Chapter 78

When Aness returned to the mansion after giving her testimony about Katrin at the imperial palace, the maids with dark expressions quickly gathered around her.

“Did you testify properly?”

“Yes. I stood on my lady’s side.”

Since Katrin had left, the mansion felt like a funeral home.

Even when Duke Ellemore had died, the atmosphere had only been solemn. But now, all the maids and servants were heartbroken as if they had lost a family member.

“Everyone! We found a letter from the young lady!”

No one had ever dared to open Katrin’s desk drawers without permission, but after she disappeared, they finally touched it, hoping to find some clue.

“It seems like a letter to us.”

Aness, holding the letter envelope with tear-filled eyes, read the writing on the outside:

[To all the employees of House Ellemore.]

It was written in Katrin’s neat, round handwriting.

Carefully opening it, Aness held the letter with both hands and took a deep breath.

All the maids, servants, and guards of the mansion gathered around, waiting for Aness to read it aloud.

“When you read this letter, a new world will have opened after the revolution.”

Some people gasped softly at the thought that Katrin had already known about the revolution.

“As the head of the Ellemore family, I will also have moved to a new home. I cannot tell you where it is, but know that I am doing well.”

“…My lady.”

A voice filled with sorrow echoed from the crowd.

“Anyway, I want to thank you for working so hard for House Ellemore all this time, and I sincerely apologize for all the wrongs I committed that caused you suffering.”

“Apologize? Who treated us as well as you did, my lady!”

“That’s right!”

A few of the guards shouted in rough voices.

Aness gave them a warning glance to be quiet and continued reading the letter.

“I don’t know if this will be enough, but as the rightful owner of all Ellemore property, I will completely cancel all of your debts.”

“…!”

Everyone was stunned into silence.

No one working in House Ellemore was without debt.

Though the reasons for the debts were different, all of them had been paying them off with their life’s work.

After the death of the Duke and Duchess, Katrin had separated wages from debts, which made things much easier for them, but still, those debts had been a lifelong shackle.

And now, she was canceling all of them?

“I have also set aside retirement funds at the bank under each of your names, so please collect them. Furthermore, I am gifting this historic Ellemore mansion to all of you as joint owners.”

Thud—someone fell to their knees.

Some stood there in shock, some frowned, and others shook their heads.

Aness, her voice trembling, continued to read:

“I wish you all good fortune in the days ahead… The end.”

As soon as Aness finished reading, several maids wiped the tears streaming down their faces with their hands.

Aness also couldn’t stop the tears that kept rolling down her cheeks.

“My lady…”

Even though their lifelong debts had disappeared, even though they now had retirement funds and would inherit this incredible mansion, not one employee was smiling with joy.

Once, they had been so afraid of Katrin that they couldn’t even meet her gaze, but now every single one of them knew what kind of person she really was.

No matter how much the world called her a villainess, to them, Katrin was a saint.

A hollow emptiness pierced their hearts, and waves of longing and worry for her crashed over them.

Everyone stood in heavy silence, not knowing what to do, when the mansion doors suddenly opened.

Caron Fernar, the new emperor’s right-hand man, entered with soldiers following behind him.

She had very few places left to go in the empire, and most border crossings were blocked.

A butterfly trapped in a jar.

That confidence was why their lord, the emperor, could stay calm.

If they just waited, they would eventually bring her back.

But the moment news arrived that Katrin Ellemore’s carriage—once thought to be hers—had been found at the bottom of a cliff, the situation changed dramatically.

—You can’t confirm if she’s alive or dead?

It was the first time Caron had seen Etias’ brow furrow like that.

Etias, who had never lost his composure, was now gripped by uncontrollable anxiety.

—Don’t joke with me, Katrin.

His lord, with hardened eyes, had stopped eating and was rushing straight to the site.

But all he would find there was the wreckage of a carriage and her belongings.

‘If there’s no body, she isn’t dead. But if she planned to disappear this completely, someone else must have helped her.’

That’s why Caron had immediately gone to the Ellemore mansion with soldiers.

The most suspicious person was the butler of House Ellemore, who had disappeared with Katrin.

When Caron arrived and saw the crying servants, maids, and guards, he hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat and spoke:

“By order of His Majesty the Emperor, we will search Lady Katrin Ellemore’s mansion.”

Tear-streaked Aness spread her arms wide, blocking his way, and raised her brows.

“You’re trying to harm our lady, aren’t you?”

Led by Aness, the other maids and servants also stood in front of the soldiers, forming a barricade.

‘If our lady disappeared because she feared punishment after the revolution, then we must protect her.’

They knew nothing about politics, but they could still guess that Emperor Etias might be hostile toward House Ellemore.

Aness argued for Katrin in front of them, believing that this search was an investigation against an enemy faction.

“You can’t go in!”

“Just kill us instead!”

Every employee of House Ellemore wore an expression of grim determination, ready to face death if necessary.

Caron couldn’t help but admire her again as he watched them.

‘She really was an incredible person.’

Then, with a faint smile, Caron stepped forward toward Aness, who was glaring at him, and spoke:

“We are not searching the mansion for bad reasons. On the contrary…”

These people, so full of loyalty, could be trusted with their lord’s true intentions.

After leaving the Ellemore mansion, Caron rode straight to the place where Katrin’s carriage had been found.

By the time he arrived, it was already late at night.

Etias was standing silently in front of the wreckage, his brows shadowed.

His hands were covered in mud as if he had been digging through the earth. In them, he held one of Katrin’s scarves.

“Your Majesty.”

“….”

Caron stepped forward and spoke.

“Lady Katrin Ellemore…”

“She isn’t dead.”

Etias’ voice was low and hoarse.

Caron, seeing his expression for the first time, was startled and flinched.

Their lord, usually as unshakable as a fortress in a siege, now looked as fragile as a sandcastle that could collapse with one wave.

“She just disappeared.”

The look in Etias’ eyes made it painfully clear—
Katrin Ellemore had become his one and only weakness.

Caron felt suffocated by the weight of it as he forced himself to speak:

“Your Majesty is correct. Lady Katrin Ellemore seems to have escaped… with the help of the Scavengers. The largest underground organization on the continent.”

They had carefully staged her disappearance, but their very thoroughness only made it seem more suspicious.

“….”

“Especially her butler, that man named Heros. After searching his room and using all our information networks, we believe he is actually Jeffrey Wissler, the guild master of the Scavengers.”

Etias’ blue eyes, staring at the black water before him, flickered.

“Jeffrey Wissler…”

The butler’s watchful gaze back in Dobleton—Etias had recognized then that it belonged to a dangerous man.

His fist clenched tightly around Katrin’s scarf.