Chapter 13
Chapter 13
"Do you like men who are good at housework?"
I nodded, looking exhausted.
"Of course. I'm not very good at housework. My dream is to make money when I get married, and have my husband be a stay-at-home dad."
Dante's blue eyes, which had been listening intently, widened slightly. The area under his eyes seemed a little red. Was my speech about my future hopes that touching?
"A dream..."
He murmured as if in contemplation, then looked forward again. Then, slowly pedaling, he headed back home.
It seemed he had used up all his energy just now.
I like men who are strong and last a long time.
* * *
"Alright, today is a special meal! My cute ones!"
While Dante prepared the meal, I tore up boiled chicken breasts and distributed them to the cats.
They were stray cats living in the neighborhood, and they started coming to the garden after I moved in.
These guys were clever enough to extort food from people. The moment I saw their round eyes, I automatically found myself offering them snacks.
"They're so incredibly cute."
As I was happily watching my cat friends eat deliciously, I remembered something I had forgotten.
"Ah, right. The thieves..."
The fact that they had been trapped in the underground passage since last night.
I didn't give them food, what should I do? If they starved to death in the meantime, I might be arrested for murder. The police will be here soon.
Speak of the devil. Three black police cars quickly drove up from a distance and parked in front.
"We received a report. You've caught thieves, I hear? Oh, you were feeding the cats."
A policeman with a stylish beard approached me and smiled kindly. Dante must have seen the police cars entering the mansion, as he had already come out this way.
"They are currently detained in the underground passage. The firearms have been confiscated, but they may have other weapons."
At Dante's words, the policeman took off his police cap and showed respect to Dante.
"Understood, Commander. Sorry for the delay. We've had a lot of major incidents lately."
Soon, armed police officers rushed towards the passage, and Dante and I followed them. The policeman walking ahead turned to look at Dante.
"I didn't know the Commander was staying at this mansion."
He seemed to be mistaking Dante for the owner of the house and me for a servant. I couldn't bring myself to say that I was employing this man as a housekeeper, so I quietly kept my mouth shut.
Seeing my gesture to just remain silent, Dante nodded slightly.
Clang-
Dante, who opened the locked entrance to the underground passage, silently stepped back.
One of the police officers took the lead and shone a flashlight.
"Police! Surrender peacefully!"
A space where even small sounds echoed loudly. But inside, there was only the sound of wind, and no other noise could be heard. No presence was felt either.
The cold air seeping out from inside made the back of my neck tingle. A sense of foreboding arose, and I looked at Dante. Standing next to me, he narrowed his eyes and stared at something.
"Eek! You scared me!"
The bizarre scream of the policeman who had gone inside echoed.
What happened inside? I took a step towards the inside with reluctant feet.
In the silence that felt like an eternity, I swallowed hard.
Could they have starved to death? After only missing two meals?
Where the light of the flashlight cut through the darkness, something was visible at the end.
"Uh...?"
"What's there that made you scream like that?"
The bearded policeman stepped forward abruptly.
As soon as I witnessed the situation inside, visible over the shoulders of the police officers, I froze.
A horrific scene, as if they had fought even more violently than last night, was unfolding there. The thieves were lying on the cold stone floor.
A static feeling, as if someone had thrown hard objects. At the same time as I was convinced that they were not alive, the fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
"Upon confirmation, all are deceased."
At the words of the policeman who had gone in to check first, the other policemen looked at us simultaneously. With eyes that were serious, as if looking at criminals.
I turned my eyes and glanced at Dante. Explain quickly!
"The leader among them is missing."
Dante said, standing with his hands in his pockets.
At that, the policeman took out a wanted poster and unfolded it. A portrait of Theodore, with reddish-brown hair and gray eyes, was drawn on it.
"Theodore Ben, you mean? He's definitely not among these."
Dante approached the corpses of the thieves with a leisurely gait and bent his upper body.
"Judging from the stab wounds, it seems a dagger was used, but the weapon used in the crime is not readily visible."
After examining it closely, he kicked the bald man's side with his foot. The body rolled over once, revealing a face with a sorrowful expression.
No, don't do that.
It's bad luck! You'll be cursed!
"Here, he's holding something."
Dante unfolded the bald man's stiff hand and took something out. A diamond could be seen sparkling in the light of the flashlight.
"There are many valuable items in the underground chapel."
At the words of Detective Dante, the bearded policeman narrowed his eyes, fiddling with his beard.
"So, you're saying they fought among themselves to monopolize the treasure?"
"Yes, if we had killed them, why would we have called the police?"
The policeman nodded, convinced.
"That's true. It's highly likely that an internal division occurred, and the leader killed his subordinates and ran away with the treasure."
Another policeman, who was writing something in his notebook, stepped forward and asked Dante.
"May we search the mansion?"
"Bring a warrant. I absolutely hate having things rummaged through."
Dante made a face that said it was impossible.
But I'm the owner of the house. Why are you talking while excluding me?
The police officers had suspicious looks, but they couldn't force it because there was no evidence that we had killed them.
"Ahem... We'll come back later if there's anything else to investigate. For now, we'll take the bodies and items from the scene for examination."
I looked down at the dead thieves.
They were guys who broke in without permission and tried to kill Dante and me, so I didn't feel any particular sympathy.
Just a sense of humanitarian pity. Anyway, I hope they'll be quickly transported and buried in a sunny place.
"Excuse me, Mia Fortuna."
The bearded policeman gestured to me. I felt like I had done something wrong, so I hesitantly approached him.
"May I take a look at the meat you were giving to the cats?"
"You don't think I gave the cat food to the leader of the thieves, do you? I'm not such a cruel murderer."
I made an aggrieved expression and brought the chicken breast.
The policeman stared at it intently, then put it in his mouth.
The surrounding police officers gave looks that said, 'Ugh... to that extent?'
The policeman who tasted the meat handed the bowl back to me.
"I was checking to see if it was seasoned."
"Huh? I know that salt is bad for cats, so I just boiled it without adding anything."
Was it my imagination that the light was shining in the policeman's eyes as he looked at me?
"That's right. Salt damages the cat's kidneys."
He was a cat lover. To the point where he even showed off the photos of his cats in his wallet.
"Officer. I love cats too."
I gave a harmless smile.
"A person who likes cats can't be a bad person."
He laughed heartily and put his wallet in his arms.
In the end, I was able to avoid suspicion with the cat empathy buff.
* * *
After the suffocating moment passed and the police left the mansion.
I couldn't shake off my suspicion of Dante. In the original work, he was very meticulous and skilled in scheming. He was said to have annihilated enemy troops with outstanding strategy and tactics in war as well.
Could he have killed the thieves after calculating everything? Pretending not to know and calling the police on purpose?
I grabbed his sleeve tightly and pulled it, looking up at him.
"Dante, murder is bad. It's also troublesome from an employer's point of view."
"I didn't do it. It's too much of a hassle to do that where I live."
He, who had been looking straight ahead, turned his head this way. His cold, sunken blue eyes stared directly at me. A moment of silence passed, and he added calmly, as if making a confession.
"But I have a history of participating in wars and killing many people in the past. If it's grounds for dismissal, I'll leave without complaint."
Usually, high-ranking officers were proud of killing people in war and making achievements.
His flawless face didn't contain any expression, but he didn't seem to be proud or feel pride in that fact. Rather, wasn't he saying that it was a flaw that could get him fired?
Maybe it could be grounds for firing him...
"I'm sorry for suspecting you. I guess I was prejudiced after seeing you beat them up so badly last night. It was my fault."
I didn't want to take advantage of the wound he had revealed himself and fire him.
Dante swept back his bangs and let out a deep sigh.
"Am I scary?"
I Hired a Mastermind as a Housekeeper
