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Chapter 19
Once the ominous thought began, it kept branching into more and more plausible possibilities. By the end of it, she even felt guilty, as if she herself had somehow caused everything.
But does that justify murder? Absolutely not.
……
Let’s catch him first. At least I need to see his face and hear what he has to say.
“By the way, Count Mond was quite impressive. From what I overheard while he was speaking with his butler, it sounded like he doesn’t properly declare his business profits.”
“He’s more than capable of that.”
Karl scribbled something on a separate sheet of paper instead of the report he had been reading. Avery, who only wandered around noble houses and stayed cooped up in the Graham mansion, did not know the situation—but because of the many secrets she had told him, quite a few noble families had ended up with their weaknesses in Karl’s hands.
The rumor was not entirely wrong. In truth, the so-called curse upon the noble houses was practically cast by Avery herself.
With such an endless stream of chatter disguised as a report, he should have been irritated and ignored her by now. But today was different. He responded to her and even kept the rhythm of the conversation, which only made the excited Avery talk even more.
“The young lady looked like she had never caused trouble in her life. Watching her, she barely spoke.”
“……”
“I’m judging based on physiognomy.”
“That seems accurate.”
“You think so too, Duke?”
I didn’t expect him to believe in face reading. That’s surprising.
Karl paused as he set down his teacup and lightly swirled it. The marigold tea was steeped deeply red, almost spilling over but not quite.
“Seeing you, it fits perfectly.”
Huh? Why me?
“You talk too much. Most of it is useless.”
It’s not useless. It’s top-level intelligence you only notice if you observe with hawk eyes.
She wanted to argue that, but honestly, Avery already knew. If she summarized everything properly, it could be said in a single sentence.
He would never believe it, but Avery was not usually talkative.
She was normally too busy acting instead.
She only became talkative around people she felt close to.
That doesn’t mean I’m close to him.
It was just that, right now, Karl was the only one she could talk to. No one else could hear a ghost. Well, other ghosts could—but most of them were not capable of normal conversation.
The ghosts in the mansion had not harmed her since the first day, but there was no telling when they might suddenly change. She had seen their abnormal behavior herself.
For example, playing ball with a ghost’s head, or competing to see who could twist their joints the furthest.
The longer one wandered as a ghost, did one’s human social nature gradually disappear?
When everything was resolved and she returned to her original body, Avery had to go back without losing any part of herself. None of the traits her precious people loved about her could change.
That had always been her obsession. Avery clearly had a duty—her own form of atonement to the real Avery and her family.
In that sense, Karl played a role in keeping her human. Even if he did not know it.
At that moment, he broke her train of thought.
“And why are you reporting to me?”
Faced with the most fundamental question, Avery stared at him blankly before answering.
Well…
“I thought you might be curious?”
“Not at all. That’s your misunderstanding.”
He was firm, but Avery did not back down.
“Ah, so I’ll probably be out of the mansion often from now on. Just in case you look for me.”
“No need to worry about that either.”
Fine. Was it that hard to say just one word differently?
Well, not everyone gets to say everything they want in life.
Avery shut her mouth tightly and smiled, all while imagining the contents of his teacup spilling all over his clothes. She felt better.
…Wasn’t Karl the one erasing her humanity the fastest? Maybe instead of avoiding ghosts, she should have avoided him.
“I won’t be here next week either.”
“Where are you going?”
“The imperial palace.”
“Ah, for the regular meeting? My father and Olive—no, my brother—go regularly too, so I know.”
When her father first allowed Oliver to attend the imperial regular council meeting, how proudly he had puffed up his shoulders.
“…….”
…What if Karl runs into Father or Oliver there? And if they talk, and my name comes up…
The thought made her dizzy, and she shut her eyes tightly.
Neither her father nor Oliver could lie. They would sweat, their eyes would shake, their pupils would dilate. They showed almost every classic sign of lying. Father and son were exactly alike.
If anything about her came up, they would surely fumble. And someone like Karl, who could see straight through people, would never miss such clumsy lies.
“…When did you say you’re going?”
“On the third day of next week.”
“Can’t you not go?”
This time, he chose to ignore her. He already knew she would say something useless even without listening.
“I have pretty good intuition, you know. That day just feels bad. I feel like something unpleasant will happen to you, Duke.”
Avery deliberately lowered her voice in warning. A pleading tone. Furrowed brows. It was quite an impressive performance.
But everyone knew the result.
“Do your own work, Avery Graham.”
Heartless Karl Graham.
“How about this?”
“Not great.”
“You look beautiful, my lady.”
“No one could possibly outshine you, my lady!”
“Then what about this one?”
“That’s not great either.”
“The dress truly comes alive when you wear it.”
“No one could pull off this dress like you.”
“Am I the only one with strange eyes here?”
Two maids who showered endless praise, and Avery, who stubbornly stuck to her own opinion.
“Really? Then I’ll buy both.”
Unfortunately, Avery’s opinion was completely ignored.
This house really knows how to flatter.
Bored beyond endurance, Avery lay down on the sofa. It was not proper for a guest, but she had her reasons.
Before Avery had even arrived, the young lady of this noble house had already been holding a fashion show, changing into countless dresses. It did not take long for Avery to grow tired of dresses that barely looked different despite hours passing.
“Is there anything else?”
“I’m sorry, but that is the last one.”
Good news at last.
“Ah, there is one more.”
…Apparently not.
Unlike the nearly collapsing Avery, the young lady with wavy brown hair remained as excited as at the beginning, accepting assistance without a trace of fatigue.
Is she secretly a trained warrior? Her stamina makes no sense.
While Avery entertained that reasonable suspicion, the unnamed young lady examined the new dress.
This new dress was as unconventional as the previous ones. Something no one had attempted before—and likely no one would attempt in the future.
“The designer certainly has a strong experimental spirit.”
“It’s a dress made just for me.”
The young lady was satisfied again. At least it suited her taste.
How many was this now?
After narrowing down the victim candidates, Avery had visited countless noble houses. She no longer even bothered memorizing their names.
Something Clark, I think. Ah, Sarah Clark.
“I need to stand out more.”
Judging by the fact that this family summoned designers directly, their finances seemed solid.
Watching with half-lidded eyes, Avery eventually rose from her seat. Looking out the window, she saw the Graham carriage parked not far from the estate.
It was not that Avery wanted to use such an inefficient method. But she had no other choice. All she could do was visit noble houses daily and observe.
Today yielded nothing special either.
Honestly, she had hoped she might recognize the victim immediately.
A reader’s instinct—recognizing the victim at a glance because she had read the original novel. Something like that.
“I can’t believe I remember nothing at all….”
If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve reread the novel more carefully.
Without regret, Avery walked lightly toward the door. Meanwhile, the young lady, already bored with the new dress, began flipping through a design book.
“What is this design?”
“Ah, that one isn’t even completed yet.”
Despite the designer’s troubled tone, Miss Clark could not take her eyes off the page.
“Do you have it?”
“We do, but it has no embellishments yet. It may not meet your expectations.”
“Bring it.”
The designer of Atelier Belle Mode, Angelo, opened his mouth to politely refuse once more.
Showing an unfinished design was rare unless it was a custom order, and it placed a heavy burden on the designer.
How should I phrase this in my report? A daring collector of unconventional dresses?
Concise, but well explained.
“Who’s next again…?”
“I’ll pay for making such a request. I’ll purchase all the dresses I’ve tried on so far.”
Thud.
Avery’s steps stopped at the door.
“Gasp….”
Unlike the speechless designer, his assistants could not suppress their exclamations.
Who could possibly walk out after hearing that?
What on earth is it?
Avery immediately turned around and hurried back, peering into the design book the noble lady was holding.
“…….”
And she was left speechless.
“…This is….”
Drawn there in the design book she had glanced at out of simple curiosity was a dress she already knew.
