“Was it because the horse slipped due to the rain and lost balance, suddenly acting up……”

Riena couldn’t continue speaking and bit her lip tightly. Cassel looked at her pale lips without saying a word.

After a moment of silence, he carefully began to speak.

“I don’t believe that the master fell from her horse.”

At his confident tone, Riena raised her lowered head. Cassel’s expression was as resolute as his voice.

“The master was not only skilled in swordsmanship but also equally skilled in horsemanship. If it were the master, even if it rained heavily, she wouldn’t have perished so helplessly from falling off a horse.”

“So now……”

Are you saying that my father’s death wasn’t a simple accident?

She wanted to ask that, but the words wouldn’t come out, as if her throat was constricted.

Riena couldn’t respond. There was much she wanted to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

It wasn’t because she was shocked by the unexpected words. Rather, it was the opposite. Cassel was saying exactly what she had wanted to say.

“Father couldn’t have fallen from his horse. We need to investigate further.”

Embracing the coffin containing her father’s body, Riena had insisted as such.

A few years ago, when there was a similar downpour, her father had safely returned from an inspection with his skilled horsemanship. Moreover, the horse he cherished was gentle and wouldn’t have acted up enough to throw its master.

Even if he had fallen, it seemed unlikely that he would have died instantly, though he might have broken a leg. Father was a knight trained to be prepared for all such unexpected situations.

So she insisted that they should investigate again, thinking that the knights who had followed her father would step up to conduct a thorough investigation.

But.

“Riena, I know you’re sad, but we can’t trouble the knights with vain delusions. Remember that you’re not the only one suffering.”

Her stepmother’s words cut like a knife, and…

“The madam is right, young lady. I understand you’re grieving, but the Count fell from his horse in an accident. We’ve already completed the investigation. Please don’t unsettle us with groundless speculation. It’s not just you who’s sad; we’re also suffering greatly from losing the lord we followed with our lives.”

Even the captain of her knights dismissed it as the unreasonable stubbornness of an immature young lady.

Despite knowing full well that Riena could ride a horse as well as any decent knight, they treated her like an ignorant young lady with no knowledge of horseback riding and ignored her.

Riena continued to demand additional investigation into the truth, but no one took her words seriously.

“Don’t act like you’re the only one who lost someone precious, Riena. Mother lost her beloved husband, and Aaron lost the father he cherished, just like you. Of course, me too. Although we’re not related by blood, the Count was my father.”

Even Bianca treated her grief as insignificant. She treated Riena, who couldn’t escape her sorrow and kept holding onto her father, as an oddity.

Only Joanna comforted Riena, but looking back now, even her words seemed somewhat dubious.

“The living must live on, young lady. Even if there really are some questionable things left as you say, I’m sure the late master would want you to let it all go and live happily rather than dwelling on it.”

At first glance, it sounded like she was concerned for Riena, but upon reflection, it seemed like she was telling her to forget even if there were questionable things.

Anyway, from that day on, everything in the mansion seemed to go on excluding Riena overnight. As if they were trying to hide something.

From their attitude, Riena was convinced that there really was a hidden secret behind her father’s death.

However, there was no way for her, a mere young lady, to uncover all the truth. She just spent her days with a heart that felt like it was bleeding.

She never expected to hear such words from Cassel, whom she was meeting for the first time today. It felt like she had been hit on the back of the head, leaving her mind blank.

Riena closed her mouth for a moment, pondering what to say. Her mind was so complicated that she couldn’t organize her thoughts. However, despite the somewhat long deliberation, she soon spoke rather impulsively.

“Please investigate.”

“……”

“I also don’t think father passed away so futilely. So please, uncover the truth behind father’s death.”

Cassel replied concisely, still with an expression that made it impossible to know what he was thinking.

“Understood.”

He promised while looking straight into Riena’s eyes.

“I will definitely do so.”

There was a strange charm in his voice that captivated one’s heart. Riena felt that Cassel would keep that promise no matter what happened.

Instead of saying thank you, she smiled faintly. At that smile, which looked more like crying than smiling, Cassel unconsciously reached out his hand close to her face.

His large palm cupped Riena’s face. Then he carefully moved his thumb to brush her eyes. Unlike the cold raindrops, his warm body temperature enveloped her.

Don’t cry, he didn’t even offer that obvious comfort. However, Riena seemed to find solace in his small action and warm body temperature.

Riena and Cassel’s marriage was temporary.

Once the Dyke County was stabilized and the Countess no longer paid attention to Riena, and Riena was prepared to stand on her own, the two were expected to go their separate ways.

Therefore, it was unknown how long the marriage would last.

It could end in a month, or it could drag on for years if it went long.

When Riena reluctantly accepted Cassel’s proposal, she was worried.

Even if it was a fake marriage, she would have to be by Cassel’s side as his wife from now on, and she wondered if that would be okay.

Could they get along without conflict when she knew nothing about him?

But now her thoughts had changed.

With this man, she felt she wouldn’t be unhappy even if she knew nothing.

“What on earth is going on, Madam!”

As soon as the carriage carrying Riena and Cassel left, Baron Rothman started to complain.

“Why did you hide from me that Lady Dyke was engaged to Duke Winkler? It’s fortunate that things were resolved well, but I could have incurred the Duke’s great anger!”

The Baron shouted at the top of his lungs with a reddened face, but Countess Dyke wasn’t paying attention to him.

Her gaze was fixed on Johannes, who was looking at the place where the carriage had departed with a lofty expression.

“Are you listening to me? I will never forget today’s incident…!”

“You’re annoyingly noisy.”

Johannes, who had been silent all along, opened his mouth. Unlike his rough words, his voice was calm.

Baron Rothman lost his words for a moment, wondering if he had heard wrong.

“Wh… What?”

“Have you gone deaf now? What are you staring at so stupidly?”

“No, that……”

Baron Rothman doubted whether the person in front of him was really Johannes Belliard.

How could a man known to be more gentlemanly than anyone use such rough language!

Johannes irritably brushed back his bangs.

“Get out of my sight right now. No, pack your bags and leave this place. It’s the last mercy I can bestow.”

“So now……”

As Johannes gave a signal to his guard knight, the knight put his hand on the sword handle. At that, Baron Rothman flinched and entered the mansion.

Leaving behind the words, “I was going to leave anyway because I was in a bad mood!”

“What should we do?”

Johannes raised one corner of his mouth as he looked at the guard knight who asked cautiously.

“Make sure he never shows up in front of me again.”

“Understood.”

Johannes watched the guard knight disappear quickly into the darkness, then entered the mansion with elegant footsteps. Countess Dyke hurriedly followed him, calling out.

“Lord Belliard! Just a moment! I’d like to talk with you…!”

Johannes stopped abruptly.

“It would be better for you too, Countess, if we talk a little later.”

“That……”

The Countess couldn’t bring herself to follow Johannes, who started walking calmly again.

It was only after a long while that the Countess entered the mansion. Then Bianca, who had been hiding in a corner in her nightgown watching the situation, jumped out and asked.

“Mother, what’s going on?”

“You don’t need to know.”

The Countess waved her hand, signaling her to go back in, but Bianca followed closely behind her.

“I heard the servants whispering, is it true that Riena eloped?”

“……”

“And what’s this talk about Duke Winkler?”

“Bianca, that’s enough.”

The Countess frowned and rubbed her temples.

“I want to be alone for a while. You should go back to your room too. We’re not the only ones in the mansion, there are guests. Do you want to come out looking like that?”

“I’m wearing a robe.”

Bianca clung tightly to the Countess’s arm while closing her slightly open robe.

“Is it true that Riena is engaged to Duke Winkler? How? Did they have a close relationship before?”

“……”

“Then what happens to Baron Rothman? What about the debt? Do we have to pay it back again? How can we do that? Huh? Mother, say something.”

“My head is ringing. Please be quiet.”

“But!”

Bianca, who had been rolling her eyes to look around, lowered her voice.

“Then what about Lord Belliard? He seemed to have proposed to Riena… If Lord Belliard is trying to form a connection with Dyke, then now for me too……”