Chapter 35
33
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This morning, Marquis Rinko woke up with a bad feeling. In his dream, the deceased former Duke had appeared, stared down at him for a long time, and then disappeared.
“Ill-omened from the morning.”
The Marquis didn’t believe in dreams or superstitions. Normally, he would have forgotten the dream as soon as he got out of bed, but today, even sitting in his office, the unpleasant chill wouldn’t go away. He couldn’t concentrate, and feeling somewhat unwell, he was about to get up.
Urgent footsteps approached. A chilling sensation, as if his heart was sinking, spread throughout his body.
Unable to overcome the anxiety coiling in his heart, the Marquis practically ran to the door. He flung it open, startling the man who was about to knock, causing him to step back in surprise.
“M-Marquis!”
“What is it?!”
He desperately hoped it was something that didn’t require his attention, but the report that reached the Marquis’s ears was impossible to ignore.
“All the chief financial officers have been summoned?!”
The Marquis sat back down at his desk with a hardened expression, and the surrounding nobles, looking uneasy, cautiously inquired.
“Marquis, what’s wrong?”
“Did you find the missing documents?!!”
“The classification is complete now. Still searching for…”
“Check if the recent quarterly financial documents are there! Quickly!”
Feeling a cold unease stirring inside him like a snake, he prayed that the missing documents weren’t those. But the damned dream ultimately manifested into reality.
“It’s gone?”
“Yes. The recent quarterly financial summary documents are missing.”
One document with discrepancies, five responsible parties.
They would each try to shift the blame onto the others, offering different explanations. If the mess of the documents was revealed, Walter would undoubtedly use it as an excuse to seize control of the finances.
The Marquis suppressed the urge to shout and desperately racked his brain. He couldn’t hand over this castle to a greenhorn.
The Marquis summoned only the necessary personnel to the secret chamber and commanded.
“Recreate the missing documents right now. The money that doesn’t add up, attribute it to the five people summoned by the Duke.”
“Marquis, that’s…”
“This is the Duke’s ploy to expel all current financial personnel from the castle. If you don’t do this, you’ll not only be kicked out of the castle, but you’ll also have to cough up a massive amount of money you’ve never even seen. Do you want that?”
He had to cut off the tail.
While the nobles, under the Marquis’s secret orders, desperately reconciled the documents and shifted everyone’s blame onto the five, the Marquis pondered who among the five to kill and who to save. Placing the blame on all five was too risky.
It was wiser to pin the blame on the most useless and unhelpful person and cut them off.
But as luck would have it, in this moment of crisis, the goddess of victory was on his side. While racking his brain, he received joyful news from his wife.
“So, the Duke’s mistress assaulted Count Lewen’s daughter’s maid, is that it?”
The chill receded, and elation surged.
Relying on the Duke’s empty prestige and acting out. He couldn’t be more grateful. Since the Duke had given the Chandelier Room to such a woman, the nobles would inevitably doubt his judgment.
“Send word to expel that impudent woman from the castle at this opportunity.”
Hold on. If the situation unfolds like this, people’s attention will shift to the Duke and his mistress, and this financial matter might fade away?
But the hope that sprouted from anxiety was short-lived, as news arrived that shattered it.
“M-Marquis! His Excellency has summoned the head of security for the castle!”
“Why the head of security all of a sudden!!!”
“He’s holding him responsible for the maid confinement incident last night…”
“N-No! What happened that the head of security is being summoned over that!!”
Unable to bear it any longer, the Marquis rushed to meet the Duke himself. But, for some reason, Count Lewen, the head of security, was walking towards him from afar?! The Marquis hurried to the Count, who was pale and dazed, and grabbed his arm tightly.
“Are you alright? No, more importantly, what did His Excellency say to you?!”
“Oh, excuse me!”
The Marquis’s eyes creaked as they followed the large young man who whizzed past him. Joseph Rexton, who had turned the office upside down like a wild boar digging up crops, was walking away with a clearly excited gait. The problem was the thick stack of papers he was holding in his arms.
“What is that bastard taking away now?”
The Marquis, feeling a chill down his spine, asked with forced composure, and Count Lewen bit his lip and replied.
“Documents regarding the Richmond Ducal family’s internal military strength…”
“Huh?”
“I couldn’t help it, Marquis. He said he couldn’t trust the internal forces of the castle who knew nothing about the confinement incident…”
The Marquis briefly wondered if this was a dream. The Duke, who had just returned yesterday, was meddling with finances and military strength, and they were just watching it happen. As he blankly retraced reality, the ghost of the former Duke, looking down at him with a dark gaze like the shadow of a ruined castle, flickered before his eyes.
‘I trust you, Marquis Rinko.’
A gentle, warm voice scratched at the Marquis’s eardrums.
Black hair and black eyes, the Duke’s back as he sat atop a massive warhorse. Beyond his shoulders, the vast lands of Richmond stretched out.
‘If anything happens to me, I entrust my mother and Walter to you.’
The Marquis was startled and ran towards his office as if fleeing. Then, he took in everything in the office, confirming it all. The desk, the chair, even the quill that the former Duke had used, were all his.
Yes, it’s all mine.
His bloodshot eyes gleamed coldly. He wasn’t afraid of ghosts. He couldn’t turn back now, nor could he give up.
“It’s mine. Everything in this castle is… mine.”
The Marquis repeated those words several times. The damp voice of a once-wise man moistened the dry air.
＊ ＊ ＊
Mrs. Isaac felt the truth of the saying that her insides were melting and rotting away. Her head was burning, but her stomach was cold, as if her intestines were rotting and about to fall out.
“Is this all the budget for the Grand Duchess?!”
Despite her angry voice, the Marquis’s maid didn’t bat an eye and retorted.
“It was drawn up according to the budget the Grand Duchess used last quarter, so what’s the problem?”
“The budget from last quarter was also problematic!! At this rate, the Grand Duchess won’t even be able to buy a single outfit for this winter. And you ask what’s the problem!”
As Mrs. Isaac grew angry, the Marquis’s maid wore a subtle smile.
“Well, I don’t know, Mrs. Isaac. You hardly ever come out of the detached palace, so do you really need new clothes…? Ahem, if you’re really dissatisfied with the budget, go to the finance department and complain. Of course, it would be best if the Grand Duchess went herself.”
“……”
“Oh, but you know. How is the Grand Duchess doing?”
As Mrs. Isaac’s expression hardened, the Marquis’s maid covered her mouth with a fan and laughed. Whether it was an item brought in from the East, the fan with exotic patterns embroidered on it sparkled in the sunlight.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, so I was just worried. The Duke, whom she missed so much, has returned, but she hasn’t gotten up. That’s a bit unexpected. Well, these days, what isn’t unexpected?”
The Marquis’s maid left with a mocking laugh and leisurely disappeared.
Over the past decade, her treatment had gradually worsened, like clothes getting wet in a drizzle. Protecting the side of an owner who had given up her rights was too difficult. Even reacting to the ridicule was burdensome and exhausting.
But she couldn’t afford to collapse either. Mrs. Isaac composed her disheveled face and straightened her back. Then, she walked elegantly down the chilly, shabby corridor as if it were a part of the royal palace.
Eliza’s bedroom, the only place in the detached palace with warmth. Eliza was, for once, awake.
“Grand Duchess.”
Mrs. Isaac felt a surge of joy and quickly ran to Eliza. Although she was sitting leaning against the bed, it was a welcome sight compared to her always lying down, enough to bring joy.
“Why is it so noisy?”
Mrs. Isaac quickly replied to the slow question.
“The Marchioness’s maid visited.”
A cautious expectation rose in Mrs. Isaac’s heart. Eliza, who had been stagnant like still water, had gotten up on her own and even said it was noisy, so perhaps she would ask why the Marchioness’s maid had visited.
However, Eliza ruthlessly only gestured with a dry hand towards the window where the light was coming in.
“Draw the curtains. I need to sleep more.”
“……”
Mrs. Isaac hadn’t cried even when the former Duke’s obituary had been delivered. But now, she wanted to cry out loud. If only she would ask why the Marchioness’s maid had visited, how the castle was turning, if only she would ask, she was ready to tell her step by step about the past.
“What are you doing, Arwen. I said draw the curtains.”
But Mrs. Isaac couldn’t disobey Eliza’s command. While withering away with her mistress, she could only pray and pray that her mistress would wake up.
But Mrs. Isaac’s hand, which was drawing the curtains with a heavy touch, stopped in mid-air. Her eyes flickered finely.
A pair of men and women were approaching the detached palace along the path in the back garden.
