“He must have approached Lilia.”

That was the only conclusion he could draw. Whatever the method, Jocelyn undoubtedly used Lilia to entangle Verbo in her plans. Verbo neither listened to Jocelyn’s words nor acknowledged her presence as if he couldn’t see her, based on what she said.

So, what did she do…

At that moment, Cedrois suddenly recalled the face of the former chef he worked with before. He was expelled from the Duke’s estate without fully recovering from his illness, and since then, Cedrois had never seen his face again. The reason he collapsed was that he had eaten Ariante’s food. Ariante’s food contained poison.

“Let’s investigate the Negrin side.”

Jemero’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Negrin? There…”

“Mayana mentioned it to me before. She said there are many herbalists in Negrin selling suspicious drugs… Have you heard anything about it?”

Jemero, who had been silent for a moment, furrowed his brow.

“I knew that young people occasionally went to Negrin secretly to buy trivial things… I didn’t interfere. The boys know very well that the people of the Duke’s estate could get beaten if they entered Negrin incorrectly. If they wanted to go there despite accepting that risk, I let them be.”

“If it were Jocelyn, she would go anywhere noticeable and buy such things… whether it’s poison or something important. Let’s look into it.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Having finished speaking, Cedrois gulped down the remaining drink on the glass as if his throat was dry. Just as he was about to say something to Jemero again, a sudden sound echoed in his ears, freezing the surrounding air like a chill.

No, Cedrois shook his head vigorously, dispelling the lingering chill. He focused his eyes after that.

He sent a quiet signal to Jemero, then cautiously stood up. Under the door of the nearby corridor, a shadow was lurking through a crack where not even a finger could fit. Someone was undoubtedly lingering in front of his door.

Cedrois moved his body carefully towards the side where the light didn’t reach, trying to hide the movement of his shadow. When he grabbed the doorknob to turn it, suddenly, the door on the opposite side opened with a creak.

“Father.”

It was Ariante. Cedrois simultaneously swung the door wide open, but there was no one outside. The lamp, brightly illuminated, was hanging awkwardly on the wall, and it stared at him as if asking what was going on.

Cedrois’s breath became slightly rough. At that moment, Ariante, dragging her long nightgown on the floor, approached him and clung to his legs.

“Father, did a ghost come?”

The gaze of the child looking up was innocent. Cedrois smiled as if to reassure her and picked Ariante up, closing the door. Then, he gestured to Jemero to retreat.

“Why did you wake up? Ariante. Did you have a bad dream?”

“No, I just woke up.”

Holding Ariante in his arms, Cedrois buried himself on the sofa. If it were before, it would have been difficult for Ariante to climb onto his lap, but now, she comfortably leaned against him, as if her place was naturally in his arms.

“Yes, Father. I saw a ghost before.”

Ariante murmured. It seemed that the scary story she read earlier had quite an effect. When Cedrois smiled softly, Ariante, thinking that he didn’t believe her words, shook her foot slightly and said again.

“It’s true.”

“Oh, really? A ghost wandering around without Father’s permission. I should scold it. Where did you see it?”

“I didn’t see it with my eyes. But I heard the sound.”

“What sound?”
Arianthe leaned against Cedrois’ chest at an angle, lowering her gaze while fidgeting her fingers.

“It was the sound of crying. A woman’s cry. Very sad.”

“Where from?”

“In the portrait room.”

Cedrois’ fingertips, stroking Arianthe’s curly golden hair, paused.

The portrait room was a place adorned with portraits of the past Valternminster Duke and Duchess, and a large tapestry depicting the lineage of the ducal family. As it also displayed some treasures of the family, it was not a place where anyone could enter casually.

“…Someone was crying in the portrait room?”

Arianthe, who glanced at Cedrois for a moment, nodded, turning her gaze away again.

“Did you see who it was?”

“No, I didn’t see. But it really sounded like a ghost. Father, are ghosts real?”

Cedrois, unsure of what to answer, delayed his response for a moment, then lightly kissed Arianthe’s forehead and patted her back.

“It could be, or it might not be. But don’t worry. A bad ghost won’t come near you with me around.”

“Because Father is here?”

Cedrois smiled gently.

“Yes, because Father is here. And Maiana is here too. Maiana is very scary when she’s angry.”

“Right! I’m scared when Maiana gets mad. But she doesn’t get mad at me.”

“That’s right. By the way, Arianthe, if you stay up so late, you’ll be sleepy tomorrow morning… Father will read you a book, so you should go back to sleep.”

He spoke soothingly, but Arianthe, for some reason, shook her head playfully. In doing so, she loosened and pulled out a small lace ribbon tied to the end of her hair.

“I can’t sleep anymore.”