SFYF 09

Chapter 9

“…….”

A brief silence fell over the room. It was not a comfortable silence.

Nicholas stared intently with sharp eyes at Simon, then Marien, and back at Simon again. The moment he thought his mouth twisted in displeasure, a rough, sandpaper-like voice burst out.

“Chief, this is…….”

“Times are changing. The capital police department already has ten female officers on duty. We can’t afford to lag behind forever, can we, Nicholas?”

Simon explained in a gentle, coaxing tone, as if soothing a child. Marien watched him silently.

“Besides, Marien graduated from the law school of the Royal University. She’s far too talented to be wasted in Blauburg’s police department. Let’s see what Marien can accomplish here.”

Marien prided herself on her ability to read people—a skill honed through countless encounters as Madam Schneider. Most of those she’d met were enigmatic individuals who concealed their true intentions.

People who harbored hatred inwardly yet smiled normally outwardly. Those who feigned humility while hiding their ambitions.

Thus, Marien easily discerned that Simon was an ambitious man. He now sought to strengthen his political standing rather than remain in the field. Perhaps he even aimed higher than the position of police chief.

“But…….”

“I’ve made this decision after careful consideration, Inspector Steffan, and I won’t entertain objections.”

Simon fixed Nicholas with a stern gaze. Nicholas clenched his jaw, clearly unconvinced by the order.

There was a saying: when angry, one used titles.

The air in the room chilled rapidly. It almost felt as if sparks flew between the two men. Marien, caught like a shrimp between two whales, held her breath quietly.

Unwittingly turned into both the seed of conflict and a hot potato, she stood deathly still, pretending to be nothing more than an empty sack of barley. In such moments, staying silent was the safest course.

“This isn’t a request but an order, Inspector Steffan. Unless you intend to defy me, you’d best leave now and brief the new officer on her duties.”

Nicholas shot him one last glare before turning sharply on his heel, still seething.

“Understood.”

Marien, who had been staring blankly at his retreating back, quickly bowed to Simon and hurried after Nicholas.

Simon let out a deep sigh and shook his head. He, too, disliked the idea of female officers. What useful work could they possibly do in the police department?

“At least they won’t get in the way—that’d be fortunate enough.”

Yet he couldn’t refuse Marquis Schneider’s request. As someone limited by his humble origins, he desperately needed the Marquis’s support to climb higher.

Nicholas strode forward with a fiercely set expression. Suddenly realizing quiet footsteps trailing behind him, he stopped abruptly and whipped his head around.

Marien, who had halted in step with him, met his gaze with a gentle smile. His skeptical eyes scanned her from head to toe.

Soft golden hair, a small pale face, deep blue eyes like the sea just before a storm, a slender neck, and a delicate frame.

“…….”

Nicholas had indeed heard rumors of female officers joining the capital police department, yet he remained deeply skeptical about them.

At the same time, he knew this wasn’t something to be angry about—Nicholas was stubborn, but not unreasonable.

“Marien Habeck?”

“Yes, Inspector Nicholas.”

Marien held his gaze without losing her smile. Though his grim expression should have been intimidating, she showed no sign of being cowed.

She certainly had guts.

“Follow me.”

He led the way with clear reluctance. Instead of a parasol, Marien clenched her fists and trailed after him.

Soon after, she realized Nicholas’s reaction had actually been quite gentlemanly—because she’d faced far more hostile responses.

“What did you just say, Inspector? A new officer? Who? This woman here?”

“Enough with the jokes, Inspector. How many times must I tell you? Your jokes aren’t funny—they don’t even sound like jokes.”

“Hmm… she looks awfully frail.”

A hot-tempered man with a flushed face pointed at Marien, while a gaunt, corpse-pale man sneered. A young man in suspenders, after glancing nervously between them, quietly added his own remark.

Nicholas took a short breath and spoke in a blunt tone.

“It’s the chief’s order.”

“What?”

“Since when did our chief become so enlightened?”

“He’s clearly lost his touch after staying away from the field so long! I’ll go straight to his office and…….”

“No one can change the chief’s mind now, Maxim.”

“Damn it!”

The hot-headed man called Maxim clicked his tongue and glared at Marien. He couldn’t have looked more fiercely hostile even if she were the murderer of his own parents.

Marien felt as if sharp thorns had sprouted in the air around her and swallowed a silent sigh. Hostile stares seemed to take physical form, pricking her from every direction.

Yet she didn’t let her smile falter.

Christoph rarely lost his temper. In fact, Marien had never once seen him genuinely angry.

He knew how to control himself, and his emotions were seldom shaken by others.

But sometimes, it was necessary to feign anger. In those moments, Christoph never raised his voice—instead, he pressured his opponent with silence. And he always won those silent confrontations.

Marien glanced lightly at the group, deciding whom to target first, and settled on Maxim. He seemed to be setting the tone for the others.

She stared at him wordlessly. Noticing her gaze, Maxim glared back, thrusting his upper body forward threateningly as if ready to pounce at any moment.

“…….”

“…….”

Still, Marien didn’t yield an inch. Her smile remained firm; Maxim’s anger grew unstable. With a low groan, he finally slammed his fist down on the desk.

Bang!

“Fine! Do as you please!”

Unable to contain his fury any longer, he stormed out of the office. Marien had won this silent duel.

Good heavens. After all these years, there was finally something to thank Christoph for.

Seizing the momentum, Marien turned her gaze sequentially toward the remaining three men and lifted the corners of her lips in a gentle smile. From between her teeth came a voice that was kind yet resolute.

“Pleased to meet you all. I’m Marien Habeck. Please feel free to call me Marien.”

She looked pointedly at the two men, waiting gracefully as if expecting their greetings.

In that moment, Nicholas realized she wasn’t as meek as she appeared. The other two also widened their eyes in surprise.

The pale-faced man pursed his lips and turned his head sharply away, while the man in suspenders fidgeted awkwardly, unsure what to do.

“Hmm.”

After a brief pause, Nicholas pointed to a mountain of documents piled on the desk.

“Alright, Marien. To mark your new role as our colleague, I’d like you to organize these files. Sort the reports by case and then chronologically.”

No way!

Marien stared at the precariously stacked pile of papers—tall enough to reach her own height—and barely managed to swallow the scream rising in her throat.

Then, with an air of perfect composure, she nodded as if this were child’s play.

“…Yes, Inspector Nicholas.”

The pale-faced man smirked, while the man in suspenders gave her a worried look.

Marien clenched her fists and marched resolutely toward the desk. It wasn’t yet time to punch Nicholas in the back of the head—but opportunities would surely come again.

Martin loathed this moment, which repeated itself day after day. If he could avoid it, he would—such was the honest sentiment of the old butler.

He swallowed hard and knocked on the study door. Permission to enter was granted. Martin took one more deep breath before stepping inside.

“…….”

Though impossible, it felt as if winter had returned solely to this room. Outside the window, gentle spring sunshine poured in and birdsong filled the air, yet inside the study blew a desolate north wind.

Christoph, seated at his desk, slowly lifted his eyes. But Martin could read the anxiety and impatience hidden within them.

This was quite a novel experience. His master never revealed his emotions outwardly, and even Martin, who had served him since childhood, often failed to decipher his inner thoughts.

“How did it go?”

Christoph, unable to wait even the brief moment it took Martin to cross the room, asked impatiently. Even this was an unusual sight.

Could the man before him truly be the ever-patient Christoph?

Martin was only now realizing how remarkable Madam Schneider had been—especially after her disappearance.

Particularly when Christoph, known as a workaholic, declared he would no longer take on any new cases—Martin had been utterly shocked, despite his usual composure.

“I’m ashamed to report.”

Martin bowed his head with a grave expression. Christoph let out a dry laugh and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes hardened with coldness.

Watching his master’s gaunt profile—thinner after just a few days—Martin continued quietly.

“None of the taxi drivers recalled picking up the mistress in front of the department store. We’ll need to expand our search to include carriage drivers, but that will take some time—the number of shared carriages vastly exceeds that of taxis.”

“Marien has vanished, yet no one saw her? It seems she either flew into the sky or sank into the earth. Is she a magician now?”

Christoph sneered coldly. Martin, having gained nothing from his investigation, lowered his eyes as if he had no words to offer, even with ten mouths.

Unconsciously, Christoph gripped the armrest tightly—so tightly that his knuckles protruded and the bones on the back of his hand turned stark white.

“Marien.”

Christoph murmured her name, as he had done countless times before.

His gaze drifted toward the divorce papers resting on one corner of the desk. At the same moment, his eyes flashed as sharply as a razor blade.

Marien’s escape had been no impulsive act. She had planned it with meticulous care—and succeeded.

In other words, even as she greeted him as usual and engaged in conversation, she had already decided to flee. Even at the very moment when Christoph had trusted her love without a shadow of doubt.

Tighter.

His grip on the armrest tightened further. For a fleeting instant, his eyes seemed to waver.

“Why.”

Christoph repeated the question that had haunted his thoughts ceaselessly these past few days. Yet again, he found no answer.

Veronica Clozier.

Suddenly, his sister-in-law’s name came to mind. He also remembered Marien’s face as she insisted his brother’s death was no suicide.

What had he said then?

He must have worn a rather annoyed expression—because the case report he’d skimmed clearly stated it was suicide.

“It’s clearly suicide, Marien.”

“No, Christoph. That girl, Veronica……”

“You know nothing about investigations. It was an unquestionable case.”

Only now did he recall Marien’s expression then—how the sorrow on her face gradually faded, replaced by profound despair and resignation.

Gritting his teeth, Christoph’s jaw locked rigidly, muscles tensing taut.

Just then, a bouquet on the desk caught his eye. It was a bunch of snapdragons.

Arrogance.

“Hah.”

Only now did he grasp the meaning behind the message she’d left him.