Jack could do no more than obtain the residents' register, which was precisely what I meant.
I left Grandbert's palace, and headed towards Aeneas's house.
This visit had two goals.
First, I wanted to ascertain whether Ines had actually taken Titi out for a walk then, and whether she would do so again tomorrow. The second goal was to determine “motivation.”
To convince Mile, I needed a reason for my insistence on catching the culprit.
I visited Ines three days in a row after our first meeting because I genuinely loved her. The narrative was that I couldn't afford to leave her in danger.
In addition, Camille loved opera, and would go to the theater whenever she had the opportunity.
I knew this from reading Mary's diaries. Upon closer inspection, I found a record stating that Camille attended Valerie's last viewing on the night of her murder.
I used this coincidence to create a plausible scenario.
“On my way home in my car that night, I saw a suspicious man. "I didn't realize it at the time, but upon reflection, I think it was near the alley where Valerie was found the next day."
“Do you think that man was Patch?”
“Yes”
I might have seen the killer's face.
So, I could have prevented another victim, but I didn't.
This feeling of guilt and my love for Ennis was a strong motivation.
I will not stand idly by this time.
I must prevent Aeneas's death.
As I felt on the first day, Ines was indeed a pure and charming person. It is no wonder that Jack sinks into such darkness after losing such a wife.
The next day, I bought sweets from the pastry shop, and timed my departure to Ennis's house precisely.
I pretended to be motion sick, and asked the driver to stop or slow down to adjust the timing.
After a while, I discovered the presence of Ines and Jean.
“Daniel, stop for a moment,” I said as I leaned out of the cart.
Jean followed my instructions, ensuring that Ines entered her house before she returned.
"Daniel! Follow this man!" I ordered him quickly.
"Who, ma'am? Who are you talking about?" Daniel sat in the driver's seat and looked around in confusion.
With so many passers-by, it was normal for him not to know who I was referring to.
Even if he knew, it wouldn't matter.
My goal was simply to create an excuse: “I told Daniel to follow him but he didn’t understand, so I had to follow him myself.”
I got out of the cart.
“Ma’am, where are you going? Ma’am!” Daniel called behind me, his voice filled with concern.
"Don't worry, wait here with the cart. I'll be right back," I reassured him before quickly walking away.
From then on, things went according to plan. Jan carried out his mission perfectly. Jack must have checked the house's population register and discovered Marcel Patch's name, so he reported it to Ethan as well.
Ethan is aware of Patchi and Mile's past.
Therefore, he couldn't help but notice this name.
Of course, it wasn't directly related to the current topic, so Ethan probably kept it in a corner of his mind. But that was enough.
The next day, I visited my family's home and asked Olivier to investigate the Marcel Patch case. Although he was puzzled by my request, he nodded when I promised to explain everything after solving the problem.
She told Mile this was to avoid Ethan's scrutiny, but that was a lie.
“Ethan's not the type to lower his guard just because I'm visiting my family.”
Most likely, his alertness would have been heightened by the previous day's incident with the noon chase.
It was only a matter of time before he discovered that Olivier had appointed someone to investigate Marcel Patch. But that didn't matter, because I wasn't going to secretly investigate Patch.
What I needed was the mere fact that such an attempt had been made.
Jean's recruitment by Viscountess Grandbert, and visiting Inès for three consecutive days, were all part of one strategy.
All these actions were aimed at one goal: to force Mael to search Marcel Patch's room.
Bachi planned his crimes with extreme precision, always keeping some trophies from his victims.
The original account describes several pieces of evidence found in his room during the search, as well as his diary.
'Simply searching his room will end the game.'
I chose Mile over Ethan or Jack for the reasons I explained to him.
My accusations against Marcel Patch were based on weak logic and insufficient evidence. I was relying entirely on vague memories to claim Patchi was the killer. Ethan would never believe me.
But Mile was different.
It was no less clever or logical.
Mael was extremely righteous, did not ignore the suffering of the weak, and most importantly, he experienced deep helplessness and remorse for his past failures.
“If something had happened to Inés or to another woman without you doing anything, you would have felt responsible and deeply regretted. "Me too"
Miles will never be able to erase those words she planted in his mind. He wouldn't ignore the possible future that would unfold if he believed my suspicions.
Furthermore, I showed him a mild way to search Patch's room.
Mile only faced two obstacles: the first was lying to Ethan, and the second was suspecting an innocent former subordinate and forcefully searching his room.
Based on how Mael handled the matter, he could have reduced these obstacles to just one. And as I mentioned, Mile was smart enough to realize that quickly.
I went back to my room and changed into my sweat-soaked clothes.
I sipped a cold lemonade and looked out the window.
After a while, I saw a familiar shadow emerge from the knights' headquarters.
I smiled softly - a smile of victory.
***
Mael was riding his horse with a heavy heart.
“…what do I do now?”
He wasn't going to take any action when Camille left his office.
In fact, he had been in deep internal conflict ever since.
Should he trust the Duchess' words? Was he simply fooled by her words? Could she have another ulterior motive, perhaps an attempt to set him up?
But…
What if what the Duchess said was true?
He couldn't get rid of that thought.
If his neglect had led to Jack losing his wife, Mile knew he would never have forgiven himself.
Time was also a crucial factor; It was only a matter of time before Ethan called him to ask what had happened between him and the Duchess.
So, Mile decided to act immediately. This way, he wouldn't have to lie to Ethan later.
The urgency of the situation prompted him to act immediately.
But he couldn't rush to the address Camille had given him.
He had to at least check some facts first.
So Mile headed to Jack's office in the annex.
“Jack, can I come in?”
He knocked on the door and opened it, finding Jack and another man who appeared to be one of his subordinates inside.
“Leave us”
At Jack's command, the man bowed and left the room.
“I have some questions for you,” Mile began.
"How convenient! I have some questions for you, too," Jack replied, raising a slightly furrowed eyebrow.
Jack, at twenty-six, was a year older than Mile, but due to their difference in social standing, he spoke to Mile formally.
With his massive build and muscular appearance, Jack often looked older than his actual age. In contrast, Mael was often described as having a youthful, almost boyish face.
“What did you discuss with the Duchess earlier?” Jack asked directly.
“You knew that.”
Camille stated that Ethan ordered Jack to carefully monitor her every move.
Thus, even within the walls of the duchy, she was under constant surveillance.
“Yes. Although I haven’t heard the details, the Knights’ headquarters is almost as well fortified as the main house. I had to arrange cooperation in advance.”
"This is precisely why I came to see you. Is it true that the Duchess suddenly got out of her carriage the other day during a walk to follow a man?"
Jack's expression revealed his surprise.
“How did you know...did the Duchess tell you?”
“Judging by your reaction, this must be true,” Mael said calmly.
He doubted it.
It seemed unlikely that the Duchess would lie about something so easily verified.