Chapter 16
“What… what are you doing?”
“Detective play?”
“You won’t be able to hear anything even if you press your ear to the door.”
The Black Hawks murmured among themselves.
Aria was wearing a serious expression, as if she could really hear something.
That made them smile so much their mouths twitched upward in amusement.
“What kind of case are you investigating?”
One Black Hawk asked, trying to suppress his laughter and sound serious.
‘Do I… need to play along?’
Judging by their sparkling eyes, they genuinely seemed to be expecting Aria’s answer.
After thinking for a moment, Aria wrote something on a card.
[Homicide case.]
At that, the Black Hawks burst into laughter.
Their laughter was oddly bright and refreshing.
“A homicide case, they say. Pfft!”
“If you stay by His Grace’s side, detective, you’ll never run out of work.”
“You’ve already found the culprit properly.”
“There’ll be evidence everywhere.”
They had a strange talent for saying terrifying things with cheerful faces.
‘They’re probably trying their best to adjust to a child…’
She’ll cry.
Neither the Duke nor his direct subordinates had any talent for taking care of children.
‘Now I think I understand why the Black Hawks are as infamous as the Valentine Duke.’
Aria thought.
It seemed that among those around the Duke, only Dwayne had a remotely normal sense of judgment.
‘He always looks like he suffers from headaches near the Duke.’
Maybe he chose the wrong job.
Aria couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Duke’s aide for a moment.
She refocused on the sounds coming from inside the mansion.
“Unjust treatment?”
“T-that’s correct. What do you mean, compensation for parasites…?”
Cavendish Viscount.
Once she recognized him, she immediately understood the situation.
‘So the Duke must have demanded payment.’
However, judging from his complaints, it seemed he hadn’t managed to gather the full 1 billion yet.
Now that all he had left was debt, it wasn’t surprising.
“I believe you are mistaken. Parasites are also private property of the empire. You were the ones who took them without permission.”
“……”
Even Aria could hear the Duke’s voice laced with amusement.
Anyone with sense would understand.
That the Valentine Duke was openly mocking him and laughing at him.
“I… I understand that, but could you show mercy…?”
Of course, he didn’t dare say anything else.
‘But he had no choice but to come personally.’
Now that the cause of his retainers collapsing had been revealed, if he ignored it, all blame would fall on him.
And there were already ridiculous rumors spreading about a “Valentine curse.”
If those rumors spread through the territory, it would be obvious how foolish the people would think them.
The Cavendish lords’ reputation was in the hands of the Valentine Duke.
“Your Highness, last year the Cavendish territory suffered severe drought…”
“Get to the point.”
“Financial difficulties were so severe that we lost our minds. Please forgive us.”
A heavy thud echoed.
At the same time, the sound of palms rubbing together in apology could be heard.
‘He’s kneeling on the floor begging.’
Even Aria found it absurd.
They were the ones who had done wrong first, spread malicious rumors, and demanded money on top of that.
‘There’s no way he’ll let this slide with an apology.’
And just as she expected, the Duke’s response was cold.
“You think I came all the way here to see this pathetic sight?”
“G-gah!”
The Viscount let out a choking sound.
‘Did the Duke put a sword to his neck or something?’
Even without seeing it, Aria could imagine the situation.
“Your Highness, at least give me ten minutes to speak before threatening me as I’ve requested several times…”
Dwayne scolded the Duke.
“He’s not dead yet.”
“Hm. Then at least extend it to five more minutes of conversation.”
“Did you hear that, Viscount? Let’s have a sincere five-minute conversation.”
Hearing the Duke suddenly sound almost cheerful, Aria thought,
‘That means if he doesn’t give a satisfying answer within five minutes, he’ll be killed.’
The Cavendish Viscount must have realized it too, because he hurriedly spoke.
“Th-then, if goods are acceptable, I have a 500-year-old ancient relic that was very difficult to obtain…”
“Hm.”
The sound of items being placed on the floor followed.
“This is a family heirloom!”
Even selling off a family heirloom.
He must really be desperate.
“Good. Not bad. I’ll value it at 700 million. Bring the remaining 300 million within a month.”
“A-a month is too…”
“Hm?”
“…I think that’s a very appropriate timeframe.”
“Get out.”
“Yes, y-yes!”
The Viscount retreated, bowing and scraping until the very end.
The moment his footsteps faded into the distance, the door suddenly swung open.
“What is this, a brat?”
Aria had no time to avoid it.
Still leaning against the door, she staggered.
When she looked up, she met the eyes of the Cavendish Viscount, his face twisted like a demon’s.
“Stop blocking the doorway and move—wait, that hair color…”
He narrowed his eyes, hesitating.
It all happened in an instant.
He reached out and forcibly removed Aria’s rabbit mask.
“…!”
It happened too suddenly.
She had been too close.
Aria quickly lowered her head to hide her face.
But it was already too late.
The Viscount had already recognized everything from her exposed face.
“The Cortez clown!”
He burst into laughter.
Cortez.
A very famous noble house.
Once known for producing world-class musicians, but now infamous as the “disgrace of nobility.”
The current head of the house was mocked as a “circus ringmaster.”
Because he used mermaids to gain wealth and fame.
And in the present time, those who came to hear the siren’s song were nothing but hopeless addicts.
People suffering from severe drug addiction, chasing ever greater stimulation after losing even that.
The Cavendish Viscount was one of them.
“So you’ve come to sell your songs in Valentine? Hiding yourself so carefully—how fortunate. Why don’t you abandon this clown act and make your name known across the empire, child?”
“……”
“With Valentine’s wealth, it might even happen. Will we soon hear the siren’s song in the capital grand theater?”
He grinned as if imagining it was delightful.
“If you inherited your mother’s talent, they’d call you an angel with the voice of God descending upon this land.”
Aria clenched her trembling fingertips into her skirt.
“Perhaps you could even catch the Emperor’s eye. Your father would be very pleased. Hahaha!”
But the moment she heard those words, her face turned deathly pale.
The Viscount’s words were almost prophetic.
‘It actually happened.’
She was praised.
Everyone adored her.
And used her.
They demanded more and more.
They spilled secrets she never wanted to reveal.
They begged her to save them.
They asked her to be executed.
They broke her legs.
They locked her in a cage.
They forced her to sing until she coughed up blood.
And then…
“Cough! Ugh…!”
A Black Hawk quickly covered Aria’s eyes.
But through his fingers, she saw it—the sharp tip of a sword protruding from the Viscount’s chest.
Red spread like paint.
“Five minutes are up.”
The owner of the sword was the Valentine Duke.
The blade was pulled out, and the Viscount collapsed lifelessly.
No movement remained.
‘…And then I was saved.’
A massive shadow fell over her.
Aria slowly looked up.
The Valentine Duke placed her rabbit mask back onto her face.
A soft sensation touched her skin.
She silently stared at him, her gaze shaking violently.
“So you finally killed him…”
Dwayne sighed as he hurried out after the Duke, as if he had expected this.
“I suppose it can’t be helped now that things have escalated. I’ll go down personally and deal with the offense against Valentine.”
After fifteen years as the Duke’s aide, he was no longer surprised by things like this.
“This should be easy enough.”
After all, the Cavendish Viscount had committed enough crimes.
The Duke, however, ignored Dwayne completely and muttered softly.
“I see. I didn’t think things would go this far…”
He had never paid attention to trivial gatherings hosted by Count Cortez, so he had no idea.
He hadn’t expected someone to recognize Aria’s origins so quickly.
“Hm.”
He recalled Aria, pale as a ghost, trembling in fear.
That look of utter despair.
‘She’s overly afraid.’
Is it really that terrible for people to know she is the daughter of a siren?
If she doesn’t like it, he can simply erase it.
The Duke reached a simple conclusion.
“Bring me the membership list of all those who attended gatherings hosted by Count Cortez in the past.”
At the Duke’s order, the Black Hawks lined up and bowed their heads.
“Yes.”
“Every single one of them.”
And deal with them.
…He swallowed the rest of the words.
Because Aria was listening.
The Black Hawks understood his unspoken intent perfectly without needing to hear it, and obeyed the order.
