Deborah’s mouth opened slightly in surprise.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t this the result you wanted?”

Zen smiled crookedly. Deborah replied to that arrogant man with a voice tinged with surprise.

“That’s right.”

“Then that’s settled.”

Zen answered as if he had just resolved a bothersome task.

Deborah thought with an awkward smile. The person who had so passionately held onto her was being so careless about choosing a tutor, who was more important than a dressing maid.

‘It feels fortunate yet also unsettling.’

At any rate, one of her worries had been resolved in a roundabout way.

Deborah hastily bowed her head in greeting, worried that Zen might add some strange remark.

“Thank you for listening to my opinion. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Zen quietly watched as Deborah left without hesitation. He even kept his gaze fixed for a while after she had gone.

After staring into empty space for a long time like that, Zen let out a sigh and tilted his head back.

“Haah…”

The paperwork never ends no matter how much he processes. And he has to go out again in just an hour. Going out, not knowing when he’ll return.

Even though he was so busy, Zen found it difficult to focus on work. He couldn’t seem to forget Sedric’s report.

Sedric was the one who went to that fishy neighborhood, so why couldn’t he get rid of the smell of the sea from his nose?

Why was he imagining her figure, curled up and crying in front of a seaside he had never seen?

A familiar man appeared in front of Deborah as she was hurriedly walking down the hallway.

“Hello, Deborah.”

His handsome face wore a kind-looking smile. And his voice was so gentle. Deborah responded with a slight smile.

“Your way of addressing me has changed.”

“The master calls you by name. Ah, is that uncomfortable for you?”

“Not at all.”

“That’s a relief. Please feel free to call me Sedric as well.”

“How could I address the butler so…”

“You call the master Mr. Baker, don’t you? Why can’t you do the same for me?”

“That’s true. Then Mr. Rareford…”

“What? If you’re going to call me something, please use my name.”

Deborah laughed softly.

“It’s strange to add ‘Mr.’ when using someone’s first name, isn’t it?”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

Deborah smiled a quiet smile without a trace of shadow.

‘Just as I heard.’

Sedric gazed steadily at her face, recalling his trip to Bermers.

Zen had given Sedric only two tasks. First, bring her belongings. And second, find out how Deborah had been living in Bermers.

‘How she had been living?’

Sedric had furrowed his brow with a smile at the uncharacteristic phrasing from Zen. But upon reflection, it ultimately meant ‘Find out what kind of woman she is.’

Sedric had responded with his usual smile that he would do so, but in truth he thought it would be no easy task.

Investigating an ordinary woman was often more difficult than investigating a businessman, and rural towns tended to be closed off. They would surely be wary of a stranger like Sedric approaching.

‘This could take a while. Should I just think of it as a vacation?’

Though it was unthinkable to take a vacation at such a busy time.

And so, after a long train ride, Sedric was able to arrive at the port town of Bermers that he had heard so much about.

There are some fairly nice scenes that come to mind when thinking of the seaside, aren’t there? Blue ocean, sandy beaches, the quiet sound of waves.

Sedric had expected Bermers to be like that as he got off the train. But Bermers was just like a marketplace.

Perhaps because it was close to the harbor, a fishy smell assaulted him as soon as he left the train station, and wooden crates for holding fish were strewn about everywhere.

Fishing nets were also left lying around haphazardly.

And perhaps because there weren’t many wealthy people, the attire of those walking the streets was uniformly rough, which made Sedric stand out even more.

People couldn’t take their sharp gazes off Sedric, whether out of curiosity or suspicion.

‘Why is Madam Saint staying in a neighborhood like this? It doesn’t seem like a place she would like.’

With that thought, Sedric headed straight for the mansion where Madam Saint was staying.

The mansion where Madam Saint was staying was located quite far from the sea.

Standing in the yard, one could see the seaside in the distance, but to reach the ocean, one would have to travel for quite some time by carriage – a modest mansion sitting alone on high ground in a field.

Even if the fishy smell didn’t reach this far, this humble mansion didn’t suit Madam Saint.

How grand was the Forea Ducal mansion? It was hard to understand why someone who lived in a place considered the finest architectural work in the South would come out to live in such hardship.

‘Is it some wealthy person’s secret hobby?’

Putting aside that strange thought, Sedric spoke gently to the maid who had taken care of Deborah’s belongings.

“You must be worried about having to handle all the work alone for a while.”

She shook her head with a faint smile.

“No. The work I’m supposed to do alone is what Deborah had been helping with until now.”

“Helping? But she must have been paid a salary.”

“But Deborah always worked more than what she was paid for.”

Deborah always volunteered first to take on unavoidable unpleasant tasks. For example, things like going grocery shopping on evenings with bad weather.

“Hmm. Mrs. Johnson seems like a kind person.”

“Indeed. She’s probably the nicest and kindest person I’ve ever met.”

Sedric nodded with a smile in his eyes, but inwardly he had other thoughts.

‘Not a very wise person, this Deborah Johnson.’

It’s foolish to push one’s work onto others to save one’s own skin. It’s good to show some kindness to people you’ll be seeing for a long time, for the sake of the future.

But it’s also foolish to always step forward and suffer alone. If it’s just once in a while that’s one thing, but if you do it every time, people stop seeing it as kindness.

‘It’s fortunate this maid seems to have some sense.’

With a gentle laugh, Sedric asked the maid:

“By the way, how did Mrs. Johnson end up becoming a maid for the Duchess of Forea? As you know, the Duchess is quite particular. She wouldn’t have let just anyone close to her.”

“When the Duchess first arrived here, there was a time when she suddenly fell ill. Deborah helped her then.”

“Ah, so there was such a connection. In any case, Mrs. Johnson was lucky. It’s not easy to be offered a job like this.”

“No. At first, Deborah refused this job.”

Sedric’s eyes widened while maintaining his smile as he said:

“Refused?”

“Yes. I still vividly remember what Deborah said at that time.”

The maid laughed once and recited exactly what Deborah had said then.

“My lady! I’m grateful for the offer, but I can’t quit my current job. I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone much better, my lady.”

She even imitated the gesture of waving her hands in refusal as she continued speaking.

“I’ve served the lady for a long time, but that was the first time I’d seen her with such a blank expression.”

“What on earth was her original job that made her refuse this one?”

When Sedric asked, the maid covered her smiling mouth with her hand and answered:

“Weaving nets.”

“…Pardon?”

Sedric asked, shaking his head slightly.

“She did other jobs besides weaving nets.”

The maid said this while counting on her fingers:

“I think she also sorted fish, wrote letters for people, and mediated between merchants when they came to buy goods. She sometimes taught the neighborhood children too.”

It was surprising how many things she had done alone. Though it didn’t seem like she would have earned much money.

Sedric let out a small laugh and asked:

“So how was she persuaded? Did Mrs. Johnson come back on her own?”

“Hehe. That’s…”

She covered her mouth before finishing her sentence. She had an expression like she had just realized something.

‘Ah. Has she noticed that I’m digging for information about Deborah Johnson?’

Sedric maintained his pleasant smile as if he knew nothing.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh my, I just realized I haven’t told the villagers. They’ll all be curious about Deborah’s news, but I can’t go out right now…”

Sedric was relieved by the maid’s reaction. At least he didn’t seem suspicious-

“Mr. Rareford. I’m sorry, but could you hear the rest from the villagers? I think it would be better for you to hear it from them as well.”

The maid said with a small smile. Sedric also maintained his smile, but inwardly he thought:

‘I thought she was a naive person, but I guess she is the Duchess of Forea’s person after all…’

Sedric arrived at a pub selling fried fish, clutching a bag of candy as the maid had instructed. Even though it wasn’t open yet, the smell of oil stung his nose.

Deborah and her husband had lived on the third floor of this pub, he had been told.

‘Smelling this oily scent every day seems like it would ruin one’s stomach.’

Sedric opened the shop door with a faint smile.

The people filling the shop were having loud conversations in strong accents. As if they couldn’t communicate without shouting like this.

When they briefly glanced towards the door, they probably didn’t intend to stop their conversations. It would surely be a familiar person, so a quick greeting of “Oh, you’re here?” would suffice.

But this customer wasn’t someone they knew. He was “that strange man” who had been one of the topics of conversation.

A young, handsome man wearing fine clothes, who had headed straight for Madam Saint’s house.

People looked at Sedric with gazes full of curiosity, or hostility.

‘Oh dear.’

Amidst the shower of stares, Sedric headed towards the bar where the owner was likely to be. Though he was smiling, he felt quite awkward. He doubted whether smooth conversation would be possible in this atmosphere.

‘But I have to try.’

Sedric spoke to the woman who appeared to be the owner:

“Might you be the owner, Emma?”

“Who are you to be calling my name?”

Emma wore an expression as if she might brandish a knife at any moment.