SFYF 20

Chapter 20

While he was lost in thought, Marien’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper. The more she mulled over his words, the more displeased she seemed.

Christoph narrowed his eyes into slits and clicked his tongue softly as he glared at Maxim’s back in the distance.

Maxim, turning his head, locked eyes with Marien just as he was glaring at her—then immediately met Christoph’s gaze. Startled, his shoulders stiffened, and he swiftly turned his head away.

“You’re bothering her because you’re interested in her, aren’t you?”

“Pardon?”

Marien stared at him with an incredulous look, as if asking what bizarre theory that was supposed to be. Christoph, however, looked utterly self-assured.

“Don’t you remember, Michael Hindenburg?”

“Oh.”

An ambiguous sigh escaped her lips. With that long-unheard name, Michael Hindenburg, the face of a mischievous man surfaced in her mind.

Back when she’d enrolled in law school, he’d tormented her relentlessly, solely because she was a woman—treating her like a thorn in his eye. He’d also been as fickle as summer weather.

Some days, he’d flare up just from meeting her eyes; other days, he’d be as cold as a biting winter wind. He’d suddenly appear to thrust useless gifts upon her, stare at her with an uncomfortably persistent gaze, yet also readily give up his seat in the fiercely competitive library.

In short, he’d been utterly unpredictable.

“You’ve always been popular with strange men, haven’t you?”

At those words, Marien found herself staring at Christoph without even realizing it.

Unblinkingly.

For a very long time.

Do you realize you’re included among those “strange men”?

Her silent question drifted wordlessly toward him. Christoph raised one perfectly straight eyebrow, as if asking why she was staring so intently.

Her unspoken question never reached him. Shaking her head slightly, Marien looked away and simply replied, “Never mind.”

But Christoph had been sincere. One of the reasons he’d proposed to Marien right after graduation had been precisely because of Michael Hindenburg.

Michael’s behavior had been so blatantly obvious that even the neighborhood dogs could have sensed it. Everyone except the two of them knew he was infatuated with Marien.

When Michael’s academic probation was confirmed, Christoph had felt an inexplicable sense of urgency. He worried what might happen between them in his absence—what if Michael finally admitted his feelings?

Though Michael was hardly a man worth his concern, he was still the third son of Count Hindenburg—a son of the prominent Hindenburg family, accustomed to wielding influence.

That made him quite a suitable marriage prospect, and as far as Christoph knew, several women had already set their sights on Michael. After all, marriage was ultimately a contract between families.

Thus, Christoph proposed to Marien—an engagement no one had anticipated, not even Christoph himself.

Yet he’d never once regretted that decision, especially after witnessing Michael’s shocked expression upon hearing their engagement news.

Would Marien regret her choice that day? Had she thrown down divorce papers and left precisely because she regretted pledging her life to him?

Unanswerable questions trailed one after another. Just as Christoph’s musings grew longer, Nicholas approached the two of them.

“Inspector.”

After briefly glancing at Marien, Nicholas extended a hand toward Christoph. Christoph, raising his thick eyebrows slightly, accepted the handshake.

Marien had fretted that he might behave rudely toward Nicholas as he had toward Maxim, but in the end, her worry proved unfounded. Christoph treated Nicholas with impeccably courteous manners.

Marien whispered quickly and quietly into his ear.

“Don’t forget—I’m neither Marien Schneider nor Marien Clozier. I’m Marien Habeck.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Nicholas offered his greeting.

“I’m Inspector Nicholas Steffan. Chief Wilhelm mentioned you’d be serving as our police department’s advisor starting today, Lord Schneider?”

“Lord” wasn’t typically a title bestowed upon an ordinary lawyer. However, considering Christoph had already inherited the title of viscount, using “Lord” wasn’t entirely incorrect.

Christoph nodded with textbook-perfect posture. His eyes carried the distinctive arrogance of nobility.

“Christoph is sufficient. As I’ve already told Chief Simon, I’m not here as the heir to Marquis Schneider. I’m here for personal reasons. Therefore, I’d prefer my surname Schneider not be mentioned. My role as police advisor is unofficial, after all.”

“Unofficial, you say… Very well, Mr. Christoph. However—”

Nicholas paused briefly, glancing alternately between Marien and Christoph.

“May I ask what your relationship is with our new recruit? You two seemed rather familiar while talking.”

Nicholas wasn’t particularly pleased with the current situation—two parachute appointments had landed on his team within days, courtesy of the chief’s influence. He suddenly felt like an unwilling babysitter.

Just as Christoph’s lips parted to reply, Marien quickly cut in ahead of him.

“He’s my senior from university.”

“……”

“……”

A brief silence fell—one that no one seemed willing to break.

Slowly, Christoph turned his gaze toward Marien. She met his sharp stare with unwavering determination, her eyes clearly warning him not to say anything foolish.

At the same time, Nicholas also looked at Marien. By nature of his profession, he was quite well-versed in aristocratic gossip and personally acquainted with most of the upper class.

Frowning slightly in thought, Nicholas suddenly recalled that Madam Schneider’s given name had been Marien.

Though her surname wasn’t Habeck, her first name was unmistakably Marien. If his memory served correctly, it had been something like Marien Klein or Marien Clever—though she’d been far more famously known as Madam Schneider than by her birth name.

Nicholas, who had been studying Marien intently, now shifted his gaze to Christoph.

“The Royal University…?”

Christoph nodded, a beat late. He wanted to reveal that he was Marien’s husband—to assert his claim over her so no one else would dare covet her.

But more than that, he didn’t want to fall further out of her favor. He felt like a defendant awaiting her judgment—likely one of only two possible verdicts.

Divorce, or reconciliation.

Respected Your Honor, please show mercy.

“I heard you’re the most sought-after lawyer in the capital, Mr. Christoph. May I ask why you’ve taken on an advisory role at Blauburg Police Department?”

“Why not?”

“……”

At that confident retort, Nicholas was left speechless. Indeed, there was no reason he couldn’t—it would soon be his own territory anyway.

In Blauburg, the Schneider family held power akin to royalty, and no one dared oppose him. At that moment, Christoph added softly, almost as if speaking to himself,

“There’s something I need to reclaim here.”

Something to reclaim.

Nicholas glanced sideways at Marien, then fixed his eyes back on Christoph.

The chief’s orders, the name Marien, the missing ring, Christoph’s sudden appearance.

As a skilled investigator, Nicholas had already pieced together a fairly plausible truth from just these few clues. Casually, he added one more remark.

“Then may I ask why you pressured the judge to deny Timon’s bail?”

“!”

At this unexpected revelation, Marien’s eyes widened in shock. Timon—wasn’t that the name of the jewelry store robber? She shot Christoph a questioning look.

Timon.

Merely hearing that name caused Christoph’s expression to turn icy cold. He fixed Nicholas with a steely, frozen gaze—so intimidating that even Nicholas, who’d spent fifteen years facing all manner of criminals, instinctively flinched.

“Hmm. I’m not sure who you’re referring to.”

Yet the very next instant, Christoph’s voice emerged from between his teeth, languid and utterly indifferent. At the same moment, Marien let out a soft gasp.

“Oh.”

She clearly remembered Christoph’s voice ringing in her ears, vowing to kill that bastard.

Could that be why? Because Timon had hurt her? Had Christoph intervened to ensure his bail wouldn’t be granted?

Marien looked at him with uncertain eyes. Slowly, Christoph turned his gaze toward her. Their eyes met.

Like the boundless, fathomless night sky meeting the cosmos, their black and azure eyes intertwined.

“……”

Just as Marien’s eyes began to waver—

“Lawyer!”

Someone burst abruptly into the police station, shouting urgently. The unexpected visitor, drenched in sweat and scanning the room, spotted Christoph and hurried straight over.

All eyes in the room instantly turned to Christoph. Without even turning her head, Marien immediately recognized the voice’s owner.

Oliver Engel.

Christoph’s aide—and a man as close to him as his own limbs. Oliver strode forward with a face mingling reproach, relief, and joy.

Christoph’s eyebrow twitched—so subtly only Marien could notice.

It happened occasionally. Christoph was generally aloof and expressionless—someone who rarely revealed his emotions on his face.

He’d probably been trained that way since childhood. After all, she herself had learned to suppress her emotions after becoming Madam Schneider.

Yet sometimes, she caught glimpses of his subtle emotional shifts—a twitching eyebrow, a flickering eyelid, tightly pressed lips.

And just now, the emotion he’d felt was annoyance. For a fleeting moment, Marien’s lips quirked upward, as if amused by a mischievous child.

“Lawyer.”

Oliver’s labored breathing sounded close by. Compared to the last time she’d seen him, his face looked half its former size—clearly, he’d been under tremendous stress.

For some reason, Marien felt it was partly her fault and gave him an apologetic look. Upon spotting her, Oliver’s eyes widened.

“Madam…!”

“Let’s talk outside.”

Christoph cut off Oliver’s near-shriek by covering his mouth and turned to Nicholas with a polite, “Excuse us for a moment.”

Had he stopped Oliver from calling out her name?

Watching Christoph’s retreating back as he left the office, Marien finally let out the sigh she’d been holding. She truly couldn’t guess what that man was thinking.

“Well then.”

Nicholas turned to Marien and pointed to a desk piled high with documents. Anticipating his next words, Marien took a deep breath and steeled herself with composure.

It seemed she’d be sorting paperwork all day again.

“Go ahead and write the incident report, Marien. Since you responded to the case, it’s only right you see it through to the end.”