Chapter 44

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 44

Chapter Title: The Woman from the Past

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"......I see. Understood. I'll let Madam Shallet know as well."

Agatha Noblesse's married life had always sparked endless gossip.

Discord, divorce, harmony—even the slightest changes.

And those who seized on every opening were her political rivals and relatives.

Agatha watched Isabel, now deftly weaving through the nobles, before finally speaking.

"Madam Iris. What is love?"

"Pardon?"

Startled, Madam Iris dropped her fan with a clatter. Agatha Noblesse, who had endured seven marriages since the age of five, had never once spoken of something as simple as romance.

Yet the word "love" had just slipped from her lips.

"Ah, Madam Agatha?"

Seeing the flustered Madam Iris, Agatha gave a faint smile and rose from her seat.

"I'm sorry. That was a slip of the tongue. Please forget I said it."

Leaving Madam Iris behind, Agatha made her way through the crowd of nobles.

She must have been terribly frustrated. To voice something aloud when it wasn't even decided yet.

In truth, the answer was already set.

She had told Enoch she would decide after thinking it over, but with no intention of leaving his side, what other path was there?

She had been cold to him for a few days, but it was all just petulance in the end.

She missed him. She wanted him by her side. And deep down, wasn't there a faint hope that his feelings might not change?

With a bitter smile, Agatha approached Isabel and spoke.

"Isabel. Could you handle things here? I was thinking of lunch with Enoch."

Isabel's eyes widened before she nodded with a smile.

"Of course. Go on ahead. Everyone will happily see you off. Right, ladies and gentlemen?"

"Naturally. With Lady Isabel, the second host, here, what could go wrong?"

"Exactly. Safe travels, Madam Agatha."

"I'm grateful for your understanding. If you'll excuse me."

After exchanging farewells with the nobles, Agatha slipped out of the salon.

Trailing behind her were her close attendant maid and First Vice-Captain Leon Takran, along with the escort knights.

"The hunting grounds are Claro Forest, correct?"

"Yes, Madam."

Just as Sir Leon replied, Ben, the head steward of House Aratus, appeared from the corridor.

"Madam. I heard you're heading back."

"Mm. Thinking of going to see Enoch."

The steward showed the faintest reaction before stepping aside with perfect courtesy.

"I've had a carriage waiting at the front of the mansion."

"Thank you, Ben."

Agatha boarded the waiting carriage and departed the capital Aratus mansion. Through the window, she could see the escort knights surrounding it without a single gap.

Claro Forest, a favorite haunt of the capital's nobles, wasn't far from the Aratus mansion.

A short ride beyond the outer walls brought them to low hills crowned with a modest woodland—not vast, but ideal for casual hunts and mingling.

They passed through the gates. Moments later, the tents of the hunting party came into view before the dense treeline.

Agatha spotted the banner bearing the Aratus crest among them.

As the carriage halted and Agatha stepped down, the knights standing guard saluted.

"We see the Marchioness."

Acknowledging their greetings, Agatha asked,

"Is the Marquis inside?"

"He just stepped out, Madam. It seems your paths crossed."

He must have gone hunting. She hadn't announced her visit, so it was only natural.

At that moment, First Vice-Captain Leon Takran stepped forward and spoke.

"We can't just wait around blindly. Better to send word. Who's handling communications right now?"

"Well, uh..."

Agatha, about to say it was fine, asked in puzzlement,

"What is it? He didn't go hunting?"

"It's just..."

The knight, glancing nervously, only spoke after Leon fixed him with a sharp glare.

"A guest arrived, so he stepped away briefly. Apologies, but please wait a moment."

"A guest?"

Not one of the nobles who had come hunting together, surely. They wouldn't phrase it so vaguely as "guest."

Sensing something amiss, Leon's face hardened coldly as he pressed the knight.

"What was this guest's status?"

"......We don't know."

"Impossible. Are you saying you let someone accompany your lord without even identifying them?"

Agatha stepped back a pace, watching Leon interrogate the knights.

Then the tent flap parted, and Enoch's adjutant Ched and aide John emerged from within.

"We see the Madam."

Agatha furrowed her brow ever so slightly. Both the adjutant and aide were here.

"Neither of you went with the Marquis?"

"The lord dismissed everyone around him."

"Then his escort?"

"He said he wouldn't go far. It should be fine."

Agatha stared silently at the adjutant and aide.

They knew full well how nonsensical that sounded.

It meant the visiting "guest" was someone close to Enoch—or at the very least, posed no threat.

The adjutant and aide bowed deeply.

'Should I ask... or not?'

Snap. The fan closed with a sharp click, making the adjutant, aide, and guarding knights flinch in unison.

Agatha smiled and nodded.

"No helping it, then. I'll take a short walk while I wait. When Enoch returns, tell him I came and I'm waiting."

"Understood."

She had no intention of digging deeper. He'd tell her if it mattered.

"I'll be back."

Agatha set off for a stroll with her attendant maid, First Vice-Captain Leon Takran, and four knights.

'I finally made up my mind to tell him... and this happens.'

A touch disappointing, but with all the time ahead together, she wandered the forest's edge.

Hunting was in full swing inside—occasional flutters of birds taking flight, whistles from the beaters.

Wondering if Enoch would return soon or if she should fetch some lunch, Agatha lifted her gaze.

Thud.

Something dropped behind her. Agatha turned, puzzled.

Footsteps?

Sir Leon and the knights halted, their eyes locked on somewhere deep in the woods.

"That woman..."

One knight muttered under his breath. Agatha instinctively followed their gaze.

Amid towering trees and tangled wild grass.

In a shadowed nook that would escape notice without close scrutiny, a man with familiar blue hair stood.

And before him, a slender silhouette. Agatha froze.

Her mind flashed to the retainers' odd behavior earlier.

The knights dodging the guest's identity, Enoch leaving all his men behind, the shocked halt from Leon and the escorts.

"Marie."

Agatha's voice came out icy cold. Leon and the knights snapped to attention, turning to her.

"Yes, Madam. Did you call for me?"

The attendant maid Marie bowed at once.

"Find out who that lady is. Ask Esel for the details."

"Understood."

A faint ripple of unease passed through the knights.

Agatha smiled. Her lips curved smoothly, but her grip on the fan was white-knuckled.

"M-Madam."

Leon silenced the needless knight with a glance, then bowed quietly to Agatha.

"Madam."

"Don't say a word. I have a rough idea already."

"It's not that. That woman is..."

Her violet eyes—always praised as beautiful as flower buds—now gleamed with chill light.

"Sir Leon."

"Yes, Madam."

Agatha shifted her position slowly, speaking as she did. The distance was enough; they hadn't noticed her group yet.

"If your escorts aren't here to watch me, then I can assume today's events won't reach Enoch's ears unless ordered?"

Don't report to him without specific instructions.

The young vice-captain's face clouded with belated distress as the meaning sank in.

"......If the lord doesn't order a report, then naturally."

"Good."

Agatha turned away with a brilliant smile. Her heart pounded wildly despite her composed facade.

Nothing was certain yet, but dark suspicions kept rising.

A feeling that the woman wielded immense influence over Enoch.

"Let's head back to the mansion."

Returning to the tents, Agatha boarded her carriage and promptly left Claro Forest.

Aide John and Adjutant Ched wore flustered expressions, but beneath lay subtle relief.

It was still bright daylight.

Head Steward Allen greeted Agatha, who had returned to the honeymoon mansion far earlier than usual, with a stunned look.

"Madam. What brings you back so soon? Has something—"

"Is Esel inside?"

"Yes. Likely in the office."

Agatha headed straight for the office. First Aide Esel Maso was waiting there, having received word.

"Madam—"

"Skip the greetings."

The attendant maids positioned themselves discreetly by the door.

Agatha sank onto the sofa and gestured for Esel to sit before issuing her command.

"Report."

"Yes. The woman you saw earlier today is Viscountess Esther Portoni."

A noblewoman, then.

Agatha unfolded the report Esel handed her.

"While the Marquis was away at war, relatives sent her to manage Aratus as a prospective fiancée."

"An old connection."

The open report contained a stinging line.

「Estimated to have lived together on the battlefield for several months.」