Chapter 44
Chapter 44.
“……I see. I understand. I'll tell Madame Challet the same.”
Agatha Nobilis's married life had always been a topic of discussion.
Discord, divorce, harmony, even minor changes.
And it was her rivals and relatives who exploited those gaps.
Agatha now spoke, watching Isabelle skillfully navigate among the nobles.
“Lady Iris. What is love?”
“Yes?”
Lady Iris, startled, let her fan drop with a thud. Agatha Nobilis, who had married seven times since the age of five, had never even mentioned such a common thing as romance.
Yet the word 'love' had slipped from her lips.
“Ah, Madam Agatha?”
Seeing Lady Iris flustered, Agatha rose from her seat with a bitter laugh.
“I'm sorry. I misspoke. Please forget what I just said.”
Leaving Lady Iris behind, Agatha moved among the nobles.
She must have been quite frustrated. She had spoken aloud about a matter she had yet to decide.
In truth, the answer was already set.
She had told Enoch she would make a decision once she had finished thinking, but what recourse was there when she had no intention of leaving his side?
She had treated him coldly for a few days, but it was merely a childish tantrum.
She missed him, wanted him by her side, and perhaps harbored a hope that his feelings might change.
Agatha let out a wry smile and approached Isabelle, speaking to her.
“Isabelle. May I leave the rest to you? I plan to have lunch with Enoch.”
Isabelle's eyes widened, and she nodded with a smile.
“Of course. Please go quickly. Everyone will be happy to see you off. Won't you, everyone?”
“Of course. With the interim salon and the second hostess, Lady Isabelle, here, what could be the problem?”
“Indeed. Have a good time, Madam Agatha.”
“I'm glad you understand. Then, if you'll excuse me.”
After exchanging greetings with the nobles, Agatha left the salon.
Behind her followed her personal maid, First Commander Leon Takran, and the escort knights.
“Was the hunting ground the Claros Forest?”
“Yes, it was.”
Just as Sir Leon replied, Ben, the head butler of the Aratus family, appeared in the corridor.
“Madam. I heard you were leaving.”
“Yes, I'm going to see Enoch.”
The head butler, showing a slight reaction, politely stepped aside.
“A carriage has been prepared in front of the mansion.”
“Thank you, Ben.”
Agatha got into the waiting carriage and left the Aratus mansion in the capital. Through the window, the escort knights, who formed an impenetrable barrier around the carriage, were visible.
The Claros Forest, a frequent destination for the nobles of the capital, was not far from the Aratus mansion.
Just a short distance beyond the outer wall, there was a small forest on a low hill. Though not large, it was a suitable hunting ground for casual enjoyment and socializing.
She passed through the gate. A little further on, before the dense forest, the tents of those out hunting were visible.
Agatha spotted a flag bearing the Aratus crest among them.
As the carriage stopped and Agatha alighted, the knights standing guard at the tent offered their respects.
“We greet the Viscountess.”
Accepting their greeting, Agatha asked,
“Is the Viscount inside?”
“He just left. It seems we've crossed paths.”
He must have gone hunting. It was understandable, as she hadn't announced her visit in advance.
At that moment, Leon Takran, the First Commander, stepped forward from behind and spoke.
“We can't just wait around, so it would be best to contact him. Who is in charge of communication now?”
“Uh, well…”
Agatha, who was about to say it was fine, asked in confusion.
“What is it? Isn't he out hunting?”
“Well…”
The knight, glancing nervously, finally spoke after Leon shot him a sharp look.
“A guest arrived, so he stepped away for a moment. I apologize, but you may have to wait a while.”
“A guest?”
It couldn't be the nobles who had come hunting with him. If so, they wouldn't have referred to them so vaguely as "guests."
Leon, sensing something was amiss and his face hardening coldly, pressed the knight before him.
“What was the guest's identity?”
“…I do not know.”
“You cannot possibly not know. Are you saying you allowed someone who went out with your lord to remain without even ascertaining their identity?”
Agatha stepped back, watching Leon interrogate the knights.
Just then, the entrance to the tent opened, and Enoch's adjutant, Ched, and his aide, John, appeared from within.
“We greet Madam.”
Agatha furrowed her brow slightly. Both the adjutant and the aide were here.
“Did neither of you follow the Viscount?”
“His Lordship dismissed those around him.”
“Then the guards?”
“He said he wouldn't go far. He will be fine.”
Agatha gazed intently at the adjutant and the aide.
They must have known they were saying something illogical.
This meant that the visiting 'guest' was either close to Enoch or had a very low probability of causing him harm.
The adjutant and the aide bowed their heads deeply.
'Should I ask, or not ask?'
With the sound of a fan snapping shut, the adjutant, the aide, and the knights guarding the tent entrance flinched in unison.
Agatha smiled and nodded.
“It can't be helped. Then, while we wait, I think I'll go for a short walk. Please tell Enoch that I came and am waiting when he returns.”
“Understood.”
She had no intention of digging deeper. If necessary, he would tell her himself.
“I'll be back.”
Agatha set out for a walk, accompanied by her personal maid, First Commander Leon Takran, and four knights.
'I finally came to tell him my decision.'
It was a little disappointing, but thinking of the long time they would spend together, she strolled around the forest.
From inside, the sounds of birds taking flight and the whistle of beaters could occasionally be heard, as if hunting was in full swing.
As she pondered whether Enoch would return soon, or if she should perhaps bring him a lunchbox, she raised her gaze.
Thud-
She heard something fall from behind. Agatha turned back in surprise.
Was that footsteps?
Sir Leon and the knights, who had stopped walking, fixed their gaze somewhere deep within the forest.
“That woman…”
One of the knights muttered in a low voice. Instinctively, Agatha turned her gaze to where they were looking.
Within the forest, overgrown with grand trees and wild grass.
In a shaded spot, not easily noticeable unless one looked carefully, a man with familiar blue hair was visible.
And then, seeing the slender silhouette standing before him, Agatha froze.
The strange behavior of the retainers she had found odd moments ago flashed through her mind.
The knight who had vaguely answered about the guest's identity, Enoch's action of leaving his retainers behind, the surprised reactions of Leon and the escort knights.
“Marie.”
A cold voice escaped Agatha's lips. Leon and the knights, snapping back to attention, turned to her in unison.
“Yes, Madam. You called?”
Marie, her personal maid, immediately bowed her head.
“That young lady, try to recognize her. Tell Ethel to find out the details.”
“Understood.”
A subtle ripple of unease flowed from the knights who received the order.
Agatha smiled. Her lips curved smoothly, but the hand holding her fan was clenched tightly.
“M-Madam.”
Leon, silencing the knight who had spoken unnecessarily with just a look, quietly bowed his head towards Agatha.
“Madam.”
“Don't say anything. I think I have a rough idea.”
“That is not the case. That woman…”
Her violet eyes, always praised as beautiful as a flower bud, shone coldly.
“Sir Leon.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Agatha slowly moved her position and spoke. Since they were at some distance, it seemed they hadn't noticed her discovering them.
“If the escort is not for the purpose of monitoring me, then I trust today's events will not reach Enoch's ears?”
Unless specifically ordered, he was not to report it to him.
The young commander, understanding her meaning, showed a belated look of difficulty.
“…If his Lordship does not order a report, then of course it will not.”
“Good.”
Agatha turned around with a radiant smile. Despite her composed exterior, her heart was pounding fiercely.
Nothing was certain yet, but strange thoughts kept arising.
The feeling that that woman was having a significant influence on Enoch.
“Let's return to the mansion.”
Agatha returned to where the tents were and immediately left the Claros Forest by carriage.
The aide, John, and the adjutant, Ched, wore expressions of surprise, but beneath it was a subtle relief.
It was still broad daylight.
Allen, the head butler, was taken aback to greet Agatha, who had returned to the newlywed mansion earlier than ever before.
“Madam. What brings you here? Is something wrong–”
“Is Ethel inside?”
“Yes. He will be in the study.”
Agatha went straight up to the study. Ethel Masro, the First Aide, who had been informed, was waiting in the study.
“Madam–”
“Let's skip the pleasantries.”
Her personal maids, with keen awareness, stood waiting by the door.
Agatha sat directly on the sofa, gestured for Ethel to sit, and commanded,
“Report.”
“Yes. The woman you saw this afternoon is Countess Esther Portoni.”
Was she a noblewoman?
Agatha opened the report Ethel handed her.
“While the Viscount was away at the battlefield, she was sent by the relatives managing Aratus as a prospective fiancée.”
“An old connection, then.”
The report she unfolded contained a painful sentence.
“Estimated to have lived together on the battlefield for several months.”
