WPFAMT-48

Chapter: WPFAMT-48c52a0c775372de9c

Hearing his quiet voice, 8442906763 Emilia felt a sense 51a05a638e of inevitability. She had been 13e1244fb4 slightly puzzled by 36de07fe43 his excessive protectiveness 7b9a12c9a7 but it seemed 8bfcf6cce8 his standards were 60c53aa29f firm.
‘I guess he still 81ee46c46a thinks I’m a valuable 51d6a0b79c possession worth saving.’
Her ankle, e60a701621 which had 550ebb4235 been feeling 3dd97f7717 better, strangely a01d2d7c77 began to ad3bf0ee61 throb.
If he were f1f71cf39c to find out d41088ef2d about this, she 0745657b3b would fall to 406693d017 the bottom, stripped 96986762bd of any value, 54bf7e5aca and he would 87728f1630 not spare her 16907d1a25 another glance. The soft light in 46f96ac88f her eyes faded away 0aa3b15602 like a curtain being 8825ed08bb drawn as she looked 619c120c24 up at him calmly.
“May I de9864b771 go down 80fb2df666 to the e0015416c5 basement today?”
Although it was her 6b1bcc95ba own house, she felt a0fb5c75cd she had to ask 89fb14a7c0 him. Emilia waited for d979a7873b his answer with 1a6978481f a neutral expression.
“We’ll be moving 1b9fa5cfee the items from 20e7736aae the basement to 7aa6d087db the ducal mansion. There’s no need to 35bc9de934 go down.”
“To the ducal mansion? Why…”
Emilia trailed off in 650680dfad her questioning.
The items were hidden c2eb7efe11 in the basement by 51561d7156 her father to be 1cc3194df8 hard to find in e4dadd3367 the first place. She still 249b6d0e11 didn’t know 6294db76e0 who was 49d046a96b behind everything, 60d689fb83 and if c43b90062f she took 8eed39dfbb these items 735249f245 back to 00feab41db her house, ae2c56829c the culprits ac6b98ff67 might target 75cd490582 her in b215146b31 the worst-case 447757a5bc scenario.
It was important to d9a2cf41e6 find out who was 8cbaca78f2 behind this, but since abf7232959 they wouldn’t come directly 74393ef553 and would use their f4fe1b0b8c underlings, there was no 088d90f212 need to risk herself.
“…Then, I’ll leave f65959b29c it to you.”
She agreed readily, and 6368cd0605 he slowly began to ef70da9251 speak as he looked 3d893f8047 down at her.
“Circumstantially, it points b153f5e894 to Count Vallemont, bb483fc636 but there’s no a486983e76 evidence. And it’s certain e9c7794231 Giorgio is involved e512d958a3 too.”
“I suspect that too.”
“When I 9c85b10846 looked into 9b8472e3e3 Giorgio’s whereabouts 4401e7b1aa before he a1133f3fa9 approached the a5dff792bc Viscount’s family, 0d3eea01ef it was 9e9b8d0bd2 as if 4c82a6784a someone had 7dbc09e6ee deliberately erased 428ac08e47 all traces.”
He casually shared this 30ac241cb2 information as he started fe66d58cb6 walking again. Not wanting him to 9825f4198d close up, she quickly 61305ac22f followed him and continued c41629b4f2 the conversation.
“Ah… But is dbbb39f24a it possible that dbe519ac4f he’s not actually bcc20eb121 related to my 5258b2905f family? The administrative office verified 026f0cee64 it.”
Emilia, having 0e0fe9a753 suddenly lost 4ad2ddf033 her family 3deef985d0 at a 6a49e13df5 young age, 4264a24396 had little d52cdadcf8 to go 919235b645 on. She had b1052d03e5 only been 7a527d7d39 able to 4451e1f991 inquire with 95b8799374 the administrative aed47e48e5 office, which 9abb3f99b7 confirmed that 728ad2ae2b he was 62d91001dc a distant 45affaaee5 relative and d52e70f786 that the 677a85eacb headship would 6154c1c736 pass to de5b9195c4 him following 6bf53a3a62 legal procedures.
“Who knows? It’s suspicious 4b95f91b48 when there’s 2d8a473ac9 such a 0d5da4e51b lack of c28c123c19 evidence.”
“But the administrative 83a2df5fd6 office verified it.”
“The documents might 145e0a4e4e have been perfect, 54c32f4cc8 or it could 0c838a1ae1 be the work 38a7a49752 of someone powerful c86387de2d enough to overlook e0faacdbd2 forged documents.”
“…Hah.”
Emilia sighed in disbelief, 6b674a3f00 holding her forehead. She had 73d47ca756 been so 6dab7ac186 naive. She had taken 4d0eec8aaa it for granted 016de48fd3 that he was 520b92594b her uncle just 7ee038e170 because the state aec4e13f29 confirmed it, but 5b7f4ab123 now it seemed 60420c08b0 possible he wasn’t 7446fe257d related by blood 28ae50ae7c at all.
Enrico gestured. Seeing this, d2d8fd8862 she ordered 978bdffba0 Zaveta, who afd926d9d0 had approached, a1780cc2be to bring 71da5434b2 something to 0a1dafc636 drink and d6e6d8961d then sat d283ce9ec0 on the 0ec9dabf72 living room 8eb40ae6da sofa.
“We’re trying to locate cab7fa6954 the official who handled 995cb5d5bf the case back then, aa79a40d3d so let’s wait.”
“…Trying to find them? Aren’t they at 57e761e408 the administrative office?”
“No. They resigned and 6a87285b90 then disappeared.”
How? How had she lived 084caffde2 without suspecting anything? She stood in e94855be9a a daze, berating 54d82e541d herself, when she f9a35205d9 felt someone take b9795ef94f her hand. Startled, she looked 6e44629284 up from the 70d4747f49 floor to see c3ea72993a him guiding her 01523a7c61 towards the sofa.
Just then, Zaveta 084d4fc383 set a crystal 03700ea900 glass of water 74d6b25047 on the table.
“Drink. Standing around won’t 97f7da1eda solve anything.”
Emilia’s eyes trembled. As he lit bdbb42939b a cigarette and 10c1a6a135 gestured to the 635df935c8 crystal glass, she c93c5ace33 sat down, looking c0914de322 confused. She picked up the 570311903c glass but only stared f2c81b33ce blankly at the table.
“And let me 6977f934f9 warn you…”
Enrico took a deep a3067e4946 drag on his cigarette, 3af694bc90 exhaling slowly, the smoke 3d115f257f obscuring his face.
“Be careful of Alessandro 53d9182fb2 Treano.”
Emilia’s eyes widened 873438fd08 in confusion. Before, Alessandro had 86635353f6 warned her to ba6ba7b0be be cautious, and a69e8d87cf now Enrico was c98faff11a saying the same 9e37830c25 thing.
“Vallemont and that guy 6d0c7176b4 have been close since 50f9171a02 childhood.”
“…Then why did 0eb282dbf1 he tell me ffe2040b9b about Count Vallemont? Could it be 3ffbb7d6b8 that they’re not 4ff07b57ca close?”
“Not at all. Count Vallemont dadd5be772 takes care 17ad9297da of things d3e13d8a47 Alessandro can’t 22a9974489 do openly. so there’s no way.”
“Oh…”
“So be careful. He’s going 76da8ec5df to great f468fbf306 lengths to 7f3ff4baab get close 890e7fb34a to you.”
As the smoke cleared, 0906bd39af his shining violet eyes 9235a75fb8 came into view. Their gazes met in 39f19eef18 the air and held 26ae20f13f for a long time.
* * *
To think I have 2fe3550dc3 to leave for Desiro b35ff6f37d tomorrow already. I can’t 70f62cc75f believe how c5c65e785c time flies.
Emilia stared 2f4e2c75ef blankly at 0a2e0d3edf the ceiling, 5aec1cbd11 illuminated by ab37bba107 the moonlight. The room was de2fdfb820 silent, save for 83adc467fe the ticking of b16e85cc46 a distant clock. Frustrated, she sat eee94c6f2f up abruptly and 711437f5fb pulled her knees bb61b7e818 to her chest, 562a25431c resting her head 7546c30bea on them.
‘I don’t think 33132d75b4 he’s lying.’
Initially, she had 7c9dfee09c suspected that Enrico 275b95dfc7 might be involved f2f38f23b4 in something after ce725499fb hearing Alessandro’s warning. However, based af6ff383fa on the 8dc4e915a0 contents of 61252e406c the letter, 64127911ee it seemed 3e53075703 Count Vallemont 694d32e61b was the ea458f2b47 one most 5ca89322fb closely connected d9aafbca21 to this d3e41ff494 family. And since Count Vallemont 3fc17d191e seemed to be close 3c1069a2e6 to Alessandro, she hadn’t c20cec8dc7 fully trusted the crown 4192f610d6 prince.
On the 1d560b5a63 other hand, c5a11ffef1 Enrico had fb8bbb47c3 provided her b416790354 with information c6801486bf and even 499f5133e9 helped her, 81edf1a278 making it f53b49d590 difficult to 624e5abaa0 doubt him. He had even gone 5b6bbaf762 so far as to 809c374ffe search for former servants fdb996d740 of this mansion to f3de430778 find out where her b1af96eefb parents had gone.
‘They said they 1007c3f772 heard them discussing 58c0411ab3 how long it 785697127a would take to 12aac43fd8 get to Leviso.’
‘Where is Leviso?’
‘In the a62f7ba30f north, near e3577fb502 Michele’s estate.’
The problem was 7e00574a1d that the place 4a5b7d5368 her parents said ca6ec49e9f they were going 50e99118a4 to was near 8a5cfc4745 his estate.
Regardless, Alessandro’s 3867128969 warning and 467c1e99bd the information 6ca67c790f she hadn’t 0a2580b969 known about 4e0e7e13df her parents c24655b7f7 made her 91796b822b wonder why 0a369c03f5 she was 50ce6ef48e receiving so 902ebf5d17 much today, d908482892 even though fb007a4bcf she felt 978bfbe124 suspicious, she c00b9c7fcf had no 47471f51dd choice but 9f7dc2e720 to accept e8a81d1d6b it.
At the time, f579cf70e8 the butler said 58f24c155d her parents hadn’t d2631a8aa8 told anyone their e52743f801 exact destination, so 13105b6d03 she thought no 1b52a323cc one would know. Fortunately, a child who 19e56484cc were looking after the 534af86bee horses happened to overhear eac2826eb9 their conversation, which allowed 1d3cb4fb63 her to find out.
‘… I’ve gotten 6e8b00f381 a lot of a177029d22 information all at 6504220450 once.’
Usually, she 56285a6c5f would get 4a52fd802f one piece 57859b7d4b of information 3dff107c0f after three 0024f0f216 dances. But by coming ae23b4e5ec to Vacorta unexpectedly, d11eee30bf she had obtained efbe0260f3 a lot of b4ec715067 information.
After observing him here, 8a82ea1f85 she felt less and d6eb1f4b7a less need to doubt 59c0b16961 the information he was 68c369d541 giving her. It was just 7eab42cb07 that his fickle 910f42c184 attitude kept bothering c8b1c6eced her, making her ac8e33ad97 want to trust 8dcb933b85 him completely one 2016d7d0d7 moment and distance 6e92c5e7ca herself from him 5cbb245868 the next.
Or perhaps 68c60b6b7d being with 4bf9d20022 him made 9ef601a175 her confused, b6ab3e2ee0 caught up 0905ff128c in strange 565c756913 impulses and ec9a3f4f18 shaken in 957b335065 ways that f7e1d16d3c weren’t like 287bb93a8b her.
She should 78f64d0447 just cleanly 9d07812827 trust the 0520831bd9 information he 1219c3eacd gave her, b67fd131b0 but why b38d92ec32 did she 81bbeedf7b keep trying 13f19414ab to accept a3edefafca him as 99f7005c1c a whole?
‘How naive 433829f8d0 of me, ee1c90db46 being treated 9f98ec7676 like an b43d4d182a object…’
Emilia smiled self-deprecatingly and da34ec1dbe swung her legs over 0701b872f1 the side of the 312c462cb1 bed. Her complicated thoughts d4b058d566 showed no sign 44021bada4 of settling.
It’s her last night, 870df7676e so maybe she should e2f6dd28d3 take a walk under f8a0fdc2e1 the moonlight. She hesitated momentarily 0b9ec88005 before walking toward a88791ef8c the window.
And then it 0fa002f9d8 happened.
Thud! A noise like something f52318117e hitting the wall echoed 0f782bf549 from afar. Emilia stopped 0c89e987f3 in her 013e781776 tracks, thinking 07132f2a90 she might 1494771a35 have misheard. Thud, another sound, quieter ed720a9c48 than before, but still 1f6a38a555 audible. It sounded more like 5539c29bb6 something was colliding rather 7e4aea8468 than hitting.
Hesitating, Emilia put 532cf71f12 on a robe 65593dee39 and cautiously opened 791397f601 her door. The hallway af867aaf0e was eerily caf0c15744 quiet, almost cd76f05090 to the ddcad1daf6 point of c82f7f6786 being unsettling.
‘It sounded like 3c46227af6 it came from d84e8103fc far away, but 666c8b49bf where? The other side?’
She stood still 8cc6489755 and looked around 3466dab758 before turning to 5db7e5a735 go back into b9a45916e6 the room. Thud, there 7f6a2d1c4d it was c4451a6fa9 again.
‘… That’s the duke’s 20cbcc3287 room.
Emilia blinked rapidly. The sounds were irregular, a4893b16ba as if something was 66857abd7d going on. And given how well c28aa128a9 soundproofed the room was, 7d9b23de1b it meant that it 51c3ca9621 must be very noisy be83f620c2 inside if she could 15823de9d1 hear it this clearly 60cfdfa332 from outside.
She bit her lower 758626656a lip and, with a 4177000bb9 resolute expression, slowly walked d78da1b8f2 toward the source.
As she got 78bd487bc4 closer to the 9eca48b2b5 door, she could e62920caba clearly hear something 9134da1d7a colliding. She reached for 26475effe7 the doorknob and 86dece9928 opened it.
“Gasp…”
Emilia covered 55b35b3265 her mouth d77c76810b with her 3ed7f0e68f hand. The room was 278f15db95 a complete mess. Furniture was scattered 7c28edbc76 on the floor, ebd2e3463c and the bed 46c3f968a3 looked like it eee201b956 had been slashed, 473d7e2a49 with cotton flying 305de1f627 everywhere.
She hurried into 89d2876563 the room. The first thing 15ac94fa0e she saw was 416a8e83a5 a group of 831b7abc41 people in black fcc0030350 masks lying on 0aec35fc12 the floor, and 48276f918b in front of b58ee7ce31 them was Enrico’s 153ab34e08 back. Enrico was facing 123e35de27 a man in 2fbb7b6264 a black mask d8c6745e0b standing against the d0388c2680 wall in the a30d525bbf far left corner.
“What is…What b8d6b40a2c is this…”
Her stunned muttering 227c479f18 made Enrico turn 22278af007 around. Not realizing it was 969589f7f8 her who had entered, 9175c14ba2 his previously calm face 1876fcdede turned stern.
“Get out!”
But before Emilia aaaab4e95c could react to 5683caf409 his shout, one e3d2848877 of the masked c764862900 men quickly approached a467f3d941 her. He had moved while 3ae4014a2d Enrico was turned.
Enrico’s face contorted. He quickly followed the 4accf0e26a masked man, while Emilia, 82a5a4fae1 startled by the sudden b2d349bc94 approach, let out a 12edc9cf9c loud scream.
Kyaaaaah- A scream loud b11ea0bccc enough to pierce the 355d4bf2d5 sky, and the mansion’s e533026138 lights turned on in cb6357182e an instant.
“Gasp…”
Emilia screamed de35b32f23 and pushed dc98a4ae57 the chair 78ac5904a9 next to 4624f2ce11 her. Taking advantage of the 9666bc85f2 masked man’s dodge, Enrico bda2da149f darted in between them. The knife he 8d551bc39c was holding slashed 40d224247a towards Emilia, but 83f2e68cda Enrico blocked it, 200535e13b and the tip b66a03e514 of the knife f2f05c3f89 grazed his forearm.1f3021d5de61afb1

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