Chapter 124
“What… what did you say?”
“I simply couldn’t decide whose choker to unlock between the two of you. So I suggest you two soulmates discuss it and reach a decision yourselves. I’ll follow whatever you decide.”
At that, Dolly and Rudolph slowly turned their faces toward each other, their expressions turning pale.
Tension hung thick in the air. Rudolph swallowed nervously, unsure of what the other was thinking.
“You two are close enough to be engaged, right? The ship will arrive at the port tomorrow afternoon, so I want your decision by tomorrow dawn. I’ll unlock the choker and even the cage door for that person before they reach the port.”
She emphasized it once more.
“Don’t forget. By dawn tomorrow.”
The two, lost for words, just watched each other cautiously.
“Oh, and just so you know, trying to run away together would be a bad idea. The choker recognizes the true owner with the key. If you move too far away from the count, it will explode.”
Odette said this, then turned and left the warehouse. Even before the door shut, voices arguing inside could already be heard.
“D-Dolly… If you have any conscience, you’ll yield to me, right? Most of this mess is your fault anyway!”
“Are you crazy? Who do you think planned this ridiculous scheme?”
At this rate, by dawn tomorrow, things were going to be quite a show.
They would bite, attack, and their feelings toward each other would be in ruins.
‘There’s no way they’ll come to a single conclusion.’
Odette closed the heavy door, cutting off all sounds of their fighting.
She had no intention of freeing either of them. She merely sowed discord so they would hate each other to death.
‘So this will come to no use.’
Confident, Odette threw the key into the sea. Splash. The key sank deep into the abyss.
Because of the height of the ship, Odette didn’t notice—
That the water, where the key landed with a clear plunk, briefly emitted a floral scent and glowed white.
Laundry maid Paula received the news very late. No other maid wanted to talk to her, since her ribbon had fallen off.
Because of that, Paula only today learned of the so-called “Invisible Count” who had once swept through the capital.
She had sneaked out to cool off during exhausting laundry work and found a newspaper discarded by another servant.
“…How could this happen?!”
Upon learning the news, Paula could not contain her anger.
“Yeah, it was suspicious. I said she was defending that cheap maid too much… Damn bastard! He was messing with his wife’s maid?!”
These filthy, despicable traitors!
Paula cursed both the Count and Mrs. Becker.
Hadn’t the Count scolded her when demoting her to laundry maid? Hadn’t he said that the Countess was locked up in the convent because she failed to grasp her role?
‘What nonsense. It was just a scheme to court his mistress…!’
Paula’s once-soft hands had been chafed raw over the past few days from endless heavy laundry in the steam-filled laundry room.
‘…How dare they blame me for this?’
Paula was convinced that the whole affair had been the result of someone’s plot. She had no idea how Karl had been released.
Until now, she had suspected Odette to be the mastermind behind the scheme, but perhaps the real culprit…
Paula tore the photos of the two people in the newspaper to pieces. At that moment, the sounds of many hurried footsteps reached her.
‘I have to hide immediately. If anyone finds out I was slacking here…’
Given her current lowly position, she would surely be punished severely.
Paula squeezed into the narrow space between the water pump and the wall. Apparently, the owners of the footsteps hadn’t spotted her.
“Steward! You’re here? There’s an emergency. The Countess has escaped from the convent…!”
“What? How did this happen?!”
“I don’t know. The priests themselves are baffled. She just vanished from the room where the Countess was confined!”
‘What?’
Paula was shocked but soon her eyes gleamed.
‘If Mother escaped from the convent… then I have no reason to stay here either.’
After all, the laundry work she had been forced to handle was only because her mother was being held hostage.
She hid silently for a while, and as soon as they left, she ran to her room.
She grabbed a trunk, packed her valuables and expensive clothes, and hid it in a large wooden bucket, covering it with freshly laundered towels.
Then she carried the bucket and left the main gate.
“What are you doing, Paula? Where are you going?”
The gatekeeper stopped her. Just a month ago, he had fawned over her.
“I’m only going just outside the gate… You know, right? I need to deliver the freshly laundered towels to the laborers nearby.”
A minor disaster had occurred in the area the day before yesterday.
Though it was small and caused no casualties, it left the road in front of the Count’s house a mess with bodies and debris.
Since disasters in the capital are rare, it took time to hire professional laborers. They had only started cleaning that morning.
The laborers were asking for extra towels, and believing her, the gatekeeper arrogantly nodded and let Paula pass.
But as soon as she left the gate, Paula threw the laundry on the ground, grabbed the trunk, and ran frantically.
“Hey! Hey! Where are you going?!”
The gatekeeper shouted, but Paula didn’t look back.
“Stop right there!”
‘Stop? Do I look like I’m coming back to this disgusting mansion?’
She ran at full speed, finally getting a hired carriage. Panting, she spoke to the driver.
“Take me to Odenvalt Port!”
Paula remembered what the steward had said at the morning assembly.
The Count and his party were expected to return via the port that afternoon, and she had been instructed to pay more attention to mansion management.
‘I was going to go straight to the port and tear Mrs. Becker’s hair out…’
But then, she remembered a voice she had heard before—Gizella’s.
“Even if you’re angry at your mother’s foster daughter, don’t torment her without the crystal ball’s permission. You’ll get in trouble.”
It had been Gizella’s warning the first day they met. Paula had ignored it then.
What happened when she ignored it? The day she dragged Odette to the pond and tormented her, she herself suffered the consequences.
‘I was able to meet Gustav Quendel thanks to Gizella’s advice… If I act rashly again, things could get worse.’
Paula called the driver back.
“No, change the destination… Take me to Canaris Square.”
It wouldn’t be too late to seek advice at Gizella’s shop before acting.
‘After that day, I swore never to act recklessly again.’
“Reckless? It’s you, Paula. Whatever happens today, remember—it’s because of you.”
Since being reduced to a laundry maid, Odette’s words had tormented Paula countless times.
She feared she was acting recklessly and might drag her mother into a worse situation.
Arriving at Canaris Square, Gizella thankfully welcomed her.
“The crystal ball told me you’d come today. Looks like you’ve reflected enough on your foolish actions, huh?”
Her tone implied she saw through everything.
Paula, unaware that Gizella had only received a letter from the Imperial Messenger, nodded tearfully.
“Yes…! Gizella! I won’t act on my own again. I’ll follow your advice carefully.”
“Good. Coming here instead of running to the port was the right choice.”
Paula didn’t ask how Gizella knew she had intended to go to the port.
Gizella was a real astrologer—someone who could read the stars, predict the future, and change Paula’s destiny. A true savior.
“So… do I just have to endure this humiliation? Forgive the mistress who did something vile? I wanted to take matters into my own hands at the port…”
“Paula, if you truly want to save your mother, the port is not where you need to go.”
“Really?”
“Isn’t there someone among your blood you can ask for help? Someone fierce enough to restrain the Count.”
Gizella exhaled smoke from her water pipe, adding to her mystical aura.
Paula immediately thought of someone.
“…You mean my grandfather?”
Shylock—Sasha’s father and Paula’s grandfather.
Gizella nodded as if confirming Paula had found the correct answer.
“But what can Grandfather do? The Count doesn’t even borrow money from him anymore.”
“There are legal ways to harass him.”
“That’s even more impossible! You know, a commoner can’t sue a noble. Unless another noble represents them, the Imperial Court won’t accept it—”
Gizella cut her off.
“Paula, there is one noble who can handle this for you.”
She exhaled smoke dreamily, smiling.
“The man the stars have chosen as your destiny.”
Odenvalt Port. A woman with a deadly glare was watching the incoming ship from afar.
‘Those crazy fools are arriving today.’
The figure, brimming with rage, was none other than the Countess who had escaped from the convent.
