Chapter 12

The Marquis casted his relaxed gaze out of the window. Before he realized it, the scenery outside had changed. Instead of the vast field, the deep blue sea rolling. The train seemed to have entered his territory.

He bet his grandson would have a hard time here.

The Marquis, who was reciting Marianne’s determined appearance in his head, his eyes quietly curved up and released a sigh.

Failure was also a hurdle for Schneider’s successor to get through. It was better to collapse ahead of time rather than experience it at a critical moment later on.

“But.”

Don’t be so hard on him, Marianne. Nonetheless, he felt sorry for his indifferent grandson.

Marquis Schneider leaned against the backrest and closed his eyes. He felt like  he was getting really old as well.

***

Marianne rubbed her dry eyes. She looked into the pile of documents all day, and her neck was stiff and her shoulders hurt. She felt like she had gotten a job as an office assistant, not a police officer.

“It’s because this is the first day. I’m sure you’re going to get used to this soon. Take a good rest when you get home. Physical strength is necessary in this job.”

Marianne and Ian’s cheeks became orange because of the sunset.

It was time to clock out of work, but Marianne and Ian were the only people who left the National Police Agency on time. She smacked her lips bitterly because it felt as if telling them where their place was.

There was a pretty big gap between ideal and reality. Once she entered the Police Agency in Blauberg, she thought she would be able to show her abilities. She was confident that she would shut up those whining people with her shockening ability.

However, the reality wasn’t that easy. Far from doing any investigation, she only organized documents all day long, her presence as bothersome as a pile of papers on the desk.

“Did you patrol well while I was sorting up the mountain of papers, Senior Ian?”

“The robber who robbed the jewelry store must have already fled to another city. What kind of fool would stay in the city where he had stolen from, right?”

She didn’t despise his haughty voice. It was funny because she felt like watching a child who pretended to show off.

“Is that so? If he hadn’t been caught by the police, he would have been very confident. He might still be hanging around here. While laughing at the policemen.”

“That’s because you don’t know anything, Marianne. This is why you can’t do anything, rookie.”

Rookie?

She somehow felt like having heard it somewhere very recently. Where did she hear it? Marianne, who was thinking, nodded and said, “Oh.”

This was because she remembered Maxim calling Ian, “Rookie” Perhaps, she would succeed the pedigree from now on, too.

Ian, who shrugged lightly, spoke in a haughty manner.

“I would have already become a lieutenant if I could catch the culprit so easily.”

“As expected…… Huh?”

Marianne, who was casually nodding her head, shut up. She stopped her pace, despite having been moving regularly. Ian, who was trying to have a long talk about the policeman’s sufferings, looked at her curiously.

“What’s wrong, rookie?”

Marianne said nothing. She just stared at someone.

A fat man. Wearing clothes that looked expensive at a single glance and arms crossed, he was just coming out of the restaurant with a slim woman.

“Do you know him, rookie?”

Ian asked, tilting his head. Hearing him, Marianne also asked herself, ‘Did I know him?’ It certainly wasn’t someone she knew. However, she felt familiar as if she had seen him somewhere.

“……No.”

“What are you doing? Let’s hurry up and go. Do you think it’s normal to get off work on time? As your senior, I advise you to do your best on days like this. Do you get it, rookie?”

This d*mn guy’s calling her rookie.

Marianne, who was glaring at Ian until the white part of her eyes was visible, shook her head to calm down herself the next moment. Nonetheless, there was no need to increase the number of enemies she had because there were already enemies in all directions.

“Yes, Senior Ian.”

“……Senior Ian.”

Ian, who was savoring the words with dreamy eyes, began to walk again. It was the moment when Marianne shook her head and tried to follow him.

“Oh!”

The man’s half-folded ears came into Marianne’s full sight. She also spotted a wart under his left eyebrow.

At the same time, the clear sketch of the criminal came to her mind. The sketch floated in the air and slowly merged with the face of the man which then turned into a painting.

One picture that perfectly matches him.

“!”

“What is it? What happened, Marianne? Did you step on horse poop? Right, that’s why you have to work within the road like me. That’s why you’re a rookie who can’t do anything.”

“It’s not that……!”

Marianne pointed her finger at the man. Then, she looked back at Ian with round eyes. Ian was staring at her with a puzzled expression.

Puff.

How come I don’t know? His lips, which had been dangling hastily in frustration, opened, and finally the stagnant cry burst out. How come she didn’t figure this out sooner? Her parted lips that had been twitching impatiently out of frustration, opened, and finally a faltering cry came out of her mouth.

“He’s the jewelry robber!”

“What? Where? Where?”

Ian looked around quickly with anxious eyes. Marianne moved her fingers along the man who was heading to the platform of the carriage.

“Look, there is a woman in a blue dress and a man coming out of the restaurant.”

“So where…… Ey.”

Ian, who was motivated, soon dropped his shoulders with an exhausted look. A sigh came out of him.

“If you’ve looked at the sketch, you’ll know that the robber was so skinny that his cheekbones were visible. He broke into the jewelry store through the narrow ventilator. However, that man is chubby.”

Marianne was proud of herself for being quick-witted. Moreover, what she saw once was clearly engraved in her head and she could get it out whenever necessary. In short, she had a pretty great memory.

That ability was very useful as Lady Schneider. Ladies change their appearance drastically with makeup. Some even went as far to wear wigs.

Sometimes, they disguised themselves to enjoy secret meetings, or dressed in dark attire to hide their apparent illness.

However, Marianne saw through them at a single glance. Thanks to this, she was able to avoid making unnecessary mistakes even in an invisible psychological war.

It was the same this time. It wasn’t just warts and half-folded ears. The shape of his eyes and eyebrows were also similar. People can easily gain and lose weight, but their physical characteristics couldn’t change that easily.

Marianne finally realized that the composite sketch of the unknown artist was extremely accurate. At the same time.

“There!”

She shouted out at the man who was climbing the wagon.

“Ugh! Rookie! What are you doing there? Hey, stop right there!”

Ian suddenly followed her whilst uttering harsh words as if he was bewildered. However, Marianne didn’t pay him any attention.

The man, who turned his head at the sudden shout, frowned at her. Then, when he spotted Ian’s face chasing her, he looked around with a puzzled expression.

He seemed to recognize Ian. Maybe he knew that Ian was a police officer.

At that moment, Marianne’s suspicion turned out to be true. The man pushed the woman standing beside him toward Marianne before began to run in the opposite direction.

“Ahh!”

“Are you all right, miss? Look, I told you he’s the culprit, Ian! Why would he run away if he wasn’t guilty?

“We don’t know it yet! He might be running away because he’s scared of your face! Or, he’s in a hurry to go to the bathroom!”

Marianne pulled her dress up to her knee and started to chase the man. People stared at her with their eyes wide open.

“Oh my, how indecent!”

The lady covered her hands with hands and she burst into a small laugh.

The man glanced back and made his way through the crowd. People who got in the way of the sudden chase screamed as they were kicked here and there. The chaos broke out in an instant.

“Ahaha.”

She was panting heavily, but she broke out in a laugh. Perhaps, she’s been hoping for this moment for a long time.

This moment of running on her own feet, not standing beside Kristoff like a beautiful flower.

“You’re chasing him with a crazy-looking grin, who wouldn’t run away? I’m sure I’ll run away, too. Rookie, there’s a scary expression on your face right now!”

“Let’s talk after we catch him, Ian!”

“Where’s the ‘Senior’ word? You have to call me Senior Ian!”

Listening to Ian who was whining sulkily, Marianne regretted belatedly that she should have followed Madam Liszt’s advice.

If she had a parasol, she would have hit him in the head earlier.

“Ugh, d*mn!”

Then, a loaded cart appeared in front of the man. The man, who was blocked by a sudden obstacle, hurriedly turned around while swearing profanities.

At that brief moment, his distance with Marianne narrowed a little. “I’ll borrow it for a moment!” She exclaimed and snatched the cane of the gentleman standing beside her.

“What do you think you’re doing…….!”

While the confused gentleman opened his eyes wide, Marianne suddenly swung the cane at the man. The man’s shin was caught in the round handle, therefore he lost his balance and stumbled.

“Argh!”

At the same time, Marianne flew at him.

“Take this!”

“Wow!”

An unknown exclamation broke out behind her. Marianne’s body flew in the air.

It wasn’t a metaphor or simile. Marianne, who literally flew like a bird, reached out her hands and grabbed his neck.

Ukh!”

The two rolled on the floor while being entangled with each other.

“Ugh.”

A groan broke out of Marianne’s mouth. It hurt. The dull pain ran all over her body as if she had been hit by a hammer. She thought maybe there would be black bruises all over her body tomorrow.

“Let go!”

The man struggled out to get out of Marianne’s grip and got up. He wriggled violently while glancing at Ian.

However, Marianne clasped his legs like a sore thumb.

“You think I’ll let you run away? Ian, hurry up and catch this guy!”

The moment she shouted urgently.

“Marianne?”

A familiar voice in her ear struck her in the back of her head. The voice was low and serious, which made her heart pound. Expression disappeared from Marianne’s face for one moment.

Shiny leather shoes unbelievably came into Marianne’s view, and she turned her head slowly. Her eyes moved up slowly.

After her eyes raked through the black pants that had crease sharp as a knife, silver vest, and finally a dark gray Ascot tie.

“…Kristoff.”

His name escaped Marianne’s mouth. His voice was dazed and sounded like a sigh.

Kristoff looked down at her with a mysterious gaze. His always neat hair was a bit messy, and there was dark coloring on his eye bags similar to Florian. His cheeks seemed to be a little slimmer, and the shadow of his cheekbone looked darker than before.

Kristoff didn’t approach her hastily, but stood still on his spot with tightly clenched fists. His chest moved very slowly. As if swallowing the rising emotion within him.

“Marianne.”

He called her name again. His voice sounded very desperate and nervous, but perhaps it was just her feeling. The pair of black eyes didn’t waver for a moment, and only stared at her.

Marianne was quite confused. She thought he might not look for her. Kristoff had more important things than her.

However, he came much earlier than she expected.

His Lord the Marquis.

Marianne closed her eyes slowly. She hoped he would show up after all her lingering feelings had been dispersed. So, when she heard his voice, her heart wouldn’t sink, and when she saw his face, she wouldn’t be out of breath.

“……”

As soon as her hands lost their strength, the man in Marianne’s grip swung his leg as if he had been waiting for that moment.

Puk.

“Ahh!”

[T/N: Actually, I really enjoyed working on this chapter, especially through the chasing scene. Hoping for more thrilling and exciting actions in the later chapters!]