While he was lost in thought, Marianne’s brow furrowed more and more. The more she pondered, the more displeased she seemed with his words.

Christoph, who had been glaring at Maksim’s back from afar with narrowed eyes, clicked his tongue softly.

Maksim, turning his head, glared at Marianne and caught Christoph’s eye. Startled, he quickly turned his head away.

“Isn’t it because he’s interested in you that he’s tormenting you?”

“What?”

Marianne stared at him incredulously, as if asking what on earth he was talking about. Christoph was somewhat confident.

“Don’t you remember, Mihail Hindenburg?”

“Ah.”

A vague sigh escaped from her lips. Mihail Hindenburg, along with the face of a malicious man, came to mind after a long time.

He had tormented her for simply being a woman when she first entered law school. He was as capricious as the summer weather.

Some days he would get angry just by making eye contact, other days he was as cold as a chilly breeze. Suddenly he would shove useless gifts at her, or stare at her with an uncomfortably persistent gaze, or even willingly give up his seat in the fiercely competitive library.

In short, he was an utterly unpredictable person.

“You’ve always been popular with strange guys, haven’t you?”

At that, Marianne looked at Christoph without realizing it.

Staring.

For a very long time.

You know you’re included in those strange guys, right?

Her silent question reached him. Christoph swiftly raised his eyebrows as if to ask why she was looking at him like that.

Her question never really reached him. Marianne, who had shaken her head as if resigned, avoided his gaze, saying, “Never mind.”

But Christoph was sincere. One of the reasons he had proposed to Marianne upon graduation was precisely Mihail Hindenburg.

Mihail’s actions were as blatant as a neighborhood dog would notice. The rumor that he liked Marianne was known to everyone but the two parties involved.

When his proposal was finalized, Christoph felt an inexplicable urgency. What would happen to the two of them where he was not present? He was anxious in case Mihail admitted his feelings.

Although Mihail wasn’t worth the challenge, he was the third son of the Count Hindenburg. A son of the Hindenburg family known for their posturing.

It was quite an acceptable marriage condition, and he knew of a few women who had their eyes on Mihail. Marriage was a contract between families, after all.

So Christoph proposed to Marianne. It was a proposal that no one, not even Christoph himself, expected.

But Christoph never regretted his decision that day, especially after witnessing the shocked expression on Mihail’s face when he heard the news of their wedding.

Did Marianne regret her choice that day? Did she regret the day they promised to be together forever, to the point of throwing divorce papers and leaving?

Unanswerable questions followed one after another. As Christoph’s thoughts grew longer, Nicholas approached the two.

“Inspector.”

After briefly greeting Marianne, Nicholas extended his hand to Christoph, who responded with a handshake after a slight lift of his thick brows.

Marianne was apprehensive that he would behave rudely as he had with Maksim, but it turned out to be a baseless worry. Christoph dealt with Nicholas with an impeccable polite attitude.

Marianne whispered quickly and softly in his ear.

“Don’t forget. I’m neither Marianne Schneider nor Marianne Cloize. I’m Marianne Habek.”

As soon as her words ended, Nicholas greeted them.

“I’m Inspector Nicholas Stefan. I’ve heard from the Commissioner. Starting today, you’ve agreed to advise our police force, Inspector Schneider?”
‘Lord’ was not a title one would typically attach to a lawyer. But considering that Christoph had already inherited his father’s title, the title of ‘Lord’ was not exactly incorrect.

Christoph nodded his head in a posture as upright as one would find in a textbook. His eyes held a pride unique to the aristocracy.

“Mr. Christoph will suffice. I told Chief Simon as well, but I’m not here as the heir of Count Schneider. It’s a personal matter. I would rather the name Schneider not be mentioned. The police consultant is an informal title, after all.”

“Unofficial… Alright, Mr. Christoph. But.”

Nicholas, who paused for a moment, looked alternately at Marianne and Christoph.

“May I ask what the relationship is with our new recruit? You seemed quite familiar in conversation.”

Nicholas was not pleased with the current situation. In a matter of days, two parachutes had dropped onto his team through the Chief’s influence. It felt like he had suddenly become a nanny.

As Christoph moistened his lips for a moment, Marianne quickly intercepted his response.

“He’s my college senior.”

“…”

“…”

A short silence passed. It was a silence with which no one agreed.

Christoph slowly turned his eyes to gaze at Marianne. Marianne met his gaze with a piercing look. It was a resolute look, as if to say, don’t say anything unnecessary.