Chapter 1: The Unusual Lady Ophelia
THE grand ballroom sparkled ethereally as the chandelier’s blazing light reflected off the copious golden decorations. Aristocrats packed the room, as was only to be expected at a ball hosted by the royal family. Ladies glamorously decked out in the trendiest colors did their best to outshine the other ladies, all competing for the title of belle of the ball. And the gentlemen, who smiled broadly as they chatted together, were no better. This was nothing more than a calculated assessment of how they could benefit from these acquaintances.
Claudio gazed out over the crowded ballroom, eyes narrowed in disdain, as if it were particularly odious. His formalwear was conservatively adorned, but the discrete sheen instantly gave away the fabric’s quality, even from a distance. The long, strawberry-blond hair he had loosely tied back was even more eye-catching than his clothing, much to Claudio’s dismay.
Although no one dared to make eye contact, everyone was paying close attention to Claudio’s every move. Even as they engaged in their own meaningless conversations, all of them were only half-listening, focused more on Claudio than the people in front of them.
One after another, the aristocrats offered bland greetings and attempted to ingratiate themselves with him. By the time the line had finally dissipated, Claudio struggled not to click his tongue in frustration.
Every last one of them a liar…
Many people wanted to form connections with Claudio. In addition to his striking appearance, he was also a highly ranked nobleman. He was simultaneously amused and disgusted by the way these desperate aristocrats, their faces flushed under the light cast by the flickering flames of candles set into ornate candelabras, would open and close their mouths repeatedly like fish, trying to find just the right moment to cut in and speak to him.
All it took was for him to reply dismissively to their well-masked, probing questions and glare at them a bit, and the cowards would turn tail and flee, their faces suddenly white as ghosts.
Anyone who would try something like this on Claudio—the Director of the Ministry of Justice, in charge of investigating and sentencing criminals—must have ulterior motives.
Claudio called over a servant who was circling the room with a tray and accepted a glass of wine. The way the servant lingered even after Claudio had taken his drink suddenly reminded him that he’d come with a date this evening. In fact, the beautiful young lady in question, her long black hair cascading in elegant waves down her back, stood right beside Claudio, practically snuggling up against him. With her refined bearing and perfect posture, she was a model of the ideal noblewoman.
“Stella, would you like something to drink?”
“Yes, thank you, Lord Claudio.”
Claudio picked up another glass of the same wine and handed it to Stella. She brought the glass to her lips and tipped it back ever so slightly, leaving him wondering if she was actually drinking it or just pretending.
“It’s delicious. Thank you.”
Stella lifted just the corners of her mouth in a well-bred smile. Claudio had no idea what she was playing at. Even if she had actually taken a sip of the wine just now, he seriously doubted that she’d drunk enough to detect the flavor.
Once again forcing down the impulse to click his tongue in irritation, Claudio dragged his gaze away from Stella.
“I was very much looking forward to attending tonight’s ball with you, Lord Claudio. It’s an honor to be able to stand beside you.”
“I’ve told you before, you don’t need to waste lip service on me.”
“That’s not… I really was looking forward to it, being able to stand beside you like this.”
Another clueless aristocrat, failing to pick up on the tense atmosphere between them, approached to speak to Claudio, effectively interrupting this frustrating conversation.
Claudio was giving the briefest possible responses to the nobleman chattering away at him when he sensed someone pushing their way through the crowd, moving in his direction.
Noticing that the people around him were all staring at something behind him, Claudio too turned to look.
“Ahhh… B-Brother, please… Help me…!” a young woman shouted as she stumbled toward Claudio, nearly plowing straight into him. A young man, reacting to her cry, grabbed the lady at the last minute, thankfully preventing her from crashing into Claudio. Both shared the same dark brown hair and strikingly similar features, and both were dressed in dark blue formalwear that seemed to have been intentionally designed as a matching set. They gave off the kind of plain, unremarkable aura that one would quickly forget about entirely the moment they were out of sight.
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The young lady wobbled the instant the young man set her on her feet, as if truly incapable of so much as sustaining her weight.
“Ophie, get a hold of yourself! Here, hold on to me.”
“No more, I can’t! L-Let’s go home, please…!”
The young lady, somehow finding her balance while clutching onto the young man’s shoulder for support, finally spotted Claudio standing directly in front of her and sucked in a horrified gasp. Her deportment might be terrible, but at least it seemed she did possess manners, because the shell-shocked lady lifted her skirts in trembling hands and bobbed a shallow curtsy.
“U-Um, good day, Your Grace, Duke Stolarni… S-Such fine weather we’ve been having, isn’t it? Uh…”
The young man standing beside the disoriented lady gave a reluctant bow as well. Noting the displeased expression on the young man’s face, Claudio opened his mouth to speak.
“…What’s going on here?”
“Oh! Um, i-it’s nothing…”
The young man looked away evasively as he gave that unbelievable excuse. Clearly, something was going on.
Stella spoke up from where she’d been standing silently at Claudio’s side, concealing the bottom half of her face behind her fan. “This woman seems to be unwell. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, she’s just fine. I’m so sorry for the disturbance; I’ll bring her home immediately!” the young man exclaimed.
“Perhaps she had too much to drink? If she’s feeling unwell, you can ask the servant over there to prepare a room where she can lie down for a bit to rest.”
“Y-Yes, that’s exactly right! She’s such a lightweight that she got drunk from just one glass! I will do exactly as you suggest, my lady. If you’ll excuse us…”
The young man moved with practiced ease, wrapping an arm around the young lady whose arms and legs were trembling and whose eyes were practically rolled back in her head, and led her away as quick as a hare.
Based on how terrified they both appeared, it didn’t seem this was some strange ploy to create an opportunity to speak to Claudio. It must’ve been a genuine coincidence that the young lady had stumbled into Claudio in her unwell state.
Still, there was something strange about that young woman… Her arms and legs were shaking, and she seemed much more upset than the situation called for. Almost as if she’d been involved with something bad…
Claudio sought out his subordinate, Samael, whom he found awaiting orders a short distance away, and gestured to him. Samael, with his black bangs swept to one side and fashionable clothes following the latest trends, blended seamlessly into the crowd without drawing attention. Fortunately, that happened to align with the man’s interests as well. Without a moment’s hesitation, Samael responded to Claudio’s signal, disappearing into the crowd.
“I’ve never met that young lady before. I wonder which family she’s from,” Stella whispered conspiratorially as she traced the young man and the odd young woman’s progression with her eyes.
“If I’m not mistaken, I believe the young man is the eldest son of Earl Narve. They had the same color hair and eyes, so I assume the lady must be his younger sister.”
“Ohh, that person…”
“Is she famous?”
Seeing Claudio express an uncharacteristic interest in someone, Stella again spread her fan and concealed her expression. “I’m not sure if ‘famous’ is exactly the right word… The young lady of the Narve family is said to be very sickly, which is why she never attends any social functions. Although I’ve heard that since she reached the age of majority at sixteen, she’s been working as a secretary at the Architectural Institute, where her father and brother are employed, in order to improve her stamina a bit. I wish I could remember her name… But based on the way she appeared, she must be dealing with some kind of illness…”
Due to the fan concealing Stella’s face, Claudio couldn’t determine merely from her choice of wording whether she was truly sympathetic to the young lady’s plight or if perhaps she was just ridiculing her. Claudio averted his eyes from Stella and brusquely tossed back the remaining wine in his glass.
Both brother and sister had unremarkable dark brown hair and eyes with no outstanding features. The younger sister usually secluded herself from society, yet for some reason, she’d attended this ball. The question was, why now?
The nobles again circled around Claudio, seeking an opportunity to speak to him. He wanted nothing more than to shake off Stella’s hand resting possessively on his arm and return home so he could get back to work. Why did he have to waste his time in such a pointless manner at a place like this when he had so many cases that needed to be investigated?
The aristocrats who’d carelessly approached Claudio flinched as a brooding aura emanated from him stronger than ever.