The Countess's Body Has Disappeared - Chapter 17

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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 17
That woman’s husband.
I’d like to meet with you separately.
* * *
At the very bottom of the note was a telephone number.
It wasn’t a number Arcan recognized. Ordinary households didn’t keep telephones readily available, and just as Cecilia had said, it became clear that her husband held a quite senior position.
‘Better not to show this.’
As Arcan stared at the elegant cursive, he heard a sound from the bathroom and hastily tossed the note into the fireplace.
Soon enough, Cecilia emerged from the bathroom, toweling her damp hair dry. Before she could notice the burnt smell, Arcan seized the chance to broach the subject he’d been rehearsing.
“Listen, Cecilia.”
“Yes?”
He tapped the salad bowl on the table with his fork, rattling out a rhythm as he spoke.
“Did you know this salad’s gone bad? You sometimes leave spoiled food lying about, and if the animals accidentally ate it, they could get sick.”
“The salad’s spoiled?”
“No, wait. And don’t taste it to check.”
When Cecilia reached for the fork to take it from him, Arcan grew grave and stopped her.
“I didn’t know. Spoiled food, you say……”
As she murmured to herself, Cecilia looked as though she’d received a terrible shock. She offered a faint smile and carried the salad bowl to the trash bin.
“My palate must be rather dull. If it’s gone bad, I’ll throw it out.”
“Pardon?”
Arcan gripped the back of his chair and turned around, his brow furrowing. Well, if her palate was so dull she couldn’t distinguish spoiled food, there was clearly something wrong with her sense of taste.
Leaving his suspicions unspoken, Cecilia emptied the remaining salad into the trash. Nagi, who had been coiled up and drowsing fitfully in front of the fireplace, startled and lifted her head at the sound of the bin’s lid closing.
But Cecilia was already staring blankly out the window, an empty plate still in her hands.
A woman who appeared to be around her age passed by the street in front of the hotel every morning, pushing a baby carriage. Today was no exception.
Where on earth could she be taking the child every single day……?
Ruby called out to her.
Distracted by the woman crossing the street, Cecilia failed to notice Ruby hopping about at her feet.
“Cecilia, let’s play! I’m bored! It’s playtime now!”
Yet she pressed closer to the glass until her nose nearly touched it, peering out below. After lingering at her feet for some time, Ruby finally had a change of heart and waddled over toward Arcan.
The carriage and the woman soon turned into an alley, disappearing from Cecilia’s view.
Gone…… As Cecilia sighed and turned back to survey the room, Ruby and Arcan were sitting on the floor, tossing and catching a small stone.
“Ruby really likes you.”
Arcan kept his gaze fixed on the stone he’d tossed into the air as he replied.
“Is that so?”
“Most people avoid crows, calling them inauspicious. Ruby’s grown used to being disliked, so I think she’s pleased that you treat her so naturally.”
“Ah, I do like animals. In fact, I’ve known another witch for a very long time.”
“What?”
Cecilia couldn’t help but start at his words. And no wonder—even she, a witch herself, had never encountered another of her kind in all her years, save for Aida.
There couldn’t be many witches in a city like this……
‘Could he know Aida? Or is she family?’
Just as Cecilia was about to narrow her eyes and examine Arcan’s face more closely, something he’d forgotten seemed to occur to him. He reached down to grasp the stone from the floor, then suddenly slapped his knee.
“Oh, that reminds me—it seems smallpox is about to spread again. I heard the Earl of Sisldown has come down with it and is in isolation. We should be careful when we go out.”
At that, Cecilia went completely pale.
“What? Sm-smallpox…… Who?”
“Davion Louis, the Earl of Sisldown Winterhall. It was in the daily newspaper this morning.”
Arcan gestured toward the newspaper on the bed with a tilt of his chin.
Frozen in shock, Cecilia only managed to return to reality at the sound of Ruby’s cry. She nearly tripped over the trash bin in her haste as she rushed to unfold the newspaper.
There was no need to search for the article about Davion. It was splashed across the front page.
* * *
The Huggybress Daily
Breaking News: A String of Tragedies for Sisldown and Winterhall: Earl Confirmed with Smallpox
Yesterday afternoon, Davion Louis, Earl of Sisldown Winterhall, received confirmation of a smallpox diagnosis.
The estate has been sealed, and as the Earl has voluntarily withdrawn into seclusion, parliamentary activities have been suspended at once. His personal physician reports that the Earl’s condition is grave, and that even following recovery, he will likely be unable to maintain his former appearance. The physician has emphasized the critical importance of vaccination.
* * *
Yet the moment Cecilia finished reading the article, she felt something was off and tilted her head.
It was because Davion was someone who had been vaccinated. She’d heard that the Duchess of Sisldown had been so devoted to him that he’d had every vaccination administered.
But if the article had been published to this extent…… whether it was smallpox or not, he had clearly contracted something grave.
‘Could this be because of me?’
Drained of strength, Cecilia stumbled onto the bed and sat in a collapse. Seeing her unusual reaction, Arcan quickly rose and asked.
“Are you all right?”
“It’s nothing. I think I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”
Cecilia pressed her hand to her forehead and answered. The unexpected stress had come crashing down on her, and her head had begun to ache.
“Did you take your medicine?”
“Yes. I took everything before I went into the Bathroom…….”
Her words trailed off.
“Oh.”
When she touched beneath her nose at the sensation of something flowing, a crimson liquid stained her fingertips.
Blast. Arcan rushed over urgently and pressed a tissue to stop the bleeding. In their line of sight came the figure of Nagi sliding hastily toward the Bathroom to escape the smell of blood.
But fortunately the bleeding stopped quickly. Arcan returned after tossing the blood-stained tissue into the fireplace and helped Cecilia onto the bed to lie down.
“Come, rest here for now. Sleep for a bit and you’ll feel much better when you wake.”
She’d endured far graver operations—what was a nosebleed? Cecilia managed a smile to show she was fine. But that hardly meant she could forget the contents of that article and sleep soundly.
She lay restless until sunset, and finally, when Arcan left to fetch their evening meal, she bolted upright.
«Ruby.»
Ruby was perched on the roost Cecilia had built for her by the window, watching the crows that passed by.
«Did you call me?»
Her dark eyes turned toward Cecilia, brimming with affection.
«If you don’t mind, could I ask you a favor?»
«Of course! Just say the word!»
Ruby’s tail feathers shook side to side with the excitement of a wagging dog. Cecilia unlatched the window as she spoke.
«Davion is sick, they say. Go to the Estate and check on him—just see what condition he’s in. Especially make sure to look for any red spots or rashes on his face.»
«That’s strange—didn’t you and that male part ways?»
«We did. But I can’t help worrying. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep like this.»
«You humans certainly are complicated.»
The window swung wide open, and he called out with a vigorous beat of his wings.
«I’ll be back before dawn!»
«Oh, and don’t let him see you!»
«Got it! Don’t worry!»
Cecilia didn’t close the window until Ruby had dwindled to a speck and vanished into the darkness.
And so Ruby, departing from the Hotel, soared through the pitch-black sky like a swimmer through water, reaching the Winterhall Estate in the north of the City in no time.
Davion’s bedroom window stood wide open. Behind the curtains fluttering in the breeze, no sign of movement was visible.
All quiet. Sick humans usually fall asleep early, after all.
Remembering Cecilia’s grandmother, who had always lain in the cottage, Ruby stepped carefully into Davion’s bedroom. Sure enough, someone lay in the bed with the blankets pulled up over their head.
‘Cecilia wanted me to check on the male’s face and come back…….’
Taking care to make no sound, Ruby approached the bed in quick, careful steps. But an unforeseen variable caught her foot.

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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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