Cancel that. This was a question she had never considered.
“I’m curious as well, Aunt. You’ve never told me,” Cedric added slyly.
Rather than rescuing Loren from the corner she’d been backed into, he shoved her in even deeper.
“Well, Cedric is, um… this is embarrassing, Elina.”
Loren looked down at the floor and tucked her hair behind her ear. It was a last-ditch attempt to avoid answering, but of course, it didn’t work.
“When we first met, I didn’t even know Cedric’s name. We just ran into each other by chance.”
Her gaze wandered aimlessly through the air.
“I asked him his name. I had this strong feeling that our chance meeting wouldn’t be the end.”
Even though she’d desperately hoped that chance meeting would be the end, she’d still ended up here.
“And then Cedric—would you believe it—told me to guess.”
It wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t the full truth either. She suddenly remembered how she’d rattled off five different names, offering to give Cedric an alias.
“That was how it started. First, I was curious about his name. Then what color he liked. And after that… well, you know how it goes.”
Loren smiled shyly, a warm blush spreading across her cheeks.
If only someone would take this damned blanket off…
Unintentionally, the thick fur blanket draped over her shoulders doubled the effect of her lovestruck performance.
“Count, you should treat Loren well.”
Elina smiled with satisfaction.
“You’re lucky—to meet someone like her.”
Heh heh, ho ho. From a distance, it looked like a perfectly pleasant tea time. What seemed like it would be a short conversation gradually dragged on.
Only when the sun began to set did Elina finally return, satisfied, to the Warren Viscounty.
The moment the farewells ended, Loren grabbed the blanket from her shoulders and threw it onto the floor.
“Cedric, are you seriously fooling around even in a situation like that?”
“It’s not fooling around—it’s called affection. My aunt seems quite taken with you, and in the end, everything worked out.”
Cedric neatly folded the fallen blanket, draped it over his arm, and twisted his lips into a grin.
Watching her glare with her face flushed red from the heat of the blanket was surprisingly entertaining.
“Were you curious about what color I like?”
His teasing question followed Loren as she hurried up the stairs, laughter dripping between every word.
She stopped halfway up. Cedric was looking up at her from below.
“No. Not at all.”
“You should know. It’d be troublesome if someone asked.”
“…Alright, Cedric. What color do you like, then?”
“The color of Loren Collins’s eyes.”
“Just die.”
Loren spun around sharply. Cedric’s pleasant laughter echoed through the mansion.
Tea stains marred the wallpaper, over which pictures and letters were plastered haphazardly. Several hastily scribbled notes hung among them, the slanted handwriting barely legible.
On the far right was a letter Loren had sent recently. Thank you for helping me. I’ll explain everything—let’s meet.
Noah crouched on the sofa, flipping through a pile of newspapers stacked on the table. The dates ranged from recent editions to ones published ten years ago.
For days now, he had been roaming the streets searching for the whereabouts of Count Bailey. Noah was determined to complete his very first assignment, no matter what.
“I do need to meet her, but…”
As Loren’s letter caught his eye, Noah let out a sigh. His thoughts drifted to the kidnapper who was now her husband.
When his eyes had met Cedric’s over the heads of reporters, Noah had nearly collapsed on the spot.
“He’s terrifying, that man…”
Still, he couldn’t avoid him forever.
There were several new things he’d learned about Count Bailey. Noah stared at the center of the wall. A crudely drawn spider, pinned in place with tweezers, stared back at him.
This didn’t seem like a simple disappearance.
“Cedric, I need to talk to you.”
“And why the serious tone?”
Cedric flipped through a catalog, page by page. Each page displayed intricately crafted rings.
Loren swallowed hard. Just as she was about to speak, a staff member entered the room carrying wine.
“No, thank you. My wife and I only drink at night.”
He waved a hand dismissively. Loren didn’t even get the chance to touch the wine glass.
They were seated in a private room deep inside the jewelry shop. Loren sat beside Cedric, carefully studying the ring designs.
“So, what did you want to say?”
“I don’t mind drinking during the day.”
“…I’ll bring you something from the mansion’s cellar. We’re outside, after all.”
Ignoring Cedric, Loren called the staff member back.
“Do you have white wine instead of red?”
“Yes, we do. Shall I prepare that for you?”
“Please.”
The staff member exited again with the tray.
Click.
Loren made sure the door was fully closed. Cedric finally lifted his eyes from the catalog.
“Alcohol dulls your reactions. It’s dangerous.”
“I’m not planning to drink. I just wanted the staff to step out for a moment.”
The past few days had been relentlessly busy due to wedding preparations.
Just yesterday, a dressmaker had stormed into the mansion and meticulously taken Loren’s measurements. Introducing herself as the best designer in the capital, she declared she’d be making Loren’s wedding dress.
After that came the chef, who grilled her endlessly about her food preferences.
As a result, she hadn’t had any real time to talk with Cedric.
“You’ve been busy nonstop. Listen carefully—this is important.”
“Did it really have to be here?”
He asked, puzzled. Though things had been hectic, there had been plenty of time for a brief conversation.
“Yes. There’s no better place than this.”
Loren replied with conviction. That was the real reason she’d insisted on personally choosing the wedding rings.
“What about Peter?”
“He said he’d stay outside. Didn’t want to interrupt our quality time.”
Everything was perfect. Staff just beyond the door, and Peter surely lingering near the shop entrance.
Taking a deep breath, Loren reached into her clothes and pulled out Noah’s reply.
“Read this.”
“I already have.”
“…What?”
“All mail that comes to my house gets checked. Even letters addressed to you.”
Cedric answered coolly. Despite hearing that he’d read the letter, a smile spread across Loren’s lips instead.
She removed a neatly folded piece of paper from the envelope—then another beneath it.
“Looks like Noah thought you’d do that.”
Inside the thick envelope was a hidden compartment—a simple trick to conceal the real letter.
Loren casually lifted the second letter.
“Damn it.”
Cedric muttered under his breath and reached for it, but Loren was quicker, leaning back out of reach.
“If you’ve already read it, you don’t need this, right?”
She slipped the letter back into her clothes. Footsteps grew louder—someone was approaching with the wine.
“…What exactly are you plotting?”
Loren leaned closer to Cedric, whose expression had sharpened dangerously. She pressed her lips near his ear and whispered slowly,
“It’s nothing much. Just that I found my father’s whereabouts.”
“……”
Count Bailey—whom they’d said was dead. Before Cedric could even react properly, the door opened.
The red wine glasses were gone. Instead, smaller glasses filled with white wine sat on the tray. The staff member placed them on the table.
