Chapter – 14
“Of course—butler Karl, you’re fired.”
“You can’t dismiss me so easily. Unlike the other servants, I wasn’t hired by the mistress, but by the master himself.”
“Normally, that would be true. But not now. Both Theodore and Berengella are absent. Don’t you know that when the head of a noble house suddenly disappears, the next in line exercises authority?”
At Rachel’s words, Karl’s face, which had gone pale, darkened.
“At present, both Berengella and Theodore are considered missing. Until Theodore’s whereabouts are confirmed, I will be exercising the master’s authority temporarily.”
“They are not missing.”
“Really? Then do you know where they are, Karl? If so, take me to them immediately. If the Council of Nobles finds out that Theodore isn’t missing, they’ll revoke my authority.”
That was impossible.
The moment Theodore showed himself, he would have to pay the price for ruining the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.
Karl, too, did not want Theodore to return. If he did, the affair would grow into an even greater scandal, and Jane would only be hurt more deeply.
In the end, Karl had no way to stop Rachel’s temporary authority.
He answered quietly.
“…Understood. I will pack my belongings and leave the estate today.”
“You should be happy, right? Now you can stay by your daughter’s side all day without worrying about the manor.”
“Honestly… yes.”
“Ahaha. You really are honest.”
Rachel smiled brightly, then whispered toward Karl’s back as he turned to leave the sitting room.
“Where do you think you’re going? We’re not done yet. After deceiving me for so long and aiding an affair, wouldn’t it be disappointing if this ended with just a dismissal?”
“Are you planning to kill me here?”
“Of course not.”
Leaning back leisurely with her elbow resting on the armrest, Rachel continued.
“You know Theodore siphoned off the Elrosa family’s assets and sent them to Jane, right? He committed tax evasion as well. Berengella caused quite a scene over it not long ago.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I think someone helped him. That idiot Theodore couldn’t possibly have carefully adjusted the amounts and evaded taxes all by himself. Nor could he have avoided detection for so many years purely by luck.”
“….”
Both Rachel and Karl knew Theodore wasn’t meticulous enough for that.
“Someone intelligent must have helped him. Someone who wouldn’t suffer any loss even if the Elrosa family’s assets leaked out, and someone who would never reveal that Theodore stole the money.”
Rachel leaned forward, peering into Karl’s brown eyes.
“And I think you fit perfectly. What do you think?”
The money that left the Elrosa family went straight into his daughter Jane’s pockets. If the missing funds were discovered, Jane would be the one blamed.
Karl was the only person who had no reason to stop Theodore—and no reason to expose him.
He avoided Rachel’s gaze.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Even if you only did it because Theodore ordered you to, that’s irrelevant. I’ll have you take the fall for concealing assets and tax evasion.”
“…It was the master who ordered it. I never did this of my own will.”
“Do you have proof?”
Karl bit his lip.
There was no way any evidence remained showing Theodore had ordered him to hide the assets.
That lazy man would have said something like, ‘I want to give Jane some money, help me out,’ and left it at that. He never cared about the family’s finances, and surely gave no further thought once he’d issued the order.
Only then did Karl look at Rachel. Their eyes met, both sharp with tension.
“Why are you going this far?”
“Jane will be furious when she learns that her father and you were accomplices. She’ll say it’s unfair that only her father is being punished when you committed the crime together.”
“You intend to drive a wedge between them?”
“Exactly. I want to see them fight and tear each other apart.”
Looking down at Karl, who had bowed his head in resignation, Rachel said,
“Accept it quietly. Your daughter will suffer anyway—but who knows? If I feel generous, I might go easy on her.”
Your daughter will suffer anyway.
Only then did Karl realize that Rachel had been preparing for this for a long time, all while pretending to know nothing.
He should have been more careful.
He should have wrapped things up sooner.
Just one more day. Just a little longer.
That hesitation had led to this.
He had wanted Jane to be happy with the man she loved. It was foolish. He had known punishment might come someday—but when it finally arrived, he was afraid.
Thud.
Karl fell to his knees. His weak voice crawled across the floor to Rachel’s feet.
“Could you… forgive me?”
“Forgiveness?”
Rachel crooked one corner of her lips into a mocking smile.
“You’re hoping for that? How ridiculous.”
“…I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever you want. So please—no, I propose one thing. Hear me out.”
* * *
“Theodore Elrosa is hiding in a townhouse near the imperial palace. It seems he’s making good use of the place he rented while preparing for the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.”
At his aide Nick’s report, Cyan nodded. It was exactly as he’d expected.
“His mistress Jane is staying in her original residence. Until two days ago, the Elrosa estate’s butler—her father—was with her, but as of yesterday, she’s alone.”
“The butler returned to the Elrosa estate?”
“Yes.”
Then yesterday must have been the butler’s last day.
“Yesterday, Countess Elrosa reported the butler to the Tax Administration for siphoning off family assets and committing tax evasion. He appeared today and confessed. He claimed he stole the money solely for his daughter Jane.”
Cyan’s eyes narrowed.
It was Theodore who had stolen the money. At first, it was expensive gifts; later, he’d switched to cash for convenience.
Karl had helped, but the intent and orders were Theodore’s. Yet the butler personally turned himself in and confessed?
Why?
It was clearly Rachel’s doing, but her intentions were hard to grasp.
Rachel’s image rose vividly in his mind—pink hair, pale blue eyes, delicate as a flower that looked ready to snap, yet with a gaze full of strength.
Rachel Elrosa. Why pin your husband’s crimes on someone else? You’re intelligent enough to know that this only lightens Theodore’s punishment.
There was no answer. The imagined Rachel only smiled faintly.
Then he recalled her expression when she witnessed the affair—pure shock.
She was clever enough to suppress her true nature entirely, yet at that moment, she hadn’t hidden anything.
…Don’t tell me you still have feelings for him. Are you really protecting that scum just because he’s your husband? Trying to avoid a situation where he’s severely punished?
Irritation surged.
He hated the idea that Rachel might waver because of a husband like that. He wanted to storm over, shake her, and demand to know what she was thinking.
He knew acting emotionally wasn’t like him—but he still wanted to interfere.
“Am I already thinking of her as mine?” he muttered.
Nick’s eyes widened.
“What did you say, sir?”
“Nothing. Postpone the Council of Nobles’ meeting. Before throwing Karl in prison, I need to confirm Rachel Elrosa’s intentions.”
“Yes, sir! Also, a message came from the Crown Prince asking when you’ll visit.”
“Tell him I’ll come later.”
Cyan knew the Crown Prince, Atreille, was waiting for him.
Atreille was one of the few people who knew that Cyan freely moved outside the palace, acting as an information broker for the guild. Confined as he was, the Crown Prince admired Cyan’s freedom.
“I heard His Highness was very upset about his birthday banquet being ruined. Seeing you might cheer him up.”
“No. His Highness isn’t upset at all. That’s the problem.”
“He isn’t?”
“That’s right.”
He was probably pretending to be upset for the sake of the imperial family and the Council, but in reality, he was likely thrilled that something entertaining had happened at such a boring banquet.
If possible, Cyan wanted to avoid Atreille until Theodore’s punishment was decided.
If it became known that the Crown Prince wasn’t angry, the imperial family and the Council would surely go easy on Theodore and Jane. The Emperor might even reward them for amusing his son.
That was not what Rachel wanted.
“Tell them I’m busy with Council orders for now. And say I’ll visit His Majesty soon as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nick vanished as swiftly as light, leaving Cyan alone in the empty office, deep in thought.
* * *
[Notice]
Karl, formerly the butler of the Elrosa Count’s household, has been reported to the Tax Administration for secretly siphoning off your family’s assets and committing tax evasion.
The accused has confessed to all charges and submitted evidence. Each imperial department is currently reviewing the confession and evidence.
Karl will be placed in temporary detention. Depending on the results of the investigation…
…A follow-up notice will be sent regarding the final disposition.
—Tax Administration
“Perfect.”
Rachel wrote a reply the moment she received the letter, requesting that the final notice be sent to a different address.
Everything was going smoothly, and her mood was excellent.
Just as she finished and sent the letter off with a postal worker, Graham entered the sitting room, yawning.
“Yaaawn. Good morning, Mom.”
“Welcome, Graham. Did you sleep in today?”
“Yeah. I had a really nice dream last night. I didn’t want to wake up, so I went back to sleep.”
“Oh? What kind of dream?”
“A dream where you and I went out together, holding hands.”
Rachel’s expression darkened.
“…Is that so? Graham, do you want to go out?”
Because of the affair scandal, going outside was difficult not just for Theodore and Jane, but for Rachel as well.
She had expected this and wasn’t too troubled—but Graham was another matter. He seemed less frustrated than she’d feared, which had reassured her. But perhaps she’d been wrong.
Feeling guilty for having exposed the affair so noisily and burdening her son with unpleasant memories, Rachel’s heart felt heavy.
Watching Graham smile brightly, she began to think hard about whether there might be a good way to sneak out with him.
