We arrived safely. The carriage wheel did slip out slightly in the middle, but we were able to travel, so it should be fine. The mansion is much more spacious than I thought. It feels a bit excessive for three people to live in. I am currently writing a diary in my room, but I keep hearing the sounds of people talking outside. Since they can chat outside until this hour, it seems public security is decent. There won't be any hardship for me.]
[January 23rd
Today I met the mansion's head butler. He gave me a sachet as a welcome gift, so I received it gratefully and hung it near the desk. Strangely, as soon as I brought the sachet into the room, the voices I heard from outside stopped abruptly. By the way, where did the window that was originally in that spot go?]
It was already about three days ago that she wrote such a diary. In the meantime, Yujire started her work as the Lord without any issues. The atmosphere among the territory's people was generally welcoming of the Lord coming down personally. They said it was frustrating because there was no one to solve problems even when they arose until now.
'Did he say about a year?'
Anyway, just because Yujire didn't show her face in high society for a year or two didn't mean there would be any problem. Because she had solidified her position so that no one would dare covet her place. If she was really concerned, she could just invite people to this territory.
"Sir Jaen!"
While she was lost in thought, a sound urgently calling her was heard from outside the door. The Young Duke's escort knight, concurrently the Knight Commander of the Duke's household, and the supervisor of the second daughter, Laceil Jaen hurriedly opened the door. Standing outside was Yujire, with a face that looked particularly urgent today.
"What happened again? Did a chandelier break?" "That's a story from when we were young!" "Or did you pour wine on another noble?" "How long are you going to talk about what happened at the debutante ball?" "You didn't like the dress you ordered last time, so you're going to call the tailor again?"
As they talked, she realized anew that the personality of the Young Lady she was serving was peculiar. It seemed she had quite admired Yujire when she was young, but such feelings had long since disappeared. However, the thought that she was a noble definitely worth serving remained unchanged.
"No, it's none of that. A guest has arrived. She says she's a friend of my friend?" "Ah, a guest."
It wasn't particularly strange for Yujire to have Jaen present when attending to a guest. Since she was an escort knight in the first place, and because they grew up together since childhood, they were treated half like sisters. Of course, there was one more reason bigger than that.
'The Young Lady's sociability is a bit, well, like that.'
Yujire was perfectly fine when talking about business-related matters. Enough to gently melt a person with her silver tongue, roll them in the palm of her hand, and then discard them. However, her condition tended to become quite strange when doing things like general socializing.
"In the first place, what is a friend of a friend? Who claimed to be my friend?" "Wouldn't we know if we go?"
Anyway, for this reason, Laceil was always present for smooth conversation. In any case, since Laceil was also a noble, other people didn't show much aversion either.
"Who on earth is it..."
Yujire moved her steps, still not hiding her displeasure about the sudden guest. When they went to the reception room, a somewhat familiar face was sitting there.
"Ah, Young Lady! And Sir Jaen!" "Lady Elian?"
It was Elian, a collateral cousin of the Duke's household and the youngest daughter of a Count's household. She was Yujire's friend when they were young, but she was also someone they stopped seeing as they grew up. Naturally, as she was close with Yujire, she was also close with Laceil and Luzea. Thanks to living nearby after coming to this territory, they had been meeting quite frequently recently.
"What's the matter, so suddenly like this? And what's this story about a friend of a friend?" "It's correct, isn't it? A friend of a friend."
Elian blinked lightly and pointed at Laceil.
"Friend."
Then she pointed at Yujire.
"Friend's friend. Right?" "...Why did you come?"
Yujire, who seemed to have struggled to swallow what she wanted to say, threw a question with a sigh.
"Well, that is. I have something I want to consult about. Anyway, I am also a resident of the territory, so you will listen to me, right?" "...Please speak."
Yujire still had a relaxed attitude. Considering it was technically the first consultation from a territory resident since coming here, she didn't show signs of nervousness. Come to think of it, she had always been a person whose specialty was 'doing everything well' since long ago, so it was understandable.
"That, um. I don't know how this will sound."
Elian hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Could it be that I killed my fiancé?" "What?"
However, the words that followed were a story that even that Yujire had no choice but to be flustered by. She was so surprised that she even forgot to maintain her formal tone.
"At first, I thought it was excessive speculation, but, well, it felt too uncomfortable..."
Elian, who trailed off, let out a long sigh.
"No, as expected, it's not it. I'll look for another method." "Just say it! If you really killed him, I'll even take care of the cleanup!" "You'll take care of the cleanup? M-Maybe that's okay?" "...It's not okay."
Laceil, who was watching the conversation, intervened. Whether both were quite flustered, the formal tone had disappeared before they knew it.
"And explain from the beginning first. Are you saying he is definitely dead, or that he might be dead?" "That is, um."
Elian, who hesitated for a moment, started the story.
"You know I got engaged a while ago, right?" "Of course I know."
Because she got engaged to the second son of that Marquis family who had never once shown his face in high society. There were only rife rumors about whether he had a scar on his face or not, or if he was actually a monster or not. However, the decisive reason why Yujire and Laceil came to know that fact was different.
"That's why you ran away from home."
'I thought she would run away a little sooner.'
Laceil thought while listening to the two people's conversation. It was because the relationship between Elian and her family had not been good for a long time. Because they were people who neglected Elian just because the Countess died during childbirth. Then, since they suddenly got her engaged without consent as if selling her off, it was natural for Elian to run away. She probably had no ill feelings toward the fiancé, but she must have had a lot built up against her family.
"Wasn't the engagement naturally broken?" "It wasn't. I thought the engagement would be broken if I ran away..." "Please explain from start to finish!"
If she answered questions one by one, it seemed they wouldn't grasp the incident accurately even after the sun set.
"You remember that I ran away here, right?" "Yeah."
Because it was such a chaotic mess, she still remembered it vividly. The carriage overturned, heavy rain poured down, and Elian had come to find Yujire covered in mud. Then the first thing she said abruptly was a request for a cup of tea. After that, she settled down and lived in the territory, but they didn't bother to ask what happened. It was obvious she had run away from her family in a hurry anyway.
"Since then, letters keep coming. Originally, they shouldn't even know where I am." "From your family?" "No, the Marquis. It seems the Count's family is also being pressured. They told me to take care of that myself..."
Elian, who frowned as if just thinking about it was unpleasant, continued speaking.
"It was normal at first, but it gradually became strange. This is the one that came a while ago."
The letter paper she took out after saying that was in quite a bad condition just by looking at the exterior. It was half crumpled and stained, so much so that one wouldn't know what words were written if looking at it roughly.
[To my dear fiancé
I am dying because of you.
Rue Lemain]
"...You made such a fuss over this?"
Yujire, who picked up the letter with a dubious face, asked.
"We don't even know if he died or not yet." "What do I do if he committed suicide because of me?" "Then the engagement will be annulled." "Is there nothing else?"
Laceil threw a question again. At least the Elian she knew wasn't a personality to make a fuss over something like this.
"...I don't know if it's related, but, um."
Elian hesitated and started explaining again. Actually, she said she didn't think much of it until the letter came. Since no harm was coming directly.
"But ever since the letters became strange, strange things keep happening at night." "Strange things?" "You know, since the house is old, it makes creaking sounds whenever you walk, right?"
Elian also didn't pay much attention at first. Since the house was old in the first place, it made sounds even if just the wind blew. But recently, footsteps were getting closer and closer.
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