MHHC Chapter 37

Interrogation

Adelheid hoped her attitude had seemed light enough. She hoped he would laugh it off as if he'd heard an amusing joke. But Valentin only stared at her silently with eyes whose meaning she couldn't read.

A flush of red appeared on Adelheid's pale cheeks. She hastily changed the subject.

"And, and there was one more thing I wanted to ask you about. About Greta."

The moment she spoke, she realized she'd made a mistake and turned pale. It was such a sensitive topic—she'd meant to ask in a softer atmosphere...

But it was already spilled milk. Valentin, as she'd expected, curved his lips smoothly upward, but his eyes weren't smiling at all.

"What is it?"

She struggled for a long time over how to phrase it acceptably, then finally gave up, realizing it would sound strange no matter how she said it, and opened her mouth.

"About the attack on Greta. The nursemaid seems to think it was the work of the 'Dragon of Bitzleben.'"

"And so?"

"So... just in case, though it couldn't be."

She swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth. Glancing at Valentin, she saw his lips curve into an even deeper arc.

"What couldn't... it be?"

"Surely, really..."

"I haven't said... a single word. Adele."

He spoke clearly and blinked his eyes slowly. Adelheid realized there was no way to learn the truth except by asking him more directly. She looked up at Valentin with concern.

"The one who attacked the nursemaid... it wasn't you, was it?"

She realized she wanted to hear 'no' more desperately than she'd thought. Since discovering that Valentin was the Dragon of Bitzleben, this had been her greatest fear.

If he was the monster who'd harmed Greta, he was someone who should never be trusted. No matter how much he pretended to be obsessed with her, no matter if he was someone who poured out the warm affection she'd desperately wanted...

"Well."

Valentin smiled with bared teeth as if her question was quite interesting. It was the coldest smile Adelheid had ever seen from him.

"What do you... think?"

Adelheid thought carefully. Only the 'Shadow' could break through Morig's Veil. But crossing through the broken barrier was possible for any monster with power.

However, no monster had been spotted wandering about. Even considering that Ansgar Castle had fewer permanent residents relative to its size, it was unnatural.

Monsters left 'ash' even when killed, and that 'ash' had to be reported to the parish priest. Perhaps there was a slight possibility that some careless servant had forgotten to report it.

Most importantly, the curse being maintained until now was the biggest problem. That meant the probability was high that the monster hadn't died and was still prowling the area. And in that case, there was a high probability that...

Adelheid met Valentin's persistent gaze without looking away.

"I've heard that monsters follow your commands."

He made a short sound of laughter, but it didn't sound pleasant at all. Adelheid scraped together every last bit of courage she had left.

"Have you ever instructed the monsters to harm Greta?"

"Valentin."

"Yes?"

"I told you to... use my name. If you don't... want to be suspected."

"......"

"And what was it... you asked? Whether I harmed... Adele's nursemaid? To... answer you, no."

"...Is that true?"

Adelheid hoped her voice didn't sound too suspicious. But somehow, from the moment she opened her mouth, she'd felt like she'd failed.

"The curse that stole Greta's voice hasn't weakened. Could there be cases where other monsters wander nearby and escape your control? If there are..."

"Adele."

"Yes?"

"I don't... know about... that."

The eyes that had still held moderate warmth sank coldly. He twisted his lips and spoke again.

"What matters to me is that you didn't... discuss anything... important with me, and now you're asking if I... attacked your... nursemaid."

"That, that's..."

"If I'd moved, I wouldn't have... bothered leaving her... alive."

Adelheid drew in a short breath. The calm in his tone felt unbearably cold. She barely parted her frozen lips.

"If I've offended you, I apologize."

"No one... could enjoy being... suspected by their... partner."

"Part, partner?"

"Then what did you... think you were... to me?"

"That's—"

"Wow. Were you really... planning to only... offer your body? Without giving... even a piece of... your heart?"

As he spoke mischievously, Adelheid's small face flushed bright red.

"Where, where on earth do you learn to say such things?"

"Who knows."

He grasped Adelheid's chin and tilted his head at an angle. Pressing his lips to her ear, he whispered gently.

"Do you know what... I imagine... every time I... look at you?"

"......"

"Come straight to the... bedroom... when the sun sets."

"What, why..."

"Didn't you want me to... recover this 'body's'... memories as soon as possible? For that, frequent... contact with someone... close is necessary. For instance, a... wife..."

Adelheid blinked. Contact with someone close was important? If that was true, why hadn't he mentioned it until now? Just as Adelheid raised her head sharply to ask again, he released her chin and stepped back.

At nearly the same moment, a knock sounded at the door.

"Your Grace."

Adelheid jumped at the vibration she felt through the door against her back. Valentin didn't bat an eyelash—unlike her, he'd apparently sensed someone approaching long ago.

Adelheid glanced at Valentin and carefully opened the door. A maid with freckles dotting her entire face curtsied carefully.

"What is it?"

"The seamstress has arrived. She's downstairs—should I send her up now?"

"Ah... the seamstress."

She'd completely forgotten. Adelheid rolled her large eyes toward Valentin. Fortunately, he didn't seem inclined to interrogate her further. Interrogation—she realized with some bewilderment how the positions had reversed, then flustered more than necessary, opened the door wider.

"Y-yes, send her up."

Adelheid sighed and hastily smoothed out her wrinkled skirts. From this conversation, she'd learned only one thing. That Valentin was being unnecessarily sensitive.

In any case, Greta was recovering gradually. Even by the most conservative estimate, her voice would return within a month, and she could ask then what she'd seen.

However, a week later, Greta vanished.

The day after the sixth Sabbath of winter, unprecedented heavy snow began falling across all of Bitzleben, including Ansgar. Rivers froze solid, and people were frantic clearing snow piled to their waists.

Even moving between the castle and outside became difficult. Forget interaction with nearby territories—even the merchant groups that used to visit every few days stopped coming entirely.

Considering the unavoidable circumstances in the north, the 'victory banquet' to be held in the capital was naturally postponed to spring. That news, delivered via carrier pigeon, became a ray of hope for Adelheid, who'd been full of worry.

'Valentin's etiquette still isn't perfect. We did need a bit more time anyway.'

Adelheid stopped mid-stride in the corridor and looked out the window. Though they'd barely managed to clear the snow from the castle courtyard and the residential area where territory residents lived in clusters, everywhere she looked remained a white snowfield.

Greta had vanished from the castle on the night just before the heavy snow began. If she'd truly left the estate on her own, she couldn't have chosen a better time. But just in case...

"Your Grace."

Adelheid barely shook off her thoughts. Clutching the ledger she held to her chest more firmly, she acknowledged the old butler's greeting with a nod.

"Ah, Hermann. What is it?"

"As you ordered, I've gathered the street vagrants in the great hall. Though compared to other territories, Ansgar has relatively few such people..."

"Yes. Continue."

"At this rate, food supplies will dwindle rapidly. The problem is that no one can predict how long we'll need to hold out."

"......"

"The servants' anxiety is snowballing."

Hermann spat out the words while staring at the snow-covered window with an expression of utter disgust.

She opened the ledger she held and checked the food section. The sacks containing dried meat, potatoes, dried grains and vegetables were still sufficient. The most worrying point, if anything, was that the hay for feeding the horses and cattle was gradually running short.

"Even living as we are now, we stored plenty of food, so we should be fine for another month. If we hold out a bit longer, early spring will come and we can wait for the snow to melt."

Hermann still wore an expression that disagreed with Adelheid's words, but nodded silently. He couldn't deny the undeniable fact that early spring was approaching.

As Adelheid examined the ledger carefully, she suddenly asked as if remembering something.

"How is the knights' progress clearing snow to Regenbach Forest?"