“Now that I’ve made up my mind, it’s time to take action.”

“But what should I do?”

Kisa stared intently at the neatly arranged cookies on the plate, lost in thought.

The faces of the three men who had first given her information, including Daniel, flashed through her mind.

‘I probably won’t be able to get anything more from them.’

Father Emil seemed to have already said everything he wanted to say, and Daniel had outright told her to find evidence.

If there was anything more, they would have likely revealed it then and there.

“Speaking of which, he told me to find it…”

Kisa muttered under her breath and let out a deep sigh.

It was easy for him to say, but she and Seyerd were about to get married, and while she had entered his personal space a few times, that didn’t mean she could freely search the entire mansion.

No matter how you looked at it, she was still an outsider. If Kisa wandered around here and there without Seyerd, the people of Hillan would surely find it strange.

‘Above all, it would make Seyerd suspicious of me.’

As his face came to mind, her expression naturally hardened.

Deep in her heart, a faint desire arose to just be honest with him.

They say you murdered Bisherk Hillan and usurped the family. Is that true?

How would Seyerd react then?

Kisa shook her head vigorously at the absurd imagination that even she thought was ridiculous.

‘That’s nonsense.’

It was no ordinary accusation, but one of killing his own brother.

The moment she spoke of it, her relationship with Seyerd could never go back to how it was before.

Even if all the suspicions were cleared, there was a high probability that a lasting resentment would remain between them…

‘What if it’s actually true?’

For a moment, a chill ran down her spine.

Kisa tried to stop her trembling by clenching her shaking hands with force.

Then, as much as possible, she approached the problem by assuming Seyerd was a third party.

No matter how she thought about it, directly asking him seemed like the worst option.

Would a murderer really admit the truth without any substantial evidence?

Rather, it would only convince him that she suspected him.

Moreover, since he had already hurt someone before, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t do it again.

‘Then what should I do?’

Just then, while Kisa had been pondering for quite some time, a certain object suddenly popped into her head.

“Excuse me.”

And almost simultaneously with that, the door opened and Lily entered the drawing room.

She approached Kisa and poured freshly heated hot tea into the empty cup.

“You must be bored waiting.”

“No, I was reading this.”

In response to her question, Kisa smiled and held up the novel she had left open.

Lily replied as if she felt embarrassed.

“Sir Gilliam said the meeting might go on a bit longer.”

Seyerd was currently conversing with individuals who had come regarding the family’s business affairs.

“It’s okay. I’m the one who came without an appointment.”

In fact, for Kisa, it was preferable that Seyerd wasn’t here right now.

She could ponder various things more comfortably than when she was by his side, and she could also spend time alone with Lily like this.

“By the way, Lily, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Do you happen to know who the longest-serving servant in the Hillan family is?”

“Pardon?”

Lily’s eyes widened as if it was an unexpected question.

“I wanted to hear some stories before getting married.”

Kisa explained the intent behind her question to her.

“Soon I will become the duchess and manage the household of this mansion, so there might be things I need to be careful about. Of course, I’ll ask Seyerd too, but since the servants work in every corner of the mansion, I thought there might be aspects they would know.”

“Ah, I see.”

“If possible, I’d like to have a conversation with the most senior servant to hear about how the previous duchess managed the household. What do you think?”

“That’s an excellent idea.”

Lily nodded without showing any sign of doubt.

It seemed to be a pretty good excuse she had come up with on the spot.

“As far as I know, the person who has served the Hillan family the longest is Sir Gilliam.”

Come to think of it, Seyerd’s assistant had said he had worked for Hillan not only during Bisherk Hillan’s time but also when the brothers’ father was the head of the family.

However, the person Kisa wanted to confirm was not Gilliam, whom she already knew well.

“Hmm, is there anyone else? Who has served the second longest?”

“Well, since he serves the duke, housekeeping wouldn’t be his area of expertise. Then it would be the head maid. She has the second longest tenure.”

But then Lily, who had been answering well, suddenly let out an “Ah.”

“But the head maid probably won’t know much about how the previous duchess managed the household.”

“Why is that?”

“She came to the Hillan family after Her Grace’s health deteriorated and she left to recuperate.”

“What? The head maid?”

“Yes. But… is there something wrong?”

Kisa, who had inadvertently raised her voice a little, shook her head.

“No, I just thought she came later than I expected. Then how long has the head maid been working here?”

“It’s probably been about 6 years.”

“…”

6 years… Indeed, it’s short.

In most noble families, there were usually four or five servants who had worked for more than a decade.

As employers, it was better to have existing staff work for a long time rather than frequently changing people and making the household chaotic. Servants also preferred to show their loyalty to their employers and be treated generously.

The Ranspelt family also had several servants who had been there for more than a decade, and the nanny alone had been at the earl’s residence since Kisa was a baby, meaning she had worked for over twenty years.

Considering that the Hillan family had a much longer history than the Ranspelts, there was no reason for this tendency to be any less prevalent…

‘6 years is only considered mid-level in our family. What’s going on here?’

Kisa’s question was soon answered by Lily.

“You’re right. Except for Sir Gilliam, the servants of Hillan actually haven’t been working here for very long.”

“Is there a particular reason?”

“Before the current duke took over as head of the family, he dismissed almost all the senior servants. He gave them twice the promised retirement pay.”

“…”

“The mansion was in an uproar back then. Even those who hadn’t worked for long wanted to retire quickly.”

Lily chattered and laughed.

“I guess the duke heard about those rumors because not long after, the remaining servants received a huge performance bonus. Thanks to that, the duke’s reputation soared in an instant.”

“I… I see.”

When she thought about it, it wasn’t particularly strange.

Born as the younger of the twins, he had not received proper heir education and grew up in a monastery. When he first took over the family, there must have been a lot of talk among the servants as well.

Concerns like whether he would be able to lead the family well.

Considering that, spending money to win their hearts was not a bad strategy to start with.

‘…I wonder if that’s all there is to it.’

In Seyerd’s diary, that old notebook, there were people he resented in his childhood.

His brother Bisherk, the foolish Coby, the parents who sent him to the monastery, the abbot, his mentor Brother Maquio, and… the servants.

Yes, the servants who directly dragged Seyerd out of the ducal residence at the order of the duke and duchess.

A moment ago, when Kisa had recalled the existence of the diary, she suddenly wondered how those mentioned in it were doing these days.

As is well known, Bisherk and the former ducal couple had passed away, and Coby had gone to one of Hillan’s villas, making confirmation impossible.

As for the abbot and Brother Maquio, she had seen with her own eyes that they were doing fine just a few months ago, so the only ones left were the servants.

‘But apart from Gilliam, none of the servants who worked at this mansion when Seyerd was here remain.’

If the head maid, who had been here the second longest after Gilliam, came 6 years ago, Seyerd would have already been an adult by then.

A slight headache came on. Was this really a coincidence?

…Were the servants who had left the ducal residence with a generous retirement package doing well?

It felt like an overly sensitive thought, but once it caught her attention, she strangely became anxious.

“Lily.”

“Yes, miss.”

“…”

“Miss?”

Kisa abruptly stood up from her seat.

“I feel like taking a walk. I’m thinking of strolling in the garden. Would you like to come with me?”

“If it’s alright with you, I’d be delighted to.”

As Kisa left the drawing room with Lily, she swallowed her dry saliva.

She had almost asked Lily about the whereabouts of the retired servants.

But on second thought, that seemed a bit too much.

Why would she, who had not yet become the Duchess of Hillan, be curious about former servants, even if she might about the current ones?

‘My head just got more complicated.’

Kisa sighed as she walked through the garden. Just then, the sound of horses could be heard from the direction of the main gate.

Looking that way, she saw the gatekeeper and a man, whose appearance seemed strangely familiar to her.

When he noticed her gaze, his face brightened.

Oh, that appearance…

“Brother Visius?”

It was the young monk who had guided Kisa at Pavella Monastery.

“Why are you here?”

As Kisa approached the gate and greeted him, the gatekeeper blinked.

“Are you perhaps a servant of the Ranspelt family?”

She was about to say no, but she saw Brother Visius shaking his head behind the gatekeeper.

Did he want to hide his identity?

Kisa answered yes in a fluster, and the gatekeeper advised that next time he should clearly state his identity from the beginning and let the monk into the mansion.

“What’s going on, Brother?”

As soon as they were away from the gatekeeper, Kisa asked, and Brother Visius scratched his head.

“Since I came without notice, if I told the gatekeeper the truth, it would spoil the surprise.”

“Spoil the surprise?”

The young monk grinned.

“I’m going to surprise Brother Hillan, no, His Grace the Duke, with my sudden appearance. It’ll be fun, right?”