“Then will Fabio be accompanying me?”

“Yes. I volunteered thinking I might be the most familiar face for Miss Emilia.”

“That’s true, but……”

A sigh escaped. She would only be going between home and the theater anyway, so would there even be a chance for danger to arise?

She hoped for Enrico’s whim to end, but also felt uneasy that if this attention suddenly disappeared, the emptiness would be indescribable.

‘How did it come to this?’

Clearly at first she had disliked his arrogance so much. The human heart was truly unfathomable.

“Alright. Just be careful not to draw people’s attention.”

“Yes. And the investigation into Giorgio’s suicide has concluded.”

Emilia’s eyes, which were about to turn towards the window, focused back on Fabio.

“While the police quickly ruled it a suicide, our separate inquiry confirms it was definitely a homicide.”

“A homicide?”

“Yes. I couldn’t bring myself to say this before, but it was confirmed that the room was set on fire and he was hanged. Fortunately, a servant quickly extinguished the spreading flames, preventing the mansion from burning down completely.”

“Set on fire…? So it was done deliberately?”

“Though it took time due to the burns, signs of torture were visible on the body. Based on the rigor mortis, it seems the fire was set before he died.”

Set on fire while still alive? She felt like she might be sick. Emilia hurriedly leaned her head out the slightly open window.

“Are you alright?”

Fabio looked at Emilia with a helpless expression. Emilia waved her hand dismissively and took a deep breath.

“I apologize. I should have only told you part of it.”

“Hah-. No, it’s fine. If I’m going to know, I should know everything. It’s just that his death seems crueler than I expected…. Even if Giorgio did evil things, I don’t feel particularly gratified.”

Emilia’s forehead was slightly damp with cold sweat as she muttered quietly with a pale face.

“I understand.”

“…Thank you. So, do you know who the culprit is?”

“There’s no definitive evidence, but the police officer in charge who tried to cover up the murder as suicide occasionally met with Count Valmont’s subordinate. We suspect Count Valmont may be behind it.”

“I thought Giorgio was in league with Count Valmont, so why did he suddenly kill him? Didn’t he covet the automobile investment rights for a long time?”

“I believe he may have cut ties preemptively, as there were no particular results after wasting all that time.”

“Ah….”

Emilia blinked blankly before slowly rubbing her forehead.

Before, Enrico had informed her that Count Valmont and Alessandro were close. If so, could he possibly know about Giorgio as well?

If that were the case, did Alessandro come to her house expressing concern while knowing full well how Giorgio had died?

While she was shocked by how Giorgio died, she wasn’t particularly saddened by his death. However, if Alessandro had put on that act knowing all the facts, it seemed utterly chilling.

It’s not that she felt betrayed for trusting Alessandro.

It’s just that his expression when he urgently came to see her that day seemed more worried than anyone else’s. If that was truly fake, the thought of him approaching her while fabricating such an act was terrifyingly maddening.

‘Surely not…’

Emilia clenched her fist with an inexplicable sense of unease. The fabric of her skirt was hopelessly crumpled in her hand.

Enrico lifted his gaze from the documents to look at Fabio entering the office.

“I confirmed her entering the house before leaving.”

Fabio reported with a respectful bow. Then, after briefly checking Enrico’s expression, he inwardly sighed at the pile of documents on the desk.

Originally not one to let work accumulate, lately Enrico had been taking on unnecessary tasks, causing work to pile up.

His sole hobby of collecting artwork, frequenting exhibitions and auctions, had ceased at some point. Enrico’s interests were now solely focused on Emilia Este, which was perplexing in many ways.

“Hmm.”

“However, she seemed quite shocked upon hearing the circumstances of Giorgio’s death.”

More aware than anyone of Enrico’s changes, Fabio strived to be even more thorough regarding matters related to Este.

“She was shocked just from hearing about it? And for someone who was like an enemy to her.”

Enrico set down his quill pen, tilting his head slightly as if still not understanding.

“It seems she was surprised by the unexpected information.”

“She didn’t say anything else?”

“No, she didn’t.”

What a tender heart. But why is she so harsh towards me? Enrico slightly furrowed his brow in displeasure.

Though they parted on bad terms, when he heard the blonde woman had gone missing again, he sent Fabio to her out of needless worry. Yet she didn’t seem to care about that at all.

No matter how much of a hell it was, given the circumstances, she could have at least asked how he was doing. She truly lacked consideration.

“You may go.”

Enrico inwardly clicked his tongue and picked up his pen again.

“Ah, my apologies, but I have more to report.”

“What is it?”

“It’s news about the missing Lady Decaff.”

His eyes, which had looked up again in case it was about Emilia, quickly became indifferent.

“Go on.”

“A witness has come forward who saw Lady Decaff walking with a man before she disappeared. The problem is that the man’s description matches exactly with that of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Now this changes things. Enrico’s eyes, which had been listening half-heartedly as if it were someone else’s business, narrowed slightly.

“His Highness the Crown Prince only said he briefly exchanged greetings. However, the police internally judged that if the current heir to the throne were mentioned even slightly in connection with this incident, he might get caught up in unnecessary gossip. So they’re hiding that fact entirely to prevent it in advance.”

“What about the witness?”

“For now, they’ve detained them to keep them quiet. The investigation into Lady Decaff’s disappearance is being conducted in utmost secrecy, so only a few people know about it. The problem is that the police seem to have deliberately leaked some information to the journalist who wrote the article.”

“I wonder why. They could have stalled as long as possible before releasing it…. Are they trying to draw attention with the newspaper before revealing the main point in the next article?”

Fabio’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t thought of Enrico’s calm but sharp analysis.

“That seems to be it! Come to think of it, that journalist has been frequenting the police station.”

“If they think it’s too difficult to find her, they’re probably planning to release a suitably fabricated article. Or they had no intention of finding her from the start.”

“Pardon? No matter what, she’s a noble who accompanied Princess Caerunt. How could that be possible?”

“As long as they create the right circumstances to prevent it from spreading into a diplomatic issue, that won’t be a big problem. Rather, if it’s revealed that the Crown Prince met her just before, that’s more likely to become an issue.”

Enrico stood up and slowly walked towards the window. His bored expression was quickly overtaken by interest.

“Even more so if the Crown Prince’s claim of briefly greeting her isn’t true.”

Though only the moon was visible in the darkness outside the window, Enrico’s lips curved up softly as if he found the scenery particularly satisfying today.

“The Crown Prince will search for that witness. After all, he’s been entangled in this troublesome matter because of them.”

“I’ll find and bring them in first right away.”

Fabio bowed politely and quickly left the office. Suddenly enveloped in silence, Enrico’s brow furrowed as he was left alone in the office.

Earlier, he had been too focused on work to notice, but now that he was idle, the stillness felt obtrusively bothersome.

It seemed he used to play music frequently before, but at some point that had decreased, and now the ticking of the clock alone no longer easily calmed him as it once did.

Yes, it seemed to have become like this after he started taking off his watch in front of Emilia. It wasn’t this bad when he first took it off, but starting from the second time he removed his watch, for the first time, a sense of anxiety arose in him.

‘Perhaps it was an emotion that was always there.’

Enrico tried to observe from a new perspective as coolly as possible. After all, he knew that his excessive attachment to the sound of clocks wasn’t normal to begin with.

To say he doesn’t dislike being alone but dislikes that silence. Isn’t that quite an ironic statement?

Enrico walked to the desk and picked up the golden cigarette case he had carelessly left there. He took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, a fleeting light illuminating his face.

“Phew……”

Soon, a faint white smoke dissipated from his lips. His long eyelashes cast long shadows as his eyes drooped languidly.

His normally composed brow furrowed slightly as he inhaled deeply, as if trying to fill some emptiness. As if this wasn’t enough, amid the unfilled void, Enrico started towards the table but suddenly stopped.

He wondered if this would truly be filled even if he downed alcohol now.

“Damn it……”

Eventually, frowning like a perplexed person, he slowly tilted his head back. Suddenly, the starlight that caught his eye through the window turned his mind blank.

In the end, his eyes squeezed shut tightly. It seemed that without realizing it, his deficiency was gradually being replaced by her.