No matter how Ethan looked at it, there was no reason for Camille to care about Ennis.
Even his reaction to Jack's marriage was just, "Really?" Although he gave them a generous gift, he did not even ask her name.
So why would the Duchess come here just to greet Aeneas?
“Oh, come now. Do you think I will hurt your beloved wife?
Although what she said was joking, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that there was a hidden message in Camille's words.
She expressed her dissatisfaction with Jack's continued pursuit of her.
Maybe it was a subtle warning: Be careful if you don't want your wife to get hurt.
Maybe he was overthinking it. But when it came to Ennis, he couldn't let his guard down. He tightened his grip on Ines' waist, pulling her towards him as she continued to babble excitedly.
***
When I opened the carriage door, Victor was waiting for me.
She grabbed his outstretched hand and went down.
“Welcome back, ma’am. How was your visit to your family after such a long absence?”
“Victor,” I interrupted, “where do we keep the old newspapers?” His eyes, behind his single-lens glasses, showed curiosity.
“The newspapers, madam? They are kept in the Duke’s library.”
“Can you bring all the newspapers from the last six months to my room?”
“All the newspapers from the past six months… every single one of them?”
“Yes, all of them. I would appreciate it if you brought them immediately.”
“Yes, of course,” Victor replied with a bow.
In this world, newspapers were usually weekly rather than daily.
Although I read all of the past two months' issues to stay up to date, I wanted to review them again to make sure I didn't miss anything.
Ennis was the killer's fifth victim.
Of the previous four murders, only two were reported.
It was not uncommon in that era for women to be killed in the streets, so some deaths went unreported.
The third victim was an opera singer named Valerie Junes.
She wasn't very famous yet, but she was starting to gain popularity as a newcomer. Her death became a topic of discussion because a high-ranking nobleman was her patron. Newspapers circulated widespread speculation, indicating that it was a crime of passion.
It was only after the fourth murder that suspicions were raised that these incidents might have been the work of a single individual. The commonalities were clear: all the victims were young women with brown hair, had been strangled, and showed no signs of sexual assault.
Shortly after I returned to my room, I received an enormous quantity of newspapers. Because there are three types of weekly newspapers, their total reached approximately 80 newspapers.
“What is all this?” Mary asked, her eyes wide.
"You should go to sleep. It's going to be a long night for me," I replied as I turned on the lamp on my desk and began arranging the newspapers by date.
After Valerie's death and the ensuing speculation about the existence of a serial killer, the killer stopped. Whether intentional or coincidental, this hiatus lasted exactly six months, i.e. 180 days. Newspapers used headlines such as “Killer returns after 180 days!” When the killings resumed.
That's why I asked Victor to bring me newspapers from the past six months.
If I can find the date of death of the fourth victim, I will be able to calculate when the killer might target Ennis.
In the original story, Jack was depicted as a sinister character, carrying a hidden rage. When young Elodie first met him at the palace, his violent behavior frightened her so much that she fell down.
Jack was only freed from his past nightmares after they caught the killer with Elodie's help. However, the wound left by his wife's death was one that would never completely heal. Watching Jack with Ennis made this fact painfully clear to me.
Jack's troubled behavior, his protective stance in front of his wife, and his tender looks are all things I never saw in the original story.
Only I knew of the coming tragedy, and only I could prevent it.
Although my initial plan was to divorce Ethan quickly, I couldn't ignore the fact that Ennis' death would ruin Jack's life.
I had to act, and the sooner the better. I found the article I was looking for quickly, much faster than I expected.
The news in the newspaper the week after the first one I saw was: “Suspected serial killer? Another young woman found dead!” I read the article carefully and verified its accuracy by comparing it to other newspapers from the same week. There is no doubt that this is the incident mentioned in the original news.
“Let's see, if the fourth victim is found on January 16, then after 180 days it will be...”
A shiver ran through my body.
The expected date was July 14, and today is July 4.
This means there are only ten days left until the next crime.
“If I hadn't heard about Ennis from Jack today, or if I hadn't called him in the first place...”
With only ten days to go, tragedy might have struck without my knowledge, with irreversible consequences.
Realizing this made me more determined to stop it.
I felt as if fate had decided that I would discover this information at the right time.
The problem is how to stop it...
I knew the identity of the killer from the original story. His name was Marcel Bache, a former knight in his twenties, earning his living through odd jobs after leaving the service. Finding Marcel's whereabouts with the help of Ethan or Jack won't be difficult.
The problem was how to explain why I was looking for him.
I could not confirm that Marcel was the killer behind four deaths and that he would kill Ines within ten days.
It may not be enough to report this to the police anonymously.
They may not take any action without evidence, especially after six months have passed since the last incident, and there are only ten days left...
I couldn't face Marcel myself either.
Unlike some other stories, I wasn't reincarnated as a knight or wizard. My only strengths were my position as Duchess Dumont, my knowledge of the original story, and my sharp wit.
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, lost in thought.
‘So what should I do…? '
***
“Did Camille know she was being followed?” Ethan asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Jack.
"Yes. She even suspected that it might be due to her meeting with an informant," Jack answered.
“Is it possible that she discovered the surveillance?” Ethan asked.
"I don't think so. The men assigned to follow her have been in the field for more than five years. If they were discovered, they would know and report it," Jack said confidently.
“Is there a possibility they lied to you?” Ethan asked.
“There's no hope of that,” Jack answered without hesitation.
Ethan tapped his fingers on the desk, lost in thought.
"You might be guessing. Camille herself mentioned having an informant first. It wouldn't be hard for her to deduce that I was following her to witness the meeting. She knew that I was following her during the Bernard incident as well."
“……”
Jack remained silent, and frowned.
“I didn't think about that, did you? I didn't like it,” Ethan commented.
"I don't mean to brag, but lately, my assessments of the Duchess have been consistently wrong. I wasn't confident," Jack admitted.
"Don't doubt yourself. This way, you won't be able to single out anything. This might be exactly what you're after," Ethan advised, causing Jack to sigh softly.
“I will keep that in mind”
“Okay then. I would advise them to be careful with their monitoring for now,” Ethan decided.
“Are you saying we should keep watching?” Jack asked.
“Sure. Did you think otherwise?” Ethan replied, making Jack hesitate.
“Well, if she knew about it, it couldn’t be called surveillance anymore...”
"It's just her guess. You yourself confirmed that they weren't caught red-handed, right?"
“So far, yes. But if someone knows they're being followed, the chances of being caught increase significantly, especially for someone with the Duchess's acumen,” Jack explained.
Ethan crossed his fingers and leaned forward.
"So? Is there a specific reason why they couldn't be discovered?"
"Excuse me? What do you mean...?"
"If Camille already knew she was being followed, then arresting her at the scene wouldn't change anything. It's even more foolish to stop the surveillance for fear of being found out. What if she met an informant during that time?"
“……”