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Chapter 7
“Your niece said you had tea together?”
“C-could you please not put it like that? It sounds really… strange.”
Phileas let out a small laugh.
“I understand.”
Soon after, the two of them sat side by side on a patio with a fountain.
“…So, what is it that you wanted to see me about, Your Grace?”
“It’s not as if I came specifically to meet you for some urgent matter, but I should say this first. Lady Vanessa, you are being suspected of parricide.”
Thud.
Was that really something you say so casually?
Her heart began to pound loudly, but Vanessa did not let it show.
Pretending to be calm was easy enough. But was it even appropriate to look calm in this situation?
“…And how do you know something like that, Your Grace?”
“I am saddened that you still refuse to address me by my name. Still, my title does come in handy at times like this. If I go and ask anyone in the castle what is going on, they have no choice but to answer.”
“……”
She had suspected things were going too smoothly.
But murder suspicion? Had the imperial justice system ever moved this quickly?
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I want to help you avoid getting into trouble, Lady Vanessa.”
“You mean you want to help a murder suspect?”
“Since the founding of the Empire, no one accused of parricide has ever escaped severe punishment. And I do not intend to let you end up in prison or a labor camp. Whether the accusation is true or false does not change that.”
“Even if I killed my own father?”
Before she even finished speaking, Vanessa regretted her careless words.
But it was already too late. She could only hope Phileas had chosen a discreet place for this conversation.
“Tell me, Your Grace. If I truly were a murderer, what would you do then?”
Phileas only shrugged.
“There must have been a valid reason.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“That is precisely why, Lady Vanessa.”
“What…?”
“I am just beginning to get to know you. And if you were dragged off to prison or a labor camp, it would become difficult to meet you, wouldn’t it?”
“That is… very much like you, Your Grace…”
“Isn’t it? See, Lady Vanessa, you are already getting to know me as well.”
Phileas said this cheerfully.
“Your Grace, I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood for jokes…”
“Ah, I apologize. I have once again spoken inappropriately for the situation.”
He was right. According to imperial law, parricide carried heavier punishment than ordinary murder. No matter the reason, it was the same.
At that thought, the blood in her body seemed to grow cold, and her mind turned icy as well.
“Has the investigation already been completed?”
She removed her polite smile and asked directly. Even with her changed attitude, Phileas did not seem flustered.
“It is not completely finished. But it is progressing quickly. At the moment, you are the only suspect without an alibi. You went to sleep after all the servants had left for the day, so there is no one who can prove your innocence.”
“But since the investigation is still ongoing, there must be no physical evidence yet.”
“That is correct. But in the first place… you have no motive, do you? There is a sequence to investigations.”
“And if I… do have a motive?”
Vanessa hesitated slightly, then loosened the ribbon around her neck.
The clearly visible handprint on her throat made Phileas fall silent. He seemed to avert his gaze, staring into some unknown distance for a long while.
“…I will see you back.”
Breaking the heavy silence, his voice came out low.
Vanessa retied her ribbon properly, then followed behind Phileas as he walked ahead. Outside the garden, the carriage she had arrived in earlier was waiting.
Phileas opened the carriage door and steadied her with a hand so she would not stumble. He signaled to the coachman, said something, then boarded across from her.
The carriage began to move, but Phileas remained silent.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up…’
Vanessa felt her mood sink heavily. When the silence became unbearable, Phileas finally spoke.
“Is something troubling you? I would be glad if I could be of help.”
She had more than enough troubles. And for some reason, she felt an urge to tell them all to this suspicious duke.
After all, it was often easier to confess worries to a stranger.
And if Phileas truly was exactly as he appeared, there would be no fear of secrets leaking out.
‘Not that I really have secrets left anyway.’
Vanessa explained everything: the debts left by Count Lang, the tangled financial obligations, the estate now bound to the imperial household, and the inherited territory…
Phileas thought for a moment, then said,
“The easiest solution would be for Lady Vanessa to marry as soon as possible. Your husband should be someone you can easily guide according to your wishes.”
He said it so matter-of-factly, as if reciting a problem’s solution. As if it had nothing to do with him at all.
‘He once told me not to even watch others dance… the more I see him, the more interesting he becomes.’
Even knowing it was inappropriate, she couldn’t stop the urge to tease him.
“Marriage, huh… then things might actually become easier. After all, His Highness the Crown Prince invited me to a private meeting today. What do you think, Your Grace? Or is that a presumptuous assumption?”
Phileas stared at her blankly for a moment—perhaps—then began tapping nervously on the edge of the seat. Tap, tap, tap-tap-tap.
“That… would be better reconsidered. Fritz is more rigid than he appears, so he would not be easy to use as you wish.”
“Is that so? Then what about Prince Conrad? Of course, I know it’s a rude thought, but hypotheticals are allowed.”
“If you so much as gesture, anyone in the Empire would kneel before you.”
“Huh?”
“Ah—t-that was a slip of the tongue. In any case, Conrad is also not acceptable.”
“Why not?”
“Conrad is a whining child. In the first place, there is no way you would choose him.”
‘Right. Why didn’t I realize that in my past life?’
Suppressing a laugh, Vanessa fanned herself lightly.
“Oh my, isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“Of course, he is admired by many women… but Lady Vanessa, you are not actually considering him, are you?”
Tap, tap, tap-tap-tap. Now he truly looked uneasy.
“Not exactly considering him… but it’s not wrong to imagine things, is it?”
“No. That is not allowed.”
“Why not?”
“It is too dangerous. Conrad has too many enemies. If you were with him, you would be in danger as well.”
Suddenly, she thought it might have been better if she had spoken with him more in her previous life.
If she hadn’t dismissed his marriage proposal as a joke…
“If hypothetically, Your Grace—though I know it is improper to say this—but if Prince Conrad were to admire me and propose to me, what would you do? If I foolishly tried to walk a path you consider dangerous?”
Phileas finally stopped tormenting the seat. He lowered his head, thought deeply for a moment, and then said as if he had reached a realization:
“There is a way I could propose to you instead.”
As expected, he said it as if solving a simple problem. He looked at her as though expecting praise.
Watching him, Vanessa felt a slight sense of guilt. But in the end, she smiled and asked,
“Why do you think I would accept Your Grace’s proposal?”
“Ah.”
“……”
“Ah… um… I see… you were teasing me.”
Phileas quietly turned his gaze out the window. But when Vanessa covered her face and began to laugh softly, he ended up laughing as well.
“To be honest, Your Grace. That day, at the debutante ball… I thought you would ask me to dance.”
“That… is what one would normally expect.”
“I really didn’t expect you to tell me not to dance with anyone at all.”
“I simply did not want to see you dance with someone else. If… I had asked you, would you have accepted?”
“Hmm… no. It wouldn’t have mattered who asked. I had already decided not to dance that night.”
“I… see.”
Phileas was still looking out the window. Sunlight poured in, but his face remained shadowed.
“By the way, Lady Vanessa. Do you remember what I said on the balcony that day? When I asked if I had fallen for you.”
Of course she remembered. Even the pulse she felt at her fingertips.
“I remember. You said you were still thinking about it. Have you finished thinking?”
“I have.”
“And your conclusion?”
“……”
The carriage came to a stop.
