After Lili and Kennedy left, the Countess also rose soon, saying she had business to attend to.

Left alone with Count Stacy, Fredrick pretended to drink coffee while observing the Count’s expression. When Lili was here, he smiled kindly like a good-natured neighbor, but now there was no smile at all. His eyes were also cold.

At the stark temperature difference, Fredrick inwardly chuckled while also becoming certain.

That the item the Second Prince Derius was looking for was something extremely critical to him.

And that he had even killed Lili’s father, the previous Baron Benjamin, Madison Benjamin, because of that item.

“Are you looking for the item?”

Just from how Count Stacy kept urging, he could tell. Putting down his teacup, Fredrick let out a deep sigh as if truly regretful.

“I’m searching diligently too, but it’s not easy to find when I don’t know what item His Highness the Second Prince is looking for.”

“Still, search hard. His Highness the Second Prince firmly believes the Baron will find it, so I hope you don’t betray that trust.”

So he won’t tell me what kind of item it is until the end. That made him even more curious. He’d find out anyway once he found the item, so he sincerely wanted to know the reason for hiding it.

“Just in case, I’m telling you this, but don’t cause a commotion and search as quietly as possible. You must not let your wife or other people find out that you’re searching for the item.”

Not ‘the item’, but the fact itself that he’s searching mustn’t be discovered, huh…

“You speak as if someone else is also looking for that item.”

Fredrick said jokingly with a smirk, but Count Stacy’s expression noticeably stiffened. Seems it hit the mark. Knowing it was time to back off, Fredrick laughed emptily.

“It’s a joke.”

“…You make jokes in poor taste.”

“I found it funny, but I’m sorry you didn’t find it amusing, Count.”

Fredrick shrugged and changed the subject of conversation.

“Then shall we move on from unfunny talk and start discussing business?”

When Herald visited Megan’s house again, the investigators had already ransacked her home and left.

Herald clicked his tongue at the messy footprints from the stairs to the entrance and inside the house, and the interior that looked like it had been burglarized rather than investigated.

The most basic principle of crime scene investigation was preserving the scene. Yet they made such a mess. If these were his subordinates, he would have fired them all. He had no reason to keep incompetent fools who couldn’t even do the basics, let alone school teachers.

Herald stood at the entrance, quickly scanned the interior with his eyes, and went back outside. The investigators would have already taken anything that could be evidence, so there was no need to search the house. That wasn’t his purpose for coming here anyway.

After descending the stairs that looked like they might collapse any moment but were somehow holding up, Herald entered an alley a short distance from Megan’s house. The children huddled together playing inside the alley shrank back in fear when the unfamiliar man appeared.

“W-Who are you!”

The largest boy who looked the oldest among the gathered children threateningly asked while brandishing a tree branch. He still looked to be just around 10 years old.

Herald wasn’t intimidated at all, but pretended to be scared as he raised both hands to shoulder height.

“I’m not here to harm you, I just have something I want to ask. You don’t need to be afraid.”

“Liar! You’re trying to reassure us and then kidnap us, right? To sell us to some weird person!”

Oh, the little one seems to know quite a bit. While inwardly impressed, Herald also found it troublesome. This wouldn’t allow him to achieve his goal. Needing to somehow win the children’s favor, he took out his secret weapon from his pocket.

“I’ll give you this.”

The children’s eyes changed upon seeing the colorful candies in the glass jar. Some were even drooling. The eyes of the boy who had been wary of Herald wavered too, but he still tightly gripped the tree branch in his hand.

“If you answer what I ask, I’ll give you all of this.”

“W-What do you want to ask?”

“Do you know the person named Megan who lived in that blue-roofed two-story house over there?”

Most people would say children don’t know anything and there’s no need to listen to them, but Herald thought differently. Children were honest and reliable witnesses.

In fact, children’s testimonies had been crucial in exterminating the Salaman tribe, so he came to seek their help this time too.

At Herald’s question, the children put their heads together and started whispering.

“Megan? You mean that lady? The one that man always beat…”

“Right! But Mom said that lady died…”

“Why? Did that man beat her again?”

They clearly know who Megan is. Having confirmed that much, Herald asked again.

“Has anyone seen the bad guy who beat that lady?”

He shook the glass jar to indicate he’d give candy if they answered, and the children raised their hands and shouted.

“Me, I saw! I saw the man beating the lady!”

“I saw too!”

Since 6 out of 10 children said they saw it, it was clear how often Olben beat Megan normally. He’s even more trash than I thought. Herald inwardly clicked his tongue.

The children’s testimonies continued, but the story he wanted wasn’t coming out. Herald waited patiently, and his eyes met with the boy still tightly gripping the tree branch. The boy’s eyes were shaking more than when he first saw Herald.

He knows something. Herald quietly looked at the boy without rushing him. He just noticed, but the boy’s eyes were blue like the sea.

“…”

The boy’s lips quivered as if debating whether to speak or not, then he finally opened his mouth slowly, looking at Herald with resolute eyes.

“I’ll tell you everything I know… if you grant my request too.”

Neither Lili nor Kennedy spoke a word the entire time they left the terrace and went to the small reception room attached to Kennedy’s bedroom. They walked silently looking straight ahead, but still held hands tightly.

Following behind Kennedy, Lili looked at their clasped hands. They used to walk like this so often before that incident. A melancholic emotion settled in Lili’s eyes as she recalled the faded memories.

She thought their friendship had completely burned away on the day the Benjamin Barony burned down, but it seems some remnants still remained.

She thought Kennedy would let go of her hand when they reached the reception room, but she didn’t. She kept holding Lili’s hand. As the grip gradually tightened and her hand started to go numb, Lili couldn’t stand it anymore and asked.

“How long are you going to hold on?”

“…”

Kennedy turned her head and looked Lili up and down with eyes full of dissatisfaction and suspicion before asking.

“You, what are you?”

Suddenly asking what? At the abrupt question, Lili frowned and roughly shook off Kennedy’s hand that was still gripping hers as she retorted.

“If you suddenly ask what I am, how am I supposed to answer?”

There’s no one watching anyway. Since Kennedy spoke informally first, Lili did too. Seemingly startled by her fierce tone, Kennedy flinched before sharply raising her eyes and shouting.

“Tell me how you seduced Dad!”

“…What?”

What did I just hear? Seduction? That I seduced Count Stacy?

Lili was so dumbfounded she couldn’t say anything.

“They say couples grow alike, but I didn’t know you’d become alike in this way too.”

Did she take that as affirmation? Kennedy let out a hollow laugh and crossed her arms. Contempt settled in her gaze as she looked at Lili.

“To even seduce our Dad. Do you have no shame? Well, if you did, you wouldn’t have married that trash just for money.”

The remnants of friendship that remained shattered completely at the barrage of harsh words. At the same time, Lili came to her senses and glared at Kennedy with eyes tangled with anger.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something, but I’ve never seduced Count Stacy.”

“Don’t lie! If you didn’t seduce him, there’s no way Dad would suddenly change his attitude!”

Lili laughed as if in derision.

“It’s nothing new for the Count to flip his attitude like turning his palm, so I don’t know why you’re saying such things now.”

“What do you…”

“He said he thought of me like a daughter or niece, but as soon as my father passed away, he turned his back. Even when I begged for help just once while getting drenched in heavy rain, he didn’t even spare a glance.”

Lili’s eyes sank coldly as she looked at Kennedy. Lili added with a sneer.

“You were the same too.”

“…”

Perhaps with some conscience, Kennedy didn’t say she never did such a thing. Her light brown eyes wavered, losing momentum.

Kennedy’s lips quivered as if wanting to say something, but in the end she couldn’t say anything and just hung her head low. Her earlobes visible through her disheveled hair were as red as tomatoes.

Is she embarrassed? Or ashamed? Lili was certain it was the latter. The flower of the Stacy County didn’t learn things like embarrassment after all.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going now, young lady Kennedy. I hope next time we meet, you’ll respect me as a Baroness.”

Clearly expressing that they were no longer friends and that treating her this way was very unpleasant, Lili was about to open the door and leave when.

“I-I’m sorry!”