<Chapter 4>
“Then I shall take my leave so as not to disturb your family’s time any further. Once again, I offer my condolences. Duchess, Young Duke.”
“Thank you for coming all this way, Count Alpheron.”
Cardiel, as the chief mourner, expressed his gratitude to Sir Yusef. With that, his visit of condolence should have come to an end.
Or at least, that’s what I thought.
Crash! Clang!
A loud noise, as if something had shattered, echoed from the hallway outside the room.
Cardiel, Sir Yusef, the servants, and I all startled and turned toward the door at the same time.
“What was that?”
At the unsettling sound, the servants rushed out first.
Just as I wondered whether I should go out and check as well, Cardiel spoke.
“I’ll go see what happened, Stepmother.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Count Alpheron, please wait here for a moment.”
“Of course.”
We couldn’t send a guest away without knowing what had happened outside. So Sir Yusef remained with me for the time being.
“Please have a seat here while you wait, Sir Yusef.”
I didn’t think it was anything serious, but it would likely take time to resolve.
I offered him a seat, and he accepted without hesitation, sitting at a moderate distance from me.
At that moment, our gazes met.
“…?”
What should I say?
For some reason, the air around us suddenly felt incredibly awkward.
It wasn’t the usual discomfort of silence.
Even though I’m somewhat introverted, I’ve spent years in high society—there’s no way simple conversation would be difficult.
And yet, this feeling…
It was hard to put into words.
It felt as though Sir Yusef’s red eyes were scanning me thoroughly—persistently, from head to toe.
Why? Did I do something wrong?
Or… am I imagining things?
“About that day…”
The awkward silence broke when I finally spoke.
“I mean the day the social season began—in the lounge at the banquet hall, Sir Yusef.”
“Yes, I remember that day.”
“What did you mean by what you said to me then?”
Thankfully, once I started speaking, organizing my thoughts into words wasn’t difficult.
More than anything, I was deeply curious about what happened back then.
At the time, I brushed it off as a joke—but everything he said actually came true.
If my husband had been murdered, I might have suspected Sir Yusef.
But what happened before my eyes was clearly an accident.
And then there was his advice to put the children to bed early.
If the children had been awake when their father died and witnessed everything…
How could they have endured such trauma at such a young age?
Thinking that far naturally led to a chilling question.
How could Sir Yusef have been so certain such an event would occur? And how did he know to give that advice?
‘He’s not a prophet…’
This was an era where prophecy and magic had long disappeared into history. That possibility was out of the question.
“You predicted my husband’s death exactly, didn’t you?”
At my question, Sir Yusef fell silent, his expression peculiar. I stared at him, urging him to answer.
After a moment, he smiled faintly, his eyes narrowing.
“What I know is not limited to that, my lady.”
“Pardon?”
I couldn’t quite grasp what he meant. He continued speaking.
“For instance, I know that in one hour and ten minutes from now, two mourners who are on bad terms with each other will arrive at the same time. And that their presence will place you in a very difficult situation.”
“…?”
“Of course, up to that point, it’s something that anyone might predict if several coincidences align. Still, it’s the quickest way for me to prove that I know the future. So—would you like me to tell you about events further ahead as well?”
Wait. Wait a moment.
“You’re saying… you really know the future?”
“Relatively accurately.”
It sounded so unrealistic that I could only ask in disbelief.
“That can’t be. How could something like that be possible?”
I was certain this was the first time in my life I’d spoken so foolishly. The words kept spilling out.
“More importantly, I don’t understand why you’re telling me this. If I had such an ability, I’d use it more practically—like preventing major disasters in the future, or investing where profits could be made…”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“What?”
The corner of his lips curled upward.
“The reason it’s possible is simply that I possess such an ability. I understand you might think I’m a fraud, but one cannot deny an ability that truly exists.”
“What are you saying…? You sound as though you’re some kind of prophet.”
“Rather than that…”
After briefly searching for the right word, he said:
“‘Regressor’ would be more accurate. I’ve turned back time several times, so remembering what will happen isn’t particularly difficult.”
What…?
This was the first time I had ever heard the word regressor.
“And the reason I’m telling you this, Duchess of Diern, is—as you said—to invest where it will benefit me the most.”
“In other words… I am your investment?”
“Precisely.”
Even after hearing that, I could only blink blankly.
As if giving me time to process, Sir Yusef leisurely looked around.
Soon, his gaze rested on my husband’s coffin.
“A transaction requires trust. Since it’s difficult for you to believe me right now, it would be best if I provided further proof.”
And so, I heard several things from Sir Yusef about events that would occur in the future.
Around that time, Cardiel returned to the room.
“It seems the decorative armor pieces placed in the hallway have fallen over, Stepmother.”
It wasn’t a major incident, but it felt oddly significant.
When I was told everything had been taken care of, Sir Yusef stood up.
It was time to see off the guest.
And just as Sir Yusef had said—
About an hour after he left, two people who were not on good terms with me arrived at the same time.
This is… troublesome. I thought they wouldn’t come.
“Ahem… First, let me offer my condolences. I, too, am grieving the loss of my younger brother. You must be even more heartbroken, my lady.”
“Liselotte, you must be in great distress.”
One was from a collateral branch of the Diern family, and the other was my elder brother from my birth family.
“Thank you for coming to see my husband off, Viscount Baden. And Baron Landgritz. Please forgive me for receiving you while seated due to my injury.”
For reference, the two were not originally on bad terms as Sir Yusef had claimed.
In fact, they were quite close—more like strong allies.
My brother, Baron Landgritz, inherited his title thanks to marrying me into the ducal family.
Viscount Baden, meanwhile, secured his current position as chairman of the Privy Council using the dowry my brother provided.
That was the relationship between the two as I knew it.
But Sir Yusef had said something entirely different.
He claimed their relationship would completely fall apart following the Duke of Diern’s death.
At the time, I doubted it…
‘But it seems that was true.’
Although they entered together, the way they looked at each other was no different from sworn enemies.
It truly felt like sparks were flying between their gazes.
They even engaged in a tense standoff over who would offer condolences first.
Mediating them was exhausting.
“Liselotte, come speak with me for a moment.”
And that wasn’t the end of it.
Right after placing lilies on my husband’s coffin, my brother spoke to me with a solemn expression.
Viscount Baden clenched his teeth, clearly annoyed at being beaten to the move again.
“Please speak here, Brother. It’s difficult for me to move due to my ankle injury.”
“Hah, Liselotte. It’s just the next room. If you’re this lazy, how will you lead the ducal house from now on? Becoming the head of a family is no easy matter.”
Ah, seriously—why is he being like this?
Did he really need to humiliate me in front of in-laws I hadn’t seen in a while?
“I’ll accompany Viscount Baden to the next room, Stepmother.”
“Well… I suppose that works. I also have something to discuss with my nephew. As the more generous one, I shall yield.”
“…Cardiel. Would you do that?”
“Viscount Baden, this way please.”
My brother really is lucky—to have such a well-mannered nephew like Cardiel.
Though Viscount Baden agreed to move, his expression showed clear dissatisfaction, as if he had lost a battle of pride.
Soon, the door closed.
And I was left alone with my brother.
