SFYF 10

Chapter 10

“Yes, he was arrogant. Arrogantly so—he had been utterly convinced that Marien would forever remain by his side, gazing at him with tender eyes and calling his name in that sweet voice.

So he made no effort at all. After all, Marien would surely love him. He never even considered the possibility that she might not love him.

But now she wasn’t beside Christoph. Damn it! He clenched his fists and muttered a low curse.

Why hadn’t he listened to her words? Why hadn’t he comforted her when she was drowning in sorrow?

Christoph wanted to smash his own dull head to pieces. No—better yet, if only he’d held onto her when she’d mentioned divorce. If only he’d chosen Marien over that meeting with the Chief Justice.

Would things have turned out differently? Would Marien be beside me now?

It was all meaningless speculation. Marien had already left his side, and regret was always too late, no matter how early one felt it. All that remained was to reclaim her by any means necessary.

“Martin.”

A voice, strained as if holding back something unspeakable, slipped through Christoph’s clenched teeth. Martin, who had been gazing down at him with pitying eyes, lowered his head.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Contact Oliver.”

Martin pictured the young aide’s face in his mind. He stayed silent, waiting attentively for the words that would follow.

“Tell him to bring me Veronica’s case report—right away.”

“…Yes, understood.”

Though startled by the sudden mention of an unexpected person, the old butler obeyed without asking questions.

“Oh, and.”

Christoph added one more instruction, as if it had just occurred to him, calling out to Martin as he turned to leave. Martin halted and turned his eyes back toward him.

“Send someone to watch whether Marien’s jewels appear on the market. She didn’t take any cash, so she’ll have no choice but to sell them—sooner or later.”

“Yes, understood.”

For some reason, Martin’s throat went dry at Christoph’s meticulousness. He hoped Marien would return to his side as soon as possible.

Otherwise, a furious storm seemed ready to swallow the entire mansion whole.

Where are you, Madam Schneider?

Marien was objectively quite intelligent. After all, having graduated from law school, no one could possibly call her foolish.

Moreover, she believed she was fairly competent herself. Though perhaps not as capable as Christoph, she was still skilled—and even at tasks she’d never done before, she quickly grasped the essentials.

Thus, it was only natural that she sighed in exasperation at the chaotic pile of documents before her. Reports and evidence lists from multiple cases were thoroughly jumbled together.

“Couldn’t they have just separated and stored these documents properly from the start?”

Rolling up her sleeves, Marien began sorting the papers by case. Even that alone took a considerable amount of time.

There were eight cases in total. The crimes varied widely—robbery, assault, fraud, and more. Next, she reorganized the documents chronologically.

It wasn’t wasted time. As Marien skimmed through the reports, she gained a rough understanding of how investigations progressed.

She carefully read about evidence collection methods and witness testimonies, and paid close attention to the standard format of the reports.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, a thin sheet of paper fluttered down from the stack. Marien picked it up absentmindedly—and her eyes widened slightly.

A man’s face was drawn on it. His gaunt cheeks were flushed high on the cheekbones, giving him a distinctly irritable look. A mole beneath his left eyebrow stood out strikingly, as did his oddly folded ears, resembling dumplings.

“He’s the suspect in the jeweler robbery case. It’s been over a month since the incident, yet he still hasn’t been caught.”

Hearing the voice from above, Marien glanced up. Nicholas, rubbing his stubbled chin, scanned the desk.

“You’ve already organized this far? Impressive speed.”

His tone was neither satisfied nor displeased—just flatly matter-of-fact, as if stating an obvious truth.

After a careful pause, he fixed his gaze directly on Marien.

“I have no intention of giving you special treatment just because you’re a woman.”

“I wouldn’t want that, Inspector.”

“Not even if you happen to be a widow who’s lost her husband.”

“…”

For a moment, Marien fell silent. She looked at Nicholas with bewildered eyes. She’d never told him she was married—not even the Chief of Police knew that fact.

Where could he have seen me before?

Her expression hardened. Nicholas continued in his emotionless tone.

“Are you working simply out of necessity? If so, you didn’t have to become a police officer. A café or flower shop would suit you far better, wouldn’t it?”

Only then did Marien slowly shift her gaze downward and notice his eyes fixed on her finger. A pale mark circled her ring finger.

The place where her wedding ring had once been.

Instinctively, she touched her neck. The ring was strung on a necklace, hidden beneath her dress.

She hadn’t discarded the ring merely because it was a valuable jewel—it was more out of lingering, foolish sentimentality.

Marien lifted her calm, deep-blue eyes to meet Nicholas’s gaze.

“If I’m causing trouble, I’ll leave of my own accord. But I believe it’s unjust not to even give me a chance.”

She had a purpose here—not only to reclaim her own life, but also to uncover the murderer of Veronica.

She hadn’t yet decided what would come after that—whether to bring the culprit before the judgment of the law, or to wield justice with her own hands.

At Marien’s reply, Nicholas’s eyes widened slightly—then he gave a slow nod.

“Fine. Then once you’ve finished that task, please also organize the documents on that desk over there. Do your best not to waste this opportunity.”

Following his gaze, Marien turned her head—and let out a soft groan at yet another towering stack of papers.

Is this what they call hazing? While she pondered, Nicholas had already vanished from her sight.

“Don’t take it personally—he’s just naturally blunt, that’s all.”

A hesitant voice came from behind her. Marien turned around with a gloomy expression.

A young man wearing suspenders looked at her with bright eyes. His red, curly hair gave him a youthful appearance.

He extended a hand toward Marien and tilted his sharp chin upward.

“I’m Jan Weber. You’re Marien Habeck… Miss?”

“Just call me Marien.”

“Alright, Marien. So, ahem—let me say this again: I’m your senior.”

His eyes sparkled with expectation, as if putting on airs for a reason. Ah—Marien guessed his intention and smiled gently as she took Jan’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, Senior Jan.”

“Senior Jan…”

Jan gazed dreamily into the air as if savoring those words, then abruptly pulled over a nearby chair and sat down.

Likely the team’s youngest member until her arrival, he seemed eager to relish the resonance of the word “senior,” immediately launching into a display of self-importance. His voice quickly adopted a pompous tone.

“Marien. As your senior, I’ll give you a few pieces of advice—listen carefully.”

“Yes, Senior Jan.”

She suppressed a smile and nodded earnestly. He might even be younger than her—but so what? It didn’t cost anything to be polite.

Besides, she desperately needed an ally right now.

“First, Inspector Nicholas is our team leader—and the most capable detective in Blauburg Police Department.”

Somehow, that made perfect sense. After all, he was the sharp-eyed man who’d noticed the faint trace of her wedding ring in mere seconds.

“And then there’s Inspector Maxim Franke… ah, the one who slammed his desk and stormed out earlier. Be careful not to get on his bad side—he holds grudges for a long time.”

Jan leaned in close, whispering as if sharing a secret. Marien nodded with a somber expression.

“What if I’ve already gotten on his bad side?”

“Hmm…”

Jan scratched his head, recalling the recent incident with a troubled frown. Instead of answering, he gave her a look full of sympathy.

“Just give up—it’ll be easier.”

“…Right.”

Eager to avoid further talk about Maxim, Jan hurriedly changed the subject.

“And the last member is Inspector Florian—Florian König.”

At those words, Marien recalled the man with the corpse-like pallor. His appearance starkly contrasted his vibrant name. The deep shadows under his eyes made him look as if he hadn’t slept for days.

“So that makes four of us on the team.”

“Now it’s five.”

“Right—five, including you.”

Jan’s eyes widened briefly at her correction, then he bobbed his head in agreement. But just then—

“Jan! What are you dawdling about? If you’ve got time to chatter, go do another patrol round! Have you given up on the jeweler robbery case entirely?”

Maxim’s booming shout came from afar. Jan flinched, then jumped up.

“Yes, I’m going right now!”

Their eyes met—and this time, Marien gave him a sympathetic look.

“Do I have to kick your backside to get you moving, you greenhorn!”

“No! I’m leaving right now!”

“Thank you, Senior Jan. You’ve been a great help.”

“Senior Jan…”

Jan gazed dreamily into space once more, savoring the title—then, catching sight of Maxim’s fierce glare, scrambled away in a panic. Maxim shot Marien a disapproving scowl.

“Have a good patrol, Inspector Maxim.”

Marien offered him a gentle smile before returning to her document sorting. With a loud crash, Maxim kicked the trash can in frustration.

An umbrella seemed more necessary for Maxim than for Marien—though if she dared say that aloud, her head would likely be the first to fly off.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

At the dry, utterly parched voice, Martin swallowed a silent sigh and opened the study door. In just a few days, Christoph’s jawline had grown noticeably sharper.

Lately, he’d been eating less than half his usual amount. Moreover, the study lights stayed on deep into the night. Since he hadn’t taken on any new cases, it clearly wasn’t work-related.

There was only one reason: Madam Schneider’s absence.

“Any progress?”

Marien’s day dress had been found in a department store lounge. Simultaneously, a maid reported that her mourning attire had vanished from the wardrobe.

Now, they weren’t chasing Marien—they were chasing an unidentified widow.

“We found the coachman who picked up the widow in front of the department store on the day Madam disappeared. According to him, he dropped her off in front of the train station.”

“The train station?”

Christoph’s eyes widened as if he’d heard something utterly unexpected.

He’d assumed Marien was still somewhere in the capital. He’d believed that if he searched every corner of this city, he’d eventually find her.

But the train station? Did that mean she’d left the capital?

Slowly, all expression drained from Christoph’s face. He stared blankly into the air, as if struck on the back of the head with a hammer.

Searching the entire empire was an entirely different matter from searching the capital. Finding Marien across this vast land would be as hopeless as searching for a needle in a haystack.

It might even be impossible.

Would he never find Marien again?

“Martin.”

At that moment, a hollow voice drifted from between Christoph’s teeth. Martin looked at him with a pained expression.

Just moments ago, he had stood like an emperor who owned the world—but now, in this instant, he resembled a gambler who had lost everything.

“I…”