The past week has been stressful, to say the least. First, I had to attend a noble party, then Letty had a fight with some hooligans, then she was kidnapped and was rescued shortly afterwards. But if that wasn’t enough, the main suspect is Beatrice herself.

 

Putting aside the fact that I had to listen to Mom’s long lecture about public decency, the rest of the journey home was pretty peaceful.

 

It was clear that Beatrice was involved in Letty’s case, but what’s weird is that she had nothing to gain from this reckless act. So why did she do it?

 

Hah, it’s a mess. Hopefully, Dad will be able to uncover some evidence that would solve it.

 

Carolina and Sophia heard about what happened, and they both consoled Letty. I kinda feel like Letty is dealing with it much better than I am.

 

If only Letty had agreed to stay here back then, none of this would have happened. Even her identity is revealed to Beatrice. I hope she either forgets about Letty or doesn’t recognize her at the time of our engagement. Well, whatever happens, happens. I’ll somehow deal with it when the time comes.

 

Anyway, my next course of action is clear, I need to do something about our safety. We can’t always rely on others.

 

***

 

A few days later, in Baron Richard’s office,

 

“Come in, Sweety and Miss Letica. I’ve received a detailed report about the kidnapping incident. And here’s what we know”

 

We took a seat on the couch at the center, and Dad joined us on the other side of the table.

 

“We investigated the locations that Miss Letica reported. First, the place where she fought the mugger and turned him over to the city guards. They are made up of men, women, and children, and they typically operate in small groups to rob and trick innocent people. The city guards have been struggling to capture them”, he said.

 

“Yes, that must be them! One of them was a little child. I feel a little bad for him”, Letty said.

 

He nodded and continued,

“We found him, and after pulling some strings, one of my men was able to interrogate the mugger in the prison, and he helped us narrow down the possible suspects.

Upon investigating, we found a group of trio among the suspects missing from the city. We searched the prisons, but we were unable to find them. After digging around a little more and bribing the other suspects, we were able to locate the culprits. They were on the run, miles away from the city”

 

“Wasn’t the maid supposed to take care of them? How did they flee the city?”, I asked.

 

“Apparently, they slipped away before the maid could ‘take care of them’.

But… Thankfully, my men are pretty competent, they tracked them down, apprehended them, and interrogated them. They were brought here about half an hour ago. And the good news is that they are indeed the culprits that we are looking for. Let’s see what they have to say for themselves”

 

He clapped three times, and his trusty knight, Sir Nicol, brought the trio inside the room.

 

It looks like they are under some sort of intimidation skill, as they are constantly trembling at the sight of Sir Nicol.

 

“Now then, I presume that you know why you’re here. The first person to speak will have a slightly easier time, although neither of you should expect mercy", Dad said in a menacing tone. It’s my first time seeing him like this, and honestly, he’s kinda scary.

 

“I wasn’t even part of the plan. They made me tag along. I’m innocent, I swear. Miss Aria, I’m so sorry for all this, please forgive me”, the taller one said to Letty.

 

Do they still think that Letty is Aria? Can’t they see the obvious maid uniform that she’s wearing?

 

“Shut your excuses and eyes on me! Tell me every little detail of what transpired. ‘Innocent’ is the last thing you should claim to be”, he said.

 

All of them jolted and fixed their eyes on Dad.

 

“I’ll tell you. We were approached by a masked man. He said that some noble girl named Aria was the one who got our newest members behind bars. He then said, for enacting revenge as well as to strike good fortune, we should kidnap her and ask for a good ransom. He even gave us the approximate location of the room that she was staying in. And by the description that he gave, we found her and kidnapped her”, one of the other culprits said.

 

“This masked man, what do you know about him?”. Dad asked them.

 

“He was wearing a thick robe along with the mask. So we don’t know much. All we know is that he knew a great deal about the mansion and Miss Aria. Just as he said, there were no guards where we broke in. We followed his plan and got away… until that mage arrived and caught us”, the culprit replied.

 

“The mage arrived at my doorstep first, she threatened to kill me if I didn’t tell her the girl’s whereabouts. Then she left as soon as she got what she needed. And afterwards, I searched for the two of them, freed them, and we fled the city”, the taller one said.

 

“Are you people really that stupid to attempt to kidnap a noble based on some random guy’s suggestion? Do you realize the consequences of your action?”, he asked. His tone clearly showed how pissed he was.

 

“We do. We were blinded by greed, alright. Just spare us this once”, they replied.

 

“Oh no, no, for attempting to kidnap my daughter and for kidnapping her best friend. I will ensure that justice is served and you are held accountable for your crimes. Sir Nicol, take them away”

 

As they were being taken back, I said, “By the way, I’m Aria, the one you thought that you had kidnapped. And this is Letty, my best friend as well as my maid, the one you kidnapped”, they turned and looked at me, “You should have never attempted to harm her. Make sure to repent your actions throughout your time in prison, and NEVER SHOW YOUR FACES TO ME EVER AGAIN”

 

I heard them whimper lightly, Sir Nicol must have used his intimidation skill again.

 

As we watched them being taken away, Letty held my palm to calm me down.

 

“Don’t worry, Baby, they won’t be a problem anymore. And it’s clear that the actual target was indeed Miss Letica. According to her testimony, as well as the fact that the masked man was able to provide such detailed information about the mansion and guards, the masked man and Lady Beatrice must be somehow connected”, Dad said.

 

“But seeing that Lady Beatrice genuinely did rescue her, albeit covered up later, entails that the masked man must be working on his own, and Lady Beatrice cleared up the mess he created. Either way, we know for a fact that they are related, and they’ve made a big mistake by crossing our paths”, he continued.

 

Hmm, but what if it happens again…

 

“You’re saying that, but what can we even do about her? Even after such an extensive investigation, we didn’t get any solid proof about her involvement. All we have is Letty’s and those idiots’ testimony. That won’t be nearly enough to accuse her of such a serious crime. So what can we even do?”, I asked.

 

It’s the sad truth, even if we have more testimonies, it’s Letty’s, and those idiots’ words against her own. And she can make up hundreds of false testimonies as the incident occurred in her own mansion.

 

“It’s true that we can’t do anything… jurisdictionally that is. We can still retaliate by means of interrupting their trade and commerce. I’m so sorry Baby, but that’s the most I can do as of now”, he said.

 

“It’s alright Dad, and thank you. You’ve helped me enough. It's my fault for letting this happen in the first place. I’ll see what I can do on my own”, I said.

 

“Hah, look at you taking responsibility for your people, you’ve grown up, Sweety. You’re making me proud”, he said.

 

“Hmph, then stop calling me with your silly nickname, and call me like any normal person would”

 

“I mean, you haven’t grown that much, you know. You’re still my lil Pumpkin”

 

"Just great, you added another one to the list. And who even calls a grown woman 'Pumpkin' anyway?"

 

“Hehehe”, “Hahaha”, Letty and Dad chuckled in unison.