15. Find That Culprit! Let the Investigation Begin!

We were free to spend the majority of the next day doing whatever we pleased—but then, that was owed to the fact that the party after dinner was the main event on the schedule. Mr. Fisalis and I opted to go for an aimless stroll down the villa corridors and the garden outside, keeping an eye on all the invited guests as we toured the place.

Along the way, we happened to see Miss Verbena in the midst of a tea party with several young men.

“Something tells me someone else set up the perfect husband-hunting opportunity for her...and that she wasn’t given much say in the matter,” I remarked.

“I’ll bet.”

“Just look at the face she’s making... Hee hee!”

“If that’s her attitude, she’s never going to find a good match.”

We peeked in on her from the shadows. If her expression was any indication, this latest matchmaking exercise was going to be yet another bust.

In complete contrast to Miss Verbena, Miss Iris and company were amicably chatting away.

“There’s the usual quartet...plus two extra girls. Jeez, I can practically hear the advertising slogan: ‘Hot singles in your area! Don’t miss out!’”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of these girls have better luck than Verbena.”

“I mean, the vibes can make or break a relationship. Miss Verbena could stand to make more of an effort, sure, but I don’t think Duke Argenteia is helping matters by pressuring his daughter to find a partner...you know what I mean?”

Of course, that was easy for me to say when it was partly my fault that she had missed out on her ideal marriage window. Mr. Fisalis had been her first love, after all, and she’d been dead set on becoming his wife for the longest time.

When I stole a glance at my husband beside me, he gave a questioning tilt of his head and mumbled, “Hm?”

I’m really sorry, Miss Verbena. I wish I could introduce you to a nice bachelor to make up for it, but I’m afraid I don’t exactly have a list.

“Viscount Trifolium and Baron Radiata are part of the group, I see.” Mr. Fisalis spotted two of the men who had come up in yesterday’s discussion.

“Oh, you’re right.”

From the look of it, they were hitting it off with all the single ladies.

We ran into Celosia as we resumed our stroll, and Mr. Fisalis took the opportunity to casually inquire, “Did anyone come in or out of the villa yesterday?” He’d slipped it in there naturally enough that his friend didn’t even stop to wonder why he would be asking such a question, and we got an answer out of him easily. “Just your butler. As far as I’ve heard, nobody else has gone anywhere.”

This whole incident was really driving home just how good Mr. Fisalis was at his job. It was moments like this that highlighted the difference between him and the kind of men who relied on nothing but their lineage to move up in the world; he had social standing in spades, sure, but he also had the skills to back it up. His success in life definitely hadn’t been an accident.

“If no one’s left the villa, that means the culprit still has the Viola Eye in their possession.”

“Oh, now I get it!”

So that’s why he bothered asking about it!

* * *

I had to psych myself up for the party that night, so we kept our walk relatively short and went back to our room to relax afterwards. In my current state of mind, our chill pace was just what the doctor had ordered. I mean, look at me—I’d been making an ass of myself non-stop since we’d got here! There was no taking the edge off your exhaustion in someone else’s home, it seemed.

“Since no one has come in or out of the building, chances are high that the Viola Eye is still somewhere inside the villa—in the culprit’s possession, to be exact.”

“So long as nobody smuggled it out, you mean?” Rohtas tested Mr. Fisalis’s hypothesis.

It wasn’t like their only option was to lug the stolen goods right out the front door, after all. In fact, it seemed like a much better idea to discreetly pass the necklace along to someone on the outside.

Or so I thought, but Mr. Fisalis countered, “Vacation home or not, this villa is property of the Argenteia family. The perimeter is too tightly guarded for anyone to get away with such shifty dealings. They’d be more likely to attract suspicion by sneaking around than they would just carrying the ‘goods’ right out the front door. Hence why I asked who had come and gone.”

“That’s a good point.”

“Now if only we could conduct a large-scale search of the building. Blast it!” Mr. Fisalis ran a hand through his hair, visibly annoyed.

Calm down, Mr. Fisalis! I know this is frustrating, but if we want to keep this under wraps, we can’t do a large-scale anything! Besides, it’d be wrong to go snooping in people’s rooms without a warrant.

And yet Rohtas oh-so-nonchalantly replied, “I’ll scour as much of the place as I can manage.”

“Appreciated.”

Et tu, Mr. Fisalis?! And is it really that easy to go poking around?! I guess if anyone can pull it off, it’d be our servants...

“In the meantime, we’ll establish contact with the suspects at tonight’s soirée. I’ll get a read on the girls; Vi, I’ll leave the men to you.”

“Aye-aye, captain!”

“Do your best to naturally, casually bring the conversation around to your jewelry.”

“I’ll, uh...see what I can do.”

I would’ve given anything to trade places with the Bombshell Trio right about now. Those girls could carry out a mission like this with their eyes closed.

* * *

Dinner was set to start a little earlier than usual tonight. The time had finally come, so we got dressed up and readied ourselves to head to the banquet hall.

“My word—just look at how cute you are, Vi! How am I supposed to let you out into public?!”

“We could always have them bring our dinner to our room! Here, I’ll pretend to be sick! Oh nooo, I’m getting woooozy...”

“I think you’re onto something!”

Rohtas interrupted our time-honored banter. “Ahem. Don’t you two ever tire of this routine? Cut the nonsense and get going. Did you forget about your investigation already?”

“We know, we know!” Mr. Fisalis and I reassured him.

Today we had the OG straight man around to shoot us down.

Oh c’mon, you don’t have to look so fed up with us! This is practically our pre-party ritual! We’re just honoring tradition—no need to take it so seriously!

* * *

The dinner ended without incident, and it was finally time for the party.

I had an important job to do tonight: evidence-gathering. Something told me this was going to be a different kettle of fish from the usual mindless chatting and dancing.

For starters, I couldn’t just go around waltzing with whomever I pleased. Man, I should have had my lady friends teach me how to encourage a specific guy to ask you to the floor!

“But seriously, how do I get them to invite me to dance?”

Obviously I couldn’t walk up and ask them myself, but if I did things my usual way and just mentally checked out, the prospective dance partners would keep coming and coming until I missed my chance for any one-on-one time with the targets.

Mr. Fisalis sure has it easy. He’s free to just pick his dance partner from the list of suspects!

Tonight, I had to fraternize with the male suspects and hear what they had to say. My mission was of the utmost importance. Meanwhile, Mr. Fisalis had to cozy up to their wives (or fiancée, in one instance).

Before I could manage any of that, however, I had to figure out how to get the targets to approach me and dodge invitations from other people in the meantime.

I feel like I’m getting caught in a loop here... Hmmm. Guess I’ll start by hanging around near the suspects. That’s about the only idea I can come up with.

Upon surveying the room in an attempt to figure out who was standing where, I spotted Viscount Pastoris close at hand.

Target acquired! You’re it, Viscount Pastoris!

I oh-so-very-casually sidled up to him, accidentally-on-purpose made eye contact, and offered him a sweet smile. I’m counting on you to read between the lines, mister!

I must have gotten my message across (or maybe I’d just been staring too hard for comfort), because the viscount soon came over to ask me to the floor. “Well, well—if it isn’t Lady Viola! Would you care to join me for a dance?”

Hooray! I got through to him!

“I’d be honored,” I replied, offering him a hand.

“Why, when my daughter hears I had the chance to dance with you, I’m sure she’ll be green with envy! Ha ha ha!”

Say, Mr. Viscount of the Plump and Jiggling Belly, might you have a habit of spoiling your daughter? (Source: Rohtas)

“Oh, surely you’re exaggerating! Oho ho ho!”

“Hardly! She looks up to you so much that she always just has to have all the same dresses and necklaces as you. Speaking of which, that’s some very fine jewelry you’re wearing tonight. I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s begging me for a copy.”

Mm-hmm. I see Rohtas was right on the money!

“And you buy her everything she asks for?”

“I’m afraid so. I simply can’t help myself.”

“Wow, that’s so sweet of you!”

What a difference from my dad! Well, no, he’s plenty sweet... He just doesn’t blindly shower me with gifts.

“I’m a bit too soft on her, I know...”

“I can’t imagine that much shopping is easy on your wallet.”

I wasn’t sure spoiling her was such a good idea either.

“I’ll say. As embarrassing as it is to admit, it’s becoming difficult to make ends meet... Oh, good heavens! What am I doing telling you all this?”

He made an effort to sheepishly laugh it off, but little did he know that this was exactly what I wanted to hear! It was time to start digging for the deets.

“Difficult to make ends meet? Goodness, are you really in that much trouble?”

“Oh no, we’re not that hard up! Ha ha ha—my wife and daughter might swallow up most of my salary, but fortunately for us, that dependable son of ours can make up the difference.”

“If I recall, he works for the chivalric order? Your daughter mentioned it at the tea party the other day.”

“That’s right—though he’s not a direct subordinate of the duke or anything like that. He’s an awfully dutiful son, that boy. I do my best not to worry him since he’s off living in the knights’ dormitories, but every now and then he’ll drop by our manor and...”

The more I listened to him talk, the more he sounded like a doting father who had a soft spot not only for his daughter, but for his entire family. It seemed his son was helping keep his head above water too.

By the end of our lengthy conversation, it was hard to see the viscount as anything but a good-natured old man.

* * *

While I was dancing with the viscount, I casually scoped out my next target—only to find Marquis Erectum standing not too far away. It was definitely a short enough distance for me to inch closer bit by bit.

I pretended to follow the viscount’s lead while stealthily steering us in the direction I wanted to go. This sort of thing was my specialty!

By the time the song ended, we’d drifted into the vicinity of the marquis. Once I’d thanked the viscount for the dance, I crept towards my next victim in hopes of recycling my previous strategy.

I need him to ask me for a dance before someone else does...

Once again, I “accidentally” locked eyes with him. When he noticed me looking his way, the marquis returned my gaze with a sweet smile, strode over on those long, shapely legs of his, and took my hand in a sweeping motion. “Care to dance, Lady Viola?”

Okay, am I the only one getting “playboy” vibes from how smooth that gesture was?

What’s more, I hadn’t noticed it until he came over, but he positively reeked of cologne.

But it suits him, to be honest!

He had a slender, well-proportioned figure and a strong but sweet fragrance about him. With his black eyes and black hair, he was an exotic sort of looker.

The scent of his rich, floral perfume grew stronger the closer I got to him...and was one step short of giving me nausea. It was so sickly sweet that it might as well have been shooting straight up my nose to stab me in the brain. Too bad my only choice was to suck it up and breathe through my mouth.

“We’ve already had our fair share of dances back at the royal palace, haven’t we?”

“Y...Yes, I’d say so.”

Had we? I didn’t remember that at all. Considering I always had to work my way through a sea of men looking for a dance, there was no way each and every one of them was going to stick in my memory.

I decided to go for as vague an answer as I could manage. “I seem to recall that—erm...”

He chuckled. “Of course, I doubt you’d remember it.”

He had my number so hard that I didn’t know how to respond to that.

“It looks like the duke is dancing with my wife as we speak,” he pointed out, spinning us around so that I could see my husband.

Marquise Erectum was a modern-looking beauty with brown curls that fell to her shoulders. She had striking purple eyes, and when she stood side-by-side with the marquis, the two made for a gorgeous-looking pair.

Given how pretty she was, she looked picture perfect next to Mr. Fisalis. Pack it up, Viola—you lose this round! A plain Jane like you never stood a chance.

Wait, no, that’s not the point here! I got a little off track with my brooding, but it’s time to get my head back in the game!

I shifted my gaze back to Marquis Erectum, and that was when I noticed the ring on his left hand. And on his fourth finger, at that. That could only mean one thing.

“May I ask about this ring of yours?”

“Ha ha ha—so you noticed that, did you? She and I jumped on your bandwagon and decided to have rings of our own made. A matching set, of course,” he explained, showing off the enormous amethyst accessory that sat on his finger.

“Gosh, I see!”

“My wife is wearing one that looks just like this. It matches her eyes.”

“That’s wonderful! It’s such a lovely amethyst too. We don’t mine those gems in our territory, so I’m assuming this isn’t one of our products. Too bad.”

“I must beg your pardon for that! We were dying to have a Viola Sapphire, I assure you, but we couldn’t manage to get our hands on one,” he said with a laugh. “Luckily for us, my grandmother kept an extensive collection of jewelry, so we had one of her old accessories reworked into a trendier design.”

It’s true that the gem’s popularity left our stock pretty low, but if a marquis said he wanted one, I’m pretty sure we could have accommodated him! But on the other hand...remaking old pieces? You love to see it!

“By the way, Lady Viola, how old are you?”

“Who, me? I’m nineteen.”

“Not too much younger than my wife, then.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. She’s twenty-two.”

“Wow, she really isn’t that much older!”

Twenty-two, huh? Well, that would make her closer to Miss Verbena’s age than anything.

“You and the duke have yet to be blessed with children, if I’m not mistaken?”

“Um, that’s right.”

Why is he bringing up kids all of a sudden? Great, now he’s reminded me of the whole looming “heir” problem.

“The same goes for us. My wife is still young, so she’d like to live fast and loose for a little while longer yet.”

“Oh, I see!”

There are a multitude of reasons we don’t have any children yet, but I assure you that none of them have to do with “living fast and loose”!

After that, he kept coming out with stories about how they blew a bunch of money messing around somewhere or another, or how they bought a super expensive decoration just the other day.

Hello? If you run around spending money like it grows on trees, it’s no wonder you can’t keep any saved up! Looks like Rohtas was right again.

* * *

The next person I danced with was Earl Lizardtail.

The earl was a handsome man with an explosion of loose blond curls, blue eyes, and tender features. He struck me as the type who was fully conscious of his own good looks.

“What a truly beautiful woman you are, Lady Viola! Like a goddess in the flesh!”

That was his opener? I didn’t even know where to begin with a response.

“Your display of bashfulness only speaks to your humility.”

I was getting smacked with a tornado of compliments right out the gate. PLEASE stop—I’m begging you here! You’re taking it so far that it’s just giving me the creeps! Besides, when you go full throttle with the praise like that, none of it rings true! What is this guy’s problem?

“I see you’re wearing another gorgeous necklace tonight. Is this one of those Viola Sapphires I’ve heard so much about?”

“It is, yes.”

“This is my first time seeing the gem up close, and I must say, this one is no less stunning a jewel! And the designer deserves just as much credit for bringing out its beauty so well.”

“Thank you.”

Now that he’s done complimenting me, I see we’re onto singing my jewelry’s praises!

I didn’t know if he just had a special fondness for jewelry or what, but I wasn’t a fan of the way he was ogling my neckline. He sure could stand to learn Mr. Fisalis’s skill for staring without being off-putting about it.

“There’s been no shortage of jewelry passed down within my family for generations. Why, I’m confident our collection could put even yours to shame!”

“Yeah? Wow, imagine that...”

Whoops, that response came out a little half-assed. Sorry. But you know how it is—I was just getting a little ticked off! Don’t sell the Fisalis family short there, mkay? We’re practically rolling in money and treasure alike! Even better, we’re turning out more and more of it by the day—not that any of it is technically mine, of course☆

The earl sure seemed to enjoy tooting his own horn; he didn’t even notice that I was pretty much giving him the brush-off while he kept droning on and on. I was tuning him out so completely that by the end of it, I didn’t even remember what he’d talked about.

* * *

Last up was Viscount Trifolium. Since I’d already learned what sort of person he was during our chat the other night, I could breathe a little easier in his company.

“Did your necklace get scratched the other night?” he inquired out of concern, his voice as soothing and gentle as ever.

Forget scratched—the whole darn thing went missing! But that’s top secret information, of course. I’ll just have to play it off.

“No—it turned out it was just fine. But I must say, I almost had a heart attack when I dropped it.”

“Me too,” he replied with an airy laugh. Like always, he was the very picture of serenity.

I almost felt bad about suspecting such a nice guy.

“If I had to wear a jewel as expensive as that one looked, I’d be quaking in my boots.”

“Trust me—I feel the same way!”

“Come now, you’ve gotten so many of those gifts from the duke that I’m sure you’re well used to it by now. You’re always wearing them with your head held high—which only serves to make the gems look even more bewitching.”

Is that how it looks to other people?

He was right that I’d grown accustomed to wearing pricey jewelry, but that Viola Eye had been a whole other level of terrifying. And yet I’d taken that priceless necklace and...well, for the sake of brevity, we’ll skip the recap!

“Unlike the duke, I’m afraid I don’t have the means to give such wonderful gifts.”

He’d muttered something under his breath, but it was too quiet for me to hear.

* * *

I’d successfully shared a dance with all four of our initial targets—that was a start, at least. I’d managed to get a bit of information out of each of them too.

I’d better report back to Mr. Fisalis before I forget everything!

“Cercis!”

I hurried over to where all the sparkles were coming from—ahem, I mean, to where Mr. Fisalis was clearly standing. As an added bonus, hanging around him would give me a chance to take a breather.

“Oh, Vi! Nice work out there. Are you done dancing?”

“Yep. I knocked out the whole list.”

“I see. Want to take a break, then? Or would you rather go for one more dance?”

“I’ll take that brea...hm?”

Mr. Fisalis had taken me by the hand to help me into a chair...but there was something off about him.

He gave a curious tilt of his head when I came to a dead stop all of a sudden. “Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s clearly not nothing. Just look at that frown!”

“My face just looks like this, okay?!”

“It does not. What is it? Come on—just tell me.”

“Do I have to...?”

By now, Mr. Fisalis was all up in my face demanding an explanation. At this rate, he wasn’t going to back off until I fessed up.

“...I could smell another girl’s perfume on you...and it just bothered me, that’s all.”

Even worse, it was a nausea-inducing sort of odor. No duh that was going to make me frown!

“Huh?”

“Like I said, that’s all there was to it! C’mon, it’s time for that break!”

“Vi...”

“What?”

“You’re adorable!”

“Eep!”

Refrain from hugging me in public, please and thank you!