Chapter 21
The world was sweet.
Recently, Karl Winzer truly believed so.
<The Maclir, led by Lumie Winzer, brings news of victory once again!>
His foster son had achieved another great victory.
“Papa?”
“It’s a gift, Alice.”
“Wow. A rabbit doll? It’s so cute. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m the one who’s grateful. To think my daughter, whom I thought was just a little child, has grown up so wonderfully.”
“Hehe.”
“I hear the Moonlight Flower bulbs are incredibly popular, too? That’s my daughter for you. I’m so proud.”
“Thank you.”
His daughter had also grown into an excellent talent.
Despite that, she was innocent enough to be delighted by a simple gift like a rabbit doll.
And that wasn’t all.
‘Dana’s fortune will soon be mine as well.’
Thinking of Dana’s inheritance made Karl feel as giddy as a young boy.
Everything was perfect. Everything.
“Papa? What’s that?”
“Hm? Oh, this is a gift for Dana.”
“What? For Sister Dana?”
“Yes. If I only give a gift to you, Dana might feel left out.”
“Is that… a diamond necklace?”
“Indeed. Isn’t jewelry the best gift to soften a woman’s heart?”
Karl spoke brightly with a smile.
“Dana is kind, so she hasn’t said much, but she must be devastated inside. After what happened with the Crown Prince.”
Yes. Surely her insides were rotting away.
He had just received a report from a maid a moment ago.
It was the same maid who had informed him of the argument between Alice and Dana previously.
“Lady Danae is crying right now.”
She must be nursing the wounds of betrayal from the Crown Prince in solitude.
And such a moment was exactly when he needed to step in.
‘Yes, people tend to trust the one who comforts them when they are hurting.’
He couldn’t let anyone else take that role. That was why he had prepared a gift in such a hurry.
“…But she hit me. She made you whip me.”
His daughter grumbled childishly. Karl almost sighed, but he barely managed to hold it in.
“If you think about it, that level of anger is only natural. Didn’t you and the Crown Prince deceive Dana completely?”
“Still.”
“After getting angry that one time, Dana acknowledged the love between you and Prince Raios. That’s something only a person with a great heart could do.”
Karl truly thought so.
Acknowledge your fiancé’s lover—that wasn’t something just anyone could do.
“As Dana’s guardian, I must offer her some comfort. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes…”
As expected, his daughter was obedient.
After roughly soothing Alice, Karl headed toward Dana’s room.
However…
“Dana? Are you there?”
Knock, knock, knock.
He knocked on the door, but no answer came.
Then, a maid approached him cautiously.
“Um, Vice Family Head. Lady Danae has stepped out for a moment.”
“Thank you, Miss Emily.”
At his perfect smile, the maid’s face turned bright red all the way to her neck as she hurriedly bowed her head.
Karl was about to turn away when he stopped as if something had just occurred to him.
“Miss Emily. If you don’t mind, could you do me a favor?”
“Yes?”
“I’d like you to buy a bouquet of flowers.”
“Pardon? A bouquet? Wh-what kind of flowers?”
“I’ll leave it to your preference, Miss Emily. Please bring them to my office.”
The maid disappeared with an ecstatic expression. Karl watched her retreating back with a smile.
He kept watching until…
He pulled a key from his pocket and slid it into the handle of Dana’s bedroom door, humming to himself.
Though no one knew, he possessed a key to Dana’s bedroom. And he had been inspecting it periodically.
‘Pests might swarm around Dana.’
It was only natural for ants to swarm around sweet candy.
Especially now that the Crown Prince, who used to monopolize that candy, was looking elsewhere, there was no way fearless ants wouldn’t try to gather.
‘That won’t do. Dana’s fortune is mine.’
If there were any greedy men lusting after Dana, they needed to be removed in advance. To do that, he had to monitor Dana and be well-versed in her private life.
But then.
‘Hm?’
The door wasn’t locked?
Dana always kept her door locked. Yet today, it was open.
Which meant…
‘Did she leave in a hurry?’
What on earth could have happened for her to leave without even locking her door?
He peered into the room with a puzzled look.
And there, he discovered something quite bizarre.
[To my eternal flower, Danae.]
A love letter was sitting on the desk. Not only that, there was even a bouquet of Moonlight Flowers.
Karl was shocked.
A bouquet of Moonlight Flowers?
When even a single stem was hard to come by, who on earth would send such an extravagant gift!
‘Who is this person?’
[The years I have spent watching you from afar have been so long. I was so anxious that your most beautiful age, twenty-three, might pass by.]
Furthermore, the contents of the love letter were nothing short of foul.
[I hope the Crown Prince has kept your purity intact until now. I wish to be your first man.]
Karl’s face froze cold. He was so enraged that his hair felt like it was standing on end.
What kind of lowly bastard would say such vulgar things!
Karl hurried his gaze to the bottom of the letter.
The sender’s name was…
“…Juan Rolland?”
For a moment, it felt like he’d been struck on the back of the head. It was an entirely unexpected name.
“Juan Rolland, you…”
Karl spat out the name syllable by syllable in a chilling voice.
“You dare.”
You dare try to take Dana—my fortune—away from me?
The man’s intentions were obvious. He was clearly trying to seduce the innocent Dana and strip her of her wealth!
That was my role!
He quickly pulled open a drawer. It was filled with love letters, all of them from Juan Rolland.
His fingertips trembled with rage as he read the letters.
‘Has this bastard been seducing Dana all this time?’
Then did Dana leave in a hurry after receiving this letter? To meet that bastard Juan?
It made sense; in a moment of loneliness and sorrow like this, she would want someone to lean on.
Karl’s head spun in confusion. The worst-case scenarios began to pour into his mind.
What if Danae accepted his proposal out of spite?
What if they eloped?
What if the two of them ran away with her entire fortune!
‘That can never happen!’
He dashed out of the room. He grabbed a passing servant and questioned him rapidly.
“Do you know where Juan is right now?”
“Pardon?”
“Have you seen Juan? Or Danae?”
“I-I saw them by the pond in the rear garden. Master Juan is currently with Lady Danae…”
At those words, Karl’s vision turned red.
Last night, Juan had received a letter from Danae.
[Let us meet by the pond in the rear garden at noon tomorrow. I have something to tell you.]
It was a letter that brought an automatic smile to his face.
“Wahahaha!”
The Love Potion. It seemed it really worked. To think she would respond so immediately!
Contrary to his hopes, however, she didn’t seem to have become a complete simpleton.
Still, this was a start.
‘Finally, Danae is mine!’
That astronomical fortune is all mine now!
What should I do with that money? How should I spend my time playing!
Juan spent nearly the entire night awake, designing such a hopeful future.
The next day, as soon as it turned noon, he ran out to the pond in the rear garden.
Danae was already standing by the pond, waiting for him.
“Danae. You were here. Have you been waiting long?”
But then…
“Danae? What’s wrong?”
Danae’s condition didn’t look good.
Her shoulders were slumped as if she were discouraged, and her eyes were rimmed with red.
Had she been crying?
“Oh dear, why are you crying, Danae?”
He pretended to be worried, but Juan was actually in a good mood.
‘She must have fallen ill with love. She must have cried all night because she missed me.’
That feminine appearance was quite a sight to behold. Indeed, this is how a woman should be.
“There, there. I don’t know what’s wrong, but cheer up.”
Juan suggested as he slyly placed his hand on her shoulder.
It was then.
“Juan Rolland!”
Startled by the shout from behind, Juan turned his head.
Karl Winzer—his brother-in-law—was charging toward them.
And in that moment.
“Please, just stop this already!”
Suddenly, Danae burst into tears and covered her face with both hands.
“Please stop tormenting me! I don’t want to elope with you or anything like that!”
Juan stood there with his mouth agape, looking dazed. What on earth was she talking about?
“Please, just leave me alone!”
And her cry reached Karl’s ears as well.
“Juan Rolland, you dare!”
Karl immediately grabbed Juan by the collar and swung his fist with a fierce intensity.
