“……What?”

Aria was so shocked by what she heard that she didn’t even realize she had responded informally.

Lennon’s sharp gaze thoroughly scrutinized her. His eyes were filled with certainty.

“I’ve been thinking about it since seeing Bonita.”

He continued talking, regardless of Aria’s speechless state.

“Everyone believed Bonita was stillborn, even her mother, Elodie. Yet, Bonita is alive.”

Tap. Tap.

Tapping his index finger, he theorized.

“The only assumption then is that someone switched the real Bonita with another baby’s corpse.”

“Wait a minute.”

“So the questions are ‘who’, ‘why’, and ‘how’, right?”

His coral eyes gleamed.

“Figuring out ‘who’ is hard, but if we start with ‘why’, two possibilities come to mind.”

He formed a V with his fingers.

“First, someone held a personal grudge against Elodie. Second, they had an interest in the infant Countess Lysiansus.”

“But Elodie wasn’t someone to garner hatred. Objectively, not just as a brother. Even if someone coveted the Rotwail estate, getting rid of Elodie wouldn’t benefit them with me and Lennon around.”

“So, the remaining motive is targeting Bonita, the future Countess Lysiansus. Probably with someone’s deceased baby.”

Aria was just staring blankly at Lennon.

She knew her second brother was intelligent, but she hadn’t imagined he could deduce so much without any clues.

Noticing Aria’s expression, Lennon seemed even more confident.

“Who would benefit most from the disappearance of the infant Countess Lysiansus?”

“……Uh?”

“Many, but if we pick one, it’d be the Countess Lysiansus’s younger brother, Count Delpfinium.”

“Wait, just a minute.”

“Delpfinium was in the empire at that time. It’s impossible.”

“Probably someone else carried it out.”

Lennon half-smiled.

“The most suitable person would be a woman trusted enough by Elodie to be present at the birth. Probably Aria Hilton. Though it might not be.”

He pondered, touching his chin.

“Didn’t Miss Hilton take maternity leave two months ago? I don’t know what happened to that baby, maybe stillborn?”

“So, Delpfinium’s trip to the empire was to hire an ice mage skilled enough to preserve a dead body?”

Aria instinctively leaned forward at Lennon’s deductions.

Her delicate hands gripping the bench tightened.

“If Miss Hilton used some obscure magic device to switch the babies, it explains why she quit right after Elodie’s delivery. Maybe she left after getting a hefty sum from Count Delpfinium.”

“That’s non”

“Now, then.”

Whoosh.

Lennon turned his head.

Aria and Lennon were now face to face, very close.

“So, why did you, having switched Bonita, crawl back into the Lysiansus mansion? Ran out of money? Or perhaps……”

Aria swallowed hard.

Dangerous.

If Lennon tells Lysiansus his theory, she’ll undoubtedly be thrown out.

Just being expelled would be lucky.

Whether Delpfinium was the culprit or not, Aria being the executor was true, and digging deeper would surely yield clues.

Would Lysiansus really let Aria go unscathed, even if Bonita wanted her to stay?

……Unlikely.

She quickly thought.

She had to find a way out of this precarious situation.
“But originally, she was far from being smart. Her grades in school were barely average.

Lennon’s eyes scrutinized Aria. Hesitating, he suddenly blurted out.

“Are you Elodie?”

“I’m not huh?”

Aria froze far longer than when she first heard the accusation of being the culprit. Her brain seemed to stop working as well.

Her mind, which had been spinning with excuses, felt like it had gone completely blank. It wouldn’t have been much different in reality.

Such a thought was beyond her imagination. However, Aria quickly let go of any hope.

‘No, no. Luke and Mother made similar comments, but those were jokes. Brother must be’

“Just to clarify, this isn’t a joke.”

Lennon didn’t give Aria a chance to continue her thoughts.

He crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly. His nearly shoulder-length pink hair swayed to the side.

His intelligent eyes, hidden behind sweet hues, gazed at her.

“It’s strange, no matter how I think about it. Aria Hilton would never bring Bonita here. And if she swapped Bonita on Count Delpfinium’s orders, well, anyway”

Lennon stumbled over his words.

As sharp as he was, this part was hard to explain logically.

After all, Elodie died six years ago.

How could a person who died six years ago suddenly appear as Aria Hilton?

Even a passing dog would laugh at such a notion.

Lennon wouldn’t have believed or even speculated about it had he not seen Aria himself.

But something kept nagging at him.

He referred to this ‘illogical yet somehow plausible’ feeling as intuition. His intuition had never been wrong.

That’s why he asked Aria such an absurd question.

Aria clenched the hem of her dress tightly. Her heart pounded fiercely.

“I, I am”

Being recognized by someone. It was a situation she longed for so much.

Her red lips quivered. She unconsciously stroked her face.

What expression was she wearing now?