Episode 16 —
She gave a gentle smile and replied that she was fine.
“First of all, I’m Elena. How have you been lately? Did you bake these too, Ms. Rosemary?”
“I’ve just been working. I’ve improved quite a bit, don’t you think?”
The scones had a nice golden hue and looked delicious.
“Yes, they look appetizing. I hope it’s not too forward of me, but may I ask what your husband does for a living?”
Rather than dragging the conversation on pointlessly, I decided to get straight to the point. I hadn’t come to the shop just to chat idly.
At my question, Rosemary lowered her head and mumbled her response.
“My husband doesn’t have a job. He’s gotten involved with a strange religion, and he rarely even comes home anymore.”
“So that’s why you’re the one working.”
“Yes. We can’t exactly starve to death, can we?”
So it’s just like in the original story—her husband is wrapped up in a cult. Then… could she also be connected to the second victim?
“Please be careful when you’re out alone. The world’s gotten so dangerous lately.”
“Oh… yes. Thank you for your concern.”
Tears welled up in Rosemary’s eyes as she lifted her head.
“Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
“…Actually.”
Rosemary hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. I didn’t rush her, simply waited patiently.
“Mr. Smith, the man who passed away recently… he was very kind to me.”
“I see. That must be hard on you.”
I pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her. Maybe because of the help I gave her last time, she seemed more open with me now.
After that, she began recounting her memories of Smith, just like when she gave her testimony in the original.
“My husband thought I was having an affair with Mr. Smith. He said Smith died because of me… that he even prayed to the cult leader to offer Smith as a sacrifice.”
“…”
Her words made me frown instinctively.
What the hell is she talking about? This is completely different from the original. No, even setting the original aside, how could someone say such a thing to their wife?
“I can’t bring myself to face his wife now. Sometimes I leave scones at her doorstep, but I don’t know if she ever eats them. He gave me so much, and I have no way to repay him…”
“Hold on. First of all, don’t blame yourself. Mr. Smith’s death might not have had anything to do with you. It’s more likely that your husband just said that in anger.”
“I hope you’re right, Ms. Elena…”
“Let’s live as if it isn’t your fault—at least for now. They haven’t even caught the serial killer yet. We still don’t know the truth.”
“That’s true…”
“Do you happen to know the name of the religion your husband’s involved in? Or maybe where they meet?”
Rosemary thought for a moment, then seemed to recall something.
“I once saw my husband tapping his wrist in secret. A symbol appeared and then vanished.”
“What did the symbol look like?”
“Something like this.”
She traced the shape on the table with her finger.
“I didn’t get a good look, so I’m not exactly sure.”
She gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Thank you for telling me, Ms. Rosemary. I should get going now. I think I’ve kept you from your work for too long.”
“No, not at all. I’m grateful you came.”
“Still, I feel bad toward your boss, so I’ll buy five scones to go.”
“All right, I’ll wrap them up for you.”
I returned to the duke’s estate with the scones she had packed.
My mind was a complete mess.
According to her, her husband had joined a cult and Smith died because her husband offered him as a sacrifice. It sounded absurd, but… what if it was true? That would mean the cult leader is the killer—and if that’s the case, then the duke is the cult leader!?
That’s ridiculous. It’d be easier to believe if I didn’t already know the original story—and who the real killer was. Accepting this new “information” was nearly impossible. But what if the duke really is secretly leading a cult? Was that why he left us all behind and went off to “rest”?
Suddenly, the puzzle pieces started to fit together. It didn’t make sense that he went to recover with no personal doctors, especially when he has allergies. I thought it was strange from the start. The duke… a cult leader?
What direction is this story even going? In the original, it was never revealed that the duke was a cult leader.
But imagining him as one… it honestly felt surreal. A duke forcing people to believe he’s a savior? Then again, with his looks, maybe he could pull it off… What a wild twist.
“I really need to make the medicine soon and earn his trust—or find a way to escape.”
Otherwise, I might end up as the next sacrifice. And that was something I absolutely had to avoid.
I hurried off to Dr. Scott’s room to retrieve my research notes.
When I knocked on the door, thankfully, I heard his voice from inside.
“Doctor, I left my research notes here earlier by mistake. Could I please have them back?”
“…”
Dr. Scott frowned slightly, as if he didn’t remember.
His reaction made me uneasy. It hadn’t even been a full day—surely not.
“You didn’t throw them away, did you?”
“I did.”
“What? Why would you do that?! They weren’t even yours!”
“You should’ve taken better care of them. Why’d you leave them in my room? When I got back from going out, they weren’t there. I think the cleaning maid probably threw them out by accident.”
“…Do you know where the trash is taken?”
“Probably the storage area behind the estate.”
“I’ll check there.”
Without even saying goodbye, I turned and ran.
The area was pitch black, but I couldn’t afford to delay. When I finally arrived, a literal mountain of garbage was piled up.
“How am I supposed to search through all this?”
I had to find a stack of papers in this giant heap.
“They’re not that old, so they should be near the top somewhere.”
Relying on the moonlight, I began sifting through the trash from the outer edges. But no matter how long I searched, I couldn’t find my research notes.
“Damn it…”
Tears welled up in my eyes. Sure, it was my fault for not keeping them safe—but still, why throw them away? He could’ve just returned them.
It was just too cruel.
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and kept digging through the garbage when suddenly—I heard movement behind me.
“Woof! (Elena!)”
“Luca?”
Turning around, I saw Duke Calix, Luca, and Tofu approaching from the darkness.
“Elena? What are you doing here?”
“Your Grace, I….”
Seeing his face made me even more upset. This was all your fault.
“Ugh…”
“Elena? Are you crying?”
The duke rushed to my side.
“What happened?”
“Your Grace…”
“Yes, Elena?”
“My research notes… I lost them. They had all your medicine trial results…”
“…”
The duke fell silent. My vision was blurry with tears, so I couldn’t see his expression clearly.
If it takes too long, he might kill me. Why now, of all times, did we have to run into each other?
I was terrified that the duke might kill me on the spot. I had held myself together all this time, enduring the fear and doing my job—but now it felt like everything would end so pointlessly.
“Elena.”
“Hic… yes…”
“Can you calm down a little? Let’s look for them together.”
“…”
He’s… not going to kill me?
“Really?”
“Yes. Luca and Tofu will help too. I’ll search as well, so please stop crying.”
“…”
“You said they’re notes, so it should be papers, right? We’ll just look for a bundle.”
“Yes. About this thick.”
I gestured with my fingers to show the size.
“I see. It’s late, so let’s find them quickly.”
“Okay.”
“And also, hmm…”
The duke paused and looked hesitant.
What’s he trying to say?
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
“Even if they’re lost for good, it’s okay. Don’t blame yourself too much. The medicine isn’t urgently needed—you can take your time.”
“…”
Not only is he not going to kill me… he says it’s okay even if I lost everything? Why?
Does it not matter because he was going to kill me anyway, with or without the medicine? Or does he truly mean I can take my time?
I couldn’t tell. For now, I had no choice but to be grateful that he wasn’t killing me.
We kept searching the garbage pile under the night sky for a long time. I don’t know how much time passed.
“Woof! (Look at this!)”
Suddenly, Luca barked.
