IHDOE Ch 93

She shouted in disbelief.

[C. Sorwen] "What absolute nonsense is that?!"

The maid turned pale as she responded.

[Maid] "I went to the vault to fetch the diamond as Madam instructed, but it vanished without a trace!"

[C. Sorwen] "Vanished?"

[Maid] "Y-Yes."

The maid stared at the floor and nodded silently, unable to look the Countess in the eye.

[C. Sorwen] "Why on earth... No, never mind. I must check personally."

She led the way toward the vault. Satina sensed the tension and followed closely behind her.

Outside the vault, the butler berated the servants in a fury.

[Butler] "Speak honestly! Which of you dared to lay hands on Madam's belongings?!"

[Servant] "We know nothing about it!"

[Servant] "Did you not verify it yourself?! We touched none of the items inside!"

[Butler] "These fools still dare deny it...! M-Madam!"

The butler paused his tirade as he noticed the Countess, bowing his head in flustered panic.

[Butler] "Wh-What brings you here, Madam?"

[C. Sorwen] "How could I stay away after hearing such news?! Tell me everything that happened!"

[Butler] "That is..."

He cast a troubled look at the servants before speaking cautiously.

[Butler] "When the maid said Madam wanted the diamond, I escorted her to the vault. As you know, only Madam and I possess keys to the door."

[C. Sorwen] "Indeed."

[Butler] "Yet when we stepped inside, the diamond was gone. I knew the culprit had to be one of the four servants who entered the vault with me earlier, so I began interrogating them."

Satina listened to the butler's explanation and spoke up.

[Satina] "Why do you assume the culprit is a servant? The diamond could have vanished before then."

The butler frowned at Satina's intrusion, shutting his mouth in mild discomfort.

[C. Sorwen] "Tell her."

With her permission, the butler finally spoke.

[Butler] "Madam ordered me to retrieve the diamond from Broucheiron a week ago. I verified the gem then and placed it safely in the vault. No one entered afterward until I brought four servants to store a painting this morning. The diamond vanished during that time, so one of them must have stolen it."

[Satina] "Could someone have snuck in secretly?"

[Butler] "That is impossible. Only Madam and I hold keys, and two guards stand watch at the entrance around the clock."

[Satina] "What if the guards themselves stole it?"

[Butler] "If an item vanishes on their watch, the guards face severe punishment. They would never risk it."

Which means they would be executed.

Satina read the butler's expression. In that case, his suspicion of the servants made sense.

The nearby servants erupted in protest at his accusation.

[Servant] "Calling us thieves is cruel! We are innocent!"

[Servant] "Indeed! You watched us the entire time we moved the painting into the vault! How could any of us steal the diamond?!"

[Butler] "Silence! The diamond is small enough to slip into a pocket!"

The servants shouted back in defense.

[Servant] "Didn't you search our bodies the second we stepped out of the vault for that very reason?!"

[Servant] "You checked even inside our clothes, so how could we have taken it?!"

The butler stood speechless.

The vault contained immense wealth, so protocol required strict searches for anyone entering or leaving. Knowing he would take the blame if anything vanished, the butler had searched every servant thoroughly from head to toe, finding nothing.

Just then, one of the servants spoke up.

[Servant] "Did you steal it yourself and try to frame us?!"

Desperate to avoid being branded as thieves, the other servants joined in.

[Servant] "Precisely! Are you not the one holding the key?!"

[Servant] "What could servants like us possibly do?!"

[Butler] "Wh-What? You fools...! What utter nonsense! I have served this family for generations! Why would I betray my master?!"

He turned a flustered look toward the Countess.

[Butler] "Madam! Don't listen to their lies! Knowing I would be the primary suspect if an item vanished, why would I risk everything?!"

A servant shouted over him.

[Servant] "Because you planned to frame us! He is the true thief, Madam!"

[Butler] "Stop spouting nonsense! I am innocent, Madam!"

[Servant] "Please judge fairly, Madam!"

[Butler] "Madam!"

Accusations flew back and forth as chaos erupted outside the vault.

[C. Sorwen] "Enough!"

She snapped in frustration.

The servants made a fair point, but so did the butler.

Could the guards be the culprits? Yet men who knew that losing an item meant immediate execution would never risk such a crime.

Did one of the servants steal it? Yet they had moved under the butler's watchful eye and undergone a strict search immediately upon leaving.

Was it the butler after all? Yet he had served House Sorwen for generations, and holding the only other key made him the prime suspect.

Countess Sorwen groaned. The more she thought about it, the more tangled the truth became.

Just then, her eyes landed on Satina, who stood watching quietly.

Between uncovering the truth about the Marchioness' nephew and resolving the dress scandal, Satina clearly possessed a knack for solving complex mysteries. Now, the Countess could witness the brilliant mind the Marchioness had praised so relentlessly.

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and delight.

[C. Sorwen] "Lady Satina, if you don't mind, may I entrust this matter to you?"

[Satina] "To me?"

[C. Sorwen] "Yes! If you reveal the culprit behind this theft, I will gladly write your recommendation letter!"

Satina considered the offer briefly and nodded.

[Satina] "Understood. I shall investigate the matter at once."

[C. Sorwen] "Please do!"

Satina stepped forward, weighing her options.

I have no choice if I want the recommendation letter. Still, at least the suspects are limited.

She looked at the system window floating beside the butler.

[Occupation: Butler of House Sorwen]

[Current Status: Unfairly framed and frustrated. Prolonged stress risks illness; caution required.]

Since the system window never lied, the culprit was undeniably one of the four servants.

The theft clearly occurred while the painting was being placed in the vault this morning. The question was who stole it, and how.

Satina decided to examine the vault and the circumstances surrounding the theft first.

[Satina] "May I inspect the vault?"

At her request, the Countess opened the vault.

Satina scanned the interior of the vault. Her gaze landed on a large painting resting against one wall, the very piece the servants had brought down from the dining room that morning.

[Satina] "Where was the diamond originally kept?"

[Butler] "Over here."

The butler stepped forward cautiously and pointed to a small, palm-sized box beside the painting.

Satina opened the box and found it empty.

Anyone standing where the painting rested could reach the box with ease. Snatching the gem would be simple if there was a brief distraction.

Yet under the butler's watchful eye, how could an opportunity arise?

Ah…..

Satina remembered hearing a maid scream while she was conversing with the Countess earlier.

[Satina] "Butler, did you happen to hear a maid scream while you were inside the vault?"

[Butler] "A scream... Ah, yes! I heard it clearly! While I was supervising the servants with the painting, a scream and the sound of breaking glass echoed outside!"

[Satina] "Did you turn to look at the door when that happened?"

[Butler] "I did."

They stole it then.

Satina closed the box and pieced the timeline together.

When a sudden noise shattered the silence, people naturally turned toward the source. Even Satina and the Countess had paused their conversation to see what happened.

While everyone looked away toward the doorway, someone had swiftly snatched the diamond. In that case, the maid's fall was likely orchestrated by the thief.

Satina exited the vault and walked over to where the maid had fallen. A short distance from the doorway, she found slick oil coating the floorboards.

So that's what happened.

The Countess had eagerly anticipated the arrival of the new painting for days. One of the servants must have learned of the schedule, spilled oil along the corridor to trigger a scene, and used the chaos to swipe the gem.

Yet the most critical question remained.

Wait. Where is the diamond now?

Satina looked back at the four suspects. If one of them had taken the diamond, the body search should have uncovered it.

Where on earth was the missing gem hidden?

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