"She was indeed the prime suspect at first," the Duke said, "But listen to the whole story first. On our way down, I suddenly remembered to have not yet locked my desk's drawer. I hurried back to my workroom as I asked Joselyn to follow me back as well."
"Why did you ask her to follow you back?"
"Because there are many important letters with sensitive information inside my desk. I am not a suspicious person, but still, I like to be careful. If important documents had been missing, then I would have wanted to search her first. When we came into the room, I found out the painting was missing. I immediately searched the maid. She was frightful but cooperative, I did not find the painting on her. So I activated the barrier and called the castle guards to stop anyone from going in and out of the estate. I also notified the palace to send military aides to help deal with this matter, after which Captain Salem showed up."
