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Chapter – 16
“…I’m sorry, Lady Lemaire.”
“I accept your apology. And there’s no need to bow your head so deeply.”
Her voice was strict and sharp, but the words themselves were surprisingly gentle.
For a moment, the younger sister worried she might get scolded because of her talkative older sister’s slip of the tongue — that mouth always caused trouble.
The younger one smiled awkwardly, hiding the irritation tugging at her lips.
And contrary to what everyone in the room expected, the servants quietly backed away toward the wall near the door, as if signaling that everyone who was supposed to come had already arrived.
When the elder sister, who’d earned her sibling’s secret glare for her earlier mistake, clamped her lips shut and lowered her head, an icy silence filled the drawing room — so tense it felt like it pricked the skin.
– Click.
The door opened again, and three people entered.
Sebastian bowed toward the gathered nobles, then stepped aside. Behind him came Ludwig and Asili.
“Greetings, Your Grace the Archduke.”
“Your Grace.”
“Uh… th–that is… Your Grace…”
After the twins’ smooth and formal greetings, the younger one’s clumsy, half-finished greeting followed awkwardly.
Ludwig waved his hand lightly and moved toward the head seat, and of course, beside him was Asili.
She sat next to him so naturally — so obviously — that not a single person in the room questioned it.
“Sit.”
At Ludwig’s word, everyone took their seats. Then Asili spoke up.
“I’m Asili Bolsheik. I regret that our meeting must be under such circumstances.”
It was the kind of thing the mistress of the Archduke’s house might have said — yet no one dared question her tone.
Ludwig and Asili sitting side by side looked far too natural, too fitting.
“Lady Lemaire.”
“Yes.”
“I heard your necklace was stolen.”
“Yes. It wasn’t lost by mistake.”
“Someone took it.”
The twin with the ribbon on her left wrist, Annely, spoke first, and the one with the ribbon on the right, Kelly, continued.
Their explanation was short and simple.
“When we returned to the annex after the tea party, the necklace was gone.”
“Yes.”
Ludwig gave a brief nod toward Sebastian.
“The servants who work in the annex?”
“As per each family’s request, none of our staff were stationed inside the annex,” Sebastian replied.
As he continued speaking, the younger sister began to feel her mouth go dry — her older sister had left far too many traces this time.
If she didn’t act innocent now, she’d end up being named the culprit before she knew it.
If this went on—
“E-excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt, but…”
The younger sister stammered nervously, eyes downcast.
“What is it?”
“Um… I was just wondering… why am I here?”
Her awkward, anxious demeanor was the very picture of naivety and simplicity.
Who could possibly believe someone like her was capable of theft?
The sisters had hidden behind that same mask for a long time — dodging guilt and suspicion again and again.
Even when circumstantial evidence pointed their way, people’s thoughts would always go, “Someone that innocent could never commit such a wicked crime!” — and they’d slip out of trouble like eels.
This time too, the evidence was safely tucked away in a half-eaten pie; even a room search wouldn’t uncover it.
She was about to dart her eyes nervously, then stopped herself.
A pure, innocent girl wouldn’t roll her eyes like that at a time like this.
Sebastian answered calmly, looking straight at her.
“When the tea party was held, only one servant in the annex wasn’t seen by anyone — your lady’s personal maid.”
Once again, all the circumstantial evidence pointed directly to her.
But since this was far from the first time, the younger sister quickly widened her eyes and shook her head.
“N-no! I didn’t! I may have come from the countryside and have nothing to my name, but I—I could never do something so terrible!”
She clutched her sister’s arm, perfectly acting the part of a panicked, innocent girl.
The elder sister quickly followed her lead and threw herself flat on the floor.
“I–I stayed in the room the whole time! I would never dare wander about! I feared causing any trouble for my lady, so I remained inside!”
A naïve country noble girl and her devoted maid — the picture of pitiful innocence.
As they intended, sympathy flickered across the twin Lemaire sisters’ faces.
There’s no way someone like that could be the culprit, right?
We must be mistaken… maybe someone else did it.
Kelly, the more hot-tempered of the twins, was about to speak up when she suddenly met Asili’s eyes.
Clear — so clear and blue they seemed to pierce right through her.
Those were unmistakably the eyes of House Bolsheik.
For a moment, Kelly froze, her mouth open mid-word, forgetting what she’d meant to say.
Not knowing why the girl had gone rigid, Asili simply glanced past her and turned her gaze to the two sisters — the one crying softly, and the other gently supporting her.
They looked like the very image of helplessness.
Innocent faces, timid demeanor, humble background — everything about them screamed weak and harmless.
Asili tilted her head.
“Lady.”
“Y-yes?”
The younger sister flinched, shoulders curling inward at the sudden address.
But Asili’s eyes didn’t waver.
“So?”
“Pardon?”
“I understand that you’re from the countryside and have little to your name. But so what?”
“E-excuse me?”
“I’m asking — what do those facts have to do with your innocence?”
Exactly. Weakness and goodness aren’t the same thing.
Being powerless doesn’t mean being moral, and being strong doesn’t mean being corrupt.
Even a sweet-looking country girl can steal. Even she can lie with a straight face.
The younger sister was genuinely stunned — no one had ever said something like that to her before.
Asili continued, her voice calm and exact.
“The facts are clear, aren’t they? The necklace disappeared in the annex. The only person unaccounted for there was your maid. And it vanished while everyone else was occupied with the tea party.”
When she finished, silence fell like a heavy shroud.
The twins’ faces, once soft with sympathy, hardened coldly.
“I–I… that is… sob…”
Unable to find words, the younger sister squeezed out tears instead.
Usually, that alone was enough to make people scold whoever had spoken harshly, turning pity toward her instead.
But not this time.
No one moved to comfort her. No one spoke.
And of course, Asili didn’t look away or take back her words.
A creeping panic seized the girl’s chest, and she began sobbing louder — yet the scene now looked uncomfortably like Lady Asili Bolsheik was intimidating some nameless, powerless country girl.
Only her choked sobs and the faint sound of others breathing filled the room for a long time… until a dry, steady voice sliced through the tension.
“To the annex.”
All eyes turned to Ludwig.
“If the circumstances aren’t enough, then we’ll find physical proof. No one in the annex has left, so the necklace must still be there.”
Before long, the annex was filled with silent chaos.
The Archduke of Calient had suddenly decided to inspect every room himself.
Because of that, the noble ladies — who’d just returned to their rooms to rest after the brief tea party — jumped up like startled calves.
On top of that, they had to pretend not to stare at Lady Asili Bolsheik, who stood at the Archduke’s side as naturally as if she belonged there.
Most — no, all — of the young ladies quickly nodded to the Archduke’s brief words.
“W-what? Oh my! How terrible!”
“Will you cooperate?”
“Of course, Your Grace!”
Servants carefully searched yet another room, piling the lady’s jewelry on the table.
“Anything?”
“No, Your Grace.”
The Lemaire twins shook their heads in unison again.
At Ludwig’s signal, the servants began returning each jewel to its place.
But just as one servant lifted the last bracelet—
“Oh—oh my goodness!”
The lady of the room gasped, frantically patting her wrist.
“My bracelet is gone!”
“Bracelet?”
“Yes! Good heavens… I only just noticed. If we hadn’t taken everything out, I never would have realized!”
She turned to her maid, who stood in the corner with her head bowed.
“Did you know it was missing?”
“No, my lady. I’m sorry.”
And just like that, a second theft was revealed.
Then, in the very next room, a third.
“This time, a ring?”
“A necklace, a bracelet, and now a ring. Whoever did it seems to be collecting a matching bridal set,” Asili murmured under her breath, her tone dry with sarcasm.
Ludwig leaned closer, replying in a low voice—
