MILND 105

Chapter 105

Rohan seemed rather flustered. He almost brushed his hair back, then realized he shouldn’t and froze awkwardly.

“Is this friend of yours… suspecting me?”

“No, I wasn’t talking about you. It was just an old conversation I once had.”

Of course, I hadn’t told Rohan everything about that past talk.

I had simply used a joke: ‘Those who hide their true identity usually turn out to have special abilities.’

At first he listened, thinking I was joking. But when I suddenly pointed a finger at him and said, ‘You’re the one with abilities,’ he was at a loss for words.

Judging by the fact that he can’t deny it at all, maybe he’s the type who can’t lie. He could’ve just scoffed and brushed it off, but he didn’t.

If he were the shameless type to brazenly deny everything, it would’ve been much harder to deal with him. But Rohan was the complete opposite.

It was a mystery why such a naïve man would go to the trouble of hiding his identity, hauling food supplies around.

When he kept silent, I took the initiative.

“I once asked Jane to investigate a man. His name was Rotos, a scoundrel—no, a wastrel. Not only did Jane agree to investigate, but she even offered to ‘take care of him’ herself.”

Her loyalty was something I appreciated, but when I thought about it, the whole thing was odd.

I knew Jane was a capable merchant who’d been making a name for herself in the capital lately, but she wasn’t someone with the power to talk about cleaning up a noble’s mess.

And Jane wasn’t the sort of person to boldly promise something impossible. Which meant… she had help I didn’t know about.

“That only leaves one person. The one who stuck by Jane when Goldrail was half-ruined: you, Rohan. It’s you.”

My deduction wasn’t based on evidence, only intuition, but I was sure.

The only reason I hadn’t mentioned it earlier was that I hadn’t been very curious about his true identity.

He clearly wants to hide it, and I have no reason to pry.

Remembering how he’d once risked himself to save me in the fairy’s land, I had no wish to expose him. As long as his goal wasn’t tied to House Leighton, I didn’t care.

And Rohan doesn’t seem interested in the duke’s house anyway.

I couldn’t explain why, but I had a strange conviction that Rohan wouldn’t harm us.

“I’m not trying to blackmail you. I’m offering a deal.”

“A deal…?”

“I’ll help you keep your identity hidden.”

“…”

“I can use my status as a screen, depending on who you’re hiding from. Either way, it’ll help.”

I thought it was a reasonable offer, but Rohan seemed to have something to say. His lips trembled.

“You’re saying… you’d help me hide my identity. And you don’t even care what it is…?”

“Right. Surely you don’t want a third party finding out.”

“A third party…”

He exhaled briefly, rubbing his throat.

His body language suddenly felt rougher than usual, as if something had displeased him. I was about to ask, when—

“Fine. Let’s make a deal.”

His decision came quickly.

“You want information about the Tilim count’s family, don’t you? You must be curious why Lady Chloe couldn’t attend the reading club.”

“…I didn’t say that. Did Jane tell you?”

“This morning I heard the news and pressed Officer Licht for answers. He hinted that I shouldn’t trouble the countess, so the matter ended there.”

“…I see.”

So he hadn’t been able to hold back. Well, Chloe, Ilina, and Jane were close friends, after all.

“That’s useful too, but first…”

I gave Rohan some quick instructions. The count family’s situation was important, but there was more urgent information to gather.

When I told him to use any means necessary, he nodded calmly, as if to reassure me.

“But… may I ask something? Why didn’t you ask Jane directly? She’s my employer. You wouldn’t need this troublesome deal if you’d just gone to her.”

Of course, if I’d gone to Jane, she would’ve ordered Rohan to get the information for me without asking for anything in return.

“Because it would put Jane in a difficult position.”

And that wasn’t what I wanted.

“Even if she’s in the reading club, Jane is first and foremost Mikhail’s subordinate—and a merchant. Trust is everything in her profession. If she meddled in matters her mistress was told not to touch, what would that do to her reputation?”

“She wouldn’t care.”

“But I care. Asking one friend to save another, while burdening her in the process—that would be foolish. …What’s with that look?”

Rohan’s face had turned red.

Wondering if I’d said something offensive, I asked, but he just shook his head as if it were nothing.

“Friend… I see. Madam, could I make one request?”

“What is it?”

“If we’re going to be sharing information, I’ll need to come to the annex regularly. When we talk, could we meet… in the garden?”

Why was that a request?

I looked at him questioningly, and he gestured toward a corner of the garden.

There, spring flowers and garden trees had been arranged carefully along a decorative wall.

“That spot will do nicely.”

“I don’t mind, but… why the garden? What does it mean?”

“When you said ‘friend,’ it reminded me of something. A memory.”

“A memory?”

For a moment, I thought I saw a sorrowful smile on his face.

“A precious memory of a friend.”

I followed his gaze to the wall. To me, it was a scene utterly unfamiliar.

Chloe didn’t attend, but the reading club went on as planned.

This time, two new members—Mabel and Viscount Metokan—were set to join, so it couldn’t be canceled.

Since it was a meeting to welcome new members, we had agreed beforehand to keep things cheerful.

“Lady Chloe isn’t here…? Oh, she’s not attending? Well, her husband never approved of her socializing. I suppose this was inevitable.”

“…”

Viscount Metokan’s explosive remark silenced the room.

Thankfully, Mabel was off in the corner with Mirinae, reading a fairy tale book.

I calmed Ilina, who was stammering in shock, and turned to the viscount, who was crunching on candy.

She had recently quit drinking, so she often kept sweets in her mouth.

“You say her husband disapproved…? Do you know Count Tilim personally?”

“I’ve only exchanged greetings.”

“Yet you speak as if you predicted this outcome.”

“Because I know the type of man he is.”

Only then did I realize just how sharp she could be when she dropped her mask. I was used to it, but the others stared wide-eyed.

Right, the viscount has the reputation of a naïve genius…

I recalled the rumors in society. Clearly, she had no intention of keeping up pretenses here.

“What kind of type?”

“The same kind as my ex-husband.”

“…Ah.”

Even I couldn’t stay calm at that.

Seeing my troubled face, she realized what she’d just said, frowning.

“Forgive me. Whenever I think of that time, my emotions still flare up…”

“No, it’s fine.”

I never expected such trauma to vanish quickly. I nodded, showing I understood.

At that point, Lady Roland was the first to regain her composure and asked a question.

“But Viscount, I thought Count Tilim had a stellar reputation.”

“I know. That’s why I invited him to the recital. But society’s reputation doesn’t always match a man’s character.”

She spoke from experience, and no one dared refute her.

Then she began ticking points off on her fingers, recalling her encounter with Count Edwin.

“Just at the recital alone… he left his wife standing against the wall while he chatted with other women for thirty minutes, he flirted with women three times, and in between, he scolded Lady Chloe at least five times…”

“You remember all that?”

“Of course. It wasn’t that long ago.”

To recall such details out of the corner of her eye, among so many people… she truly had the memory of a genius.

And it explained why she disliked him so much.

Her ex-husband had been just as much of a lecher. She could judge this sort of man more accurately than anyone here.

“And when Lady Chloe spoke with other men, he grew extremely hostile. Toward her, of course.”

“Was he jealous?”

“I wish it were that simple.”

The viscount didn’t explain further, just curled her lips in a crooked smile.

From that, I could guess what Edwin really thought of Chloe.

“He wanted to isolate her. Even when he introduced her, he said ‘my wife,’ never allowing her to speak for herself.”

I had noticed that too.