Chapter 55
Merriot didn’t hand Jeff the documents because he actually wanted him to read them.
He assumed that someone from a poor background wouldn’t know how to read, naturally thinking Jeff was illiterate.
He only wanted to see Jeff embarrassed in front of Hera.
But Jeff read quickly and skillfully.
The more Merriot thought about it, the stranger Jeff seemed.
Unaware of Merriot’s thoughts about Jeff, Hera added explanations beside him.
“The family Lina was adopted into seems odd. Jeff, you said it yourself—kids adopted from Underbridge never came back alive. We think maybe the children of this family were all from Underbridge. And the weirder thing is…”
Before she could finish, Jeff had already pinpointed the key detail.
“The brother Lina mentioned isn’t here.”
Jeff was looking at the children listed for the Baker couple.
Hera nodded.
“That’s right. Maybe this brother holds a clue bigger than we expect. Lina is still young, and she needs treatment, so I wanted to ask you first, Jeff. Do you have any guesses?”
Jeff furrowed his brows, lost in deep thought.
Across from him, Merriot crossed his legs, observing Jeff’s serious expression.
Who exactly was this man?
At this moment, Merriot was more curious about Jeff’s identity than about whoever had abused Lina.
He couldn’t yet tell if Jeff’s presence unnerved him because he was a mysterious figure or because he stuck so close to Hera.
“…Clothes.”
Jeff finally spoke after a long silence.
“Huh? What?”
“The clothes… the ones Lina was wearing, her brother bought them for her. He went to the clothing store personally to buy them.”
Hera clearly remembered the dress Lina had worn when she first arrived in Tollinga.
It was a pretty dress with frills and lace, which made Hera assume Lina had been adopted into a wealthy household.
She had never imagined she could be adopted into a poor family that ran a fish shop.
People barely able to make ends meet couldn’t possibly buy such an expensive dress for Lina.
So if the person controlling the agent had bought clothes for Lina, everything made sense.
“If we go to the store where the dress was bought, maybe we can find out something.”
“But how can we know which clothing store made it?”
Hera cautiously revealed her confidence in response to Merriot’s question.
“We ask an expert.”
Tollinga had a top expert in fashion who seemed to know everything.
“This dress?”
The dress Lina had brought to Tollinga had been washed and stored separately by the maids.
Hera asked Cecilia if she could identify which clothing store had made it. Cecilia examined the dress closely.
Since Cecilia had a keen interest in fashion, even a dress she saw for the first time revealed more information to her than to most people.
“The quality isn’t bad, but the fabric isn’t expensive, so it probably cost around 700 luna.”
“Can you tell which store made it?”
“Hmm… Ah! Here it is.”
Cecilia turned the dress over and examined the petticoat.
There, in one corner, delicate embroidery in pale purple could be seen.
Cecilia pointed at it with her finger.
“This. The maker’s initials are embroidered here.”
The initials read: J.V.
Even with this brief clue, Cecilia confidently smiled.
“It’s a shop in Biplat District—Joy Bag Boutique.”
Now that they had the store identified, things became simple.
They just needed to go to the store and ask who had ordered Lina’s dress.
But an unexpected complication arose for Hera.
“Why do we have to… pretend to be a couple again…”
She had told Merriot about finding the clue as a gesture of thanks for helping solve the Underbridge case, not to involve him directly.
“There’s no one better suited than us. Be patient.”
Merriot seemed a little excited.
He had taken it upon himself to devise a plan, believing the owner of the Biplat clothing store would know who had abused Lina.
His idea was to disguise themselves as a middle-class couple to investigate.
Hera waved her hands at the idea of playing a couple with Merriot again, following the Underbridge incident.
The more she tried to avoid scandals, the more entangled she became with Merriot.
When Hera refused to accompany him, it only fueled Merriot’s stubbornness.
Hendrick couldn’t do it because he was too bad at lying, Shane wouldn’t because he had a face that didn’t want to talk, and all the other Tollinga knights were too unreliable, he claimed.
In the end, Hera and Merriot disguised themselves in middle-class attire and arrived at Joy Bag Boutique in Biplat.
Merriot raised his left elbow.
Hera looked at him, and he nodded, prompting her.
He was offering to escort her, so she should link arms with him.
“….”
Hera controlled the flush in her face and placed her hand on his arm.
Merriot, satisfied, opened the shop door.
“Welcome!”
A light jingle echoed as the shop owner, Joy Bag, rushed out excitedly.
“Oh my, such a fine young couple! Please come in.”
‘A couple….’
Even though she knew compliments from shopkeepers were often just customer-pleasing words, Hera couldn’t help feeling excited.
Merriot glanced down at her flushed face and scratched the bridge of his nose.
‘I can tell exactly what she’s thinking.’
This young lady was clearly embarrassed by the word “couple.”
Emotions, like a cold, seemed contagious, and Merriot’s face had also taken on a faint red tint.
“Ahem, I’d like to order a dress for my wife. Do you have something suitable?”
“Of course, of course we do.”
Merriot cleared his throat lightly, shifting the atmosphere.
The owner led him to the central sofa with a warm smile.
In fact, the dresses in this boutique were meant for merchants or middle-class intellectuals, not for nobles.
They were inconvenient as everyday wear and too casual as evening dresses, so Hera couldn’t wear them anyway.
But the enthusiastic owner, unaware of Hera’s real status, recommended dresses with zeal, so Hera picked one casually.
The real purpose of coming here had nothing to do with the dress itself.
“Then, this one…”
“This blue one? It matches your eyes perfectly. You have such excellent taste.”
The dress seemed expensive enough for the owner to smile brightly.
Unlike the two women enjoying the lively atmosphere, Merriot, sitting on the sofa with his arm linked, rejected Hera’s choice.
“No. Not this cheap one. Bring the most expensive one in the store.”
“Excuse me? Uh… This is already a fine dress…”
The owner quickly assessed Merriot’s appearance.
The dress Hera had chosen cost 2,100 luna.
It was one of the most expensive items in the store, and a middle-class woman would need courage to buy it.
Based on Merriot’s appearance, the owner assumed even this dress would be a significant expense for him.
Merriot read the owner’s thoughts.
He laughed faintly at him.
“Don’t worry about the money. I can’t let my wife wear just anything, can I?”
Merriot took two gold coins from his pocket and rubbed them together until they made a clinking sound.
The sound of coins produced a subtle effect, making the owner shift slightly.
“Of course! Please wait here a moment.”
The expensive dresses seemed to be stored separately, and the owner quickly went into the next room.
Hera sighed quietly.
“This isn’t necessary. It’s not like she’s really going to wear it.”
“Emilia, the heavier the money, the lighter it feels when worn. Just watch.”
Whether Merriot’s theory would work remained to be seen. But his confidence must have some reason.
Hera decided to step back.
He would understand the ways of the world better than she ever could.
