“Why not just meet at the restaurant? It’s more efficient, isn’t it?”

Efficient, indeed.

“…Alright.”

After briefly contemplating, Liam tapped his temple with a finger as if deep in thought, then provided Marianne with the time and location before bidding her farewell.

“See you later… Ah.”

Liam began to speak but trailed off, his gaze piercing through her. His eyes seemed to be observing her, as if he were thinking about something else entirely.
In Marianne’s eyes, skepticism lingered from her childhood as he slowly spoke.

“Marianne Harper, Marianne Cloze, Marianne Schneider. Which name should I call you by?”

“…….”

Marianne stood there, her mouth slightly agape, as if pierced by a sudden realization. Eventually, a bittersweet smile crossed her lips. She hadn’t expected to hear those words from Liam.

“Marianne. Just call me Marianne. I’m just Marianne.”

“Alright, Marianne.”

He nodded readily. He didn’t pry into any backstory or offer hasty reassurances. He simply gave her his usual warm smile.

“See you later, Marianne.”

“Goodbye, Liam.”

She watched as he disappeared around the corner before calmly straightening up and leaving. Back in the office, Christoph was focused on organizing documents.

Marianne observed him from a distance. Christoph, always impeccably dressed, had taken off his jacket and draped it over the chair. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his forearms.

Her eyes fixated on the blue veins that stretched like mountain ranges on his arms. She knew how strong and firm those arms could hold her. She knew what they were capable of.

When would the day come when she looked at him with an unyielding gaze? Or would such a day ever come?

As Marianne sighed while gazing at him, Christoph furrowed his brow. The thick wrinkles on his forehead looked quite irritable. A faint clicking of the tongue could be heard.

“…….”
It was entirely reasonable. Until now, document organization had been Oliver’s responsibility. His last memory of organizing documents had become hazy.

Marianne couldn’t help but let out a laugh, and then she realized she was laughing, her lips twitching with a flustered expression.

Sigh.

Taking a deep breath, she put on a nonchalant mask and sat down next to Christoph. The once towering stack of documents had transformed into several smaller piles.

Marianne noticed that they were records categorized by events. She picked up one of the piles and began organizing them by date.

“So.”

As if he had been waiting, a deep voice emanated. Marianne threw a puzzled glance, raising an eyebrow. An unpleasant tone seeped from his words.

“How does Senior Marianne feel about delegating work to her junior and engaging in idle chatter with a quack like me?”

“?”

Marianne’s eyes widened in surprise, wondering how he could know.

Then her gaze shifted slightly to the side. Beyond his shoulder, a partially open window came into view. It was a window overlooking the bench below, allowing the gentle spring breeze to rustle in. The papers piled up, producing a rustling sound as they trembled.

The office entrance was bustling with scenery and citizens, and occasionally, someone would shout.

But for some reason, it felt peaceful. Marianne quietly tugged at the corner of her lips and turned her attention back to the documents.
Christopher, who had been about to say something, looked at her face and closed his mouth. Without a word, they both began organizing documents.

Between them, only the rustling of paper filled the silence.

“Why do we work so inefficiently like this, piling up documents after each case ends? I can’t understand why we do things this way,” Christopher grumbled, seemingly more to himself than to Marianne. She faintly pulled the corner of her lips, recalling that she had once had the same thought.

Christopher’s gaze lingered on her lips for a long while.

“You’ve stopped, Christopher.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“Perhaps it’s a tradition here to accumulate case records until the junior arrives.”

“We should hope the new probationer arrives soon.”

In response to his curt reply, Marianne drew another faint smile. At that moment,

“How long are we going to keep saying we’re doing our best? Get Daniel right now! Oh, for heaven’s sake! Just think about how scared that child must be…”

A sharp outcry pierced their ears. Marianne involuntarily raised her head. A woman dressed for an outing stood at the entrance with her maid.

Despite the uniformed officers’ perplexed expressions as they spoke to her, she paid them no mind. The well-built maid supported her mistress and raised her voice.

“Didn’t Director Simon say he would focus on this? This isn’t how it should be. Let’s go see Director Simon again, ma’am.”
At the maid’s urging, the lady turned around. A uniformed officer blocked their path and muttered, “So we also need to do our best…”

“Isn’t that person Lady Heinz? What’s the matter with her hip?”

Marianne rarely forgot someone once she had seen them. Two years ago, at a reception, she had been introduced to her. Marianne recalled that memory as Christoph’s indifferent voice settled into her ear.

“It seems their youngest son was kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?”

Marianne’s eyes widened. She turned her gaze towards Christoph.

Although he appeared gruff on the surface, he was a diligent man. Even as he spoke, Christoph’s hands worked diligently, flipping through the papers swiftly.

“If you compile the information that came while you were chatting with the author, it somehow points to that.”

Somehow, thorns seemed to be hidden in his words. Marianne subtly glanced at him. Christoph, unaware, continued with his explanation.