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BECAUSE of “the Bruno incident,” they determined that the case they were investigating was related to the Ordination Ceremony, and as a result, the number of interrogations decreased significantly. Today, Ophelia wasn’t scheduled to attend a single interrogation, and since that meant she had nothing to do, she decided to clean the staff-only side of the interrogation room on her own.
With the infamously skilled members of the Director’s Office team working on it, this case should be solved quickly. Once that happened, Ophelia’s task would be complete, and she would be returned to the Architectural Institute.
Glancing over at the special cushioned flooring in the space behind the window that had been prepared specifically for her, Ophelia couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.
After she’d finished her cleaning, Ophelia left the interrogation room and headed for the stairs, intending to take a little coffee break in the Director’s Office. But when she arrived at the staircase, Miranda was waiting for her.
“There’s a visitor here to see you.”
“Huh? Are you sure they’re here for me?”
“Oh, yeah. They’re waiting in this reception room over here.”
Ophelia’s hands didn’t shake. It seemed there really was a visitor. But why was Miranda, of all people, waiting to tell her?
Ophelia nervously peeked in through the door that Miranda opened for her to find Stella waiting within, dressed in a gaudy gown that seemed totally out of place amongst the room’s simple furnishings. Two ladies stood behind the sofa that Stella was sitting on, neither of whom had been a part of her entourage that day at the art museum. A bodyguard stood beside the door.
“G-Good day, Miss… Er, that, is, Lady Stella… Uh, um…”
“Don’t even bother with a polite greeting if you’re just going to fumble it.”
“I’m sorry…”
Ophelia’s shoulders drooped at Stella’s frigid tone. With a mocking chuckle, Miranda left Ophelia’s side and went over to stand behind Stella with the other two ladies.
So she’s part of Stella’s entourage…
The reason she’d shown up in the Director’s Office so many times for no real reason must’ve been to do reconnaissance on Ophelia. Just imagining the depressing scene that was undoubtedly about to play out caused a huge sigh to slip unbidden from Ophelia’s mouth.
“Hm, it seems you have some idea as to the reason for my visit.” Stella’s eyebrows arched almost as if in challenge, and she flashed a fearless smile. Her black hair fell in gentle waves that glistened in the lamplight, and her azure eyes were fixed unfalteringly on Ophelia. “Sit.”
In that moment, the opposing sofa that Stella gestured to dismissively looked an awful lot like the one from the interrogation room. The suspect’s side of the interrogation room, of course. Once she was sitting on the sofa, Ophelia keenly felt the weight of Stella’s entourage and the bodyguard all looking down at her, and she did her best to shrink in on herself as much as possible, unconsciously making herself a smaller target.
“How long are you planning to work in the Director’s Office?” Stella asked, her expression sweet as pie but her tone biting.
“Um, I was told that it would be until the case they’re c-currently working on is finished.”
“Even if they’re short-staffed, I don’t see why the Director of the Ministry of Justice would need to borrow a secretary from the Ministry of Ceremonies, but I’m sure that being the discerning person that he is, Lord Claudio must have his reasons.”
Carelessly sweeping away a strand of hair that had fallen over her shoulder with her right hand, Stella leaned forward and peered down into Ophelia’s face. Ophelia involuntarily swallowed hard under the force of Stella’s searching gaze.
“I heard that you were seen holding hands with Lord Claudio during your outing.”
“H-H-Holding hands?! O-Of course not, th-that’s ludicrous! I was merely holding onto his jacket so that I wouldn’t fall!”
Crap, maybe that was the wrong thing to say…
The gaggle of young ladies hovering behind Stella all looked at Ophelia with disbelief and laughed mockingly. Shooting daggers at Ophelia as she cringed in fear, Stella leaned forward even further and said, “You must have no sense at all, walking around touching a man who has a fiancée. Lord Claudio may be your boss, but he’s also a duke and the younger brother of His Majesty the King. He’s certainly not someone a person like you has any business touching so casually. Mind your place.”
Unable to raise her head, Ophelia darted a glance up at Stella. The smile Stella had been wearing was gone, and she was glaring at Ophelia without so much as blinking. Ophelia clenched her hands into fists in her lap and deeply bowed with only her head, not standing.
“I’m sorry. It’s nothing like what you’re thinking, Lady Stella. I have a tendency to stumble a lot, so the Director was just being considerate… But, um… I will be more careful in the future.” Ophelia remained in that awkward position, bowing so deeply that her chest touched her knees, intending to stay that way until Stella forgave her. With her hands still clenched, she stared at her feet and waited.
“…As long as you’ve learned your lesson, I suppose I’ll forgive you this once. See to it that you don’t carelessly get too close to Lord Claudio again.”
Stella elegantly rose to her feet, so Ophelia also scrambled to stand and bowed again.
“Enough already. …Let’s walk back together, at least partway.”
“Huh?”
As if clearing a path for Stella to lead the way, her entourage broke apart into two groups. Ophelia reluctantly followed Stella, passing through the gauntlet with rounded shoulders, coming to stand beside Stella.
Stella set off walking, glancing back over her shoulder and signaling with a barely perceptible nod of her chin. In response, the other ladies waited a moment before they started walking as well. After confirming that her entourage had left an appropriate amount of space between them, Stella sidled up to Ophelia. The cloying scent of her floral perfume enveloped them both.
“Hey, you… Have you been meeting with your mother?” Stella addressed this question to Ophelia in a quiet voice, her head facing forward.
Is she trying to imply that if I don’t watch myself and stay away from Claudio, she’s going to do something to Mother, who’s living all by herself, unprotected?! Ophelia blanched at the thought.
“Uh, um… M-My mother…? I…”
“Have you been meeting her? I heard you have.”
“…Only once every few months…”
“I see. I heard that she became a commoner and is living in the city.”
“Yes, she… She lives with her husband. He’s a commoner.”
“…Is that so… I wonder if she’s happy.”
“I believe so. She seemed to be in good health when I saw her the other day… And her husband is doing well… They seem very happy. So, about my mother… Um…”
“I see… She’s happy. That’s… good.”
A faint exhale of air escaped from Stella, and her eyes narrowed. Ophelia checked her own hands, but they weren’t trembling. It seemed that, against all odds, Stella wasn’t planning to do anything to Ophelia’s mother and was genuinely glad to hear she was living happily.