“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.
“What’s a big man like you doing, pushing around such a small child? Have you no shame?” Octavia glared at the man, supporting the girl’s shoulders.
For a moment, he appeared to be cowed, screwing up his face, but he soon shouted back at her. Drops of spittle flew from his mouth. “You have no idea what you’re talking about! I’m worried about the young lady’s safety. If anything happened to her, I’d be held responsible!”
“Even so, that’s no reason to shove this girl around.”
“That was her fault for stumbling around here! What a creepy little brat.”
“Miss Colette has returned safely to the mansion, has she not? If so, let’s leave it at that.”
Upon seeing Raven emerge from behind Octavia, the man fell silent. Raven, now standing next to Octavia, looked at the girl and grinned. “She looks like she’ll be a beauty one day.”
“Huh?”
Raven turned from the dumbfounded Octavia back to the furious man. “Let’s let this fellow go, Octavia. He’s not worth our trouble.”
“That’s what I should be saying—”
“You shall return to your work at once,” Raven commanded. “We’re going to enter properly, through the front door. Or would you like to start a new life, the sort where you won’t have any worries or doubts about your employment? That sounds nice, doesn’t it? Why, that sounds like heaven. I’ll be happy to escort you there.”
Since Raven had his back fully turned, she couldn’t see his face. Still, from the way the other man’s face grew steadily paler before her eyes, she could guess what sort of expression Raven wore. At times like these, Raven had a strange intensity to him.
“Never come near the young lady again!” Leaving only a warning for the girl, the man wisely chose to enter the mansion via the back door.
Raven turned around and offered a hand to the girl, who still hadn’t regained her footing.
“Are you all right? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“No. Thank you very much. I apologize for the inconvenience,” the girl answered awkwardly. She righted her posture without taking Raven’s hand. “It was my fault,” she muttered, listless, as if she were trying to convince herself. There was no sense of fear or confusion in her—one might go so far as to say she was utterly emotionless.
Octavia inquired carefully, “Is it true that you took Miss Colette away?”
“No.”
“What’s your name? Ah, I’m Raven, by the way.”
“My name isn’t worth knowing. Don’t mind me,” said the girl, quite incoherent, before walking briskly away. Without looking back, she returned along the same path by which she had come.
After blinking a few times, Raven shrugged his shoulders. “What a strange girl. Would you like to go after her?”
“No,” Octavia said, after a pause. “Let’s not.” She turned her gaze away from the girl’s receding back, returning it to the front door.
Hat, who was still looking at the girl, pestered Octavia from above her head. “Are you sure you want to let her go, Octavia?”
“You were in such a hurry to go and save her,” added Raven. “I thought there must be more to it.”
Hat said, “Actually, maybe we should hold off, as long as this fellow’s around.”
Agreed, murmured Octavia, but only within her heart.
She faced the front door once again and rang the bell.
It opened almost immediately. “Marquis Osvard, I was informed of your visit. Please, come with me.” A butler, appearing from inside the house, invited them in. As they stepped inside, the smell of the sea vanished as if they’d imagined it, along with all the warmth in the air. In the great hall was a chandelier and several decorative suits of armor. Above the landing of the parted stairway was a large painting. Amid this grand architecture, reminiscent of a noble manor, Octavia felt that she had suddenly been transported back to the Royal Capital. Mrs. Smile’s ambition to gain a peerage was transparent.
Conducted into the drawing room by the butler, they were served tea and sweets that were traditional in the Kingdom of Angelus. Hat was hung on a hatstand, and Octavia and Raven sat down together on a sofa. After that, they had only to wait for Mrs. Smile’s arrival.
“I may have no choice but to have you marry me,” Raven murmured idly.
Octavia had just been thinking that she would like to savor the sweetness that was local to this harbor town. She nearly spat out her tea.
“Wh-Why would that be the case?”
“Well, if the Phantom Thief, Crow, steals this doll, the mystery will never be solved. In other words, I will never be able to clear myself of wrongdoing. In the worst case, I’ll be considered to have sold a Demonic Heirloom.”
“If the doll causing the problem were gone, then wouldn’t that just resolve the case of the daughter?!”
“Not necessarily. We’ll have lost our means of resolving it. If that happens, what will you do?”
Careful not to spill her tea, Octavia set her cup down. “I’ll break both of that cad’s legs, and I’ll do whatever it takes to catch him.”
“Ah, so you would go that route. Well, that’s fine. But what shall we do now?”
“Do? About what?”
“Should I introduce you as my fiancée, or as a detective?”
“As a detective, obviously! Weren’t we only supposed to be engaged if I failed to solve the case—”
“Sorry for the wait, Mr. Raven!”
A flurry of lively footsteps, and then the door was thrown open. A solidly-built lady wearing a gaudy dress hurried into the room. Her smile was strangely intense as she wheeled around to face them. For some reason, she was waving a hand fan; its many bushy feathers drew their eyes.
Octavia sat there, blinking, bemused. In contrast, Raven rose smoothly to his feet and took a graceful bow. “I must thank you for giving us a moment of your time despite your busy schedule, Mrs. Smile.”
“Really, you needn’t behave so formally. I can always make time for you, Mr. Raven. After all, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future!”
“Yes. About that...”
“Although I really am busy,” she went on. “That being said, I’m always busy, so if I excused myself based on that, we’d never make progress with the happy matter of this engagement! Now, then—let’s start making arrangements for the future at once!”
“Before that, there’s someone I need to introduce to you.”
“I’ve already completed the necessary paperwork, so please verify it at your convenience. Of course, after that, I’ll bring you and Colette together. That’s right! How would you like to have dinner with her? If she hears that she’s been lucky enough to be engaged to you, Mr. Raven, I’m sure she’ll gladly toss that silly doll aside. Oho ho ho.”
“Allow me to introduce the Lady Octavia, whom I am presently courting,” Raven cut in, not to be outdone by Mrs. Smile as she rattled on.