Chapter 56
Everything went according to plan.
Early the next morning, as soon as the sun rose, Mika and I ran straight toward the west wing.
“Here! I want to show this to Mr. Lawrence!”
“Whoa, that’s a huge painting!”
Of course, I was still hugging my teddy bear—the one with a dangling, half-detached eye.
“Uh… Shouldn’t we stop them?”
I could hear the servants whispering anxiously nearby.
Well, it made sense. The west wing was where Jaden’s bedroom was.
And Jaden absolutely hated me.
He hadn’t come to see me even once in the past few months—not even out of basic courtesy.
But honestly? The feeling was mutual.
I don’t like that trash personality either!
The memory of the very first time I met Jaden was still vivid.
The day I moved into the main building, I saw him slap Grandpa Roger, the old butler.
Just from that alone, I could understand why he still hadn’t been granted the title of “Young Duke” at nearly 30 years old.
And for the branch families to support him? If I were Sharon Abner, I’d be furious.
It wasn’t Jaden who rebuilt the collapsing Abner family.
It was Sharon Abner.
But the branch families and the Elder Council were all on Jaden’s side.
That was when I slowly realized:
To protect Sharon Abner’s position, the first person I need to investigate is Jaden.
Because the branch families were clearly gathered under Jaden like their center of gravity.
And Viscount Kainton too—he seemed especially loyal to Jaden.
That greedy old man had repeated the same phrases during the meeting I eavesdropped on:
“The head position should have gone to its rightful heir.”
“You can’t treat the legitimate son like decoration.”
The other elders seemed to agree.
So they’ll definitely meet Jaden at some point. At the very least, Kainton absolutely will.
If they planned to overthrow the current family head, of course they would coordinate with Jaden.
And I was dying to know exactly what those conversations would look like.
I’d already imagined dozens of possible scenarios.
But I wanted confirmations—solid ones.
If I’m going to defend, I need to know where the attack is coming from!
And intelligence gathering must be done without leaving any traces.
“Mika! Let’s go this way!”
I pointed toward a corridor decorated with extravagant ornaments.
Mika happily nodded.
The servants became even more nervous.
The hallway we were approaching led directly toward Jaden’s bedroom.
But in the end, none of them dared stop us.
Sharon Abner had clearly ordered:
“There is no part of this estate children are forbidden from entering.”
Perfect. Everything’s going smoothly.
I cheerfully ran down the corridor like an energetic child.
I made sure to keep a bright, innocent smile the whole time.
Mika followed behind, looking around excitedly at all the decorations.
Then, after running for a while, I abruptly stopped.
“Huh? Dead end?”
“Whoa. Why is this place so big?”
“No idea. Let’s just go back!”
Mika nodded.
We chattered away as we returned the way we came, still running lightly.
Mika continued sightseeing, completely absorbed in the surroundings.
Which is why she didn’t notice something:
Mr. Lawrence’s loose eye falling from my hand
—rolling quietly across the floor.
***
As expected… my prediction was perfect.
I stared at Mr. Lawrence’s now-dark, empty eye socket with satisfaction.
That magic-stone recorder was single-use.
Once I activated it, it would work only once.
After a magic stone used up all its magic, it turned into an ordinary pebble.
Meaning if someone found it, I just had to play dumb.
Who would ever suspect a random marble-like stone in the west wing of being a listening device?
They’d simply assume children dropped a toy while playing.
I lay down beside the already-asleep Mika and sighed contentedly.
“Ahh… feels good.”
But soon, I frowned slightly.
“…Still, something feels unpleasant.”
Because of what Jaden said to Kainton earlier.
***
“Viscount. Engrave this in your ears.”
“The contract with the Imperial Palace has been canceled.”
“I obtained the information myself—from Empress Karin, who oversees the weapons department.”
Empress Karin really intended to terminate the Abner weapons supply contract.
And I knew exactly why.
“Seriously… how childish can one person be?”
Apparently, Empress Karin felt irritated that Abner was getting close to the Crown Prince and Empress Dowager lately.
How is the Empress acting just like kids from the orphanage?
Suddenly I remembered Audrey—Mika’s old enemy at the orphanage.
Mika used to hate Audrey for being “greedy,” but honestly? Mika was just as greedy.
Mika told the other kids not to play with Audrey.
And if they did, she’d threaten to never talk to them again.
I sighed, watching Mika sleep next to me.
Eventually, all the kids grew tired of Mika’s possessiveness.
They began saying things like:
“Mika, you’re being mean!”
and
“Even if you stop me, I’m still going to be friends with Audrey!”
And when Mika suddenly lost all her friends, she finally realized her mistake.
The day Audrey got adopted, they both cried buckets, apologizing to each other.
I turned over and blinked.
I wonder… Is the Empress even better than four-year-old Mika?
The way she would handle the consequences of her childish jealousy…
I was very, very curious.
***
“Did you hear? They’re holding a review meeting soon.”
“Y-yes, I heard. Oh no… what’s going to happen to our lady…”
I kept my eyes tightly shut, pretending to sleep while listening to Miel and Soya whisper.
After the attack incident last time, they rarely left my room.
Even after I fell asleep, they stayed for at least one or two hours.
“I really don’t get it. Why blame the baby?”
“R-right! Where else are you going to find a child as precious as our little lady?!”
Even gentle Soya was getting angry.
“They… they’ve done nothing! But our lady works so hard at her age!”
“Exactly! And a ‘review meeting’? What a joke.”
“But… w-what will happen to the lady that day?”
Finally. The topic I’ve been waiting for.
“They said Lady Larien demanded that the baby be brought too.”
“Has she lost her mind?! What awful questions is she planning to throw at a child?!”
“D-don’t worry. Mistress said absolutely not. She was very firm about it.”
No… no, no! That ruins everything!
I cracked my eyes open a tiny bit.
“If the lady sees that chaotic scene, she’ll be traumatized.”
“T-they’ll definitely say terrible things to her. We have to stop them!”
But that’s exactly what I want!
I wanted to attend the meeting.
I wanted the elders and branch family heads to hurl ridiculous accusations at me.
So that I could calmly… logically… professionally crush every single one.
Principles vs. principles.
Evidence vs. evidence.
Logic vs. nonsense.
They’d lose to a little kid and go absolutely crazy.
Especially Viscount Kainton—that man had zero self-restraint.
I had prepared for weeks for that moment.
Well… if they won’t let me attend the normal way…
Then I’d just have to use a different method.
I silently began formulating my next plan.
***
A particularly sunny day.
Sharon Abner pressed her throbbing forehead and rose from behind her desk.
“With this, everything regarding the Evehill children’s placements is settled.”
No matter how busy she was, she never neglected finding proper adoptive homes for the orphanage children.
“I was planning to review the remaining documents this afternoon… but of course the elders wouldn’t let that happen.”
Because today, unlike usual, the elders refused to leave the estate.
They had finally forced a review meeting.
Branch family members who lived far away had started arriving too.
They were clearly determined to tear her apart today.
Sharon stood in front of the mirror with a complicated expression.
Her own aging face—the wrinkles marking time—stared back at her.
She calmly straightened her hair and adjusted the cufflinks on her formal jacket.
“You did nothing wrong. I… I believe in you…”
Her late husband’s voice echoed in her memory.
She gave a bitter, sad smile.
“I did plenty wrong. You were mistaken.”
Then, with a hardened expression, she stepped out of her office.
