Miss 198
by Cristae198.
Since surmising that Count Loria might know the “original story,” Seraphy had consciously blocked off all information about him and made an effort to feign ignorance.
Fortunately, it was not a particularly difficult task.
Seraphy’s days were busy enough; when focused on her daily life, Count Loria naturally faded into neglect.
Yet it could not go on like this forever.
‘I have to check for myself.’
There was no denying that Count Loria was suspicious.
The Emperor himself had advised her to be wary, and shadows of his influence hung over every incident, however faintly.
Yet, there was still no definitive evidence that Count Loria was directly involved in any of the events.
All she had were circumstances.
In fact, the so-called suspicious circumstance in question amounted only to the carriage accident five years ago, in which the entire family of former Viscount Kia perished.
‘And then there was the funeral invitation.’
Why had he asked Seraphy to attend the funeral?
‘To begin with, a funeral is hardly an event for sending out invitations.’
If there were any point of contact with Validus, it would have been with the late Count Validus, not Seraphy.
‘And was it he, then, who arranged for contact with the Temple’s moneylender?’
She needed to know.
‘Does he truly know the original story…?’
Now, she had to find out for sure.
“I have…”
Deep in thought, Seraphy opened her eyes wide.
“There seem to be quite a few things I wish to ask you.”
It was Count Loria who first broke the silence.
He closed the book he was reading with a soft thud and placed it atop his thigh, embodying the very model of a dignified and gentle gentleman.
“I imagine the feeling is mutual.”
Seraphy returned a measured smile, no less composed than his.
“I visited during the funeral but did not speak to you directly. Please accept my condolences for your loss; it must have been a time of great sorrow.”
“Even that is a sorrow I must bear alone.”
Whether recalling his departed family, a shadow passed over Count Loria’s face.
Seraphy gave a gentle nod.
“However…”
And then she moved to the crux of the matter.
“Count, were you acquainted with my father?”
“What brings you to ask such a thing?”
“I have never met you before, Count. Why did you send me an invitation to the funeral?”
“Ah…”
Count Loria exhaled quietly.
The unnatural sigh hovered somewhere between a mockery and genuine surprise.
As she waited for his answer, Seraphy glanced at the book resting on his knee.
For a fleeting moment, she caught sight of the title printed on the cover.
‘…….’
Almost as soon as she had diverted her gaze, Count Loria crossed his legs and drew the book closer to his chest.
“I wouldn’t call it an acquaintance…”
He paused, seeming to choose his words carefully.
“We recognized each other by sight. We were of an age and met often as children. When we met, we would at least exchange greetings.”
“Then the invitation truly was addressed to my fath—”
“It was sent to you, Count.”
Count Loria cut in with an awkward smile.
“I had already heard the rumors.”
“I believed you were studying abroad in the Kingdom of Aposita.”
“Count Validus was renowned even across the sea, in Aposita.”
“I see.”
Seraphy gave a short, unenthusiastic exclamation.
‘…What?’
At the same moment, she felt a strange sense of discomfort.
‘He really sent the invitation to me?’
But why?
Why in the world?
Seraphy grew more puzzled than ever.
Why would anyone invite a young noble, who drove out her own father and usurped his title, to such a funeral?
‘Could it be that bastard really does…’
Knows about ‘■■’?
‘…No, no. The original story! He knows the original story!’
So startled was Seraphy that she mistakenly referred to the “original story” as ‘■■’ in her mind.
The error felt so natural that, for a moment, she failed to notice anything amiss.
“In truth,”
Count Loria spoke up at that moment.
“It was, shall we say, an attempt to establish connections.”
“…Pardon?”
What sort of nonsense is that?
Seraphy’s expression made her thoughts all too clear.
Her eyes twisted minutely and her lips pressed shut with wariness.
Count Loria simply regarded her with fond amusement.
Annoyed all the more by this, Seraphy furrowed her brow.
Count Loria spoke again.
“I was certainly grieving, but at the same time, I felt regret.”
“For what, exactly?”
“For having failed to recognize the talent before me.”
“You and I were not acquainted.”
“And that is precisely what I regret.”
He revealed his fondness for Seraphy.
“I had heard that Validus was neither a good husband nor a father. If only I had mustered the courage to offer a helping hand back then…”
Count Loria trailed off, eyes curved with a gentle sadness as he regarded Seraphy.
“…….”
Seraphy’s blue eyes grew colder and sharper.
She understood all too well the sentiment Count Loria had left unsaid.
‘That lunatic…’
Damn, is he out of his mind?
Seraphy suppressed the curses rising to her lips.
Just now, Count Loria had referred to remarriage with the former Countess Validus.
If he had aided mother and daughter against the former Count’s cruelty, he would have created the pretext for approaching the widow anew.
He lamented that he had failed to establish such grounds.
‘Even as a jest, that’s intolerable…!’
His wife was still alive at the time, besides!
Even if the man had no involvement in any of the past events, at that moment, Seraphy classified him as a perfect enemy solely for that statement.
‘Unbelievable.’
So absurd and beyond belief was it that laughter spilled from Seraphy’s lips. She made that laughter bloom all the more beautifully.
“…Had that come to pass.”
Icy blue blossoms bloomed, bristling with thorns.
Seraphy concealed the hand adorned with rings beneath the other palm as she spoke.
The chill in her smile was as sharp as it was beautiful.
“I too would have regarded you as I do my own father, Count.”
Just as one treats a father imprisoned behind bars.
“…….”
“…….”
Whatever civility had remained between them evaporated, and the two now measured one another with bare, unmasked gazes.
In the dusky room that clung to the fading edge of summer, the air grew pale and cold as frost.
There was nothing in that place to recall the season.
The frozen atmosphere was sharp, like a single sheet of paper poised atop the blade of a finely honed sword.
Should either of them disturb the taut air, it would be torn to shreds against the gleaming steel.
“…I suppose I took the jest too far.”
Count Loria was first to back down.
“My apologies. It wasn’t meant to—”
“Why?”
Seraphy cut him off, her voice direct and unyielding.
“Why did you send me the invitation?”
“As I said—I wished for us to at least become acquainted—”
“Was it to show me your dead wife and children?”
“…….”
“Count Loria, you already know, don’t you.”
Why I called you here.
Seraphy crossed one leg languidly and spoke with a biting edge.
That wretched joke just now had made it abundantly clear: there was no longer any need for courtesy.
He too had come to uncover her secrets.
‘Will word of this meeting reach the crown prince?’
It made little difference.
Seraphy recalled last winter, when she had faced the crown prince in similar fashion.
That bastard’s murderous intent had been overt and raw, but Seraphy found she preferred that straightforwardness.
Compared to the inscrutable man before her, the crown prince now seemed almost endearing.
“…Ha.”
For a moment, Count Loria’s eyes went wide with surprise. He then grinned widely, lips curling up to his cheeks.
“Hahaha!”
He doubled over with laughter.
“Ah, Count Validus!”
He laughed so hard that tears welled in his green eyes, glinting unsettlingly.
The stifled breaths he took sounded as unnatural as a bizarre, unknown creature.
Thud.
He straightened, and the book slipped from his lap to the floor.
“You truly are a most enticing talent!”
He bent to retrieve the book, then sat as if nothing had happened.
“That’s right.”
He admitted it without pretense.
“I invited you on purpose. And you lived up to my expectations, Count.”
“You were the power behind it all.”
“Hearing you say that makes me feel quite grand indeed.”
As suddenly as it had appeared, the laughter vanished from Count Loria’s face, replaced by icy composure.
“So, what about it?”
“…….”
“Did you find any evidence on the corpses?”
Seraphy, who had been leaning back in her chair, slowly rose.
“Thank you for coming.”
She offered him a cordial smile.
“…Count, this is your final chance.”
Count Loria also rose and took several deliberate steps toward Seraphy, closing the distance between them.
He spread his hands as if offering goodwill.
“Once I leave this house, I will behave as I always have. You will find no evidence against me, nor will you be able to threaten me with any accusation.”
“Count Loria.”
“If you have any questions, now is the time—”
“You really are quite a tedious person.”
“…….”
Seraphy heaved a long, weary sigh, her disappointment evident.
Count Loria, so pointedly ignored at close range, gazed at her as if he couldn’t believe his ears.
“That will be all.”
Seraphy turned her back without regret and opened the door.
“Thank you for coming.”
It was a clear and final dismissal.
“…You’re leaving already?”
Watching from hiding as Count Loria departed the mansion earlier than expected, Loony could not conceal his surprise.
He hurried off in search of Sera.
“Se—!”
But Loony was unable to demand any explanation from Sera.
“Urgh!”
Seraphy had collapsed against the hallway wall, retching uncontrollably.
“Don’t hold back, let it all out.”
“Guh! Ugh…!”
Orchis, who was kneeling at her side and patting her back, noticed Loony’s approach.
Loony saw that one knee of Orchis’s pants was soiled with Seraphy’s vomit.
“…What happened?”
Despite his stomach churning from the smell, Loony forced himself to take a step closer.
For one with a weak constitution, it was a brave effort—an indication of his concern for Seraphy.
“…It seems Seraphy’s suspicions were correct after all.”
Orchis, more subdued than ever, struggled to maintain his composure.
Even for him, this was an unexpected situation and a fear unlike any he had ever known.