I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 98

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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After Regression, I Proposed to My Childhood Friend
Chapter 98
The man introduced himself as Mayer Liestale.
He had conducted business with the Count of Hartwell primarily related to overseas exports, and he was also her longtime friend.
“Just like you, I studied at the same Academy as Beliana. Even now, I remember those days with such longing.”
“Ah… I see.”
“Yes. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been stationed abroad quite frequently, so I learned of this news late. I apologize for reaching out to you only now. I offer my sincere condolences on the tremendous loss you’ve suffered.”
He gazed at Beatrice with genuine sorrow etched across his face, his expression one of deep sympathy, before he spoke again slowly.
“…Even as a child, I thought so, but you really do resemble Beliana quite a bit.”
“You know me?”
“Of course. You wouldn’t remember me, but I saw you when we were young. I was invited to your first birthday celebration. Your green dress left quite an impression on me… Beliana used to say she loved green because it was the color of life.”
“Ah, that’s right. She would often say that whenever she looked at my father’s eyes and mine…”
“Was that so?”
As he spoke, Mayer smiled softly, his expression tinged with longing.
He fell silent for a moment as if retracing the past, then cleared his throat and continued.
“Well, returning to the main matter… I came because I had something to give you. One is a set of transaction records in my possession. These are export details and a list of associates from operations I conducted with the Count, and this one is a list of nobles within the empire whom Beliana frequently conducted business with.”
“How did you obtain these…?”
“The former I had in my own records, and the latter, I’m afraid, may not be complete. It’s a list compiled solely from my memory.”
He added that he had written down only those individuals he had come to know when the Count consulted with him on business matters, coordinated schedules, or introduced mutual connections.
Though incomplete, the information was invaluable to Beatrice at this moment.
The House of Hartwell had traditionally passed their primary ledgers, contract copies, and contact lists only to their successors and chief advisors.
There was a vast difference between knowing a family’s business structure and possessing detailed records, so Beatrice carefully accepted the materials he offered.
He pressed a memo containing several pieces of advice, hoping it would prove useful, and then slid a letter toward her.
“This is…?”
“A letter Beliana sent me shortly before the accident occurred. More a note than a proper letter… but please read it only when you’re alone.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“I asked to meet here because I suspected it would be difficult for you to trust a stranger on first meeting, but honestly… my peace of mind remains unsettled.”
“Mayer, what exactly do you mean by that…?”
Before Beatrice could even process his cryptic words, he rose from his seat, gathering his coat.
“I believe I’ve given you everything I can offer for now. Should there be any passages in the ledgers you don’t understand, or if you require assistance, please visit my office anytime.”
“Ah.”
“If you’d like to see a transaction site firsthand, I’d be happy to invite you to Seomon Harbor. Most of the dealings took place there.”
Mayer handed Beatrice a business card and departed the Duke’s Residence.
After he left, the first thing Beatrice did was verify this man named Mayer and what he had said.
It was not a difficult task. Thanks to the Duchess, who knew of him, verification came easily.
“Mayer? The one who visited today was Mayer Liestale?”
“Yes. Do you know him? He said he attended the same Academy as Mother…”
“He did. I’m from the same Academy myself. Now, where did I put that photo album…? Ah, here it is.”
The Duchess withdrew an old photo album from the Study and pointed to a particular man with her finger.
“This is Mayer. During your school years, he had a one-sided rival relationship with your mother. He never once bested Beliana in grades. Still, he never gave up—he was always lingering nearby—so rumors spread that Mayer harbored feelings for Beliana.”
“I see.”
“There was a family matter that took him away before graduation. I’d heard he took over the family business, but it seems he continued working with Beliana even after. That makes sense—he was always good at seizing opportunities.”
With the Duchess showing no particular suspicion, Beatrice felt her own concerns ease considerably.
‘Come to think of it, Elder Brother would leave for Seomon Harbor whenever winter approached. He’d say you have to inspect goods right up to the last moment.’
After cross-referencing the few remaining records in the House of Hartwell and reaching out to the people on Mayer’s list, Beatrice determined that the materials he had given her were not false.
‘So now all that’s left is this letter…’
Beatrice stared at the pale green letter envelope for a long moment, then, following his instructions, made her way to the Small Cottage in the Garden. It was a place she and Clyde used like a hideout.
Settled in a familiar chair, she unfolded the letter and read through it, line by line. Before long, her breath caught.
The contents of the letter were far too absurd to be true.
[I won’t write out the full circumstances here because doing so could be dangerous, but the situation has become more serious than I initially thought.
As I mentioned before, it seems we must distance ourselves from House of Dalton. For the family’s safety. We may already be being used by them.
……
The most pressing matter now is uncovering their true intentions, so let’s arrange a meeting as quickly as possible.]
‘Mother was planning to distance herself from House of Dalton? For the family’s safety?’
Her mind felt as though everything had been turned upside down. What was written here was something that should never exist in her understanding of the world.
‘…Could the letter be a forgery…?’
The handwriting certainly belonged to the Count of Hartwell, but this alone wasn’t enough to verify its authenticity.
There were those in the world skilled enough to imitate another’s writing perfectly.
Beatrice deliberated for a moment, then extracted the hairpin she wore and pricked her finger lightly.
‘Father mentioned it once. So many people try to impersonate the House of Hartwell that Mother was always troubled by it. So they created a special ink that reacts to the blood of Hartwell family members as a forgery deterrent.’
If this letter were genuine, there would surely be a change in the ink’s color.
Beatrice let a drop of blood fall onto the letter, hoping it would prove to be false.
Then she squeezed her eyes shut and sank to the floor.
‘The ink changed color…’
In other words, this letter was no forgery—it was written by Beliana Hartwell herself, her mother.
Beatrice lifted her head and slowly took in the cottage around her.
The scribbles drawn on the walls, marks where someone had measured height with a carving knife, worn dolls and ancient instruments.
In this space filled with every moment spent in the Duke’s Residence from childhood until now, Beatrice found herself, for the first time, forced to question all of it.
‘…Don’t jump to conclusions.’
Why she had wanted to distance herself from House of Dalton, what threatened the family’s safety, what it meant to be used—
Before she learned the truth behind every word in that letter, she couldn’t afford to make hasty judgments.
‘Get a grip, Beatrice. Suspecting your own people over a single letter from a stranger would be incredibly foolish.’
The death of family, the absence of a friend, the sudden weight of the house upon her shoulders, and an unsettling atmosphere pervading everything.
All this misfortune had descended upon Beatrice in sudden torrents, yet still she fought to steady herself.
For those she had already lost, she had to.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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