The Countess's Body Has Disappeared - Chapter 13

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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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Chapter 13
Davion closed his heavy eyelids slowly, then opened them again. He stepped back and introduced Julian.
“Lady Esmeralda, this is Julian Redwick, Major. He’s been an admirer of yours for quite some time.”
Julian was hastily buttoning his coat and smoothing his hair.
“Oh my, what an extraordinary honor. Had I known, I would have brought my fountain pen.”
Esmeralda answered with an air of regret, then drew a lipstick from her handbag and applied it afresh. She pressed her lips to the white handkerchief she carried, folded it neatly, and placed it in Julian’s coat pocket—not forgetting to wink as she did.
“Do have a photograph taken with me before you leave, Major Redwick.”
Julian laughed without restraint, momentarily abandoning his military bearing.
In a recent official interview, Esmeralda had asked the public to treat her as though nothing were amiss when she appeared in public, though she had recently lost her husband. She carried herself so naturally that some people forgot he had died at all.
Davion exchanged a furtive glance with Liam, then followed Esmeralda into the Sisseldown Estate.
Esmeralda tucked the lipstick back into her handbag as she waited for Davion at the top of the stairs.
“My, the Count intends to guide me personally?”
“Liam will receive the other guests. I have something private I wish to discuss with you.”
They continued walking to avoid drawing suspicion, exchanging nods with guests passing through the corridor. Davion spoke first.
“My mother wishes to arrange a formal meeting between you and myself.”
Esmeralda didn’t bat an eye at his words. Rather, she laughed—a soft, derisive sound that suggested she had anticipated this.
“No great surprise there. It rather feels as though you’ve both returned to your unmarried days.”
“We should meet several times separately.”
At that, the smile vanished from Esmeralda’s face in an instant.
She looked startled, as though doubting her own ears, then turned to Davion with a bewildered expression.
“You truly intend to marry me?”
“Do you have a lover?”
“No, it’s not that. I simply assumed you had never recovered from your wife’s loss.”
As Davion’s pace slowed, she gently chided him.
“Keep walking. People are staring.”
A long silence stretched until the ballroom came into view. It was as though they had agreed beforehand—both were thinking of the same person.
Even before Davion married Cecilia, Esmeralda had known her. They were not close enough to have had deep conversations, yet the pain of her loss was real nonetheless.
“She was truly lovely. I am genuinely sorry for what has happened.”
“Not at all. I too must prepare to move past my mourning period.”
Davion composed his expression and added an explanation.
“I harbor no desire to marry you either. But as you know, my mother worries greatly about me. I fear she will not be at ease unless we arrange at least one such meeting.”
“Since you put it that way, I shall play along with you, Count. And convenient timing—there she is now.”
The moment they entered the ballroom, Esmeralda gestured subtly toward the windows with her chin.
There, Blake Sisseldown was engaged in conversation with several guests. As one of the event’s hosts, she was dressed just as lavishly as Esmeralda.
Blake’s elegantly featured face shone brilliantly above a wine-colored mermaid gown. When she noticed the two figures entering the ballroom, she smiled with unmistakable charm.
Before greeting his mother, Davion did not forget to thank Esmeralda.
“Thank you, Esmeralda.”
“Don’t mention it. We must all help one another in this life.”
Blake excused herself from her companions and turned to welcome Esmeralda.
“Oh, who do we have here? Lady Esmeralda!”
“Duchess Sisseldown.”
They touched their cheeks together lightly in greeting.
“Thank you so much for coming, though I know you must be terribly busy.”
“Not at all. You know how fond I am of these affairs. It’s all quite splendid. I have a costume fitting for a performance tomorrow, and I fear I may have eaten far too much this evening—it won’t fit at all.”
Esmeralda winked with practiced nonchalance, and Blake covered her mouth with a laugh. Behind Esmeralda, Davion had been doing his utmost to avoid conversation when her hand drew him along—reluctantly, he finally met his mother’s gaze.
“Oh, the Count expressed interest in seeing the performance, so I’ve arranged seats. Will you join us, my dear?”
After shooting a pointed look at her reticent son, Blake resumed her gentle smile.
“How kind. But I’m afraid—age, you know. Sitting in one place too long leaves my back aching dreadfully.”
“My own mother says the same. To remain so beautiful with the passage of time is remarkable. The years are indeed cruel.”
“Time is the most terrible of all. Ah, that girl had our son so besotted that I’ve been beside myself with worry. I’ve aged dreadfully of late.”
For a moment, Esmeralda faltered in surprise and cast a sidelong glance at Davion, but she recovered smoothly with practiced charm.
Blake did not detain her long, allowing her to circulate and greet other guests. In that interval, Davion quietly sipped the wine a waiter had given him.
Blake reached over and removed the wine glass from the hands of her son, who refused to meet her eyes, and jabbed him in the chest as she spoke.
“Well done. That face, that family—widow or not, what of it? You must secure her. She’s the woman who will place a crown on your breast.”
From the rank of Major onward, rank insignia bore an engraved crown motif.
“Mother.”
Davion stopped Blake as she turned to leave the ballroom to greet more guests.
“I must ask that you never speak of Cecilia in such a manner before others again.”
Blake gazed at his face, revealed under the bright chandelier light, then smiled with cold contempt.
“Very well. Here I thought I’d lost my voice—my son frightens me so.”
“And it wasn’t Cecilia who seduced me—I pursued her from the start. Before I even met Esmeralda, I was already sleeping with Cecilia. Of course, I went to her bed of my own accord.”
“Davion Sisseldown Winterhall.”
It was an answer more terrifying than a hundred words. A chill settled over Blake’s face as fury drained from it.
With both hands thrust into his pockets, Davion delivered one final blow before leaving.
“Out of respect for my mother’s wishes, I will meet with Esmeralda, but that doesn’t mean I intend to marry her.”
“How dare you——!”
“So don’t expect anything.”
He didn’t bother to see Blake’s reaction that followed.
His Military Academy friends, including Julian, were smoking in a corner of the Ballroom, their attention wholly consumed by the Handkerchief that Julian was so proudly displaying as Esmeralda’s gift. They didn’t notice where Davion was headed.
The Ballroom was sprawling, crowded with guests, and it took longer than expected to find a single person.
An elderly man of considerable presence, despite his years, stood with his back perfectly straight, circling the tables and sampling the appetizers.
Thank God. Davion had been anxious that he might not have come this year, as he was so rarely seen. He exhaled in relief and, glancing around cautiously, offered him a quiet salute.
“Colonel Hamilton.”
Ben Hamilton, Commandant of Coltbridge Prison.
Though he had retired a decade ago due to injury, the military extended him the courtesy of still addressing him by his rank.
Colonel Hamilton had also been a close companion to the old Duke of Sisseldown—Davion’s father—and as such, he knew every last secret of the Sisseldown family.
“Ah, who do we have here! Captain Winterhall!”
Colonel Hamilton broke into a warm smile and gave Davion a slight embrace.
“Have you come again to ask about your brother?”
“I realized I missed offering you a proper welcome earlier, so I thought I’d pay my respects.”
“No need to be so stiff about it. Haven’t we known each other long enough?”
The Colonel’s speech had grown slurred—he was already a little drunk. Only then did Davion relax his guard and lower his voice.
“Sir, I was wondering if my brother might have caused some trouble at the prison. My mother passed, and I sent a request for visitation permission to Coltbridge, but I never received a reply. I was concerned he might have been placed in solitary.”
“Ah, no, no. I approved the permission myself, but young Theodore refused quite firmly. When I asked why, he said he had no wish to see his mother. A fitting answer from a Sisseldown prodigal, wouldn’t you say?”

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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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