Shattered Glass Slipper Shards 168
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Although the curtains were drawn back, the drawing-room was very dark, perhaps because the day was so gloomy. Several maids were trying to light the fireplace, but strangely, the fire wouldn't catch today. Maybe that was why. A damp, heavy energy seemed to envelop the mansion.
A strange man stood in the drawing-room. He seemed very intimidated, his gaze fixed on the floor, unable to even lift his head. He just kept fidgeting with the hat in his hands and bowing.
I quietly examined the man's appearance. His worn-out clothes with frayed sleeves, his uncombed, shaggy hair, all suggested he wasn't a commoner who lived well.
Especially his dusty, dirty body, soaked in rain, looked even more pathetic.
His shoes, saturated with rainwater, left squelching marks on the drawing-room carpet. The maids frowned as they looked at the marks. They didn't seem happy about the extra cleaning.
Above all, the strong fishy smell emanating from his dirty clothes made everyone wrinkle their noses and keep their distance. At a glance, he was not a man who should be allowed into the mansion and met directly.
But the butler introduced him to us as if it were nothing. He was the one who brought news of Father.
"Tell the young ladies what you told me."
The man bowed deeply and then stammered,
"Before boarding a ship for trade, the Count always rested at a small mansion prepared in the city. The butler knows this. But this time, instead of staying at the mansion, he sent a letter to be delivered to the main house in the capital. So, as instructed, I was heading to the capital with the letter when a group of thugs attacked us and started searching for something."
He licked his lips nervously and rolled his eyes. His face was pale, and he seemed to be gauging our reaction, unable to continue speaking, as if he was about to confess that the letter had been stolen.
Sure enough, in a weak voice, he confessed, "In the end, the letter was taken."
"Is that all?"
At my question, he jumped and waved his hands. That wasn't all.
"Oh, if that were all, I wouldn't have come to see you two young ladies. After being beaten black and blue by those thugs and being almost half-unconscious, they suddenly started muttering to each other. They said they didn't know if the guys who boarded the ship would do well."
"Guys who boarded the ship?"
As I repeated his words, Roena's face turned pale. It was shock at the vulgar language.
"Some of the sailors who were supposed to board the ship had some issues, so they had to hire new ones this time. I think they were talking about them."
He didn't dare to look at the letter, so he didn't know what it contained, but he felt uneasy about ignoring it, so he rushed here. He was being careful because he was afraid the thugs who were lying in ambush might catch on.
That was why he had sent everyone else back and came to the mansion alone.
The man said that he had taken a roundabout route to avoid being noticed by the thugs, so he arrived two days later.
Come to think of it, his face, slightly revealed by the candlelight, was mottled with bruises. His lips were covered with scabs.
"Is there anything else you know?"
He shook his head with a regretful expression, as if he had nothing more to say. He said he had fainted right after that and couldn't remember anything else.
"It would be better to give him a place to rest and treat his wounds."
At my words, the butler bowed and replied, "I understand." Then he told one of the maids standing nearby to take the man away.
"Is he trustworthy?"
I asked the butler as soon as the man left. He didn't hide the worried look on his face and readily answered.
"He's not a bad person. He's just so fond of alcohol and gambling that he's in such a shabby state."
He said that he had been coming to the mansion to deliver news whenever Father went on a trading trip for at least five years. He had a bad drinking habit, but he was a useful man, so he had been using him as a source of information.
That was why he couldn't easily dismiss his words. He also felt that Roena and I should know. He didn't call Mother because he was worried about the baby in her womb.
Was this the vague conviction that Father was going to die manifesting itself? The trouble might have started from the time the suspicious letter arrived, or even before that. Maybe it was already too late.
But I couldn't do nothing, so I sighed and said in a calm voice,
"You did well. Let's keep it a secret from Mother for now. And don't forget to warn the others not to gossip. That man from earlier is no exception."
"Sissae!"
Roena called my name as if asking what I meant, but I pretended not to notice. I continued to look at the butler and continued,
"If the man from earlier is trustworthy, then what he said is also highly credible. So, even if it's ominous news, we have no choice but to accept it for now."
"Yes, that's right."
"What do we need to do to catch up with the merchant ship or search the sea?"
"Usually, we hire a decent ship and captain, but..."
"Then do that."
"What if you're worried and ask your aunt for help? Sissae, wouldn't that be better?"
Roena grabbed my hand and said. I shook my head.
"When you're in business, you're bound to have rivals who want you to fail. That's why we shouldn't spread the word that something has happened to Father. If we're attacked now, the Bishvarts Family's trading rights, which we've built up so far, could collapse in an instant."
I took a breath and continued to explain in a gentle voice so that she could understand clearly.
"I know you're worried, but let's be a little more careful. We don't have any real evidence yet. As you said, we can ask your aunt for help, but we also have to consider that it could be used against us."
If someone had decided to kill Father and had already started doing so, then they should proceed more secretly.
Madam de Lavalier had a wide network in society, but she was not the right person to do things quietly behind the scenes.
She, who only knew the right way, would not know about the rough stuff like back alleys and thugs. She would definitely use the power of the nobility to conduct a large-scale investigation. It was only a matter of time before the rumors spread.
"Then shall we write a letter? If we ask her to quietly investigate, wouldn't that work somehow?"
"That's a good idea, but I think it's better to do two things first."
"Two things?"
"Yes. First, we'll buy a ship and search the sea. At the same time, we'll take some knights and search the place where the man was attacked."
The butler said to me with a troubled expression.
"If we send out knights without a proper reason, there will be a lot of talk."
"I'm going with them."
"Yes?"
"If we say we're going to buy a birthday present for His Highness the Crown Prince in a place a little further away, no one will suspect anything."
"Wouldn't it be dangerous?"
The butler's face darkened, and he said worriedly. Roena also seemed to be trying to stop me.
"What's there to worry about? The best knight in the Empire is affiliated with the Bishvarts Family. So, nothing will happen."
I said calmly, my eyes shining, as if muttering to myself.
"No, it shouldn't."
There were many nobles who struggled to buy gifts for the Crown Prince, but few went out to buy them themselves. Most of them hired employees or called merchants to choose.
The merchants who frequented the noble families would not bring cheap goods. Sometimes, they could get better quality goods than going to a store.
The merchants also went to the person who paid the best price in order to sell their goods for more than they were worth. Therefore, when there were nationally important events, the mansions of the nobles were constantly open to merchants who came with goods.
No one in society acted as strangely as Father. Buying gifts in that way was no different from advertising to everyone that you wanted to be seen by the Crown Prince. It was an attitude that could not be easily shown if you considered the face of the nobility.
Well, that didn't apply to me at all.
Interestingly, most people thought that I was using Sir Ayres to grab onto the Crown Prince. They thought that I was trying to overcome the current unstable situation through him. That was why I was being called a 'cunning bitch' in the streets.
No one thought that I would keep the noble face or pride. They believed that I would do anything to maintain the current situation. Even if it was something embarrassing for everyone.
That was why I could confidently say that I was going to buy a gift for the Crown Prince.
Mother tried to stop me from going, saying that I had to go out overnight to buy a gift. She seemed very anxious because Father was away from home and I was going out for a while. She looked at me with her moist eyes and whispered,
"I haven't been sleeping well lately. I keep having nightmares. I don't know why I'm so anxious..."
"Sir Halberd is going with me. What could happen when the best knight in the Empire is with me?"
"But you never know what might happen..."
"I'll be back, so just rest well in the meantime. Why do you keep saying such weak things?"
Perhaps because she hadn't been sleeping well, Mother's cheeks were rougher than before. I kissed her cheek and whispered again in a soft voice.
"Don't forget that it's only been a year since we took the name of the Bishvarts Family. Only a few people recognize us. So, we have to do this."
"Yes, that's right. Who doesn't know that? But my heart keeps beating fast. No. I keep thinking bad things because I'm so anxious. I shouldn't do that from now on. Above all, you're not going to not go just because I'm stopping you. I'll stop talking now."
Knowing that I wouldn't let go until I was satisfied once I insisted, Mother didn't stop me anymore. She just gave me one more word of caution with a bitter expression.
After deciding to leave, all the preparations were going well. Soon, luggage, money to use, and medicine to use in case of emergency were packed.
The butler prepared a horse and carriage for me and then called Sir Halberd separately to explain the situation in detail. And he asked him to pick a trustworthy knight.
Sir Halberd looked at me with a stern expression and then nodded heavily, saying that he understood.
Since the purpose was investigation, all the people who accompanied me were chosen to be as tight-lipped as possible. That was why I chose Seril as the maid to go with me.
Marie was very upset that she couldn't follow me - she insisted that it didn't make sense for the young lady of the Count's family to take only one maid when she went far away - but she soon smiled when I told her that she was the only one I could trust to take care of Mother.
"Margo might do something if I'm not here. So, you have to watch her very carefully. Okay?"
"Yes, Miss. Don't worry."
"Yes, I trust you. I can go with peace of mind because you're staying here."
I also asked Mlang to help Marie take good care of Mother. At the same time, I whispered to him not to show a noticeable separation from Margo. I told him that he could listen to her to some extent as long as it wasn't too much to ask.
"Act as usual. Got it?"
"I will. Please have a safe trip."
I was so busy trying to prepare all this in one day, but I thought it was good to shorten the time as much as possible, so I moved as busy as possible.
After finishing the travel preparations carefully until late at night, I told the butler that I would leave early the next morning.
"Please be careful."
The butler kept making a worried expression, perhaps because he was worried that I would be attacked by the thugs. He seemed afraid that they would still be lying in ambush there.
"It's been a while since that day, so wouldn't they have withdrawn? I'm going out to give a plausible reason. I won't be investigating, so don't worry. Who would do such a dangerous thing? I'll split up and act separately on the way, and then rejoin and return, so don't say anything. There won't be any problem if I leave with a couple of knights when we split up."
"Yes. I trust you, Miss."
"Please take care of Mother."
Since I was going out on the pretext of buying a gift, I wouldn't be able to spend too much time. I would have to return within at least three days, and if I didn't find anything during that time, I would have no choice but to give up. And we would just wait for good news from the ship we hired.
But that would also take a long time, so we might end up asking Madam de Lavalier for help. Unless we hear news of Father's death before that.
The next morning, the rain stopped, and it was quite cool. Before leaving, I gave the butler a letter I had written to Sir Ayres - Sir Ayres was visiting today. And with the help of Sir Halberd, I got into the carriage. The man who had visited the mansion a few days ago was already sitting inside the carriage.
"Guide me well."
He bowed excessively at my words and replied that he understood. A moment later, the carriage moved with the sound of the coachman's urging. Mother and Roena were still fast asleep and hadn't woken up.
