“…!”

As Lily’s voice came from behind, Anna turned her head so abruptly it made a sound. Anna’s face turned as white as if she had seen a ghost when she discovered Lily, who she thought had gone to the drawing room, standing at the entrance of the hallway.

“Oh, are you Countess Benjamin?”

On the other hand, the man approached Lily with delight. Lily’s expression hardened for a moment when she saw the silver badge on the man’s collar.

“Are you Lady Liliana Benjamin?”

About 2 years ago, memories of happily playing with friends including Kennedy and returning home vaguely came to mind.

“I am an investigator from the Capital Security Force… ” he said.

At that time, the person who greeted Lily as she got off the carriage was neither the servants of the Benjamin estate nor her parents. It was a middle-aged man wearing a silver badge like that man.

“There was a fire at the Benjamin estate…”

“Unfortunately, Count Madison Benjamin has passed away.”

“Countess Grace Benjamin survived miraculously but suffered terrible burns…”

As horrible memories that she wanted to forget but could never forget came back one by one, Lily’s face turned pale. In the midst of that, as the silver badge stimulating her trauma got closer and closer, Lily unknowingly took a step back.

Belatedly noticing her unusual reaction, the man stopped.

“Are you alright, Countess?”

“Are you alright, my lady?”

As the man’s words overlapped with what she heard 2 years ago, the boundary between reality and the past became blurred. What pulled Lily, who was precariously in between, back to reality was a small but rough hand.

“Madam.”

“…”

Lily slowly blinked and looked down at the young boy who pulled her arm. His deep blue eyes like an abyss reflected her in reality like a mirror.

“Are you okay, Madam?”

Emily’s youthful and soft voice, full of worry, also helped greatly to awaken Lily’s mind that had been consumed by terrible trauma. Whew. Breathing out a big sigh and shaking off the lingering afterimages of trauma, Lily straightened her back and looked at the man.

“What is the matter?”

She did not apologize for showing an unsightly appearance or ask him to please forget it. It meant that she didn’t even want to mention it to the point of disliking to say such things. The man, who understood tactfully, did not ask any more questions and got straight to the point.

“Someone has dug up the grave of your father, Count Madison Benjamin.”

“What… did you just say? Someone dug up my father’s grave?”

As Lily asked back in a trembling voice, hardly able to believe the news, the man quietly nodded and put his hand on his chest.

“I am also very sorry to have to deliver such news, Countess.”

“…”

From the moment she knew the man was an investigator from the Capital Security Force, she guessed something bad must have happened… but to think it would be such a terrible thing.

The shock was so severe, as if hit on the head with a huge hammer, that Lily could not say anything and closed her eyes tightly. The investigator carefully continued, watching Lily’s reaction.

“I came to see you not only to deliver that news, but also to ask for your cooperation in the witness investigation. We need to check if any items are missing, and this case has some peculiarities unlike ordinary grave robbery cases…”

“Peculiarities?”

As Lily opened her eyes again and asked back, the investigator nodded and glanced around. It meant it was a story difficult to discuss where there were many ears listening.

“I’d like to check the site in person. Would that be possible?”

“Of course it’s possible. Then I will tell you the details on the way.”

Lily, who nodded, was about to follow the investigator right away when she thought of Emily and Harry and looked back at them. After briefly observing the children’s faces tangled with worry, concern, and perplexity, Lily asked.

“Do you want to come along?”

It was a question tantamount to saying she would hire Emily as her exclusive maid. If it was a relationship that would end here, she would not have made such a proposal.

Of course, that wasn’t the only meaning. If it was simply that, it would have been right to tell them to wait until she returned. But the decision to take them along was because of Anna.

It seemed like Anna, whose brazen lie had been exposed, would take out her anger on the child, saying she was incompetent. She might also threaten that if she worked here, she would not fare well. If Emily heard those words and ran away saying she couldn’t work, it would be a big problem, so Lily thought it would be better to take them along.

Even so, she didn’t want to forcibly take them, so Lily asked the children what they thought. Emily and Harry briefly looked at each other, then answered.

“Yes. I will go with you, Madam.”

“I will not go along.”

The former was Emily and the latter was Harry. When Lily looked at him curiously, Harry added.

“To serve you, Madam, I need to stay here, so I will go home and bring mine and my sister’s belongings.”

Lily had been worried that Harry might say he didn’t want to stay here and wanted to go back, but fortunately that wasn’t the case. Relieved, a gentle smile appeared on Lily’s lips.

“Can you go alone? Should I send someone with you?”

“It’s alright. I can go by myself.”

Harry’s spirited answer made Lily proud, and she stroked the child’s head. Harry touched the spot where Lily’s hand had been, looking a bit dazed, then immediately bowed deeply enough for his hair to fall.

“Then I will be back, Madam.”

After Harry left with a loud farewell, Lily also set out with Emily, following the investigator.

Herald, who left the Braden estate, headed straight to the Imperial Palace to meet Austin, the Crown Prince.

The Imperial Palace was largely divided into the outer palace and inner palace. Access to the inner palace, where the Emperor and the imperial family resided, was strictly restricted. Only those with entry permits stamped with the seal of the imperial family could enter, and to receive this permit, one had to submit a “statement of reasons” with valid reasons at least a week in advance.

When entering the inner palace, one had to undergo a thorough body search, and liquids not pre-approved were prohibited from being brought in. This was due to the risk of poisoning.

There were many other regulations, but Herald was not bound by any of them. The reason was simple. He was a knight trusted by the Emperor, a long-time friend of the Crown Prince, and a hero who had dealt with the Salamanders, a thorn in the Empire’s side. The Emperor’s trust in him was so deep that it was said he would have married him to his daughter if he had one.

As soon as the Imperial Palace knights guarding the inner palace saw Herald’s face, they immediately opened the gate. There were no simple questions like whether he was really Count Herald Braden or what business he had visiting the inner palace.

Heading straight to the Crown Prince’s palace without hesitation, Herald encountered an unexpected problem there.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is currently attending a nobility meeting.”

It was Austin’s absence. This happened because he had come looking for him without making a separate appointment or asking permission to see him. Normally this would be a very rude and disrespectful act, but it was a familiar occurrence between Herald and Austin.

“Will you come back another time?”

The head maid, who had been by the Crown Prince’s side for a long time, knew this fact well, so she asked calmly without being surprised or flustered. Confirming that the current time was a little past 10 o’clock, Herald asked back.

“Is lunch prepared?”

He was asking if he could see Austin during lunch. It also meant that if he could see him, he would wait. The head maid, who understood right away, answered with a smile.

“I will tell the kitchen to prepare a meal for you as well, Count.”

It meant it was possible. Herald left a message asking for the favor and left the Crown Prince’s palace. With about two hours left until lunchtime, Herald, who was about to visit the archive in the outer palace, frowned. Under a tree with dense foliage, an unlucky face was leaning against it.

“Long time no see, Count Braden.”

It was Derius, the Second Prince. Herald wanted to ignore him, but as he was a member of the imperial family, he had no choice but to bow his head in greeting.

“Long time no see, Your Highness.”

Derius smiled prettily, his eyes narrowing into crescents. The sunlight pouring through the leaves shattered brilliantly on his clean skin.

“I never thought I would meet you in a place like this, Count.”

The corners of Herald’s lips tilted askew.

“Did you really not know?”

The place they were currently in was a passage from the Crown Prince’s palace to the outer palace, far from the Second Prince’s palace. But it was impossible for Derius, who considered the Crown Prince more terrible than the enemy who killed his parents, to be wandering around this area.

Unless he had a specific purpose, that is. Herald was convinced that his purpose was to meet him.

“My, my. I can’t deceive your eyes, Count.”

Derius smiled awkwardly, touching the nape of his neck, and stepped in front of him.

“That’s right. Meeting you was not a coincidence. It was an inevitability I created.”

His golden eyes looking at Herald sparkled as dazzlingly as the sunlight illuminating the world.

“I didn’t want to use such a childish method either… but I had no choice because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to have a conversation with you, Count. You understand my feelings, right?”

Herald was about to answer that there was no way he could understand, but then he remembered the things he did because he wanted to see Lily and swallowed his words. At the same time, he frowned, upset that Derius knew that fact.

Since when have you been watching me?

No, is Lily the one he’s monitoring?

“As expected. I thought you would understand my feelings, Count.”

Derius smiled wide enough to show his dimples and grabbed Herald’s shoulder.

“Then let’s go somewhere quiet and have an intimate talk. There are so many things I want to say to you, Count.”