Chapter 28. The Strange Man (1)
The next morning.
Even as she headed to the Fragrant Garden for work, Elluciana couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling gnawing at her.
Last night, she had gone to Astain’s room. She felt like she might explode with frustration if she kept ignoring this discomfort. But when she got there, the room was already empty.
So she decided to wait. Surely he wouldn’t stay out all night.
But she had dozed off, and by the time she woke up in a panic, it was already bright morning. Worried, she hurried down to the dining room. But only Simon was there, sitting alone.
‘Father. Where’s Astain?’
‘He said something urgent came up.’
At this point, Elluciana couldn’t help but wonder, “Is he avoiding me on purpose?”
She swallowed a dry laugh and let out a long sigh. The anxiety she had tried to suppress slowly began to rear its head again, as if demanding, “What are you going to do now?”
“This is all just my imagination… that’s all.”
There’s no way he—that Astain—would betray her and leave. As someone who had raised and supported him all these years, she believed she had earned enough trust for that.
“Seriously. Why did he have to act out of character and make me worry?”
Sigh…
Letting out a shallow breath, Elluciana stopped in front of the shop.
“Hm? Is someone inside?”
Her brow furrowed at the silhouette flickering inside the shop. The only one with a key was Trisha, and she had contacted her two days ago to say she wouldn’t be able to come for a while.
With a puzzled expression, Elluciana opened the door.
Ding-a-ling—
At the cheerful chime, Trisha, who had been sorting flowers, looked up and exclaimed in delight.
“Young Lady!”
Trisha jumped up from her seat and rushed over, grabbing Elluciana’s hands.
Her plump and cheerful face, looking to be in her early thirties, was quickly filled with worry.
“Oh my, dear heavens! Our beautiful young lady’s face has become so gaunt. I told you to take it easy, didn’t I? Why don’t you ever listen?”
Elluciana calmed the fussing Trisha and asked,
“What about you, Trisha? Weren’t you buried in work with the new contract?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started.”
Trisha shuddered as if disgusted and shook her head.
“In all my life, I’ve never met such an insufferable human being!”
Elluciana guided the flustered Trisha to a chair and asked,
“Is it because of that so-called representative butler?”
“Yes! There’s no other word for it—he’s a perverted old man who tortures people mentally. He nitpicks everything—even slight differences in color, which is totally normal—he uses that as a complaint—”
It seemed Trisha had a lot of pent-up frustration and began to thoroughly roast the representative.
Listening, Elluciana recalled events from five years ago.
Before the fall of the House of Wires, Elluciana had purchased a building in the capital. Of course, it was in Trisha’s name, not hers.
At first, they rented it out, but after the butler’s sudden death, the fixed monthly costs became unsustainable. So Elluciana asked Trisha, who was skilled in flower arrangement, to run a flower shop.
That shop was Fragrant Garden.
She hadn’t expected much. Just enough to make a modest living was fine.
But in just five years, Trisha had turned Fragrant Garden into the most famous flower shop in the capital, even opening three more branches.
She didn’t just have a talent for flowers—she had impressive business acumen, too.
“Young Lady! Young Lady? Are you even listening to me?”
“Yeah, I am. But with that level of nitpicking, wouldn’t it be better to cancel the contract?”
A one-time complaint could be overlooked, but persistent harassment was a problem. Especially when it crossed the line into absurdity—it could even warrant a damage claim after fulfilling the contract.
Judging from how tight the timeline was, it’s probably not about stalling deliberately. What was the name of the client again…?
As Elluciana frowned in thought, Trisha suddenly shrieked and shot up from her seat.
“Ahhh! I’m doomed!”
Pale as a ghost, Trisha stared at the clock above the door and gasped.
“What? What happened?”
“I’m doomed, Young Lady.”
Elluciana stopped the flustered Trisha from bolting out the door and asked,
“Calm down, Trisha. What’s going on?”
“No time! I have to go now. Right now!”
“Go? Where? Is it the place you signed the contract with?”
“Well, that is…”
Trisha hesitated, mumbling. Elluciana sighed and said,
“This isn’t the first time, is it?”
“Don’t worry, Young Lady. I’ll handle it myself.”
“If it’s too much, let’s cancel the contract, Trisha. There’s no need to push yourself.”
“Haha. If I could, I really would. But… that’s going to be a bit difficult, Young Lady.”
“Difficult? Why?”
Looking deeply troubled, Trisha gave a bitter smile like she’d swallowed a handful of salt.
“The client… is the Grand Duchy of Sestain.”
At the completely unexpected name, Elluciana was rendered speechless.
The Grand Duchy of Sestain.
They were all magic-obsessed maniacs, a family so untouchable that even the emperor ignored them when it came to anything related to magic.
So of course, the contract they presented wasn’t ordinary.
As one might expect, the Sestain family’s contract was filled with bizarre, unheard-of magical clauses.
From “cut off the contractor’s fingers” to “scatter their quartered remains to feed dogs for 25 days,” it contained terrifying conditions. There were also lesser clauses, like “repeatedly dunk in water until the contractor stops breathing” or “extract a single fingernail over five minutes.”
Despite this, the compensation offered was as tempting and juicy as a forbidden fruit. Trisha had been unable to resist the allure of gleaming gold and had signed the contract as if in a trance.
So, who could she blame?
“It’s all my fault, Young Lady. I should have realized something was off when they offered ten times the usual deposit.”
Elluciana gently took Trisha’s hand and shook her head. How could this be Trisha’s fault? It was the cruel reality of the Wires household, always in financial peril, that was to blame.
“No. If I hadn’t pressured you, you wouldn’t have gone for such a risky contract.”
Simon’s salary as an imperial administrator wasn’t enough to properly care for the children of Angel’s Home. On top of that, Simon was overly generous.
If it weren’t for Fragrant Garden’s income, the Wires’ noble registry would’ve already been sold off.
The only valuable thing left was their noble title.
Elluciana bit her lip, swallowing the words she couldn’t say aloud. Sensing her thoughts, Trisha comforted her.
“Don’t worry, Young Lady. I’ll handle this well. Whatever they want, I’ll do it. The representative is still human—I’m sure he’ll show some mercy.”
Seeing Trisha’s playful wink, Elluciana’s eyes welled up with tears.
Since the day she was dropped into this unfamiliar world, Trisha had stayed by her side.
Even after the fall of the family, Trisha had done everything she could to help her.
Thanks to that, a single flower shop had grown into a large chain with three branches.
She was so thankful—and equally guilty—that her heart felt heavy.
“Thank you. For everything.”
“Oh, Young Lady. You’re doing it again. Didn’t I tell you? Just the fact that you treat someone like me with such value is more than I deserve. Oh dear, now you’re making that face again. Don’t frown—it’ll wrinkle your pretty forehead.”
“Who’s frowning? You must be seeing things, Trisha.”
“Yes, yes. You’re right. I must be mistaken.”
“I’m not joking, Trisha. If things are hard, say so. Don’t try to handle everything alone, okay?”
“Hoho, I understand. I promise. Then I’ll be off now—gasp!”
Just as Trisha smiled and turned around, she suddenly froze.
“Trisha? What now…?”
Trisha snapped her head back to look at Elluciana, her eyes sparkling like she had spotted a juicy prey. Startled, Elluciana instinctively took a step back.
“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? That’s scary…”
Trisha lunged forward and grabbed Elluciana’s hand like a lasso.
“Young Lady!”
“W-what?!”
“You said I should speak up when I need help, right? And not handle it alone!”
Did I say “absolutely”? Elluciana swallowed her retort and nodded. After all, Trisha’s eyes were sparkling with a dangerous light.
She really looks like she’s going to eat me alive…
Trisha took a step closer.
“Please do me one favor, Young Lady.”
“A f-favor? What kind of favor?”
“Please make a delivery!”
“…What did you just say?”
Gripping her hand tightly as if it were her only lifeline, Trisha pleaded with a solemn face.
“You’re the only one who can fix this! No—this is something that only you can do!”
