Chapter 81
The Frail Duke’s Obsession (3)
“But I see that you came personally instead of the butler?”
“The butler had some matters to attend to and was absent, so I came on his behalf… hahaha.”
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Logan didn’t seem willing to step inside from where he was standing at the entrance.
No—he didn’t even glance toward the duke’s side.
Elucia knew this but chose to ignore it.
She understood his displeasure at having to serve a lord who was a bastard, not a legitimate heir.
“Still, Sir Logan does his duty as best he can.”
Winning his favor would be the duke’s responsibility moving forward.
Elucia walked toward Logan and stood before him.
“It seems His Grace the Duke is quite fatigued.”
Logan glanced at Aster with a tense expression.
“So he is concerned after all… it’s okay to express this a little.”
But before she could dwell on that thought, Logan’s reluctant voice reached her ears.
“Is… he in pain?”
Elucia tilted her head, thinking she misheard, and replied.
“Yes. He had some pain until a little while ago. Is the carriage outside?”
“…Yes, it is.”
“That’s a relief. I was a bit worried since today has been strenuous for him. Well then, I’ll leave His Grace in your care.”
“…!”
Logan’s face went pale. He instinctively glanced at Aster.
The intense, crimson glare made his brain feel as if it was being crushed.
“Damn it. That summoning artifact was given to her by the butler for emergencies. That’s why the carriage was rushed here. And yet… what the hell, why is she asking me to take His Grace!”
Logan felt deeply wronged. A few days ago, when the butler handed Elucia the summoning artifact, he hadn’t thought much of it. Even when the butler came to him holding the blinking artifact, it hadn’t seemed significant.
“Sir Logan, it seems something has happened to the young lady. Please hurry.”
That had been the situation then. But what was this cursed turn of events?!
Elucia, unaware that Logan’s life was in immediate danger, grabbed Aster’s arm. Sensing this, the quick-thinking Noel hurried over to hold it for her.
“I’ll support him, Lucy.”
“Oh, will you?”
“…Fine. I’ll do it.”
Aster gently removed Noel’s hand from his arm, his touch carrying emotion.
“If that is more comfortable for Your Grace.”
Noel, smiling slyly, obediently stepped back. He had never liked Elucia touching Aster in the first place, so he felt no loss.
Understanding this, Aster glared at Noel once before rising silently.
“I’ll take my leave now, Elucia.”
“Thank you so much for your help today.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Please go safely.”
Aster nodded briefly and swiftly turned away. Elucia, smiling brightly, called out to Logan behind him.
“Sir Logan, please be careful not to shake the carriage.”
“…Yes, my lady.”
Damn it.
Logan followed Aster with a pale face, his lifespan seemingly draining rapidly in that very moment.
Once they exited the shop, Elucia looked to the side as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“You should hurry along as well. Let’s go quickly.”
Pushed out of the shop by Elucia, Noel went straight to the Klaus estate.
After arriving at the mansion, he took a quick shower and sank onto the sofa. His entire body felt heavy, as if he were made of iron, drained from emotional exertion.
“Haah.”
He sighed briefly and raised his arm to cover his eyes. Drops of water fell from his still-damp hair.
Recalling the events made his blood run cold.
Even when Elucia was treated unfairly by the Eragoste servants, he only felt slight irritation. But after repeated incidents, his anger grew genuine.
He could not understand why she would suffer hardships without revealing her identity. Leaving in a fit of anger had been a clear mistake.
By the time he returned, the banquet had already ended. Whispers about Elucia had reached his ears.
“Honestly, right? If the problem lay with the flowers from the start, what use is the Sestein family’s magical certification?”
“The only suspicious one was the shopkeeper anyway.”
“Should have pressed a little harder instead of just kneeling him down. Then I could have gotten a confession.”
He didn’t even need to hear more to guess what had happened to Elucia.
They had surely tried to crush her with their status and power. The problem was resolved, but the humiliation she felt was beyond imagining.
Noel exhaled hot, bitter air, clearing his thoughts. Just recalling who had cornered Elucia stirred uncontrollable emotion.
“…Even as a figure of speech, I can’t deny you were involved.”
Noel got up heavily and trudged to his desk. Opening a drawer, he retrieved worn, well-hidden documents.
Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.
Each page revealed someone’s actions, thoroughly concealed misdeeds, recorded plainly on paper.
“Camilla… how far do you intend to go? How much uglier must you get before you stop?”
Persecuting and harassing disliked young ladies was common in high society.
Most of Camilla’s schemes involved manipulating others to carry them out, making her cruelty even worse. Yet, as a result, punishment was difficult to enforce.
“But if I leave it like this, it’ll be even more dangerous.”
Camilla wouldn’t leave things be once she realized how she and Elucia were connected. She would attempt to ruin her, no matter what. In that case…
Crrrunch.
The documents in Noel’s hands crumpled. His violet eyes darkened ominously.
“The only way to make her realize we’re watching is to ensure she can’t touch her prey recklessly.”
That night, anonymous tips about Lady Eragoste’s vile acts were sent to two of the empire’s newspapers.
As Noel expected, nothing was published, but Count Eragoste was instructed to be cautious and imposed a ban on Camilla going out.
Rustle—
Dozens of papers scattered across the floor of Camilla’s study.
Her jet-black eyes trembled as she watched. Stiff, she opened her mouth.
“F-Father…”
“Quiet. Close your mouth, Camilla.”
Count Eragoste, sitting deeply in his chair, closed his eyes calmly. He remained silent, lost in thought.
Camilla’s pale face scanned the papers desperately. Even after reading only a few lines, she knew exactly what they were for.
A complaint?!
Each page was a report exposing her misdeeds to a major newspaper.
Camilla ground her teeth.
I made sure the aftermath was handled properly.
Knowing that being caught would disgrace her family, she had covered that part thoroughly. If her misdeeds were discovered, Count Eragoste would not hesitate to punish her ruthlessly.
For a man as obsessively perfectionist as the Count, any flaw was no trivial matter—it was a family disgrace.
Even if it was his own flesh and blood, he would inflict strict punishment that left scars.
Clenching her fists, Camilla tried to control the rising terror. Count Eragoste slowly opened his eyes and gazed at her.
Though his daughter looked pitifully scared, his blue eyes remained cold.
“I tolerated your misdeeds because your handling was somewhat decent. But now that this is spreading everywhere, I see I trusted you too much.”
“F-Father, this… this is malicious gossip spread by someone targeting me.”
“My daughter… you know better than anyone that that isn’t what matters, don’t you?”
“B-But…!”
Count Eragoste’s gaze hardened.
“Do you think that’s your only fault?”
“Huh?”
“Using the Eragoste name, you shouldn’t have made yourself look ridiculous. You held a banquet to target a girl from a fallen family and tarnished the family name in the process.”
“I-I’m sorry, Father, but the Duke of Sestein intervened suddenly, and I couldn’t help it.”
“You still don’t understand your fault. Once you set your mind, you should have restrained her tightly. That’s what it means to be an Eragoste, Camilla.”
Sob.
Camilla, overwhelmed with grief, covered her mouth as she cried.
Her jet-black eyes, trembling violently, met the parched blue pupils of Count Eragoste.
In that moment, she realized again—discipline would be merciless.
“Go to the punishment room, Camilla.”
Sob… y-yes, Father.
Like a ragdoll, she stumbled out of the study.
After she left, the corners of Count Eragoste’s mouth twitched slightly.
“The daughter of the Wyres family… some ties are truly fated. Interesting, isn’t it, Verias?”
I do not love you, Patrick. My heart belongs entirely to him.
Remembering his late wife’s words, twisted in anger, Count Eragoste’s smile contorted into something grotesque.
