Chapter 21
A man shouted with veins bulging from his neck, despite the Countess’s calm dissuasion. Amid the noisy crowd, the Countess did not raise her voice but spoke softly and firmly.
“Yelling won’t change anything, will it?”
There were many recipients of the Count’s inheritance, but only four people received the largest shares. To his wife and daughter—namely, the Countess and El—he left the mansion, the lands of House Peaceon, and enough cash and jewelry to last a lifetime. To me, as before, he left a small portion of land, some cash, and jewelry. The title, the most significant inheritance, was left to El’s future husband.
So far, everything went as expected. What shocked everyone was that El’s guardianship and the management of the merchant guild—the very core of House Peaceon—were passed on to Evan. The room erupted in outrage the moment the will was read.
I was surprised for a different reason. I already knew that Evan would inherit the merchant guild, so that part didn’t shock me. What surprised me was that he wasn’t legally adopted by my maternal grandfather.
Back then, he had certainly been “Evan Li Peaceon.” Though he wasn’t related by blood, he had been my grandfather’s adopted son and inherited both the guild and the title. Was it El’s presence that changed the outcome this time? I couldn’t think of any other explanation.
Come to think of it, on the day we first met, he had introduced himself as “Evan Li.” I hadn’t thought much of it then, but now I realized—he had never received the Peaceon surname in the first place.
“How can someone not even of Peaceon blood inherit the guild? How does this make any sense?”
“And not just the guild—he’s named guardian? Shouldn’t Ariel’s guardian be one of us, the elders of this household?”
Women cannot inherit titles. That was the law of the Empire. Until El married and her husband inherited the title, someone had to serve as her guardian and lead the family. And since women couldn’t be guardians either, the Countess, despite being El’s mother, could not take the role.
“Countess, what do you have to say? Can you really entrust Ariel’s guardianship to a complete outsider, not even related by blood?”
One of the hot-headed men turned his ire on the Countess. She answered calmly.
“I trust him.”
“Hah, so you trust a stranger more than your own family?”
The Countess didn’t reply. Someone shouted into her silence.
“Taking in some woman of unclear origin—what a mistake that was from the start.”
An old man, who looked to be the eldest in the group, shouted.
The Countess’s face darkened instantly. She had been a commoner, with little known about her past. Countless rumors had circulated about her—some so vile they couldn’t be repeated.
A relatively young man jeered mockingly.
“Maybe Ariel’s not even of noble blood, huh? Perhaps we ought to question the validity of that will.”
Clatter!
The noisy drawing room fell silent. At my feet lay a shattered teacup. I ground a piece of the broken china under my shoe.
The crisp cracking sound echoed in the silence. Feeling all eyes on me, I smiled sweetly.
“I think I misheard. Would you mind repeating that?”
I slowly scanned the room. One by one, they averted their eyes when they met mine. I fixed my gaze on the young man who had just spoken.
“So El—my aunt—isn’t of Peaceon blood? Is that what you said?”
He gaped at me, speechless. I twisted my lips into a smirk.
“That would mean my grandmother was unfaithful… Did you really say that to my face?”
“I-I…”
The young man turned pale as a sheet. No one here could be unaware of the rumors about me—the alleged illegitimate child born from the Marchioness’s affair. They knew exactly how sensitive I’d be to such talk.
“May I take that as a personal insult?”
Even if I wouldn’t bat an eye at such remarks anymore, they didn’t know that. I was more than willing to play into their expectations.
“N-no! Absolutely not, my lady!”
He collapsed at my feet. The broken china dug into his skin, drawing blood. But he didn’t seem to feel the pain as he cried out in desperation.
“I swear, I didn’t mean it, my lady!”
His panic was understandable. I was the legitimate daughter of the powerful Marquis of Eliante and the Crown Princess-to-be. Earning my displeasure could very well ruin his life. I said nothing, merely gazed down at him.
He trembled, still pleading.
“Please… forgive me, my lady.”
“I’m not the one you should be asking forgiveness from.”
All eyes turned to the Countess. Unlike with me, the young man hesitated before facing her.
That hesitation alone revealed their attitude toward her. The Countess was a commoner. Most nobles didn’t see commoners as human equals. They were willing to prostrate themselves before me—a minor—but couldn’t even bring themselves to apologize to the Countess.
I glared coldly at him. The room was so silent, one could hear a pin drop. Someone cleared their throat, as if to break the tension.
“Ahem… It was just youthful recklessness. Surely the young lady can forgive that.”
I turned toward the speaker. A man in his fifties who had turned red and shouted as soon as the will was read.
“Young blood? Did you just say that?”
“Yes, yes. Young people make mistakes. Isn’t that right?”
“Of course. Who doesn’t make a few errors?”
Someone chimed in supportively, and the speaker looked smug. The young man, sensing the shift in mood, subtly edged toward their side.
“Well now… Do you even realize who you’re saying ‘young blood’ to?”
“Young lady, just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can do whatever you please!”
A sharp voice rang through the room. The eldest of them all—the one who had first insulted the Countess—stood up with his cane and shouted at me.
“This is no place for an immature child who hasn’t even come of age!”
Snap.
That was the sound of my patience breaking.
These people were beyond reason. I no longer had any intention of treating them with courtesy. I smiled radiantly at the old man.
“Pardon me, but what was your name again?”
“Ahem, I am Crisa Eslott.”
As soon as I heard it, I laughed openly—a clear mockery. The old man’s face flushed with rage.
I crossed my arms and leaned deeply into my chair. It reminded me of the Crown Prince’s posture, which annoyed me, but I knew better than anyone how much it could irritate others. I wasn’t thrilled, but I was practical—I used what I learned.
“Eslott… Never heard of it.”
My words were a direct strike. To a noble, being told someone didn’t recognize your family name was a blatant insult. Several people around him jumped to their feet.
“My lady, that’s too harsh…”
“Well, I thought he’d at least inherited a noble surname. Guess not.”
The old man’s face darkened to pitch black.
I looked around at the people clustered around him. Their faces were all stiff. No one could fail to understand what I was about to say.
“People who don’t even carry the Peaceon name—how dare they presume to speak?”
“My lady!”
“Yes, I am a lady. A real noble lady, unlike you lot who don’t even have middle names.”
Someone gasped. No one had expected me to go this far.
Middle names were important in noble society. Only direct heirs born of legal wives received middle names, meaning they held inheritance rights. Nobles without middle names were nobles only in name—the title couldn’t be passed to spouses or children.
Even if someone received a new surname from the emperor for merit, it wouldn’t be the original family name and couldn’t be passed down.
Even legitimate children with both the surname and middle name couldn’t pass on the family name unless they were the heir. Their children wouldn’t receive a middle name. This was a rule to maintain the number of nobles.
Thus, very few actually used the family name. In the Peaceon family, only El and the Countess did.
My grandfather had no brothers, only two sisters, who both took their husbands’ names upon marriage. Unless they divorced, they couldn’t use the Peaceon name. That’s why no one else here bore it.
“My lady, don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”
Depending on the family, even those without the surname were often treated with respect as elders. They shouted with angry faces.
“Young or not, we didn’t expect you to be so blind and foolish!”
One or two began yelling, and others followed. It was becoming a spectacle. I slowly stood up.
Put them in their place bee