TNMN 02

Chapter 02

“Does it suit me?”

Alosha smiled shyly as she blinked, and Alexis looked at her with an expression that practically screamed she’s the cutest thing in the world.

One thing was certain—

Alexis was completely obsessed with his little sister.

“My little sister is beautiful. There’s still some time before dinner is ready. Shall we have some tea and chat? I’ve been so busy lately that we haven’t really talked.”

“Hm? Ah… okay.”

Wait… didn’t Marsha say he’d brought a friend with him?

Alosha stretched her neck toward the entrance, looking around.

Noticing that she was searching for someone, Alexis turned his head in the same direction before giving her a knowing smile.

“Looking for someone?”

“Huh? No… I just thought Marsha said someone else was coming with you…”

“Now, what should I do? That fellow my little sister was hoping to see had something come up and had to head back halfway here.”

Minus fifty points!

The disappointment and regret that washed over her definitely weren’t Hyojoo’s emotions.

They belonged to Alosha.

‘He dared to leave without seeing me? Without seeing someone this pretty? How irritating.’

That brother’s friend…

Unless his parents had been on their deathbeds, he would never deserve the opportunity to marry someone as beautiful as her.

“Haha. Don’t be so disappointed. I’ll make sure to bring him next time.”

With that, Alexis offered her his arm.

Alosha linked hers through it with a slightly pouty expression.

Together they walked to a room in the western wing, where a massive window overlooked the sunset painting the sky in brilliant colors.

As they sat across from each other sipping tea, an awkward silence settled between them.

‘Talking with family… What do siblings usually talk about?’

If Hyojoo had actually had an older brother in her previous life—or if she truly were the original Alosha with all her memories intact—it would’ve been different.

But under the current circumstances, she had to be careful.

‘I’ll just throw out something random.’

Setting down her teacup, she asked,

“So… is that thing you’ve been working on lately going well? You mentioned before that it had been giving you a headache.”

“Hm? Did I ever tell you that?”

“I’m pretty sure you did.”

Of course he hadn’t.

And she’d never heard it either.

But what working adult actually enjoyed their job?

Besides, close families usually shared bits and pieces of their daily lives.

Surely he’d complained at least once in passing.

Alexis let out a low groan and scratched the back of his neck.

“You’re right. The serial murder case that’s been happening in the city has been giving me a lot of trouble lately.”

She’d assumed he worked some comfortable administrative job based on his gentle appearance.

Apparently he was actually a knight involved in field investigations.

More importantly—

Serial murders?

‘Wait… this novel barely has any romance, and now they’re adding thriller and detective elements too?’

It wasn’t that thriller romance fantasies had no audience.

But blending romance with suspense required exceptional writing.

Otherwise, both genres ended up watered down.

‘Now I understand why I couldn’t remember the title even after hearing the name Alosha.’

The author of the novel she’d transmigrated into had chosen the lonely, difficult road of becoming a niche writer.

Even someone like Alosha, who read almost every romance fantasy she could find, found stories that mixed detective mysteries into romance rather divisive.

She occasionally enjoyed them.

But in the novels she wrote, the only frustrating misunderstandings allowed were romantic ones.

‘I’ll help solve this ugly case as quickly as possible.’

If she did that, then the unnamed hero and heroine of this novel could finally enjoy more sweet romantic moments.

“If it’s alright… could you tell me about it? Maybe I can help.”

Unless this was one of those stories where the author kept piling twist upon twist until the plot completely collapsed, its structure shouldn’t be all that different from an ordinary mystery.

If she could at least learn some clues or circumstances, she’d have a starting point.

“Ha… If it’s you, I suppose it’s fine. Six young women have already been murdered over the past two months. The problem is that we still can’t narrow down the suspect.”

“Besides being young women… did the victims have anything else in common?”

“Something in common…?”

Ha!

Just as I thought.

Unless it was a full-fledged detective novel, stories that only lightly sprinkled mystery into romance often had this weakness.

When authors weren’t truly passionate about the mystery genre, they simplified everyone’s thinking to make writing easier.

Readers often wondered why the characters overlooked such obvious things.

But authors had their own practical limitations.

“Serial killers usually have patterns, don’t they? Maybe they only target women with a certain hair color… or victims around the same age. Sometimes they leave behind a signature. Or maybe the murders always happen on the same day of the week…”

At her words, Alexis frowned thoughtfully.

“Aside from all the victims being between eighteen and twenty-four years old… I don’t think so. Ah! They all had red hair, too.”

“That’s the pattern! If you’ve hit a dead end, why not focus on the very first murder? That’s often where the most evidence is hidden.”

She was simply quoting something she’d once heard in a crime investigation documentary.

Alexis narrowed his eyes.

“The first murder holds the most evidence…?”

“Every serial killer makes mistakes during their first murder. Follow those mistakes, catch the culprit, and everyone in town ends up saying, ‘I never thought they were capable of something like that.’”

“…”

Seeing Alexis silently staring at her, Alosha realized she’d gone too far.

If Alexis wasn’t supposed to be especially brilliant…

Neither was Alosha.

“…Or at least, that’s what I read recently in a book from the library.”

“Hearing that reminds me of something. I think I need to head back out immediately to continue the investigation. I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to have dinner with you tonight.”

“It’s fine. Go.”

After saying that, Alexis kissed her forehead.

Then he rushed out of the drawing room in a hurry.

The spot he’d kissed felt strangely ticklish.

Alosha absentmindedly rubbed her forehead with her fingers.

After eating dinner alone, soaking in a warm bath, and getting a good night’s sleep, Alosha woke earlier than usual the next morning.

“Where’s my brother?”

“His Lordship never returned last night, Miss. It seems he stayed with the Order of Knights all night.”

“That must be exhausting.”

Even in this world, people apparently pulled all-nighters.

Seeing the concern on Alosha’s face, the butler smiled warmly.

“How about bringing him breakfast yourself? I’m sure the Count would appreciate your encouragement.”

“Me?”

Did she really have to?

“Yes, Miss. Your support would surely give the Count strength.”

She honestly didn’t feel like going.

Still, it might help her understand the story’s progression.

With some luck, she might even meet other characters from the novel.

Maybe she’d finally remember its title.

If that happened, she’d be able to take a more active role in steering events.

“Then… could you prepare everything?”

One knight and one maid accompanied Alosha as she rode in an unbelievably uncomfortable carriage for an entire hour.

‘The author could’ve just invented magical crystals or something to create better transportation.’

As a fantasy world, it could have easily justified comfortable vehicles.

Instead, the author’s determination to preserve medieval transportation had left Alosha on the verge of tears from motion sickness and a sore tailbone.

When they finally arrived at the headquarters of the Order of Knights, Alosha stepped down from the carriage and took a deep breath.

‘Don’t panic. Chin up. I’m a noble. I’m a noble.’

Apparently her self-hypnosis worked.

Standing tall with perfect posture, she walked forward as if she belonged there.

Meanwhile, the knights who noticed her suddenly began taking off their shirts, dropping into push-ups, or loudly swinging their swords.

‘They’re adorable.’

In an order full of sweaty young men, the appearance of a woman had clearly thrown everyone into a frenzy.

She could barely stop herself from smiling.

She considered waving at them.

But this was her brother’s workplace.

Acting improperly would reflect poorly on him.

Instead, Alosha decided to fully enjoy the spectacle using every degree of her roughly one-hundred-fifty-degree field of vision.

‘Very pleasing to the eyes… but I don’t see anyone with main-character looks yet.’

Even the background characters were handsome.

That only made her more excited to meet the real leads later.

“Alosha! What brings you here?”

Seeing Alexis hurrying toward her from the distance with dark circles beneath his eyes made her feel a little sorry for him.

“The butler told me you never came home, so I got worried.”

“You were that worried? Normally you avoid coming here because all the knights make you uncomfortable…”

Alosha gave a small glance toward the knight accompanying her.

He stepped forward and handed the basket he’d been carrying to Alexis.

“There’s a change of clothes… and breakfast.”

“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble. Thank you.”

“So? Did you find anything?”

Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, things clearly weren’t going well.

She didn’t actually care about the gloomy murder case.

This was merely small talk meant to gather information.

“Just as you suggested, I gathered everything we had, and it turned up far more clues than expected. Since the investigation is still ongoing, I can’t tell you everything. But we’ve managed to narrow it down to about five people connected to the case.”

Alexis pulled a sheet of paper with a portrait drawn on it from inside his coat and handed it to her.

She had no desire to get involved.

Still, for the sake of ending the mystery arc as quickly as possible, she glanced over the sketch.

“…Who is this?”

Even in the portrait, the man’s eyes looked cold and intimidating.

There was an oppressive aura about him that instinctively made her want to stay away.

He practically looked like someone announcing, “I’m the murderer.”

Alosha frowned.

‘People always say you shouldn’t judge others by their appearance… but there’s a reason they say physiognomy is a science.’