Chapter 72
It was ironic, but Jane thought Yulkes actually had a decent choice of words.
That was so like Yulkes, who had devoured etiquette books in a desperate bid to become a noble.
“You’ll realize someday how foolish what you did was. You’ll feel the weight of the guilt of abandoning your family. Your brother and father will be watching to the end—to see just how much you regret this…”
“There’s no need for that. If you don’t want to see me, I’ll take you somewhere you never can.”
“…What did you just say?”
‘As I thought—he didn’t even hear me properly.’
He seemed so blinded by rage that he didn’t even remember what Jane had just said.
Jane let out a sigh and calmly explained the punishment awaiting him.
“The moment Father is arrested, all of Goldrail’s financial authority will be transferred to Leighton.”
“How long do you think I’ll stay locked up?! A measly detention center…”
“You’re right—since it’s a financial crime, you won’t end up in prison. Once you pay bail, you’ll return home. …That is, if you have any money left for bail.”
“…!”
Finally, Yulkes understood what she meant.
Yulkes and his two sons were accomplices.
They were all named in the charges, which meant all three would face investigation together.
When that happened, Goldrail’s financial authority would be frozen.
Of course, the Leighton ducal family wouldn’t just touch the assets of someone under investigation. …But in this case, there was another heir.
Jane Goldrail.
The moment all three were hauled away, the acting representative of Goldrail would become Jane.
“T-That’s impossible! I fired you! I closed down the branch…”
“But you never struck me off the family registry. You needed to marry me off to the Billow family. And… you do know inheritance law, don’t you?”
A child inherits everything from their parent.
The crimes, the debts, and naturally the assets too.
Just like Wilhelmina had taken on her family’s debt and been sold to the ducal house.
Yulkes’s face had gone deathly pale, drained of all color.
“The moment you all disappear, I’ll make Goldrail’s full authority mine. Don’t worry about the legalities—I can persuade the investors, and I intend to become the head in a perfectly legitimate way.”
“Do you have any idea who I am?! I’m a noble—Yulkes—and you dare…!”
“You’re not a noble anymore.”
Her lips curled into a smile.
“A noble title is as easy to strip away as it is to grant. The moment you fail to pay bail, your status will be revoked.”
That was a certainty.
Because among Yulkes’s crimes was a military supply corruption scandal involving army provisions.
Even if he did make bail, it was a crime severe enough to strip him of his noble status.
And if he couldn’t pay bail, that meant he’d have to work off the debt instead.
Not in a prison, but in the mines or on a farm as a laborer.
He wouldn’t even be able to set foot in a village again, let alone witness Jane’s fate.
The last mask Yulkes wore—the one that let him pretend to be a noble—shattered.
“Y-You little wretch…!”
“Enough!”
“Let go of me! Y-You ungrateful wretch, disowning your own father! How can you even call yourself human?!”
When Yulkes tried to struggle, a knight seized his wrists in a flash and slammed him to the ground.
“Gah!”
The rain hadn’t fully dried yet, so his face was driven into a muddy puddle.
Mud filled his mouth as he coughed violently, yet he still managed to shout.
“Don’t you see?! This was the only way to revive the Goldrail family! Was honor really that important to you?! Did that Grand Madam smear honey in your eyes to make you blind?!”
“Don’t you dare put the Grand Madam’s name in that filthy mouth of yours.”
Jane kicked his face, smearing more mud over it.
As he spat out the dirt that had gotten back into his mouth and coughed again, he thrashed and spat curses.
“If only you had done nothing! If only you had listened to your father! You could have been a noble—you could have had wealth and honor in your hands! I could have! Your brother too! We all could have been happy!”
“No. That would have been your happiness—not mine.”
Jane sighed, brushing her hair back.
She still wasn’t used to the roughly cropped strands.
“I’ve never once been happy as your family. And I never will be. So this… this is about taking back my own happiness.”
“I—invested so much in you…”
As he screamed in despair, Jane gave him a dry smile.
“Did someone threaten you to invest? This was your choice.”
A cutting remark.
The knight hoisted Yulkes up and carried him away.
As he wept, drooled, and cursed her name, Jane waved lightly.
His future would be far harsher than she had just described—but she had no intention of explaining that.
‘It hurts… less than I thought.’
Even though she’d been called every vile name imaginable—worse than when she lost the branch—she felt no turmoil.
No guilt for having her father arrested, only the satisfaction of revenge accomplished.
Whoever said revenge was bitter in the end?
This was milder than the bitterness of tea—sweet enough to forget with a single piece of pastry.
She could finally feel the inferiority and sense of deprivation that had haunted her all her life… vanish.
“…Grand Madam.”
Right after the evaluation meeting ended, Wilhelmina had smiled at her.
She gave her a short compliment—Good work, you did very well—and patted her on the shoulder.
Then, saying she wanted to talk more but thought Jane should rest first, she ordered her to take the rest of the day off.
Jane knew that really, Wilhelmina just wanted a break too.
Just before heading toward the annex, Wilhelmina offered one last compliment in place of a farewell:
Your hair suits you.
Jane slowly lifted her gaze to the sky.
The spring rain had cleared, leaving it bright and clear.
The cool night breeze seemed to whisper that winter was finally over.
“Thank you.”
She whispered the words again and again as she slowly walked to the place where she belonged.
A week had passed since the evaluation meeting ended.
After handing over all business rights to Mikhail, I watched the castle’s staff bustling about while I enjoyed a rare moment of leisure.
I’d worked like crazy for three months—so I figured I deserved this much rest.
Even if I wasn’t the one who did all the legwork.
‘Using your head counts as work too.’
Though the one who used hers the most was Jane.
As a self-proclaimed unemployed strategist, I boldly ignored the financial officer’s pleas for help and indulged in my vacation.
The reading club had resumed as well.
Now splitting her time between the Goldrail main office and the castle, Jane said she’d take time off just to attend, no matter how busy she got.
I told her there was no need—if we added another member or two, it’d be fine.
But then Jane suddenly looked serious and said…
My place is next to the Grand Madam.
I didn’t know why that seat mattered so much, but I just nodded.
Before I knew it, Jane’s bodyguard—a man named Rohan—had returned too.
Now part of the reading club, he brought some famous specialty sweets from the East to celebrate his return from leave.
I was about to suggest inviting other guests and sending him back to his original job, but I shut my mouth.
The Eastern treats were like yakgwa, and they were so delicious I didn’t even have time to speak.
How did he guess my tastes so perfectly? I had no choice but to let him stay a little longer.
As we enjoyed the yakgwa-like sweets during the reading session, Jane—now looking much more natural with her short hair—called to me softly.
“Grand Madam.”
“Hmm?”
Illina was making a fuss about how good the sweets were, Chloe was wiping her cheeks with a handkerchief, and the viscountess was having a cryptic chat with Rohan.
No one else would notice our conversation.
I leaned in, thinking she wanted to share a secret.
“About the last part of the evaluation… Are you really satisfied with that answer?”
“That answer? Which one?”
“When I said, I pledge my loyalty to the ducal house.”
“Ah.”
I had a rough idea what was on her mind.
She looked at me with guilt-filled eyes, and I gave a small laugh.
At that time, I’d told Jane just two words: Ducal House. Loyalty.
Quick-witted as she was, she turned to Mikhail and replied with dignity:
The one I pledge loyalty to is the House of Leighton. Nothing can take precedence over the ducal house.
A perfect answer.
“What’s wrong with that?”
