Chapter 22
After Baroness Lillipen tended to her bleeding lip, our conversation continued.
But it was clear the advantage had shifted to me.
“I was so worried just now. I thought maybe you had some kind of illness.”
“Khmm!”
The baroness flushed red and coughed furiously, trying to recover her lost dignity.
“A-anyway! Do you understand? I came here as the duchess’s representative! Do you understand me?!”
Losing to a child had made her even angrier.
I, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm.
“Of course, Baroness. My comprehension is just fine—no need to worry.”
“You dare not take me seriously…!”
“Oh dear, your lip is bleeding again.”
“What?”
Flustered, she pulled out a little mirror to check her mouth.
Then she glared at me.
“It’s not bleeding!”
“Oh, my mistake. I must have confused it with your lipstick. I was only worried it hadn’t stopped…”
I was openly teasing her now, and her face turned red and pale in turns.
“You dare mock an elder—!”
As if she’d forgotten the insults she had thrown at a fourteen-year-old just minutes ago.
I smiled brightly.
“I only said it out of concern, Baroness.”
I had her completely in the palm of my hand.
Enough playing around. Time for business.
I twirled my hair idly and shifted the topic.
“Surely the duchess didn’t send you with only those words?”
“What?”
“If she’s making a demand of me, then of course there should also be… compensation.”
In other words—you first, name your price.
That’s how bargaining worked in any street market: make the other side put their offer on the table first.
The baroness understood at once.
“You’re asking for payment?”
“As you know, I come from lowly birth and have little means. That’s why the young master’s attention is such a rare opportunity for me.”
“!”
The whip—and now the carrot.
“But of course, I’d be terrified to anger the duchess. And I know very well I could never dream of becoming her daughter-in-law.”
“…Then what are you asking?”
Her eyes finally grew serious. She realized I wasn’t a naïve little girl after all.
“What is it you want?”
“If I ensure the duchess’s worries never come true, what guarantee can I receive in return?”
Of course, I had no intention of ever taking Patrick for myself—but there was no reason to admit that here.
“Tell me specifically what you want.”
I grinned and made a circle with my thumb and forefinger.
“What could be better than value that never changes?”
Money.
“…How vulgar.”
She said that, but her expression relaxed. Now there was a clear solution.
I smiled sweetly.
“Low birth, Baroness.”
With a look of contempt, she signaled her maid, who handed over a heavy pouch.
So she really did come prepared!
Of course she had. In this world, the classic hush-money wasn’t an envelope—it was a coin purse.
She wouldn’t actually throw it at me, right?
I felt a flicker of tension. Maybe I’d teased too much.
And sure enough—
Clatter!
The maid sneered as she flipped the pouch upside down, spilling gold and silver coins all over the floor with a loud noise.
“Is this enough for you?”
Baroness Lillipen’s lips curved in a sharp, cruel smile.
Meanwhile, Edmund and Willace overheard the women’s exchange completely by accident.
The sudden crash of coins hitting the floor had caught their attention. Willace used a simple spell to amplify the sound, and the voices carried clearly.
“Is this enough for you?”
That was Lillipen’s voice, sharp with mockery.
Then came an entirely different tone—bright, cheerful.
“Of course, Baroness!”
Cassia’s voice.
They heard her skirts rustling… and the clink of coins being gathered.
Cassia was actually kneeling to pick up the money!
Edmund felt a surge of hot, inexplicable rage.
How dare they—!
But Willace’s sharp click of the tongue snapped him out of it.
“Shameless.”
“What?”
With a contemptuous look, Willace whispered:
“She’s still a noble by birth. Yet she kneels and scrabbles for a few coins? Disgraceful.”
“……”
Edmund couldn’t deny it.
From what they’d overheard, it sounded exactly like this:
—The duchess ordered Cassia to spy on or harm him.
—Cassia accepted in exchange for money.
How else could it be interpreted?
Shadows darkened Edmund’s face.
Beside him, Willace pressed firmly:
“You heard it yourself. You must never trust her. Be more careful than ever.”
Edmund didn’t argue. But he didn’t agree wholeheartedly either.
“Please come again, Baroness!”
“……”
Cassia waved brightly as Baroness Lillipen departed the villa.
The woman felt strangely unsettled.
At first, she had felt toyed with, even humiliated, by the girl’s sharp tongue.
But then Cassia had shamelessly demanded money. When the coins were dumped on the floor as an insult, she had knelt and gathered them without hesitation.
The proud, haughty girl from before showed no trace of wounded pride.
Instead, something about it felt… ominous.
‘Why do I feel like I lost…?’
Still, she tried to shake it off.
N-no, it’s fine. I only did what the duchess asked. The money was meant to be given anyway.
“Yes, I’ll handle it all! You won’t have to worry about the young master one bit!”
Cassia’s cheerful words rang behind her carriage.
“…Or am I wrong?”
The baroness couldn’t help but doubt herself.
I sent off my “VIP customer”—Baroness Lillipen.
Yes! That went perfectly.
The more money, the better. And since the duchess herself had delivered it, why would I refuse?
The pouch was heavy in my hands.
I’d even braced myself to be hit with it, so picking coins off the floor was nothing.
Compared to the humiliations I’d endured back in that orphanage… this was laughably mild.
And that awful baroness? I didn’t even need to take revenge.
She was destined to die miserably at Edmund’s hands later anyway.
I’ll just pocket the money and move on.
I smiled, watching the gold coins glitter in the pouch.
With this much, I can even buy that…
A few days later.
After a trip into the nearby town with only my nanny, I went quietly to Edmund’s room.
“What now?”
He sounded brusque again, as if the little progress we’d made before had vanished.
Teenagers are impossible.
Checking that no one was around, I set down the box I’d hidden.
“Here. Open it.”
Looking puzzled, Edmund opened the box. Inside was a fine fountain pen.
His expression froze.
Watching him carefully, I asked,
“You don’t like it?”
“……”
But Edmund couldn’t answer. His mind was overwhelmed by a single thought.
Did she… kneel before Lillipen, pick up those coins, just to buy this for me?
His chest tightened, like it was being crushed.
