Chapter 19
Desdemona’s office had far more alcohol than documents or books.
‘Seriously… this is too much.’
Clicking her tongue inwardly, Fiorentia looked down at the thin book placed in front of her.
The butler had wanted her to check the ledger in front of him, but Fiorentia once again said something close to a threat and sent him away.
The moment the door closed, she didn’t even open the first page of the ledger before standing up.
Then she immediately took off her shoes.
It was obvious someone would be eavesdropping outside the door, so she didn’t want to make unnecessary noise and draw more suspicion.
‘If you want to move quietly, barefoot is best.’
Fiorentia immediately began searching the office.
She was already light on her feet, and without shoes, there was naturally no sound at all.
Theodore had suggested including Desdemona’s bedroom and private laboratory as possible places, but in reality, those two locations were places she could never access no matter what excuse she used.
‘So it’d be nice if I got lucky and found it in one go.’
Besides, if there were materials related to Beringham, there was a high chance they would be in the office.
Desdemona hated working, so she also disliked bringing work into her private spaces.
Running her fingers along the bookshelf that held only a few books, Fiorentia thought.
The search of the bookshelf ended quickly.
‘Then it’s probably the desk.’
To be honest, things were piled up so randomly and messily that it was hard to even start touching anything.
But that also meant there was a higher chance of finding something.
‘Let’s start with the drawers.’
The more important—or the more someone wanted to hide something—the more likely they were to store it somewhere.
Fiorentia crouched under the desk and began opening the drawers one by one from the top.
Just like the surface of the desk, the inside of the drawers was a complete mess.
The first drawer was filled to the brim with perfume Desdemona often used, cosmetics, and accessories, as if they had all been dumped in.
The second drawer had dried-up ink bottles, crumpled paper, and pens with bent nibs.
The third drawer was full of formulas related to magic.
The common point was that nothing was organized at all.
‘Ugh. Don’t the maids clean this? …Ah. If they touched it carelessly, she’d probably throw a fit, so they might just leave it alone.’
Just as she was about to open the fourth drawer without much expectation—
Fiorentia paused.
The drawer wouldn’t open, as if something inside was catching on it.
‘Don’t tell me… this is it?’
She pulled the last drawer once more.
Clunk. Just as expected, something seemed to be blocking it from the inside.
‘Then the key is…’
Without even realizing her breathing had become shallow, she quickly raised her head and scanned the desk.
And then she felt disappointed.
There was no way to find a drawer key on a desk that looked like a trash heap.
She didn’t have much time anyway. There was no need to force it open.
‘Just knowing the location is enough.’
Someday, this would be useful information for her.
Fiorentia steadied her breathing, then slowly stood up again.
After that, she quickly returned to her seat, put her shoes back on, and began flipping through the ledger half-heartedly.
Naturally, none of the numbers or contents went into her head.
That night.
Desdemona, who had attended a party, returned at dawn and was greeted by the butler and the head maid.
The two exchanged rather suspicious glances, but Desdemona was quite drunk and didn’t notice.
While carefully attending to her, the head maid, following the butler’s signal, informed her that Fiorentia had visited the main house during the day.
“What? Fiorentia came by?”
“Yes, Madam.”
The butler and the head maid bowed, watching Desdemona’s reaction.
They were anxious—what if she scolded them for letting her enter freely? And what if it was discovered that they had pocketed the tiny budget that had been allocated to Fiorentia?
Because of that, they bowed even deeper than usual.
However, as they had agreed beforehand, neither of them mentioned that Fiorentia had entered Desdemona’s office and checked the ledger.
“She came on her own without me calling her…? Hm, that’s unusual.”
Every time Desdemona spoke, the two servants held their breath.
They felt guilty.
They wondered if they were stirring up trouble for nothing, but they had brought it up today to prevent something like this from happening again.
‘She suddenly asked to see the ledger.’
At that time, the butler felt like his heart had dropped.
He didn’t want to experience that again, so he intended to subtly inform Desdemona and have her suppress Fiorentia like before.
“I only warned her recently. And now she’s acting bold all of a sudden.”
Desdemona continued muttering with her slurred tongue.
“What’s gotten into her?”
Desdemona looked at the two servants as if expecting an answer.
“She’s the kind of girl who doesn’t even glance toward the main house unless I call her. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Hm. What kind of wind blew through her?”
She looked genuinely curious.
“Ever since I gave her that doll, she’s been a bit strange. Don’t you think?”
“Ah? Y-Yes, that’s right.”
At that moment, the butler hesitated before speaking.
“Now that I think about it, Madam… there have been rumors among the servants and guards that Miss Fiorentia has been different lately.”
Desdemona immediately took the bait.
“Right. She’s been strange lately.”
Her narrowed eyes wandered through the air.
“Since meeting the doll, huh. Does that make her bold enough to forget her place?”
Tap, tap, tap.
Her fingers tapped the table at a steady rhythm before suddenly stopping.
“If I’m curious, I should find out.”
Desdemona smirked.
“Don’t you agree, head maid?”
The answer was already decided.
It was an ordinary day, no different from usual.
But a faint knock broke that calm.
Theodore’s eyes turned toward Fiorentia, asking what it was.
But unfortunately, Fiorentia was just as startled.
The only difference was that she wore a mask, so her expression didn’t show.
“Who could it be?”
“I don’t know… I really don’t.”
Fiorentia answered in a lowered voice.
No matter how much she thought about it, she had never pulled the bell string.
Not even once had someone come to her room without being called first.
‘Since Theodore heard it too, it’s not my imagination…’
Her mouth went dry.
After the first knock, the visitor waited briefly, then knocked again as if urging her.
‘I didn’t mishear it. I can’t stall any longer.’
If she did, it would only raise suspicion.
Fiorentia bit her lip, then released it.
“Teo. Close your eyes for now. It’s better if you pretend to be unconscious.”
She gave quick instructions in a low voice.
Theodore felt momentarily baffled at how naturally she used a nickname he had never permitted.
But he couldn’t question it.
Her voice was unusually serious.
‘I’ll just do as she says for now.’
After all, it was true he had no strength anyway.
He obediently closed his eyes.
Soon, he heard the chair being pushed back. Fiorentia must have stood up.
He didn’t hear footsteps, but after a moment, the door clicked open.
“Who is it?”
Ah. That’s Fiorentia’s voice.
Recognizing it instantly, Theodore almost smiled but quickly held his lips tight.
“Excuse me, Miss.”
