Chapter 9 – A Country Made for Corruption
After returning to his office, Regan Fellum downed a glass of cold water in one gulp.
Behind him, Charlotte followed quietly.
“Educate Everett,” Regan said flatly.
Charlotte gasped.
“You mean… you’ll recognize her as your daughter, Marquis?”
Her lips trembled nervously.
“I can’t just leave her as she is.”
“But the nobles will start whispering. What will they say when a grown girl suddenly appears and you claim she’s your daughter?”
Charlotte hated the idea of Everett being acknowledged as a noble.
Even though Everett was far behind Hedia in both looks and talent, the truth was undeniable — the real daughter of the Fellum family was Everett.
Charlotte didn’t want her own daughter’s position to be threatened. She hoped Regan would keep ignoring Everett’s existence forever.
“Surely you’re not going to call her an illegitimate child, are you? People will still think it strange,” Charlotte said.
“We’ll just say she was sick and raised quietly at the estate,” Regan replied.
He had already formed a plan.
“In any case, that’s settled. Make sure she behaves properly so something like today doesn’t happen again.”
All this… just because Everett got hurt once?
Charlotte’s anxiety grew like a snowball. Her hands shook as she asked carefully,
“Do you mean… you’ll recognize her as a real daughter?”
It was a strange question — asking if a father would recognize his own child.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Regan scoffed. “She has no power. The best we can do is marry her off somewhere useful. She says she wants to be of use — so we’ll find a proper match.”
Regan chuckled coldly, and Charlotte finally relaxed.
Ah. Of course.
So that’s why he kept her alive — to sell her off when the time comes.
As the marquis’s biological daughter, Everett would at least fetch a decent proposal.
The only downside was that since Regan had taken notice of her, Charlotte couldn’t openly torment the girl anymore.
“She can’t be sent off like that,” Regan continued. “She needs proper manners and education. Make her presentable.”
Education, huh?
Charlotte’s lips curved into a sly smile.
“Of course. Leave Everett’s education to me. I know just the right teacher.”
“I’ll trust you, then. Now, I’m going to interrogate the maid who was responsible for Everett’s condition.”
Regan removed the ring from his finger and placed it on the desk.
Charlotte’s eyes flashed — she quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his way.
When Regan gave her a bored look, she smiled sweetly.
“Before you go, have a little breakfast. You haven’t eaten anything yet, have you? That woman is strong and stubborn — it’ll take a while to deal with her.”
Regan nodded. “True. I did skip breakfast after handling Johan this morning.”
Johan had been a lawyer who managed shady business for the Fellum family — and had been “disposed of” earlier that day.
The constant trouble had kept Regan on edge, making his temper even worse.
“I’ll have breakfast brought up right away. Please, rest a little.”
“Thank you. And bring me a strong cup of coffee.”
“Yes, Marquis. The dark roast you like best,” Charlotte said with a soft laugh.
As soon as Regan sat back down and slipped the ring on his finger again, Charlotte left the office — still smiling.
But the moment she stepped outside, she ran straight toward the courtyard.
“Joanne — that troublesome girl!”
She had to silence Joanne before the maid said anything under torture.
Charlotte grabbed the nearest servant and snapped,
“Go to the stables and bring me the strongest man you can find. And a sharp, well-made knife!”
“Y-Yes, Lady Charlotte!”
And that night… for two days straight,
the body of a woman with her tongue cut out hung beneath the willow tree on the Fellum estate.
It was the joint work of Regan and Charlotte.
***
Everett trimmed her hair neatly.
Now it barely brushed her shoulders.
Her once messy hair was smooth and shiny, treated with expensive oil.
The dress she wore smelled of perfume instead of mold.
Everything about her appearance had changed.
All because of one injury, she thought bitterly.
After seeing her condition, Regan had officially registered her as a daughter of the Fellum family.
Since then, she had been treated like a noble lady — given fine clothes, food, and lessons.
Of course, Everett knew why he was doing it.
He only wanted to use her.
Still, she didn’t mind.
She needed noble status for her plan —
to keep Frederick from using her as a weakness later on.
That was the only reason she needed her father.
“From now on, you’re allowed to walk around the mansion outside your set hours,” Charlotte said sharply when she came to see Everett.
Even though the rule applied to servants too, Charlotte spoke as if she were doing Everett a favor.
“Can I go outside the mansion too?” Everett asked.
“Already thinking of going out? What could you possibly want to do out there looking like that?”
“I’m just curious about the world outside.”
Maybe it was still too early to ask about leaving.
“Don’t act foolishly. The Marquis hasn’t officially recognized you yet. Depending on how you behave, you could still lose everything,” Charlotte said, poking Everett’s forehead.
She wanted to remind Everett not to overstep — not to dream of having what she and Hedia already possessed.
Even though they were the ones who had stolen it, Charlotte feared it might be taken back.
“I’ll be careful, Aunt Charlotte,” Everett said politely.
“Not that you’ll have time to go anywhere,” Charlotte scoffed. “The Marquis ordered me to give you a full education. Just thinking about teaching a girl who can’t even read gives me a headache.”
“I’ll study hard.”
“Hah. With that stupid head? We’ll see. Your tutor starts tomorrow, so behave.”
“Yes. But… how is Hedia? I heard she hasn’t been well since she healed me,” Everett asked innocently.
Charlotte’s expression twisted immediately.
“Who told you that nonsense? Hedia isn’t sick! She’s been attending lessons and going out as usual!”
Her reaction was far too defensive — confirming Everett’s suspicion.
The healing had clearly caused side effects.
Everett smiled softly.
“Then I’m glad she’s fine.”
“Glad? That girl made such a fuss over a few scratches and tired everyone out!” Charlotte snapped, scolding Everett — the actual victim.
“I’m sorry. Next time, I won’t make a scene. I’ll just go straight to Hedia if I get hurt.”
“What?” Charlotte’s eyes widened.
“Father said I’m not officially recognized yet, so calling a doctor would be risky. I’ll ask Hedia to heal me instead.”
Everett said it with the sweetest, most innocent smile.
But her words turned Charlotte’s face red with rage.
If not for the recent Joanne incident, she would’ve slapped Everett on the spot.
When did that girl start talking back like that?
Charlotte glared at her, annoyed.
“Mind your manners! And don’t you dare bother Hedia again!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Everett smiled and turned away.
There was only one reason Charlotte was so angry —
She already knew about the limits of that stolen power.
Everett’s smile deepened.
This might get interesting.
***
That day, now free to move around, Everett’s first destination was the library.
When she opened the heavy wooden doors, she saw tall shelves packed tightly with books.
She pulled aside the thick curtains that blocked the sunlight and looked around.
As expected of a noble household — the library was full of books on every subject.
The first one she picked up was the Imperial Law Book.
“If you know the law, you’ll know the country.”
That was what her law professor used to say back in law school.
A country’s laws reveal everything — its system, its politics, its morals.
Modern laws had been detailed and strict.
They could detect fake evidence through science, and large investigation teams would dig for the truth relentlessly.
But here, in this world — in the Vastafa Empire —
“This is it? Just one book?” Everett muttered.
The entire legal code of the empire was a single, thin book — barely a hundred pages.
No science. No investigators.
The laws were written so vaguely that trials were basically meaningless.
Everett couldn’t help but laugh.
“Even a novel would be thicker than this.”
She looked through the shelves for more law books but found none.
Finally, she sat down to read.
Although the writing style was old, she could understand it easily.
The content was simple — too simple. Most of it was just basic rules.
The more she read, the more she understood why her past life had ended so unfairly.
With laws this sloppy, of course criminals get away with everything.
Just like before — when she had been framed for Frederick’s crime —
false witnesses and fake evidence were common.
She sighed and quickly memorized the entire book.
At law school, she had never lost her top grades — her memory was extraordinary, almost a curse.
Because of that, she also remembered every painful detail of her past life far too clearly.
Still, knowledge was power.
“Since I’m here, I might as well read more,” she murmured.
She piled up books and began reading through the empire’s history, etiquette, noble family lineages, and records of the capital’s great houses.
The more she read, the more it became obvious.
This was not a country for justice —
it was a country made for corruption.
