Chapter 49…..
“Grandfather, how about sending Uncle abroad to study?”
“…Study abroad?”
“Until public opinion dies down and the scandal is forgotten, he could study overseas and discipline himself. It would be good for Uncle too.”
It was quite a tempting suggestion. The Marquis quietly lowered his cigar.
“But we can’t just send Alex away without any preparation…”
“Since we feel sorry, our family will cover his tuition. As long as he has money, he can go first and start step by step.”
When Claire and her father offered to fund it, the Marquis’s lips twitched.
He already had to spend plenty on damages and other expenses, so this was convenient.
“Then, I’ll think about it first—”
“But Uncle needs to disappear from the public eye for a while, or this scandal won’t die down quickly.”
Claire wasn’t about to give him room to hesitate. She had to drive Alex out no matter what.
“Above all, what if he still hasn’t broken things off with the Countess?”
Her gentle voice pretended to sound worried, but in reality, it planted unease and distrust in the Marquis’s heart.
“Uncle disobeyed you by chasing after another woman instead of holding tightly onto Lady Merrison. He might do it again.”
“Hrmm…”
The Marquis couldn’t deny it and puffed on his cigar. He, more than anyone, knew his second son’s careless and impulsive nature.
If only Franz—or rather, Priscilla—had rubbed off on him even a little…
Deep down, the Marquis always harbored doubts about entrusting the family to Alex.
Though in truth, he himself had nearly ruined the household with gambling and reckless business ventures.
Still, he wished his son could be more reliable.
“…That boy Alex does need to go far away and get his head straight.”
Hearing the Marquis mutter words of agreement, Claire smiled faintly.
She quickly straightened her expression and handed him a prepared envelope.
“I’ve made a list of countries that would be good for Uncle’s studies. Please take a look.”
Most of the options were small nations with nature-friendly lifestyles—hardly places where Alex could cause mischief.
In reality, they were little better than places of exile.
Pretending ignorance, Claire sweetened her words like honey as she persuaded him.
And as a result, the Marquis, easily swayed, unilaterally informed his wife and son of his decision.
“Alex, you’ll go live in the Kingdom of Pakan for the time being. Straighten out that rotten mind of yours and focus only on studying!”
“Father, what are you talking about all of a sudden? What kind of country is this ‘Pakan Kingdom’?”
At first bewildered, Alex’s face turned pale once he learned it was an island nation in the west.
“No way! Have I gone mad?! How am I supposed to live shut away on some island?!”
“That’s right! Our Alex grew up so preciously—how could you send him to such a remote country?”
The Marchioness sided with her son and glared reproachfully at her husband.
“I’ll just live quietly here. Isn’t that good enough, Father? Please?”
“How can we possibly send our Alex to such a faraway place? I couldn’t live like that, dear.”
The Marquis, sick of his nearly thirty-year-old son whining like a child and his wife endlessly coddling him, pressed his fingers to his forehead.
It wasn’t as if he was telling Alex to go for life—just to stay away for a while. And yet they couldn’t endure even that.
The Marquis snapped at his son, who looked ready to throw himself on the floor.
“Then will you earn the compensation money we must pay to the Merrison family?”
“…!”
Startled, Alex instantly straightened up like a chastised criminal.
The Marchioness also shut her mouth, sensing her husband’s mood.
“The Count’s family has demanded you never appear before Lady Merrison again. Otherwise, they’ll calculate additional damages for emotional harm.”
“…”
“Do you have anything else to say?”
A heavy silence filled the room. Looking at his son, cowed with his tail between his legs, the Marquis softened his tone.
“At most, it will be a year, Alex. Think of it as a long journey. When you return, all rumors about you will have died down.”
“…Yes, Father.”
In the end, Alex had no choice but to obey the Marquis’s will and depart to study abroad.
And news of this decision quickly reached Claire.
Alex’s preparations for studying abroad moved swiftly. The butler sent some of his luggage ahead to the Kingdom of Pakan.
On the way home—
“Hello, Lance.”
The carriage suddenly turned into a quiet park and stopped. The door opened, and Claire climbed in.
The butler looked at her with a shocked expression.
“My lady? What is the meaning of this…?”
“I hear your son caused quite the accident recently.”
Without preamble, Claire went straight to the point. His face stiffened.
“How do you know of that, my lady?”
“Does it matter how? If you leave your son as he is, things will get very troublesome.”
Claire smiled mysteriously.
Ten days ago, the butler’s son had drunk heavily with friends, gotten into a fight, and together they had beaten up a young noble.
He was now arrested by the city guard for assault.
The victim’s family demanded an enormous settlement, warning that without payment they would show no mercy.
“You know the punishment for a commoner who injures a noble can be death, don’t you?”
“…!”
The butler’s face drained white. Of course he knew—he’d served nobles for decades.
He had gone straight to beg the Marquis for help, but the timing was bad.
“Do I look like I have the time to worry about your son right now? I’m losing my mind because of my own boy! Handle it yourself!”
Enraged by Alex’s scandal, the Marquis had exploded at him, leaving him unable to bring it up again.
Since then, the butler had lived every day in agony.
“My son was only dragged into this by bad friends! He’s innocent, my lady!”
“Yes, I’m sure you feel it’s unfair.”
Claire, having heard all the details from Teddy, spoke softly, digging at his weakest point.
“That’s why I want to help.”
“…!”
“Well? What do you think?”
His eyes trembled violently. He knew full well she wasn’t offering help out of kindness.
The question was—would he stay loyal to the Marquis, or betray him to save his son?
“…What do you want of me?”
He swallowed hard and asked grimly.
Just as the Marquis had turned his back on him for his own son, he too could abandon his master for the sake of his child.
“When Uncle goes abroad, bring everything sent to our house directly to me. Letters, packages—everything. Don’t let a single thing reach the Marquis or Marchioness.”
“…Understood. I will do it. But you must save my son.”
“Don’t worry. He’ll be back with his family within the week.”
Claire smiled and opened the carriage door. Before stepping out, she whispered:
“Let’s pretend today never happened.”
The butler nodded obediently. Claire returned leisurely to her own carriage.
Her fresh green eyes sparkled coldly.
There would be no peaceful life awaiting Alex in the Kingdom of Pakan.
She would strip him of everything he had been given, and slowly choke him to death.
But you won’t be alone, Alex.
Soon enough, she would send the Marquis and Marchioness to join him.
A few days later—
The butler’s son was released from prison after the settlement was paid.
And Alex fled abroad, studying in exile.
Before moving on to her next plan, Claire first needed to refill her emptied coffers.
She had spent a great deal of money, and it was time to recover it.
To that end, she arranged a meeting with buyers of the jewel-flowers introduced by Theodore and began full-fledged sales.
“Ron, you’ll act as the acting head of the merchant group. I’ll disguise myself as a staff member and accompany you.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Ron nodded, then raised his hand with a question.
“But… will it just be the two of us?”
“Why?”
“We’re transporting rare and valuable goods like jewel-flowers. Shouldn’t we hire a guard knight?”
“You’re right.”
Caution never hurt, so Claire agreed with his opinion.
“Then I’ll go look for mercenaries.”
“No, I’ll handle that myself.”
Even for a temporary guard, it was better to hire someone she already knew.
As a masked face came to mind, Claire added:
“I thought of someone I can trust.”
