Chapter 55 — In which they have a late night talk

Saffra sat down and crossed her arms.

Citrie also sat down across from her.

He looked so relaxed, you might think he was invited here and didn’t invade the lady room in the middle of the night.

And yet…

‘You’re nervous.’

His posture was a bit too straight, his fingers curled up slightly, and he was clearly restraining himself from folding them into a fist.

His lips were smiling, but his eyes weren’t.

“What can I help you with, Sir Citrie?”

Even though she noticed his mental state, her voice remained cold.

Citrie chuckled.

“It seems that I’m not really welcome here, huh?”

“It took you some time to notice that, Sir. I stressed the importance of taking vacations and adhering to work schedules more than once.”

“Isn’t following Young Lady on this vacation trip the same as taking a vacation myself?”

“Does Sir Citrie tend to work even during his vacations?”

“Haha, you could say that, Young Lady.”

He chuckled again, but the chuckle seemed somewhat hollow.

He looked down at his hands and quietly said:

“It seems I’m extremely suspicious in the eyes of Lady Mimosa and Young Lady’s ladies-in-waiting.”

“You’re extremely suspicious in my eyes too, Sir Citire.”

“And yet, Young Lady never told me to leave, and when the atmosphere started to get tense, you were always the one, who calmed it down before it could explode.”

Saffra couldn’t say anything to that.

It was true that though she was suspicious of the guy, she didn’t feel he was dangerous.

‘It’s like that cat…’

She frowned.

“Sir Citire just resembles someone I knew. He was an annoying and very bothersome guy, but in the end…. In the end, he was fine, I suppose.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“… Someone Young Lady knew?”

“Well, it was more like someone I was very close with knew him and they grew quite close…”

Citire was looking at her with a weird gaze.

“Something wrong?”

“No… It’s just- Young Lady’s expression… No, nevermind.”

She gave him a doubtful glance, but switched topics to the correct one.

“Why are you here, Sir Citrie. Please stop beating around the bush.”

“So…”

He still hesitated for a moment and then blurted out:

“I wish Young Lady could vouch for me, so I would be allowed to accompany you on the investigation you’re planning to do.”

Now it was her turn to give him a weird look.

“Why?”

“Well, Young Lady is obviously in command when it comes to her ladies-in-waiting, so if you say it’s okay for me to be there, they won’t make any fuss. And Lady Mimosa trusts Young Lady a lot… or rather extremely.”

“That’s true. But I’m asking why I should vouch for you?”

“… I can help with the investigation?”

“Sir Citire, you know that I’m asking why do you want to investigate. Please don’t run in circles.”

Citrie bit his lip and then said, as if coming to the final decision:

“My reasons are related to my past and my family. I’ll ask Young Lady to keep what I’m about to tell you a secret.”

“… If it’s your past and family, my sister would already know it.”

“Indeed. Perhaps that’s why Lady Mimosa is so wary of me. But there are things, which reports cannot tell you.”

“I understand. I’ll keep them a secret, unless I deem revealing it absolutely necessary”

“That’s good enough.”

There were a few seconds of silence and then:

“I’m an adoptive son of Lieutenant Chlori, who committed suicide 13 years ago. Or at least that was what the investigation’s result after his death said.”

“You don’t believe that he committed a suicide?”

“It may sound like a family member trying to escape reality, but I’m certain that he wasn’t a man to do something like this.”

Citire’s gaze was firm.

Saffra thought about what she knew about Chlori.

He was a descendant of someone, who become a noble after her death, but it was such a long time ago, he was considered one of the ‘old nobles’.

As ‘Lieutenant’ title suggested, he was in one of the highest positions of power in Flavun after the ruler, General.

Flavun didn’t have a strict hierarchy in its nobility system, thanks to numerous revolts that successively wiped out nobles after nobles, but if someone wielded enormous financial and military power, almost equal to the General, they would be addressed as Lieutenant.

Chlori was a man who literally ‘had it all’.

‘But it all went downhill after Mimosa’s mother’s death.’

Mimosa’s mother was sentenced to death 15 years ago for treason.

Two years later, it was revealed that she and Chlori had close exchanges and often cooperated in secret.

Though there was no evidence that Chlori betrayed the state, his reputation was completely destroyed.

His subordinates and allies left.

His possessions were destroyed by an angry mob.

And he himself fell into enormous debts.

The situation escalated to the point it wouldn’t be strange if he was sentenced to death not for treason, but for his debts.

There were a lot of voices that wished for his death, just because they were convinced that he must be a traitor, even if there was no evidence.

And then…

He was found dead in his office.

According to the investigation, he poisoned himself.

He even left a suicide note.

Though he didn’t admit to treason, he apologized for everything that he had done and all the suffering he caused.

His only wish was that his family could live in peace.

The public wasn’t quite willing to do that, but just then the plague that took the lives of thousand of people broke out, and no one had time to think about one dead man.

It was a sad story.

Saffra could understand why Citire didn’t want to talk about it.

But if that sad story had a twist as he said…

“Do you believe that Golderodis’ case is related to your father’s ‘suicide’?”

“I cannot be sure… It’s more of a feeling.”

Citrie frowned as if he struggled to explain.

“Even after years of investigating, I couldn’t figure it out. There was no evidence left around me. If there was any in the first place, it would have been destroyed a long time ago.”

“Therefore, you entered the manor. The only place where there may be some evidence left.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“And you probably suspect that someone at the manor had a hand in your father’s death.”

“… Yes, Young Lady.”

“So you’re out here for revenge.”

Citrie bowed his head and said:

“Apologies for this one’s lowly aspirations.”

“Hah, that’s fine, Sir Citrie.”

Saffra shook her head and looked towards the window.

The sky outside was dark, as if clouds were gathering.

There was a risk of a storm.

“In fact, you could say I’m out for revenge myself.”

She turned towards him again, with a bright smile on her lips.

“It seems that you determined that my sister and I are innocent. I’ll return then the trust you put in us and vouch for you.”

Citire was silent for a moment, then stood up and bowed deeply.

“Thank you, My Lady.”

*~*~*