CH 159

“It is clear that there is a problem within the academy, so the investigators will conduct a proper investigation themselves. The charges against Young Lady Rocke that were filed in the morning . . .”

While I was listening to the announcement of the situation, Rany quietly approached me.

“You can go back first.”

“It’s fine. I’d rather walk than enjoy the carriage ride with my father.”

I felt some bitterness in my mouth as I heard those cold words.

Since I had guessed what Viscount Rocke had said to Rany.

“Then I’ll give you a ride. Let’s go together.”

The moment Rany nodded, someone’s voice asked a question.

“Then, is there no owner of that chair that was supposed to be picked today?”

Is that really important in this situation?

When I took a look at him because it was absurd, I saw the gazes of everyone around me were directed to the golden chair and the sword of the state.

Everyone was watching that chair with eyes full of desire.

Even Rany.

“Rany.”

“I mean, that looks okay because it’s said it would only be given to remarkable students.”

“That thing?”

Even imagining sitting on that chair was embarrassing enough.

“Ah, by the way.”

Rany searched her pocket as if she had more to say.

What she held out was a small jewel box.

“What is this?”

When I asked out of wonder, she shrugged her shoulders.

When I opened the lid, there was a familiar red earring inside.

“Ah.”

It was an item I had forgotten about because numerous events happened at once.

“This is quite expensive to just give away without a case. Where did you find this? At the mansion?”

“Yeah, well . . .”

I felt my conscience pricked at her question, so I nodded vaguely.

“You should have just asked from the start. I don’t think that Lord Duke would leave aunty behind and meet another person. You found this in the mansion and was afraid he was meeting another lady behind, weren’t you? Was this in Lord Duke’s bedroom?”

“Ah, that…”

I was about to say no, but Rany’s statement was faster than the answer I was about to give.

“This belongs to aunty.”

My brain stopped for a moment.

My head slowly turned towards Rany as if I had been caught in a slow motion.

Looking at my expression that seemed like I couldn’t believe it, Rany tilted her head as if that was strange.

“I said this is aunty’s. The reason it took me long to find out was this is an item that’s not for sale. This is one of the items that my guild presented to aunty as a bribe in the past.”

“Are you sure?”

“The jeweler remembers the pieces he made. I showed him just in case, and he immediately said this was his ‘baby’.”

Was it a good thing I didn’t tell her about the source of this earring?

I recalled the fist that was clenched rigid.

A dead body whose limbs hardened and smelled strange.

The earring that Trevor grasped desperately before he died was the last clue to find out the cause of his death.

But why did Mom’s items appear there?

Perhaps my expression was really strange, Rany continued to look at me.

“Marianne?”

“Mhm? Nothing.”

I couldn’t tell her now.

I couldn’t figure out how Trevor related to Mom, but to quickly tell her about this, the information was too lacking.

“This might not be Mom’s.”

Rany patted my shoulder at the words I said faintly.

“No. I’m sure that’s not it. There’s no way that Lord Duke is brave enough to bring another person to his bedroom while being that cheesy with Aunty.”

“Is that it?”

“You can just ask, right? If it’s Aunty, she would have known about her items better than anyone else.”

“. . .”

“You might not know, but it is impossible for people who are interested in jewelry and dresses to not know about their items.”

Her words buzzed like a bee flying around my ears.

Even though I nodded, I felt complicated.

What’s more, weren’t Mom and Lord Duke in a location far away from the capital on the day Trevor’s corpse appeared?

As the thought that their trips were quite long came into mind, an unknown anxiety slowly crept in.

Looking down as I felt I wouldn’t be able to control my expression anymore, I quickly walked out through the students.

As soon as I got back after sending Rany home, I went to someone else’s room.

“Mom.”

There was surprise in the eyes looking back at me.

Looking at my face, she blinked her beautiful eyes twice.

“Girl, did something happen? Your face is very pale.”

The cold hands touched my cheeks.

There was nothing different in the eyes checking on me.

When I took out the case from my pocket and reached it out, she accepted it with a questioning gaze and opened it.

“. . .”

Looking down at the earring, Mom stood quietly for seconds and then looked at me.

Her face was calm like usual.

“Where did you find this?”

“In the mansion.”

She gazed at me and laughed as I choked out the words.

“I thought I lost this. You have good eyes. Thank you for finding this.”

The moment I got the confirmation, the faint tremble in my hands stopped instead.

She opened the cabinet under her dressing table and then put another earring that looked the same like the one I gave her into the case.

The pair of earrings matched perfectly.

She hummed as if she was happy to find the lost item.

“These are items I cherished, and I’m glad you found this. Thank you.”

“Yeah, I’m glad.”

Trying my best so that I didn’t leave the room too fast, my feeling was indescribably strange.

Why did Trevor Beryl’s corpse appear before me, and on top of that, why did he have Mom’s lost earring?

This wasn’t something that I could simply regard as a coincidence.

My head throbbed painfully.