~Chapter 69~
From the very next day after their long conversation, Cedric once again became difficult to see.
“There he goes again.”
“Did you fight with the young master?”
Even Mary noticed it this time. Whenever Cedric spotted Aileen from a distance, he would immediately turn his head away or change direction and walk the opposite way.
Aileen narrowed her eyes and stared at him.
His lips, as he avoided her, were strangely stiff—as if some unpleasant memory had surfaced.
“…No. We didn’t fight. But he’s acting like we did.”
It would be nice if she could just talk to him directly. Cedric was always honest about his emotions, but in crucial moments like this, he avoided her.
“What on earth is he upset about?”
Sooner or later, he would fail to hold back his temperament, come bursting in to complain, and—
They would both end up irritated, she would be hurt again, and Cedric would retreat.
She was used to this cycle by now, but just thinking about it was exhausting.
“Let’s go.”
Whether she was at fault or not wasn’t even the point. The problem was Cedric’s entire way of dealing with issues—it was already wearing her out.
***
The answer came from an unexpected place.
Strictly speaking, Aileen should have anticipated it, but she overlooked this part.
“Ruth. If you have something to say, then say it.”
Unlike Cedric, she finally addressed Ruth, who kept hovering around her.
He repeatedly walked into her line of sight as she tried to take a quiet stroll.
“No, my lady. I have nothing.”
“It really seems like you do.”
At first, she thought Cedric had sent him.
But the way Ruth followed when she walked, or stared intensely at a roadside tree whenever she stopped—it didn’t look like he was here under orders.
Whenever Ruth carried out Cedric’s orders, he was overly enthusiastic and extremely obvious about it.
“If you keep doing that, I’ll tell Sir Dane you’re neglecting your duties just to follow me around.”
“That’s not true! I’ve done everything that was assigned to me. You should see how clean the common areas are!”
He jumped like he had been falsely accused—it seemed he was truly worried.
Aileen herself had no intention of speaking a single word to Dane.
“Then what is it?”
“I need to ask for a travel pass, but the young master seems to be in a bad mood, so I couldn’t bring myself to ask him…”
Realizing he had nowhere to back out, he answered—too fast for her to understand most of it.
Still, she managed to catch a few words.
“A travel pass? Why?”
“My older brother is getting married. But since I’m young and look even younger, and because I’ll have to pass through several territories on the way…”
Aileen cut him off before his explanation got too long, as always.
“I get it. Faster if you stop talking. But—you have an older brother?”
“He’s not my blood brother. But we grew up together. It’s common in a baron’s household. The baron often takes in people from difficult situations regardless of their background.”
His added explanation about unclear birth and lack of family connections was interesting.
Come to think of it, Ethan was the same. Cedric had mentioned it—Ethan was an orphan with no family.
‘So he wasn’t recruited by the Finikel family…’
It seemed far more likely that he had been under the baron for a long time.
‘But then why pretend to side with Finikel, and why would the baron kill Ethan personally? What even…?’
Something didn’t add up.
The Finikel family’s rebellion had occurred separately, and she thought Ethan had used that opportunity on the baron’s orders to harm Cedric.
But the cause and effect didn’t line up neatly.
Aileen decided to unravel this tangled thread later and focused on Ruth for now.
“Then you should get the pass from the baron through Sir Dane.”
“…Sir Dane also seems to be in a bad mood. He’s terrifying when he’s like that.”
Of course he was—after being scolded by Cedric and because some unknown plan of theirs had probably been disrupted.
“And Cedric? Why can’t you ask him?”
“I don’t know. He got annoyed after I put my report on his desk, and even more annoyed after Sir Dane’s report.”
“…Let’s be precise. Was he annoyed the moment you gave the report, or the moment he heard one?”
Aileen immediately sensed this was connected to Cedric’s sour attitude and pressed him.
“Thinking back… it was right when I placed the report on his desk.”
“What did you say?”
“I said that Lady Aileen had asked me about the matter, and I had answered her.”
Oh no.
She should have expected Ruth’s mouth to be this loose.
Not preparing for that had been her mistake.
“Ruth. You haven’t talked to anyone else about me, right?”
“No, not really.”
“Good. Then don’t. Don’t talk to me so casually either, and stay out of sight the way you did before.”
“…Why, my lady?”
How was she supposed to explain this? She couldn’t tell him it was for his own protection.
“Because that time, I got information from you.”
“But it’s all Lowell family business anyway. You were the one who got attacked too.”
If only the world were as simple as he thought.
She couldn’t explain further.
“It’s not that simple.”
Because Cedric had spotted them from a distance and was quickly approaching.
‘Spotted’ was the only word that fit. They weren’t doing anything suspicious, yet his expression looked murderous, as if they were.
Ruth followed Aileen’s gaze and almost hiccuped in shock.
“Don’t worry about Cedric—it’s me he’s upset with. I’ll give you the travel pass. Kase gave me an extra. Mary.”
“Follow me.”
Her loyal maid pulled Ruth away.
Even as he was dragged off, Ruth heard Cedric start speaking sharply the moment he arrived.
“You already figured everything out, so why pretend you didn’t know anything…”
“I’m sorry. It just came out during the conversation… You should have been given the full report—”
“My uncle and you are exactly the same.”
“…What nonsense is that?”
“You’re both trying to control me…”
Their voices grew faint.
Aileen hadn’t said a word, yet she had a strong feeling she’d stirred up a hornet’s nest—created a very, very big problem.
‘Oh no…’
Even Cedric would understand this much.
It was obvious.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
Mary went into Aileen’s room and came back with a silver pass, handing it to Ruth.
Ruth accepted it, feeling uneasy.
“I did something wrong… didn’t I?”
“…I can’t say you didn’t.”
Mary’s tone was sharp, making Ruth flinch.
He actually did know something else that made him more nervous.
“In that case… please tell the lady something.”
“What is it?”
“About those assassins—they’re not people you can hire with just any amount of money.”
This detail had been omitted from the report given to Cedric.
Along with the list of wealthy families who could have afforded such assassins.
Ruth realized this last night, after overhearing Dane and the baron speaking.
‘You report to the baron first?’
‘Of course. And remember where your loyalty should lie. Think of whose grace allows you to be here.’
‘…Yes, sir.’
He had been confused and simply answered.
But after Aileen’s warning today, he realized it had been a disguised warning—to keep his mouth shut.
‘But why…?’
Still, Ruth couldn’t shake the feeling that omitting such information was wrong.
Especially when Aileen had given him the travel pass so easily.
“It’s not just that they needed money. They needed a lot of money to hire two assassins and send them this far.”
He was scared to speak out, since he wasn’t in a position of power.
But Aileen had kindly cautioned him to be careful with his words.
And she couldn’t have known what Dane said to him last night.
Yet it felt like she saw through everything.
“Please make sure she hears it.”
Because it involved her safety—and Cedric’s, the head of the Lowell family.
Saying it aloud eased his conscience.
Ruth wanted to be an honorable person.
A proper knight.
***
Aileen rubbed her forehead as the pounding headache grew stronger after the stormy argument with Cedric.
‘He could’ve just told me he heard something from Ruth.’
‘Cedric—’
‘Do you want me to see how incompetent my uncle’s people are?’
‘Yes. That was part of it.’
‘You think I wouldn’t know that myself? I can point out something like that on my own.’
She hadn’t meant to undermine him.
But that was clearly how he took it.
‘My uncle keeps trying to move me by saying, “If your father were alive, he would’ve listened.” And you’re the same—acting behind my back to push me where you want. You’re both the same.’
‘We’re not the same.’
Everything was going in the exact opposite direction of what she intended.
Aileen glared at the boiling kettle, feeling the bubbling water mirrored her own emotions.
Then—knock, knock.
It was Diana.
“Can I come in?”
“Come in.”
Aileen pulled out another teacup. Mary silently disappeared, likely to fetch snacks.
“Cedric looked angry,” Diana said casually as she sat down.
She knew very well that Cedric’s mood swings usually involved Aileen.
“Can I ask what happened?”
“It’s… complicated.”
Aileen wasn’t sure how to explain, so she stayed silent until Mary returned with refreshments.
“I might be partly responsible for Cedric’s bad mood. I said something to him.”
“About what?”
Aileen placed the steaming teacup down and turned to return the kettle to its place.
Behind her, she heard a crunch—Diana had picked up a snack.
“I told Cedric—”
But when Aileen turned around again, she never heard the rest of the sentence.
Because Diana, mid-speech, suddenly froze.
“Thi—…”
She coughed—harshly—and bright red blood spilled from her lips.
Then Diana collapsed sideways onto the floor.
