I very much wish to grab Ortzen by his collar as soon as we arrived at the headquarters, but to my disappointment I was being pushed to take a bath first at the bathroom inside the guestroom. Although I was covered in blood and dirt, the main reason for driving me away was because I'm just an outsider. I'm not affiliated with Special Task Squad and not to mentioned being married, I even haven't gotten engaged with Captain Jullius yet. In other words, I was unable to join their meetings to discuss the incident of Count Epheria household.
'Even though it's about my family matters, I'm just a noble lady right now…'
Inside the white porcelain bathtub filled with hot water, I let my body submerged under the water until it reached my neck and I looked up at the ceilings. I guess the way they treated me as an outsider will get even worse in the future. It must be because for Ortzen, I no longer have any use for him. Although I didn't do a good job as a spy, but having another ally inside the enemy's lair was still useful in any case. Besides, there must be something else they could gained to shaken up Count Epheria household by using me. But now, what could be the worth of me is just I could act as a shield for Captain Jullius to prevent him from being set up in an arranged marriage.
'Um, it can't be that he will abandon me now after all is done, right?'
It would be troublesome if I was getting kicked out from here when I have nothing at all right now. There's also Sofia with me. If the situation turned for the worst, I have no choice but to sell the blue diamond necklace even though I feel guilty towards (original) Silla. With the money I will get from selling the necklace, it will be enough for two women to eat and living on as long as we don't live extravagantly. But… the main concern is whether I could meet with the High Priest. If I can't get engaged with Captain Jullius, then I might just try my luck to infiltrate the Central Church. Else,
'Giving up the chance to redeem my real identity once for all…'
Well, to be honest, after I saw the faces of my comrades who carried my coffin at my funeral, I wanted to return but as times goes by, the desire began to fade away. They aren't some babies who need a mother figure to baby-sit them, but a bunch grown-up men who aren't weak either. They must have gotten over their grief by now. Besides, everyone eventually dies anyway. I'm feeling salty right now, I have always been alive but I can't tell anyone– though, there will still come the day when I truly leave this world.
I'll be happy if I can meet with them again, but if I can't, then it can't be help either. Moreover, it's almost impossible for me to get exposed as a sacrificial item for the Demon King. In addition to the death of the Count and Countess, no matter how cunning Ortzen is, how could he figure it out when there wasn't any clue left? That's why…
'If Ortzen doesn't want to cooperate anymore, then I will just sell the necklace and live together with Sofia.'
Captain Jullius also said he didn't have any home, so maybe I can ask him whether if he want to move in together with me. I can buy a large house with a stable in it and as for living expenses, it's okay if I'm the one who work outside to be the breadwinner. I can ask Clauen to give me a job as a hired mercenary to escort those merchants guilds… or, I can also hunt for monsters. Those high-tier monsters that required holy power to be killed, usually got annihilated by the Church but because the Church was quite short of people, some low-tier monsters were left unattended. Therefore, such professional monster hunters existed. The church will give out some rewards for those who succeeded in capturing the monsters and the monsters' carcasses could also be sold for high price as well. I had many experiences and skills to hunt monsters, so I just need to hunt for a month to get a one year worth salary to cover the living expenses.
That being the case, I wouldn't have any problem if they kicked me out now. All I have to do now is try my best to keep the necklace safe with my own life because it's my last lifeline.
Splash…
I got up from the water that has started to cooling down and stepped out from the bathtub. I just casually dried off my body with the towel they have prepared and left the bathroom after putting on the bathrobe. As soon as I got out from the bathroom, Sofia who was anxiously sitting on the couch waiting for me, immediately stood up from her seat.
"Miss!"
Sofia quickly approached me while bringing a change of clothes.
"Uhmm, what should we do now…?"
She had a worried look on her face while helping me wearing the dress. Although she didn't know the details of the situation, but she felt that the situation of Count Epheria household wasn't that good.
"We can't go back to the mansion… can we…?"
"Maybe."
We're prohibited from entering the mansion until the end of the investigation and after that… I think it will be confiscated. The ongoing problem right now happened because the matter regarding the contract with the Demon King didn't get revealed properly, so I also didn't know what will happened next. But things has become too complicated to get over with, so it would be even more difficult to keep the wealth and title, as well as the mansion.
"Then… uh, what are you going to do, Miss? I still can look for another job, but…"
"Even though they confiscated my family's properties, you don't have to worry about me. I still have that blue diamond necklace with me. My mother's memento. If the situation turns for the worst, I'll just sell it to continue on living."
When I said I'll sell the necklace, Sofia was very surprised and shook her head.
"No! You can't do that! No matter how bad your situation is, you can't sell your mother's keepsake!"
"But, would my mother prefer me being homeless and starving rather than selling the keepsake?"
"That, that's… indeed true, but…"
Actually, the late Countess isn't my real mother. But I had saved her daughter's soul, so at least she would turn a blind eye on this matter.
"By the way… didn't you say that you will get engaged with the Captain of Special Task Squad? If you get married, then you don't have to sell the memento."
"Oh, about that? I'm still not sure what will happen next."
I wonder if there will be any changes according to the results of today's incident. The worst possible outcome would be me, or Silla to be exact, was discovered as a sacrifice for the Demon King. If that happens, Ortzen won't let me get engaged to Captain Jullius. Captain Jullius himself was a sacrifice in the past, so if we still get engaged, then it will be just adding another stain to Captain Jullius' reputation. After hearing my words, Sofia's face crumpled.
"Are you saying that they want to throw you away because the Count household has fallen?"
"…, huh?"
"See? I have told you before! It hasn't been that long since both of you decided to get engaged, so how could his heart has cooled down over you. Right from the start, it turns out he approached you because he was aiming to seize the Count's household."
Nope, Ortzen might have done that, but Captain Jullius would never thought about it.
"Captain Jullius isn't that kind of person."
To be exact, he isn't someone who can do that kind of things (i.e., scheming). Well, my words didn't even get through Sofia's ears.
"No! As soon as problems arose within the Count's household, didn't he just ask you to wait and act as if there has never been any talk about engagement between you and him before? Afterall from the beginning, his purpose was the Count's title and wealth, that's why he seduced my innocent lady!"
Seduce… hmm. If that was so, then I was the one who seduced Captain Jullius because I asked him to get engaged with me in the first place. It will be interesting if Captain Jullius also did the same and seduced me. I wonder how it will turns out.
"My poor Miss… now you have become a fallen noble and all the men who were approaching you are all assholes."
"Nothing has been decided yet and Captain Jullius is truly a good person."
"He's definitely not! If he's truly a good man, he should have stayed by your side right now! Just where in the world do you find a good man that leave his lover alone in a foreign place when she just lost her parents in a day?!"
…, after I listened to Sofia's words, it does seems like Captain Jullius is in the wrong. If I were the real Silla and although my fiancee didn't have any ulterior motives, but he just left his fiancee alone unattended after she had lost both of her home and family within a day, so that was very inconsiderate of him. It goes without saying that he would be blamed and scorned.
Nonetheless, my situation is different. And also Captain Jullius did nothing wrong.
"He's busy, really busy. He will come to see me after his work is done."
"…, really?"
"Of course. We have a good relationship. We even have slept together."
So far we got along with each other very well. However, after Sofia heard my words, her lower jaw dropped and her mouth became widely opened. She looked very shocked that she almost fainted right at that moment.
"S-sleep together?! Miss!!"
She started to yell at me. W-wait a minute!
"No, that's not–"
"No? What do you mean by 'no'?! You just said it yourself!"
"That… we were just sleeping together though? Uh, of course I know that man and woman shouldn't sleep together in the same room, but he's my fiancee after all…"
"You're still not engaged yet– wait, could it be that you really just sleep?"
"I just quietly slept through the night."
Because Ortzen kept nagging non-stop, we were too tired to do anything else. After Sofia listened to my explaination, her complextion became a bit better and she appeared rather calm, then she waved her hand to fan her slightly reddish face.
"Although you're just sleeping together, don't do it again in the future."
"…, we can't?"
"You can't! Absolutely not! Miss may have forgotten about it due to amnesia, but that's something you should absolutely never do! Even though you get engaged, it's still not allowed! You can only sleep together in the same room after you're married!"
…, tsk. We're still not allowed to sleep together even after we get engaged. That's just too much! Then, should we get married?
I spent my time to chat with Sofia for about an hour when suddenly a servant came and relaying a message that Ortzen was waiting for me. I followed that servant to Ortzen's office room. When I entered the room, the room owner who was sitting on the long couch in front of the table, stood up right away to welcome me.
"Welcome, Miss Epheria."
For some reasons, Ortzen seemed to be in a good mood. I thought he would be upset because not only Captain Jullius defied his order by coming to Epheria's mansion of his (Captain Jullius) own accord, he (Ortzen) also didn't get anything useful from Epheria household. I wondered whether his attitude right now was sincere or fake, so I stole a glance at him while sitting on the couch across him. Ortzen still maintaining a broad smile on his face then asked me.
"Is there any type of tea you dislike?"
"The tea isn't important. What's important is the desserts accompanying it."
"Oh, I see."
Ortzen placed the water kettle onto the finely colored porcelain stove, then brought out and served a plate of desserts he had prepared beforehand. Out of the blue, he treated me for a tea. There's something fishy about this. Did he poison the tea? A strong poison could endanger my current body. While I was wondering whether if he wanted to kill me, I picked up a clam-shape cookie. If there's poison in it, I'll eliminate Ortzen first before searching for the antidote to detoxify the poison.
Not long after that, the tea was served and Ortzen returned to his seat again across of me. He smiled and looked at me with a gentle eyes. Uh, umm… I think the dessert got stucked inside my throat. What the hell is wrong with him?!
"…, is there any good news? Or perhaps, you're happy with the accident happened at the Count's mansion."
"How could that be?"
Orzen immediately cut my words.
"I had doubted whether the Count was still alive or dead, but the death of the Countess is something unexpected. She should still have some use but it's a pity that she was put to death in a hurry, and I can't think of the reason behind it, which irked me even more."