“Young lady, you’ve been deceived by that kindness.”

Olivia, who had been thirsting for someone’s affection, was unable to make rational judgments in the face of warmth and kindness. But Anne was different.

Though Diane might have become the owner of the lily key through the incident she orchestrated for her own selfish desires, it simultaneously became the catalyst for Anne’s vigilance.

“It’s true, young lady. She’s truly a wicked woman.”

And Anne’s wariness towards Diane Brook became the root cause of her being branded as a jewel thief.

Olivia’s faith in Diane was deep. Her longing for this first sisterly figure and friend made even a mere maid’s concerned advice sound like annoying nagging.

The more indifferent Johan became, the more Olivia’s dependence on Diane grew.

“Please believe me, young lady.”

Anne’s eyes welled up with frustration and pity.

“I believe you.”

Olivia placed her hand over Anne’s, which were neatly clasped together.

“I believe you, Anne.”

She gently pulled Anne’s hands, applying a bit of pressure. Anne sat down in the chair opposite her.

“Will you tell me? About that woman.”

Olivia spoke in a whisper, stroking the small back of Anne’s hand with her thumb. The hand was covered with scars from protecting Olivia since childhood, taking blows in her stead.

Stories that Olivia didn’t know but only Anne knew poured out. By the time she finished, it was well past noon. The sunlight through the window had already turned golden.

Anne went down to the kitchen to help Mrs. Mary prepare a late lunch, while Olivia stared at the necklace box with a deflated feeling. In the quiet room, only the minute hand of the clock moved busily, making a sound.

As time passed, her startled feelings gradually calmed. Now that she knew the true nature of Diane Brook, she could roughly grasp the situation of this incident. Though it was merely speculation.

The problem was how to handle this information.

‘Keep your head cool.’

She recalled the words of a man who once advised her.

‘And your heart warm?’

She had teased him, liking his serious face. Even when she knew the content, she would pretend not to and ask. It was another way of expressing her desire to stay by his side longer. She cherished those long conversations with that man.

‘No. Keep your heart cool too. When making judgments, Jian, you must be cold-hearted.’

Olivia cooled her head. She thought only about the incident. Coolly, without being swayed by emotions.

She didn’t want to be involved with Johan Leopold. He was a man with a fiancée. She didn’t want to be connected to him again in this way. Truly.

However.

Diane Brook had to pay for her crimes.

Anne’s innocence, who had been falsely accused, needed to be revealed, and although Elaine’s husband’s circumstances were not Olivia’s concern. Elaine…

If she hadn’t mentioned the necklace when they first met, there would have been no need to get involved.

Olivia, who had been sitting motionless for a while, stood up as if she had made a decision.

She sat down at the desk beside the bed and took out a sheet of letter paper from the drawer. She dipped the pen in ink and brought it to the white paper. The pen, which had hesitated for a moment, began to move, its feather fluttering.

Morris arrived at Greathill at the usual time. He always accompanied Johan from the duke’s residence to the Leopold headquarters.

“Have you arrived?”

A servant with his hands full of mail greeted him as he alighted from the carriage.

“Ah! Benjamin. Good morning.”

Morris smiled and climbed the entrance steps with him. Morris rubbed his shoes on the mat in front of the entrance before stepping inside. Meanwhile, Benjamin sorted the mail on top of the decorative cabinet beside the entrance hallway.

“Oh, who sent this again.”

Morris, who was passing by Benjamin on his way to the lobby, stopped and asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean this mail without a sender. Previously, a few came for the madam, but this one is for the master.”

Benjamin handed Morris a letter stamped with the Brit Kingdom’s official seal and the post office postmark. Morris’s eyes narrowed.

Looking down at the letter he received, Morris asked.

“Previously? Do you remember which post office it was from?”

“Of course. It had the Norton post office postmark.”

“Norton?”

“Yes. My memory is accurate. It looked suspicious at first glance. That’s why I paid close attention.”

Norton…

It was a place name he had heard recently. Where was it? Morris frowned as it was on the tip of his tongue.

“Were there any other mail from Norton?”

“No. None except for the ones that came for the madam.”

Benjamin said as if it were obvious.

“What business would those people have writing to the duke’s family? Unless they’re employees here.”

Not all capital cities were the same. Norton was a district formed by fallen nobles who had gathered there.

“Do you remember how many times they came?”

“Of course. Three times.”

His answer matched Diane’s statement. So they were love letters sent by the duchess’s lovers after all. But something felt off about dismissing it as such.

Moreover, with the addition of an anonymous letter to the duke, his neck felt stiff from the morning.

“I’ll take this and check it.”

Morris left with a word of thanks and headed to his office.

Although low in the line of succession, Duke Johan Leopold, whom he served, was still a rightful heir to the throne, so the possibility of the contents being poison couldn’t be ruled out.

Fortunately, there was no one in Rondos brazen enough to threaten Johan’s life. It was just a simple letter. Although not ordinary, it seemed harmless at least. On the surface.

Unable to confirm the sender, Morris knocked on Johan’s bedroom door with the letter in hand.

“Come in.”

Morris took a deep breath and entered.

Johan was in the middle of getting dressed. When Morris had just entered, he was fastening the decorative buttons of his black cuffs. The shirt covering his large, solid frame was pristine white in the clear sunlight.

“I have a matter to report.”

Johan, who was fastening the cufflinks on the opposite side, nodded slightly.

“This is an international express mail addressed to you, sir.”

Morris carefully placed the mail on the table in front of Johan, going behind the butler.

Johan, who was putting on his suit jacket with the butler’s assistance, glanced indifferently at the letter before fixing his gaze on Morris.

“It’s an anonymous mail sent from the Brit Kingdom.”

Only then did Johan show interest, dismissing the butler who was brushing his outer garment. After the butler left with a polite bow, Johan sat down in the wingchair in front of the table.

After checking the contents of the letter Morris had brought, Johan took out a cigar with an expressionless face. The end of the cigar glowed red. Johan’s gaze slowly returned to the letter in question as he exhaled a long stream of smoke.

As the blue-gray smoke dissipated, the letters written with considerable effort in an unskilled hand came into view.

Johan held the letter between his oily fingers.

The content was very brief.

「To His Grace, Duke Johan Leopold」

The cowardly sender, who did not reveal their identity, began the letter in a very businesslike tone.

「I have the pink diamond necklace in my possession.

How do you think I obtained it?」

The politely started letter ended with an absurd provocation. Along with mockery towards the owner who didn’t even know it had been stolen.

But even thieves have weaknesses.

This thief, though brazen, was not skilled at concealing their handwriting.

The clumsy letters that Johan was quite familiar with. It was the handwriting of Olivia Blanchet, the woman who had been his wife.

A woman who only learned to write at seventeen. Things hastily learned to be sold in the marriage market could not be smooth. Thus, everything about her was immature and clumsy.

Johan’s eyes sharpened as he looked down at the letters from her unripe fingertips.

Johan put the letter back down and exhaled the deeply inhaled smoke.

Assuming the letter’s owner was his ex-wife. How exactly did the necklace end up in Olivia’s hands?

Thinking about why he had entrusted the lily key to his wife’s secretary, he recalled the incident from that day.

The night the necklace in question disappeared, it was found in the maid’s room.

If the maid had already switched it with a fake then.

And the loyal maid offered the genuine article to Olivia…

Well.

It was a somewhat logical flow. But Johan quickly erased that assumption.

He had provided her with a materially abundant life. Why would she need to.

Moreover, just for one necklace. It didn’t add up. It was more plausible that the maid had disposed of the stolen goods on her own.

So was that maid the culprit after all.

“…”

No. That’s not it.

Why would Olivia now reveal her maid’s criminal actions? The only person who had been with her since the count’s residence.

So that too was an incorrect deduction.

Then the one remaining possibility.

Diane Brook. The possessor of the lily key.

Johan slowly closed his eyes, feeling fatigue. The cigar burned down at his fingertips, releasing pale blue smoke.

Assuming the culprit was Diane Brook. How did that necklace cross the ocean and end up in Olivia Blanchet’s possession, of all people?

How…

Johan tapped the armrest with his long fingers.

There was a need to revise his stance regarding his ex-wife, whom he had decided not to involve himself with anymore.

“Send a sparrow to Olivia.”

Johan spoke monotonously as he slowly opened his eyes after a while of silence.

“As for that woman.”

His ash-colored eyes gleamed sharply in the early morning sunlight.

“Put her under surveillance.”

Johan’s gaze shifted to the letter that had flown in as if to mock him.

The faint sweet scent permeating the white paper. The clumsy handwriting pressed firmly. He felt as if he could sense his wife from this puzzling letter.

Was she a woman capable of such outrageous acts? This newfound fact kept Johan’s gaze lingering on the letter for a long time.