Chapter 59 – The Weight of a Single Letter
Was this what it meant when people said someone was so shocked they couldn’t speak?
Kainton’s lips trembled uselessly as he stared at the child before him.
The tiny girl standing on the platform looked small… harmless even.
Every time she spoke, her words were slightly slurred.
Her face was as innocent as any five-year-old’s.
But every word coming out of her mouth was anything but ordinary.
“Your Grace, I’m sorry for sleeping in such an important meeting room. If you want to punish me, I’ll accept it… because Article 1, Clause 1 says the family head’s authority is absolute…”
She was talking like a clueless child, but those childish words made all the retainers tremble.
Because she had just invoked the most dangerous part of the family laws.
“The… the situation is looking strange.”
“I… I think so too…”
Behind him, a few branch family members whispered nervously.
Their thoughts were obvious.
“She’s scared now. That’s why she’s pretending to act cute.”
Ever since Sharon Abner became family head, the hierarchy within the Abner family has been a complete mess.
Externally, she performed perfectly.
But internally?
Within the family? Not at all.
She was strangely afraid of the branch families and the retainers.
No matter how rudely they acted, she never punished them harshly.
And Kainton thought he knew why.
“The fact that she took Jaden’s rightful position… that’s her weak spot.”
Sharon had revived the crumbling Abner name.
She was undeniably a competent duchess.
But it was also true that she took the duke’s seat that “should” have gone to her son.
Even if she pretended not to care, she must feel guilty.
That was the only explanation for her refusal to discipline the retainers.
“So the more we clung to Jaden, the weaker she became.”
Throwing stones at a lion is scary only the first time.
If the lion never bites back—even after two, three, ten, a hundred stones—
Then the fear eventually disappears.
That was how the duchess’ authority had lost its weight.
But then…
That unpleasant little girl reminded everyone of what they had forgotten.
“Article 1, Clause 1 says the family head is the strongest, the strongest of everyone.”
She had essentially told them:
“If you throw stones at a wild beast, be prepared to get bitten.”
And she also spoke directly to Sharon Abner:
“You’re too kind, Duchess. You’re so nice that you keep forgiving all these retainers who don’t study the rulebook. You don’t punish them… or torture them…”
Are you really not going to bite them?
Are you really not going to kill them?
That was the implication.
Kainton’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.
Because of just a few sentences, the retainers were already wavering.
The same people who had been shouting confidently moments ago were now silent, eyes lowered nervously.
They realized that Sharon could discipline them at any time.
Kainton clenched his sweaty hands into fists.
“If I lose here, everything ends.”
There was no retreat left for him.
Only forward.
“BUT THAT FAMILY HEAD AUTHORITY—IT WAS UNFAIRLY OBTAINED IN THE FIRST PLACE!”
A loud shout rang through the hall.
All eyes turned to him.
“Let’s stop nitpicking articles! Let’s go back to the beginning! Back to the moment the previous duke passed away!”
Everyone froze.
Even Sharon.
Even Lady Larien, who had been shouting earlier.
Even the little girl.
They all stared at him.
“The previous duke’s legitimate heir was Young Lord Jaden! He should have inherited the title!”
“……”
“The current family head—if we’re being honest—is an outsider!”
A statement that could shake the entire family thundered out of Kainton’s mouth:
“She’s from the Meserian clan! There’s not a drop of Abner blood in her! She’s completely separate from the Abner line!”
His neck bulged with the force of his shouting.
He had to push this argument through to win.
There was no other way.
“Tell me! In the Empire—no, in the entire continent—where has a woman with NO family blood, who only entered through marriage, EVER inherited a ducal seat?!”
The hall fell eerily silent.
Only Kainton was shouting like a madman.
“It was WRONG from the beginning! The current duchess should NEVER have inherited the title! If the previous duke had lived longer, he absolutely would have given the seat to his rightful heir, Jaden!”
Breathing hard, he glared at Sharon.
Her expression showed a flicker of pain.
“Yes… feel it. Realize it. And give up.”
He wanted to strike her guilt.
To make her crumble.
Sharon had faced countless attacks from the moment she inherited the title.
She had surely heard this exact accusation hundreds—no, thousands—of times.
She must be broken inside.
After all, she stole her own son’s birthright.
She had to crack eventually.
She had to retreat.
But—
“That’s strange. Ria saw something different.”
The little girl spoke again, her tone innocent… yet her eyes faintly hostile.
“Why can’t a person who enters a family through marriage become the family head?”
She tilted her head.
“The founder of the Abner family crossed the northern mountains and pioneered the region, right?”
Her eyes glimmered unsettlingly.
“That adventurer got sick after founding the family, and since he thought he might die, he gave the position to his husband. I saw it. In the old history book at the library.”
“……”
“And after that, the Abner family gave the family head position to spouses several times. It was written in ancient script.”
A cold sweat dripped down Kainton’s temple.
The child raised a finger.
“The book under that desk—the one I fell asleep on—has all that written. You can check it, Grandpa.”
The hall stayed silent.
Her claim was explosive—too explosive for anyone to scream or gasp.
If true, it would overturn the family’s entire recorded history.
Kainton sensed countless eyes piercing him as he staggered and picked up the book.
A thin piece of paper had been used as a bookmark, and the page opened naturally.
“…Ancient script.”
“Yes, it’s written right there.”
He stared at the text.
Of course, he couldn’t read a word.
But no one dared question the girl’s claim.
She really IS a genius. No… a prodigy.
He had heard the rumors.
A child who finished magic textbooks at a young age.
Who conducted research?
Who memorized the entire family rulebook.
With a memory that far surpassed normal people—
Why couldn’t she read ancient script?
Ancient script was difficult, yes.
But not unreadable.
And more importantly…
“W-we had no idea such a thing happened…”
“The family history… well, we have to verify it, but…”
The branch family members were already terrified.
A fear born from guilt —
guilt for treating Sharon Abner outrageously for years.
“If Sharon Abner decides to punish us now, we’ll die.”
That was the thought spreading among them.
Kainton let out a faint groan.
Then—
“Ah! Right!”
The girl suddenly bounced in place.
She rummaged through the cloth pouch she carried.
“Talking about history reminded me! I also found this at the back of that book!”
She pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
Then she handed it to Sharon.
“This letter belongs to you, Duchess!”
Sharon’s eyes slowly lowered to the paper in the little girl’s hand.
The child smiled sweetly.
“It says, ‘Sharon, I want you to take the seat.’ It’s a letter, right? Sharon is the duchess’ name! But… I don’t know what ‘the seat’ means. What’s ‘the seat,’ Duchess?”
“The seat.”
And the word “Sharon” spoken intimately, addressed as “you.”
Those two things together were enough to detonate another bomb in the hall.
The retainers knew exactly what that meant.
So even though the child could read ancient script flawlessly, no one questioned how she didn’t know the meaning of “the seat.”
They simply didn’t have the mental capacity left to question anything.
