SMR 103

~Chapter 103~ 

“So, you don’t think she’s the real culprit, then?”

“She might be. Or not. Either way… someone’s pulling the strings. I’ll know more once I speak with her directly.”

The investigator nodded and left.

Cedric was convinced that the servant’s wife had acted under pressure—forced into a false confession.

‘And the one who forced her hand… that’s the real thief. The one who stole my father’s brooch.’

He suspected Albert. Of course he did. But suspicion alone wasn’t enough. He needed a witness. Proof. Something to corner Albert so tightly that even he couldn’t wriggle free.

Just as Cedric was formulating his next move, eyes sharp with calculated coldness—

Knock knock knock.

The knock came faster than usual, louder too.

“You may—”

He didn’t even finish when the door flew open.

Edgar burst in, wild-eyed, out of breath.

“You will not believe what happened last night!”

“…Wow.”

Cedric finished his sentence with a flat tone, while Edgar paced the office like a man possessed, gasping in disbelief.

“Wow… holy hell… I mean… I can’t even…”

“Edgar, focus.”

“No, listen—once you hear what I have to say, you’ll be like this too!”

“Then say it.”

Cedric moved away from his desk and silently sank onto the sofa at the large table. He crossed his legs in that irritably elegant way of his while Edgar practically flopped into the seat across from him, eyes wide with something between wonder and madness.

“Long story short? I didn’t recover the brooch.”

As the head of Cloud investigation—Cedric’s closest friend and his eyes in the shadows—Edgar had entered the Angelique party. But he’d come back empty-handed.

“…So now I’m supposed to wander the room like a lunatic in disbelief?”

“Actually, you might not need to.”

“Are you in love with mysteries lately? Just say what you mean.”

Cedric’s patience was slipping, but Edgar was trying not to laugh, his nostrils flaring.

“Albert really did use your father’s brooch as the prize in that disgusting little event.”

“And you find that funny?”

“No! That’s not it. It’s just… it got snatched in the most breathtaking way—by a woman.”

“A woman?”

Edgar nodded and launched into the full story.

How the event worked. How the mysterious woman had distracted the crowd. How she moved like lightning, reaching into Madam Rominas’ imposing cleavage and pulling out the brooch before anyone could react. And then? She made her exit—graceful, confident, and swift.

It was a tale worthy of conspiracy—if Cedric hadn’t been the one personally humiliated by it.

But Cedric’s face didn’t soften in the slightest.

“Edgar Dawson.”

“Huh?”

“You’d better not be about to say you don’t know who that woman was. I’m not in a particularly patient mood.”

That cold, cutting tone wiped the grin clean off Edgar’s face. He straightened up.

Cedric rarely lost composure—but when it came to matters involving his father, he allowed no cracks in his armor.

“I do know who she is,” Edgar admitted, scratching his cheek.

“Who?”

“…Don’t get too mad.”

Cedric’s expression began to freeze over like stone—just before Edgar finally cooperated, with a sheepish smile.

“It was Miss Harriet Listerwell.”

A long pause.

“…What?”

“You heard me. The same Harriet Listerwell you know.”

Cedric’s face—normally unreadable—twisted with raw, visible shock.

Even when he’d heard his father had died on the battlefield, he hadn’t looked this stunned.

“She—how did she even know about that place?!”

“That part, I haven’t figured out yet. Might need to press her personally for an answer.”

Cedric shot up, pacing the room now, just as Edgar had done earlier.

Watching him, Edgar couldn’t help but smirk.

‘Told you. Now you’re as shaken as I was.’

But Cedric didn’t have the luxury of treating this lightly.

After a few turns around the room, he turned sharply to Edgar.

“Did she… did she take the Angelique drug?”

“She didn’t behave like she was out of it. But she definitely had the welcome drink. Everyone did. There’s no skipping it.”

“That stuff has drugs in it!”

“Trace amounts. I drank it too. It barely does anything.”

“But you can’t predict the side effects! The dosage doesn’t matter!”

“…I’d appreciate it if you remembered your friend right here drank it too.”

Cedric ignored him, folding his arms tightly and resuming his pacing.

And Edgar hadn’t even told him the worst yet.

“She almost got raped by some pig of a man on that ship. That’s probably the bigger problem.”

“What?!”

Cedric’s face darkened beyond even the anger he’d shown over the brooch.

“You know what goes on there. Some idiot thought she was just another guest and tried to force himself on her. Luckily, she handled it.”

“And you just watched this happen?”

“I was ready to intervene, okay? It didn’t escalate. Relax.”

“You call that relaxing?!”

Cedric bit down on his words, fists clenched at his sides.

As he tried to calm down, Edgar began reporting the rest of what he had learned.

Finally, Cedric spoke again, quieter now—but no less intense.

“What was her goal?”

“You mean Harriet? I don’t know. But she’ll probably return the brooch to you.”

“Doubt it. And even if she does, she’ll want something in exchange.”

“Still better than letting Albert profit from it, isn’t it?”

Cedric didn’t reply.

His silence stretched on, so Edgar stood and stretched, ready to head out.

“I’m off to get some sleep. Call if you need more info. Just… give me three hours, yeah?”

Still no response.

Edgar patted his friend’s shoulder and left.

Cedric didn’t move. Didn’t even blink.

‘She’s insane.’

He repeated it like a mantra.

‘She’s completely mad. I always suspected she wasn’t normal—but this? She actually enjoys this kind of reckless game? If that’s how she does business, I need to rethink everything about investing in her.’

He was furious. No—beyond furious.

The only thing he was grateful for was that she’d gotten off the ship safely.

But if she hadn’t?

If she’d failed, what consequences would that have brought him?

‘Even Albert, as stupid as he is, wouldn’t have trouble kidnapping a woman on his own ship. And then what? Use her life to blackmail me? How would I have said no?’

The logic was tangled. He knew that. He was running hot, thinking emotionally.

But still—his head wouldn’t cool down.

Edgar’s last update rang in his ears.

“Albert got suspicious and approached her. But her ‘partner’ escorted her off the ship safely.”

“Her partner?”

“Tez Roark. Didn’t even bother hiding it. His mask was barely hiding anything.”

The man Harriet had met at the Laurel event. Tez Roark.

She’d defended him then too—though Cedric couldn’t quite remember what she’d said.

Feeling suffocated, Cedric opened the window and took several deep breaths of the cool morning air.

‘Harriet Listerwell… what were you thinking? Going there, of all places. With Tez Roark, no less. Did you go to… enjoy yourself?’

No—she couldn’t have known the brooch would show up. That part was probably just dumb luck.

Or maybe… she had taken the drug, and her judgment was blurred?

Which meant…

Did she really go home with Tez Roark?

Or had they ended up somewhere… together?

“Damn it!”

Cedric clutched his head with both hands, scrubbing through his hair.

His perfectly styled hair fell out of place—but he didn’t care.

What did his appearance matter right now?

He didn’t even know what she was doing.

And then—another knock at the door.

“Who is it?”