Chapter 9 …
“The Daughter of the Villainous Heir!”
“What’s with that kid?”
“I know, right? Who is that? They must be from some noble family.”
Could that really be the Imperial Crown Prince Elliot, who was praised as the empire’s idol in the original story? I also wondered if my cousin Oscar, who had received the male lead buff, would look like that too.
Ebot and I both tilted our heads at the same time, then soon turned away.
We didn’t have the luxury to waste time like this.
Because of that suddenly appearing child, we had lost sight of the shop clerks. Now, who should we ask?
Thinking that, we had only taken a few steps—
“Huh?”
From around the corner of the building, someone peeked out, and our eyes met. It was one of the clerks from earlier.
“You haven’t left yet?”
I hurriedly ran toward the clerk, and Ebot, who noticed him a bit later, followed behind me.
Only then did the clerk gesture to us, as if telling us to come behind the building where there were fewer people. When we quickly went over, he whispered quietly.
“Are you really curious? About why Marquis Shablin hit Sir Joseph Colson.”
“Yeah, tell me!”
What a lucky break!
Just earlier, the clerk had ignored me—why did he suddenly change his mind?
“You’ll keep it a secret that I told you, right?”
“Of course! I swear on the honor of the Shablin Ducal House!”
Even though the amount of honor I was allowed to claim from the Shablin Ducal House wasn’t even worth a grain of rice—but anyway.
“Then I’ll trust you and tell you. Besides, there were plenty of people at our shop yesterday who witnessed it.”
“Yeah!”
“Anyway, yesterday was really strange. Sir Joseph Colson kept picking a fight with Marquis Shablin, to the point it felt like he’d taken the wrong medicine. Unless he wanted to get beaten to a pulp, why would he provoke that madman—ah, I mean, sorry.”
“It’s fine, keep going.”
I quickly urged the clerk on, trying to grasp the full story of what happened last night.
With sparkling eyes, determined not to miss a single word.
‘Honestly, I thought Sir Joseph Colson had a death wish. When on earth is he going to pay off his tab at our shop, seriously…’
After returning to the mansion, I carefully went over what the club clerk had told me.
An unpaid tab?
Not a single word of this information was useless—it was a scoop among scoops.
‘Good thing I went to check it out.’
Honestly, I hadn’t expected much—I just wanted to grab at straws.
But just like Father said, that guy really did something worth getting beaten over. He had provoked Father in a way anyone would find offensive.
To be honest, it was unexpected. For something that deserved a beating, he got beaten way too much, so it just ended up looking like Dad was acting like a delinquent again.
I kept replaying the clerk’s words in my mind.
‘Without even asking if he wanted to get hit, he smashed his glass and immediately threw a punch. He beat him so viciously that business for the entire day was ruined. It’s a miracle only his front teeth got broken.’
‘This smells fishy.’
It felt like I could almost smell something suspicious, and I sniffed quietly.
There was definitely something going on with the guy who got beaten.
Unless he wanted to tattoo bruises onto his face, there was no reason to provoke a madman like that.
‘Huge medical expenses!’
‘Unpaid tab at the social club!’
Leaving my room, I felt the need to investigate Joseph Colson further.
If he had intentionally approached Father, then I needed to find proof of it—only then could I ease Grandfather’s anger even a little.
“So. That bastard really left the mansion?”
“Yes, Your Grace. He completely moved out. You can rest assured now.”
At Duke Shurman’s question, Nocturn replied calmly.
The 52-year-old aging duke already looked sharp, but lately he seemed even more so. As if his headaches had worsened, he frowned and lay back down.
“Did he leave quietly on his own, or was he dragged out?”
“He left humming, dressed in vacation clothes.”
“Instead of reflecting, he’s running wild however he pleases again.”
Shurman let out a pained sigh.
Up until five years ago, Leonardo had been a perfect heir—one who would not be lacking even if placed in the imperial palace itself.
He was his pride, his son more precious than words could describe.
He desperately wished for Leo to come to his senses and return to his former intelligent and dignified self.
‘If that were possible, I’d even sell my soul to the devil…’
But when he thought about how ruined Leo had become, and that this was now reality, it felt like his heart was falling apart.
Would Leo ever return to how he used to be?
When Leo first fell apart, Shurman couldn’t understand him and became furious. Anger was the only thing he could do.
He couldn’t bring his already dead daughter-in-law back to life, and even if she did return, reconciliation was no longer possible.
Due to a certain incident, relations with the Chartier Ducal House—his daughter-in-law’s family—had become worse than enemies. Even now, the Chartier family still named the Shablin Ducal House as the one they despised most.
‘I don’t even want to think about what happened back then.’
About a year after arguing with Leo in anger, Shurman grew too exhausted to even be angry anymore. Instead, he sent doctors and renowned teachers from all fields to fix Leo—but they were all driven away.
He threatened dozens of times to strip him of his heir status if this continued. But Leo only scoffed.
Five years—he had endured enough and waited enough. If Leo continued like this, Shurman wouldn’t be able to close his eyes even in death.
Meanwhile, Nocturn recalled what Erusha had asked of him.
‘Nocturn, please keep what my daddy said a secret. My daddy might reflect from now on, right?’
Why had Erusha Shablin suddenly said something like that to him?
Had she, who had been living like a lifeless shell, finally sensed a crisis?
It was as if she had realized that even if her father was a madman, she had to cling to that rotten rope to survive.
Well, she was five years old now.
‘Still, what could that tiny child and that deranged son possibly accomplish?’
Of course, Nocturn could choose not to report Leonardo’s insults to the duke, as Erusha requested.
But should he really?
Letting out a deep sigh, Nocturn wore a worried expression no less than Shurman’s.
“Unfortunately, the Marquis showed no signs of reflection. Rather, he was cursing.”
“……”
“I don’t even dare repeat it out loud, as it would be too disrespectful to Your Grace.”
A statement that was mostly true, but laced with a bit of malice, flowed from Nocturn’s lips.
Heh heh.
Hahaha!
Behind Nocturn, who hid his true thoughts, it was as if a black-winged devil was laughing.
From early morning, the atmosphere in the Shablin Ducal House was like a funeral.
“His Grace is leaving to apologize again today.”
“Since the Marquis beat someone up again, His Grace has no choice but to go represent the family… sob.”
The servants secretly wiped away tears.
Just how many times had this disgraceful procession happened?
It hurt too much to count.
Step… step…
Duke Shurman’s steps toward the carriage were heavy.
Nobles lived and died by honor, and among them, Shurman valued honor even more than most.
That was why he treated victims with extreme sincerity.
He believed that if harm was done, compensating beyond that was the only way to preserve the family’s honor.
Like a monthly ritual, he would visit the victims his son had beaten, personally apologize, and provide generous compensation—medical expenses, emotional damages, even compensation for time lost during treatment.
This time as well, he planned to personally visit the Colson Count’s family and offer a sincere apology.
Shurman’s sharp eyes gleamed coldly.
‘They already want to break off the business contract, but what can I do.’
He would just suffer humiliation in high society again.
He would endure the emperor’s mockery again, feel his pride wounded, and cry alone.
He would become a laughingstock to his political enemies again, and think, “At least I brought others joy.”
Again, again, again!
“Damn that bastard Leonardo!”
Overcome with rage, Shurman suddenly threw his cane.
