Chapter 10
“Aaah!”
“Sorry, Belle! See you tomorrow!”
For some reason, Bertrand fled in panic, and Belle got up, dusting off her skirt.
As she rose, her expression froze at the figure before her.
“Grand Duke… Your Grace.”
It was Grand Duke Louise Balzac with his cold expression.
“I don’t believe I ever said the windows could be used as entrances.”
Belle forced a smile to her lips.
“The knight was quite kind. I didn’t expect him to bring me back like this.”
“I hear you’re looking for a brooch.”
“Yes. I’ll find your brooch within a week.”
“Ha.”
The Grand Duke snorted, thinking of the knights who had been fooled by Belle’s lie. She was an audacious woman. Fearless and provocative.
“With my life at stake, would I investigate carelessly?”
“I never give second chances. Nor do I take back my words once spoken.”
“I don’t think I could take them back either. By the way, may I ask you something?”
Ha. She fearlessly asks questions without hesitation.
“What is it?”
“Did Anaïs steal the brooch?”
The Grand Duke’s eyebrows rose. Despite his rough yet beautiful masculine appearance that might have made her heart flutter, his gaze was exceptionally cold, or perhaps it was because every word he spoke showed contempt for others—to her, the Grand Duke’s appearance felt like bait.
Bait that would make one willingly put their head into the beast’s mouth.
“What matters is not whether she stole the brooch or not. It’s that she dared to covet it.”
“I see. Thank you for your answer. I’ll see you again in a week.”
Belle curtsied and quickly returned to her room. The Grand Duke’s gaze lingered on her as she left.
Expecting anything was ultimately futile. Trust and faith are merely fantasies, hence their glorification. The Grand Duke coldly withdrew his gaze from Belle.
Meanwhile, Belle threw herself on the bed as soon as she entered her room and trembled at the pressure she had felt from the Grand Duke.
‘It’s that she dared to covet it.’
The Grand Duke who spoke those words was like a beast ready to tear anything apart.
It was cruelty born not from anger or madness, but from cold reason and an even colder inner nature.
“If Anaïs was close with someone, they’re likely to be accomplices, and someone like him wouldn’t have just let it pass.”
The person who feared her might have been someone monitoring Anaïs or someone who knew her secret and was blackmailing her.
The person who was close to her might have associated with Anaïs without knowing anything.
First, she needed to find these two people. Belle went looking for Meira, intending to ask for her help. But upon seeing her face, Belle had to discard everything she had planned to say.
“Meira…”
Brown hair, skinny, with a mole near her mouth. The person who had been close to Anaïs was Meira.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Belle brought Meira to her room and made some guesses.
Why hadn’t Meira told her anything, and would Anaïs’s existence be of little help in finding another informant?
Perhaps she never intended to cooperate with Belle in the first place.
“Meira. I’m looking for someone among the employees.”
Unable to speak, Meira nodded to indicate Belle should continue.
“Christine. I’m looking for Christine. She had dark hair and a small build. Her skin was somewhat dark as if tanned by the sun, and her voice was gentle. Her impression was soft and comfortable. If you just tell me where she works, I’ll find her myself.”
She had said she would come back, but Belle couldn’t just wait around. After thinking for a moment, Meira made a cutting motion. She was illiterate.
“The kitchen?”
Meira nodded.
“Good. Meira, I heard you were quite close with Anaïs.”
Meira pursed her lips. Belle asked in the gentlest tone possible, keeping her expression neutral:
“I’m not suspecting or blaming you. Why would I? I just want to know. Did you know? That Anaïs was targeting something?”
Meira neither shook nor nodded her head. She maintained an unwavering attitude. Belle sensed this would be a more difficult battle than expected.
“Alright. Then let me change the question. Who was the most agitated or the most calm when Anaïs died?”
An informant would either fear for their life or pretend to be unaffected to hide their tension. Or they might even pretend to be moderately scared.
Meira didn’t answer anything. She just stared at the floor with pursed lips until Belle grew tired.
After sending her away, Belle went to the kitchen early the next morning. She could hear other employees scolding someone inside.
“Please stop! We don’t care whether that woman lives or dies! If we get too close, we’ll be misunderstood and killed too.”
Then Christine’s voice was heard.
“She’s innocent. So—”
“If you continue, I’ll tell Samuel that you’re suspicious.”
“Julie!”
Belle deliberately made her presence known outside. She cleared her throat and made her footsteps louder, and soon it became quiet, followed by the sounds of cooking.
Then, as her face appeared through the door crack, the employees stiffened their faces and turned away.
Some screamed, while others raised their hands to throw potatoes. She could spot Christine in the corner, handling cabbages.
“Belle!”
After recognizing Belle, Christine glanced at her fellow employees and excused herself, saying she would be back shortly.
“I said I would come to you. I’ve been trying to persuade my colleagues since yesterday, and now you…”
“I’m sorry. With the deadline approaching, I don’t have much time.”
“What’s the matter?”
With her colleagues defending her like this, could Christine really be the informant?
Meira’s survival suggests that the Grand Duke’s side has already verified her. The only concerning point is her inability to speak, which would make her ideal as an informant.
But did Meira truly know nothing?
With so few clues, Belle couldn’t draw many definitive conclusions.
The investigation was making less progress than expected.
Perhaps directly asking the Grand Duke or Samuel, who worked as his assistant, would make it easier to find the informant, but the Grand Duke wasn’t someone who would answer, and Samuel had firmly stated he couldn’t cooperate.
And the employees had no intention of helping Belle whatsoever.
From the beginning, this was a test of Belle’s abilities, and the standard was high enough to stake her life on. Belle was determined to turn this crisis into an opportunity.
“Christine. I heard you weren’t on good terms with Anaïs.”
“With Ana…ïs? Are you suspecting me?”
Christine’s face hardened.
“That’s not it. I’m just curious why you weren’t on good terms with her.”
“We fought because Anaïs suddenly became aggressive.”
“When did this change happen? Who among the employees was close to Anaïs? Did she perhaps encounter Samuel or His Grace the Grand Duke when she changed?”
Christine’s face turned pale. Her eyes, looking at Belle in confusion, trembled slightly. Taking a step back, Christine clutched her skirt and said:
“I-I don’t know. For whatever reason, Anaïs was very angry, and I cautioned her because she was acting too conspicuously in the castle. We had a small argument because of that, but…”
“Who among the employees was close to Anaïs?”
“Uh, no one. Anaïs was stiff, so she didn’t have people around her.”
“Who did Anaïs frequently contact?”
“Is there a connection between the brooch and Anaïs? Did Anaïs steal something else too?”
Belle carefully observed whether Christine was lying.
Was she truly ignorant, or pretending not to know? Christine seemed simply frightened, like the other employees.
Only a week remained. Belle recalled the sword the Grand Duke had handed her. It was so well-honed that it could cut skin with just a touch, reflecting her face. Belle didn’t want to die torn apart.
‘It’s okay. There’s still plenty of time.’
“So far, Anaïs was the last person to see the brooch. When can I talk with the others?”
“They’re all terrified. They think you’ll bring another bloodbath to the castle. Please be careful.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll die anyway if I don’t find the brooch.”
At Belle’s matter-of-fact tone, it was Christine who became frightened instead. Belle fell into thought for a moment before sending Christine back.
When Belle visited the stable master, he tried to throw a shovel full of horse dung at her.
“I’m dying of work here, why do you keep bothering me!”
Belle had no choice but to say she would come back the next day and return. The other employees weren’t any different in their reactions.
“Just wait a little longer. I’m working on persuading them.”
After three days of the same response, Belle gave up waiting for Christine’s persuasion.
When Belle asked Christine about things she was curious about, such as how often the Grand Duke left the castle or why there were separate paths for employees, Christine evaded the questions, saying she didn’t know, and began avoiding her.
Belle sought out most of the people in the castle—kitchen employees, the stable master, carpenters responsible for castle repairs, laundry staff.
As a result, she got doused with dirty laundry water, had to dodge flying knives in the kitchen, and fell while chasing carpenters who turned and fled.
The knights tried to help Belle out of sympathy, but all she discovered was that there was a deep rift between the knight orders.
And so she reached the final day.
“Meira. Are you really not going to tell me anything about Anaïs?”
Meira remained silent until the end, staring at the floor with her lips sealed. Belle made one last visit to the stable master.