Rebecca turned away from the fireplace, clicking her tongue in regret, and exited the room.
The maid who was waiting outside the door followed after her.
“Milady, what should I do with the black dress you had ordered earlier?”
“Toss it.”
She had bought it to mourn in, since she would have needed to attend her younger brother’s funeral, squeezing out sorrowful tears, if he had died in a “robbery.”
“…Ah, don’t do that.” Rebecca suddenly changed her mind.
“Leave it for now. I think I’ll be needing it soon.”
“Yes, Milady.”
“Miss Rebecca!”
A servant came running to Rebecca from a distance.
Viscount Marezon had called for her.
***
“What the hell were you thinking, Rebecca?!”
The viscount unleashed his fury the moment Rebecca stepped in his study.
Rebecca looked at the viscount with a calm face. “What do you mean, Father?”
“You… If you hadn’t said to imprison Incan in the fief for life, none of this would have happened!”
“Please speak in a way that I can easily understand you.”
“That bastard Incan wouldn’t have done such a crazy thing if he hadn’t been driven into a corner!”
It was Rebecca’s idea to imprison Incan in the fief for life.
At the time, Viscount Marezon had no qualms about going along with her idea.
He didn’t remember exactly why he agreed, but by the time he came to his senses, he had already decided to lock his son up permanently.
And he thought it didn’t matter anyway because his son was useless compared to his daughter.
“Who would have thought that that lacking bastard would do such a thing…”
“Calm down, Father. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?!” Viscount Marezon slammed his desk.
“Do you think that Count Mayhard will just let this go? Absolutely not. He might accuse our family of being aware of Incan’s schemes and conniving at them.”
The viscount’s fist trembled.
“He will retaliate without a doubt. This is completely different from Incan laying a hand on those maids. To think he tried to kidnap the duchess…”
“Father.”
“I’m sure he’ll sanction us so that we can no longer conduct business. If he decides to start hindering our distribution, there are no countermeasures I can take. It’s sufficiently possible, with the amount of capital that bastard has. Dammit, all my hard work to elevate this family’s status will be for naught because of some monster bast…”
“Father, calm down—”
“This is all your fault!” The viscount stopped anxiously muttering to return to his original point.
“Why did you propose such an idea to begin with! This family is going to collapse because of you!”
“Haa.” Rebecca sighed.
She pressed her temples as if her head hurt and then spoke. “Just shut up.”
“What?”
“I feel my head ringing because of your noise, so quit shrieking and just shut your mouth, Father.”
“What did you just say…”
For a moment, Viscount Marezon sat frozen, unable to register what he had just heard. Then, he jumped out of his seat, enraged.
And in that moment, he approached Rebecca threateningly, like he was going to slap her cheek.
“Rebecca, how dare you speak like that…!”
Shing—
An odd light shone from Rebecca’s necklace towards Viscount Marezon.
A crimson light.
Viscount Marezon stopped in his tracks.
Then, his expression slowly spaced out and his eyes glazed over.
Rebecca looked into the viscount’s unfocused eyes and asked, “You’re going to shut up now, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Go back and sit down.”
Viscount Marezon obediently walked over to the desk and sat in his chair.
Watching her father act like a docile dog, she spoke again.
“I’ll make sure that Duke Mayhard doesn’t treat us as Incan’s accomplices, so don’t worry about that.”
“…Okay.”
“Don’t look for me anymore for the rest of the day. Just meekly do your job.”
“…All right.”
The light shining from Rebecca’s necklace disappeared.
She turned around and left the study.
‘First, I’ll do what needs to be taken care of immediately. And as for the duchess…’
Rebecca shifted her gaze downwards, her long eyelashes forming shadows beneath her eyes.
‘…I’d hate to keep feeling this uneasiness, so I’ll have to wait for the opportunity to get rid of her.’
Rebecca walked through the corridor at a slightly brisk pace.
***
“That’s strange.”
Sitting at the desk in her bedroom, Yelena bobbed her ankle and tapped the end of her quill pen on the desk.
‘Why haven’t they replied yet?’
Rebecca turned away from the fireplace, clicking her tongue in regret, and exited the room.
The maid who was waiting outside the door followed after her.
“Milady, what should I do with the black dress you had ordered earlier?”
“Toss it.”
She had bought it to mourn in, since she would have needed to attend her younger brother’s funeral, squeezing out sorrowful tears, if he had died in a “robbery.”
“…Ah, don’t do that.” Rebecca suddenly changed her mind.
“Leave it for now. I think I’ll be needing it soon.”
“Yes, Milady.”
“Miss Rebecca!”
A servant came running to Rebecca from a distance.
Viscount Marezon had called for her.
***
“What the hell were you thinking, Rebecca?!”
The viscount unleashed his fury the moment Rebecca stepped in his study.
Rebecca looked at the viscount with a calm face. “What do you mean, Father?”
“You… If you hadn’t said to imprison Incan in the fief for life, none of this would have happened!”
“Please speak in a way that I can easily understand you.”
“That bastard Incan wouldn’t have done such a crazy thing if he hadn’t been driven into a corner!”
It was Rebecca’s idea to imprison Incan in the fief for life.
At the time, Viscount Marezon had no qualms about going along with her idea.
He didn’t remember exactly why he agreed, but by the time he came to his senses, he had already decided to lock his son up permanently.
And he thought it didn’t matter anyway because his son was useless compared to his daughter.
“Who would have thought that that lacking bastard would do such a thing…”
“Calm down, Father. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?!” Viscount Marezon slammed his desk.
“Do you think that Count Mayhard will just let this go? Absolutely not. He might accuse our family of being aware of Incan’s schemes and conniving at them.”
The viscount’s fist trembled.
“He will retaliate without a doubt. This is completely different from Incan laying a hand on those maids. To think he tried to kidnap the duchess…”
“Father.”
“I’m sure he’ll sanction us so that we can no longer conduct business. If he decides to start hindering our distribution, there are no countermeasures I can take. It’s sufficiently possible, with the amount of capital that bastard has. Dammit, all my hard work to elevate this family’s status will be for naught because of some monster bast…”
“Father, calm down—”
“This is all your fault!” The viscount stopped anxiously muttering to return to his original point.
“Why did you propose such an idea to begin with! This family is going to collapse because of you!”
“Haa.” Rebecca sighed.
She pressed her temples as if her head hurt and then spoke. “Just shut up.”
“What?”
“I feel my head ringing because of your noise, so quit shrieking and just shut your mouth, Father.”
“What did you just say…”
For a moment, Viscount Marezon sat frozen, unable to register what he had just heard. Then, he jumped out of his seat, enraged.
And in that moment, he approached Rebecca threateningly, like he was going to slap her cheek.
“Rebecca, how dare you speak like that…!”
Shing—
An odd light shone from Rebecca’s necklace towards Viscount Marezon.
A crimson light.
Viscount Marezon stopped in his tracks.
Then, his expression slowly spaced out and his eyes glazed over.
Rebecca looked into the viscount’s unfocused eyes and asked, “You’re going to shut up now, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Go back and sit down.”
Viscount Marezon obediently walked over to the desk and sat in his chair.
Watching her father act like a docile dog, she spoke again.
“I’ll make sure that Duke Mayhard doesn’t treat us as Incan’s accomplices, so don’t worry about that.”
“…Okay.”
“Don’t look for me anymore for the rest of the day. Just meekly do your job.”
“…All right.”
The light shining from Rebecca’s necklace disappeared.
She turned around and left the study.
‘First, I’ll do what needs to be taken care of immediately. And as for the duchess…’
Rebecca shifted her gaze downwards, her long eyelashes forming shadows beneath her eyes.
‘…I’d hate to keep feeling this uneasiness, so I’ll have to wait for the opportunity to get rid of her.’
Rebecca walked through the corridor at a slightly brisk pace.
***
“That’s strange.”
Sitting at the desk in her bedroom, Yelena bobbed her ankle and tapped the end of her quill pen on the desk.
‘Why haven’t they replied yet?’
