chapter 26
“…Damn it!”
Ashbel, who had once cherished the letter as if it were from his first love, now threw it to the floor.
“What are you doing?”
Lianna glared at her husband, exasperated by his antics, and picked up the letter.
Serena, curious about its contents, peeked over to see what was written.
“…!”
“My goodness.”
As mother and daughter read the letter, both recoiled in shock.
This wasn’t a warm letter from Count Roselantis to his eldest son. It was a chilling warning sent to someone who had dishonored the family.
[All money Ashbel has taken falsely, beyond his living expenses, will be reclaimed.
This applies only to Ashbel; even family members are not involved in this matter.
Therefore, no one else may repay the debt on his behalf, and Ashbel must disclose in detail the source of the funds.
Additionally, having become independent from the family, Ashbel may not enter the Roselantis mansion for any purpose other than repayment.
Unless previously arranged or approved, Ashbel’s family also may not freely enter the mansion.
End of notice.]
“How could Father do this to me, of all people!”
Ashbel cried out in despair.
Lianna sneered sharply, calling it his own fault.
“Who told you to embezzle money? How shameless. You caused trouble for the entire family and thought no one would ever find out?”
Lianna seemed strangely delighted at having someone to scold. Since it wasn’t her responsibility, she could berate him to her heart’s content.
“Shouldn’t you at least be grateful there’s no interest or repayment schedule? If it were me, I’d have added ten percent daily. Actually, for insolence, twenty percent wouldn’t even be enough to calm my anger.”
“I-I see…!”
Ashbel was already overwhelmed with a debt he could never repay in his lifetime, and now he was being mocked to his face. He felt like he might actually faint.
Yet, his guilt was so immense he couldn’t properly vent his anger. Any rebuttal would surely result in nights of torment.
“Damn it! Damn it! Daaaaamn it!”
After cursing for a while with no specific target, Ashbel fixed his gaze out the window, blinking rapidly as if tears might come.
Serena narrowed her eyes at the sight.
‘He knows I have the money, and that Father isn’t exactly capable of earning it himself… so why make him repay it?’
Why go through the trouble of writing a letter just to demand repayment?
The answer became clear to Serena—it was something she had seen countless times over the past eighteen years.
‘…There’s a reason, but it’s not a good one. He just wanted to torment him, giving an impossible task.’
It was a form of hopeful torment. Even within the same bloodline, their actions were identical.
Rather than openly tormenting someone, they knew that watching someone chase an unreachable goal and fail repeatedly was the most draining form of punishment.
‘Now that he’s been completely cut off, he’s utterly abandoned.’
Unaware of this, Ashbel continued to resent Count Roselantis.
Despite having disappointed him dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of times before, he still raged that, as the eldest son, he couldn’t believe his father could treat him this way.
“I didn’t do it on purpose! I did it to improve things! I was sincere! I swear I was sincere…!”
“Really ridiculous. Can’t you just be quiet? What have you done to shout about?”
After venting fully, Lianna’s attention shifted back to Serena, seemingly satisfied.
“By the way, Serena, how much inheritance did you receive to buy so many of Isabella’s dresses? How did Isabella even know to be summoned? Buying is one thing, but meeting her isn’t easy, I hear.”
Earlier, she had been furious mentioning Caroline, but her tone had softened.
Her gaze swept over Serena as if sizing her up like a predator tasting her prey.
Even though they were family, they had surely been warned that reckless spending would result in punishment. Lianna’s intent to seize anything over a certain amount was evident.
Serena, feeling no need to answer directly, instead asked what she had wondered herself.
“I bought them because I could afford them. Why the shock? Did you hear some strange rumor?”
“Strange rumor…! Girl! Who in the world doesn’t know how much Isabella’s clothes cost?! The cheapest petticoat alone is 500 gold, and they say if you don’t have money, don’t even ask!”
A petticoat for 500 gold…?
‘Are we talking about the petticoat, hidden under the outer dress, unseen by even the wearer? Then how much for the outer dress…?’
It was far more expensive than expected, and Serena blinked slowly.
Lianna narrowed her eyes, noticing her reaction.
“Why that reaction? Are you sure that girl was Isabella?”
It had been a gift, not a purchase. Overwhelmed, Serena wished the woman had just shared her name coincidentally.
But unfortunately, Stella had already identified Isabella. There was no doubt she was the real person.
“Well, she did go around the Roselantis mansion boldly announcing her name… and the carriage following her matched as well.”
Indeed, Isabella’s carriage was quite extravagant. No imposter boutique would have delivered that far, confirming her identity.
“To get proper dresses, it would cost around 2,000 gold per gown. How much inheritance did she get…? Maybe around 5 million gold?”
Lianna muttered this to herself, glancing at Serena, who could hear everything.
Twenty gowns at 2,000 gold each, plus shoes, hats, and gloves, easily made the following carriage carry over 50,000 gold worth of goods.
‘Half of the inheritance I just received…’
At least 50,000 gold, possibly more. The inheritance might not even cover it.
‘Why is it so expensive…?’
By this point, Serena didn’t even think about repaying to relieve her burden. She worried that Carlos might go bankrupt over these dresses and end up on the street, breaking out in cold sweat.
“So how much did you inherit? Why are you silent?”
Lianna pressed, clearly expecting an answer.
‘Five million gold? Seriously, after living a poor life, how can someone have such terrible financial sense?’
Just yesterday, they had lived on twenty gold for a month. If Serena admitted 100,000 gold, Lianna might have been angry instead of disappointed.
There was no obligation to answer. No need to appear weak.
She shrugged, signaling Lianna to think for herself.
“Girl! How much did you get?!”
Whether she answered or not, Serena ignored her, and Lianna eventually gave up, muttering to herself.
Leaving the parlor, Stella headed straight to the indoor garden on the first floor, where she indeed found Chloe enjoying tea.
“Mother!”
Surprised, Chloe set her book down beside her teacup. Unlike yesterday’s anger, she appeared calm.
She had apparently composed herself while reading “The Intelligent Matriarchs of Noble Families.”
Her expression was gentle, as if to signal she would no longer concern herself with strange people.
“Stella, what brings you here at this hour?”
Stella approached with a frown and clung to Chloe.
“Do you know who’s in the parlor right now? It’s Isabella! I called her, and she said she was fully booked… But that blonde bought so many of Isabella’s dresses!”
Chloe patted Stella’s back, letting her bury her face against her chest.
“I heard she arrived, but I didn’t expect her to buy so many. She probably hasn’t inherited that much.”
“Exactly…! And do you know what she said to me just for having a single rose gold piece?”
“What could she have said to make our sweet Stella this angry?”
“She said I couldn’t even have a rose gold! Can you believe it? I didn’t want it, but she claimed I couldn’t even possess it…”
Stella sniffled in indignation, hoping her mother would join in her anger and promise her lands even better than Rosegold.
Yet Chloe said nothing, her comforting hands paused.
“…?”
Raising her head, Stella saw Chloe looking slightly flustered.
‘What’s with this reaction…?’
Before she could ask, a familiar voice called from the garden corner.
“Quite right. Why would you need lands or titles?”
