4. I Can’t Just Leave
When Marie opened the door to the study, a towering giant stood in front of her.
“Dwayne…?”
“M-Miss…”
Dwayne, despite his massive build, was just a teenager.
He was so slow in speech and movement that it was almost suffocating to watch.
“A-Are you… o-okay…?”
He was a giant who had been left at the White House by his parents in exchange for their debts when he was little.
There was no slave document, but he probably didn’t have the courage to leave on his own due to his timid nature.
“So you’re still here, Dwayne. If you decided to stay, you should’ve come to me right away.”
“S-Sorry…”
Though he had done nothing wrong, Dwayne lowered his head with a timid expression.
“No need to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“S-Sorry…”
“In any case, this is perfect. Dwayne, come with me.”
“Y-Yes…”
Marie didn’t explain further and began walking ahead.
Mildred and Dwayne followed her with confused expressions.
Books were scattered sparsely across the library floor.
A middle-aged man with a thin frame and glasses could be seen deeper inside.
He was desperately clinging to a bookshelf attached to the wall.
“John, I knew you’d be here.”
“M-Miss?”
His startled reaction made it obvious that he had something to hide.
But then he simply nodded and blatantly ignored Marie.
“What do you want? Are you here to beg me for help?”
“Beg you? Me?”
“Hmph. Then what business do you have with me?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask. What business do you have in my study?”
When Marie asked, the butler looked up.
“Pardon? I was just trying to read some books…”
“You already said you were quitting as the count’s butler, didn’t you? I don’t understand why someone who resigned would still be using the White House’s study.”
Mildred and Dwayne turned their heads toward Marie.
“……”
They looked stunned by the way she was speaking—articulate and clear.
John had also never heard her speak like this before.
‘What the…? It’s like she’s a different person overnight.’
Even so, it was too late.
What could a woman with no money or status possibly do?
‘She has no education or common sense. She probably can’t think logically.’
Just a few firm words and she’d surely retreat.
“I served this household for 20 years. And now you’re criticizing me just for reading a few books? You really have no idea how to treat loyal staff, do you?”
John’s face was full of scornful mockery.
But Marie ignored his expression and responded calmly.
“Twenty years of service to this family… Yes, someone like that should be treated properly.”
“Hmph, of course.”
“But you know…”
“Yes?”
John, who had been turning away, paused.
“If you were such a loyal butler, shouldn’t you have come to say goodbye to me in person?”
“…Pardon?”
“You didn’t even submit a resignation letter. Legally, you’re still employed by this family. Wouldn’t that be considered dereliction of duty? Neglect, even?”
Mildred and Dwayne turned back toward Marie.
“M-Miss…?”
Was this really the same noblewoman who used to shut herself in her room, avoiding everyone?
They stood with mouths agape.
“T-That’s because I was sick. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye…”
“But you had enough energy to come read books in the study?”
“Wh-What…?”
John began to sweat.
Dereliction of duty? Neglect?
How could this ignorant young lady even know terms like that?
“Or… maybe you came here to secretly take something from my house?”
“D-Don’t frame me! There’s nothing worth stealing in a bankrupt count’s estate!”
At that, Marie pulled something out of her pocket and held it up to his face.
“This must be what you’re after.”
“T-That’s…!”
John’s face turned pale in an instant.
What Marie showed him was a thin key.
‘Just as I thought…’
When she heard John was in the study, the key had come to mind immediately.
She had read in the novel how the imperial princess—the main character—discovered a secret room in the White House using a key.
That memory had triggered her own—her past self had received the key from the former Count, along with her brother Henry, as something to be used in times of crisis.
“So that’s what this is. You stayed at the White House to loot the family’s vault.”
“N-No! That’s not true!”
John’s thin wrist began to tremble slightly.
“That bookshelf behind you is attached to a recessed wall. That’s why it survived the recent chaos.”
“……”
“But you didn’t know I also had a second key, did you?”
“A s-second one?”
John repeated in shock, then realized his mistake and quickly covered his mouth.
Marie nodded.
“Yes. The vault only opens if both keys are inserted at the same time.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I should leave now.”
As John hastily turned away, Marie gave a calm but firm command to Dwayne.
“Dwayne, stop him.”
“Yes.”
Without hesitation, Dwayne stepped forward.
Thud.
The massive giant’s shadow swallowed up the feeble butler.
“G-Get out of my way! How dare someone like you—!”
“Ugh…”
Dwayne effortlessly lifted John and flipped him upside down.
“Ahhh! S-Stop! Help me!”
Then he shook John violently.
“Waaaah!”
Clink.
A clear metallic sound rang out as something fell from the butler’s inner pocket.
“Aaah…!”
When John saw the key fall in front of his upside-down head, his face went completely pale.
“P-Please! Miss! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Dangling upside down, John pressed his hands together and begged desperately.
He looked like a man facing death.
“Please spare me! I was wrong! I was wrong!”
Mildred, off to the side, looked back and forth between Marie and the butler with a stunned expression.
The always-arrogant butler was begging Marie?
“Dwayne.”
Marie gestured for him to stop.
Dwayne immediately opened his massive hand.
“Ugh!”
Thud.
John hit the floor headfirst.
“Argh!”
“Dwayne, take him to the guards. He tried to steal family property, so he’ll need to answer for it. Have them check if he’s stolen anything already.”
At that, the groaning butler suddenly sat up.
“N-No! Please spare me, Miss! I beg you! For old times’ sake!”
“Old times? Was there really anything like that between us?”
“M-Miss! Miss!”
Dwayne picked him up again with his huge hand like lifting a sack.
“Ahhh! L-Lady Marianne!!”
John pounded on Dwayne’s waist with both fists, but the giant didn’t flinch as he walked off.
“Y-You’ll regret this! Just wait and see!”
“We’ll see. But people who say ‘just wait’ don’t scare me.”
“Please!”
John was dragged away like a bundle of firewood under Dwayne’s arm.
A faint scream echoed from beyond the door.
Mildred rubbed her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing.
“M-Miss… you’ve changed so much, all of a sudden.”
“Me?”
Just days ago, Marie couldn’t even speak properly to other people.
Normally, she would’ve broken down in tears and locked herself in her room by now.
But she had not only seen through the butler’s scheme but also resolved it.
Of course she seemed like a different person.
“Yeah, I guess so. I went through something big, and it must’ve changed me.”
“O-Of course! It must’ve been so traumatic! A noble lady like you, who never even knew hardship…”
Mildred finally seemed to understand and clasped her hands.
‘It’s easier if I just say I changed from the shock.’
Marie turned her gaze to the bookshelf.
“Well then… let’s see what’s in the secret vault.”
Mildred picked up the key from the floor.
Her face was full of anticipation.
“Thank goodness the former Count prepared for this. You can use whatever’s inside to move into a smaller house.”
“Maybe. Let’s see what’s inside…”
At the top shelf of the built-in bookcase, there was a small hole.
Marie inserted both keys into it. A soft click sounded.
“It’s open.”
She pushed aside the shelf to reveal a space big enough for a person to enter.
Inside was another small bookshelf.
On it were dozens of thick books.
“With all the gold trimming, they must be rare editions…”
It looked more like a vault for rare books and documents than valuables.
“I wonder if I could get some money from selling these…”
Marie began flipping through them.
“…?”
A heavy leather pouch fell from one of the shelves.
It was square, like it contained stacks of bills.
“Oh my gosh! There’s actually money!”
Mildred nearly screamed with joy.
Marie quickly opened the pouch.
“Ah…”
But instead of money, the contents were a bundle of letters.
“They’re just letters?”
“Letters? Why are there letters in a vault?”
“Maybe they’re important? Maybe something about a loan?”
But as Marie opened a few, it was clear they were personal.
Sigh “Do I really have time to read someone’s love life right now…?”
As Marie set them aside, Mildred picked them up and started flipping through.
“Looks like love letters between the former Count and Countess… I’ll go through them.”
Mildred muttered under her breath, while Marie sighed again.
‘Looks like Henry used up the emergency funds already. Well, of course he would’ve used those first if he ended up in debt…’
“Miss, it looks like there’s no cash or jewels. What do we do now?”
Marie looked at the books in front of her.
“For now… let’s go to the capital tomorrow and try selling these books.”
“W-What?”
Mildred’s face turned pale.
“You’re going out to the capital? You, Miss? You’ve never even left the house before!”
