[TKOSINM] 15 - Mysterious Letter (1)

         Upon arriving at her residence, Irene felt that the distance was far too short. The moment Irene had caught sight of her destination, the positive and hopeful feelings she had had from before instantly vanished. 

Irene tucked away her gold coins before departing the carriage and went back into the Chase mansion.

         It turned out to all be pointless to do because not a single one of her family welcomed Irene when she arrived. Perhaps because Irene was back from a crowded ball, the empty hall in her house felt unusually large and cold. However, being an occurrence that was completely normal for her, she did not feel saddened by the lack of human presence welcoming her return to the house. When Irene was about to go upstairs, she saw a figure standing at the top, waiting for her.

“You’re already back, sister?” Riel asked whilst beautifully smiling at Irene.

“Why are you here...”

“No matter how long I waited, my sister did not return. So, I was waiting for you here.”

Irene looked shocked at her answer. Then Riel gently came down the stairs and stopped one stair above Irene. Riel was shorter than her peers, so her height at that moment was equal to Irene’s, despite the fact that she was standing one stair above.

Riel opened her mouth after gazing at Irene from top to bottom.

“My sister is so pretty. I bet men would line up to dance with you at the ball.”

“I’m tired. So please get out of my way.”

Usually, Irene would be worried and take off her shawl to cover Riel’s shoulder because she was afraid that Riel would catch a cold. But, instead of being concerned about Riel, Irene just calmly passed her.

“You’ve changed, sister.”

Irene turned her head. Riel was looking at her with a tearful face.

“Are you still mad about Boris? I think you should judge the situation from another perspective. You should be glad to know your fiancé’s true nature, who falls in love with your own sister. You almost married him without knowing that fact. So, shouldn’t you thank me instead? Why are you getting angry at me? I can’t stand it if you avoid me. It’s hard for me. Whenever you have ignored me, my heart pounds so hard, and I feel suffocated. It feels like I am about to die because-”

         “Riel.” Irene cut off Riel’s words with a chilled tone.

         Riel dropped her head down and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders also began to tremble.

         “Stop using your illness as a weapon.”

         “...”

         Irene’s words made Riel’s shoulders stop shaking, and then, Riel’s emotionless purple eyes looked up at Irene. Receiving that look, Irene paused for a moment and continued her words.

         “What you were saying was right. If I hadn’t seen you and Boris kissing, I would have married him without knowing his true nature. But that’s my problem and none of your business. I’ll take care of my problem. So don’t ever say that I should thank you. Because I’m not grateful at all.”

         “...”

         Then Irene turned her back and went up to the third floor.

Riel, who was left alone on the stairs, clenched her fist, her body quivering. She bit her lips to the point where her lips were bleeding, and then tears fell from her eyes.

♔♔♔

         “Irene Chase. She is the eldest daughter of Count Chase. She was born in the 334th Imperial year, on the 22nd of December. She lived with her aunt, Mrs Friedan, until she was three years old and then lived with Count Chase. She entered the Academy at age seventeen and graduated three years later. She has a younger sister who is a year younger than her. Perhaps because she rarely attended any social events, not so many people know about Irene Chase. She also didn’t have any friends when she was a student at the Academy. I found a few people who knew about her in the Academy, but they didn’t seem to have any notable impressions of her.”

         Noel tapped his fingers on the desk whilst hearing Tom’s report, and then he turned to ask his secretary.

         “She was raised in her aunt’s house for three years. What’s the reason for that?”

         Tom shook his head to Noel’s question whilst answering.

         “I have yet to find out the reason for that.”

         “I see. Then, why did she, a year later, enter the Academy?”

         “Her younger sister, Riel Chase, has a weak body. I think she delayed the admission to the Academy to attend the same class as her sister. In fact, she also was in the same class as her younger sister in all the four years she was at the Academy.”

         “Did you find anything else about her?”

         “Unexpectedly, it was hard to find information about Irene Chase. Perhaps because she rarely attended social events, there was not much known information to be found about her. But if you give me a little more time, I will send someone to find out more.”

         Noel shook his head at Tom’s suggestion. 

         “No, I’ll visit their house by myself. Send a letter to her to inform me about my arrival.”

         Noel was confident that it was better for him to go and confirm what he knew directly and to learn more.

         Tom only glanced at Noel with an incomprehensible look. Tom recalled what had happened after Noel came back from the banquet. 

“Did you find any candidate to be your bride at the banquet?”

“I found something similar,” Noel said, and then he had added, 

“Search for all the information you can find about the eldest daughter of the Chase family.”

Tom had been confused at that time because Noel had not answered anything when he had asked about what happened. Tom looked again at Noel with questioning eyes, but then, Noel ordered Tom to go out of the office.

Noel, who was now left alone after Tom had gone from the room, recounted the information he had learnt about Irene Chase. He recalled the image of Irene standing before him. The girl he had seen the night before appeared in his mind.

         Irene’s olive eyes filled with nervousness and trepidation, her rough breathing after running around searching for Noel, her milky brown hair, and Irene’s thin hands that had clenched Noel’s arm as if Noel was her last hope.

“Irene…”

For no reason, her name escaped his lips.

♔♔♔

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