CHAPTER 82…………………..
Cordelia, who had obediently been dragged inside, found herself face-to-face with Tyraine, who was wearing a mask. Closing the door silently, Cordelia leaned against it.
“You’re pretty skilled. How on earth did you unlock the door?”
“When sneaking in, you can’t afford not to take care of details like that. Anyway, do you think you can narrow down the suspect?”
“To some extent.”
After explaining the list of suspects narrowed down from Jasmine’s testimony along with what had happened during the previous gathering, Tyraine suddenly let out a sigh.
“Wouldn’t it be better just to seal off the whole mansion?”
His voice was filled with self-reproach, as if he doubted himself. Cordelia flared up at that.
“What are you talking about? We came here to find the culprit of the disappearance case. You want to just sit here, stuck?”
“What’s more important than people’s lives?”
“Well said. Which is why—since I’m safe for now and we still have no word about the kidnapped person—we need to focus all our efforts on catching the culprit.”
But Tyraine still looked uneasy.
“What if we just summoned soldiers and arrested those people right away?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. That would create problems with fairness. Jasmine’s testimony alone is too weak as evidence. It’s mostly circumstantial. And that group is already too close-knit—you can’t rule out the possibility they’ll feign ignorance.”
From what she heard, Jasmine had gone into the mansion after parting ways in the garden and hadn’t come out for quite a while. If they weren’t careful, Jasmine herself could be suspected as the culprit.
Noah, who had returned to his original body, might have seen the criminal, but… it was safer to act on the assumption that he hadn’t. Considering the long distance between the mansion and the Cathedral, even if Noah had left early, he wouldn’t arrive before evening.
The most reliable thing would be an eyewitness. But since there were almost no outsiders around, that was unlikely. The only option was to identify the culprit before they realized anything.
At the very least, the others would surely be surprised that Cordelia had returned unharmed.
“What you’re saying makes sense, but how do you know all this, my lady?”
“Don’t ask. Knowing too much could get you hurt.”
Cordelia smoothly deflected. She couldn’t exactly say it was thanks to dabbling in writing detective novels.
Back when Gerania had scolded her harshly, she’d been advised to think about such details. Thanks to that, she knew how much proof was needed to identify a culprit.
She never thought she’d actually use that knowledge in real life.
“Oh, and something you said just now reminded me of something that bothers me. It’s…”
After a short discussion, Cordelia quietly slipped back outside. Confirming the coast was clear, she tiptoed downstairs and slipped into the banquet hall.
There she spotted Jasmine, already mingling with the group. Deliberately raising her voice, Cordelia greeted her brightly.
“Miss Jasmine, you’re here?”
“There were some familiar faces.”
The curt reply didn’t faze Cordelia. Smiling cheerfully, she stood across from Jasmine. Meeting the gazes of those around her without flinching, she quickly scanned the group.
Several of the people she had in mind as suspects were absent. But one person showed a notable reaction. When she casually asked about the others, the answer was that they had stepped out for a while.
Viscount Rosiande smiled warmly at Cordelia and Jasmine, dimples forming at his lips.
“You two were together earlier as well. When did you become such close friends?”
“After talking last time, I realized we got along surprisingly well, so we hit it off. I didn’t expect to meet her again here today, so I was glad.”
Cordelia smiled demurely, gripping her fan tightly.
Quarrels or no quarrels, those were matters to stay within the group. Even if some bitterness lingered, only an amateur would show it openly.
“Well, leaving us aside, it’s amazing to see how you all came together. Did you all get close through the gatherings?”
Feigning innocence, she asked. Baron Lando, who stood beside Eland, gave a dignified nod.
“That would be the case. I’ve known them for about two years now.”
“Wasn’t it three years with Baron Horell?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s already been that long. Though these days he spends more time with the count than with me.”
Lando’s eyes briefly narrowed, then relaxed. Cordelia watched silently before quickly continuing.
“You all seem to be having fun together. I envy that. By the way, when did Miss Emilia join your circle?”
When she asked kindly, the woman called Emilia answered quietly.
“It’s been about two years for me as well.”
“I was honestly surprised to see you all gathered here. Did you plan this meeting in advance?”
“Yes. All of us here are indebted to the owner of this mansion.”
“Indebted?”
“He has a hobby of supporting young artists.”
Ah, so that’s the connection.
“It’s not easy to get everyone together like this on a regular basis. And one can only attend banquets if invited.”
“Not the kind of worry you’d have, Lady Cordelia.”
“I’m only ever grateful, truly.”
“Still, about once a quarter, we do manage to gather. Why, last summer we all met at Count Selozan’s estate.”
“Miss Emilia got tipsy after just two glasses of apple wine.”
“…I’m just not used to drinking, that’s all!”
As Emilia flushed red and retorted, the group burst into laughter. Cordelia laughed along, then gently slipped in a question.
“So you were all together the whole time back then?”
“Hmm, not exactly. Count Echelon doesn’t usually linger long at such events—he left early. The rest scattered off on their own errands. Isn’t that right?”
“I even saw Lord Eland holding hands with a beautiful lady. I forgot to ask—did things work out with her?”
“How long are you going to keep harping on that?”
Eland gritted his teeth, while Viscount Rosiande clicked his tongue knowingly.
“Heartbroken, huh.”
“Heartbroken indeed.”
“No wonder you threw yourself into writing afterward.”
“That’s not it. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
But no one seemed to believe his denial. Watching them chatter away just from a single prompt, Cordelia recalled her earlier conversation with Tyraine.
“According to the maid, the missing young lady said something strange recently.”
Thanks to Tyraine coaxing her and even slipping her money, the maid had shared something significant.
“There’s a book she really liked. After reading it once, she said… ‘It feels so romantic, like a novel becoming reality.’”
Upon hearing that, Tyraine had immediately asked:
“What’s the name of that book?”
“I… don’t really know. But I could recognize it if I saw the cover.”
Taking the hesitant maid to Mirian’s room, he had luckily found the book quickly.
“It was called Portrait of Elegant Jessica.”
When he first heard the title, he had been stunned.
“I thought it was strange, so I read it on the spot. It turned out to be an ordinary romance novel. But the heroine’s appearance was strikingly similar to the missing young lady.”
Cordelia couldn’t help but respond in agreement.
“Wow, that’s seriously suspicious.”
“Right? So I went through all the character descriptions. Since she liked the male lead, I figured she probably projected onto him…”
Tyraine hesitated, then reluctantly continued.
“Based on that, we drew up a rough profile of the culprit.”
He raised a clenched fist and extended his index finger.
“First, if the culprit matches the male lead’s appearance, he would be a man with brown hair and blue eyes.”
“That’s the most common combination out there.”
Brown hair was the most common in the kingdom. Blue eyes even more so. Anyone walking down the street could match that description.
“Exactly—it’s not conclusive. Just keep it in mind. There’s also the possibility of resemblance in personality.”
He then extended his middle finger.
“Second, he likely has a noble title and is fairly young. He once gave her a white rose as a gift, seems to play the harp well, has dimples when he smiles, and often quotes poetry. The young lady had made some notes in the margins.”
Cordelia almost fainted later when she saw Jasmine holding a bouquet of white roses. She hadn’t seen him smile, so she didn’t know about dimples—but without Tyraine’s clarification, she might have suspected Jasmine without question.
“Lastly, the missing young lady must have met this man at a banquet. Cross-referencing the movements of other noblewomen victims with her own, there were several overlaps—specifically three occasions, all banquets.”
When Tyraine listed the hosts and dates, Cordelia felt relieved. Jasmine rarely attended banquets, and last summer she had gone down to her father’s territory.
One of the overlapping events was Count Selozan’s summer banquet. It had been a grand affair with many guests, but could that really be coincidence?
“So you’re saying the culprit might have met her while also meeting other victims? Bold of him.”
Cordelia clicked her tongue. To pull that off without being caught—he certainly had talent. A natural philanderer!
“That’s why I tried to get the guest lists of those banquets. But you know how secretive nobles are. They refuse to hand anything over.”
Cordelia pretended not to hear when he muttered that he’d even considered stealing them.
“So instead, I looked into the hosts’ social circles. And there were a few names that kept overlapping.”
