After Carol left, Norman swiftly scooped up Noah in his arms.
Noah, his face streaked with tears and mucus, looked around.
“Carol…?”
“She left.”
Norman wiped Noah’s face with his large hand as he answered.
“Noah, you’ll stay the night at the main castle for now.”
“Yes. Hic!”
“Don’t wander around the mansion’s grounds.”
Noah nodded, but fresh teardrop-like tears rolled down again.
“It’s my fault Carol…had to hear those words. If she hates me now…what will I… hic…”
“That won’t happen. The false accusation will definitely be cleared.”
Norman lightly lifted Noah up.
Reaching the door, he called out to Mrs. Wells just before leaving.
“And Mrs. Wells.”
“Yes.”
“The Duke wishes to see you.”
“…I see.”
It was only after Norman exited down the hallway carrying Noah that Mrs. Wells rose.
****
Back in her room, Margaret leaned her head back against the sofa, speaking in an irritated voice.
“I set things in motion, but in the end, nothing went as intended.”
“The Duke still did not appear after all.”
Kate busied herself drawing the curtains carefully and adding more fuel to the fireplace.
“Perhaps he unexpectedly doesn’t care about that woman or the child.”
“If this continues, she’ll end up in prison.”
Kate did not like this Carol woman.
While the other servants were standoffish, they still treated her kindly, perhaps thinking Margaret would become the next mistress of Winternox.
The servants she had mobilized earlier also agreed to side with her on the condition that Margaret would rehire them when she became the mistress.
But only Carol treated her impersonally, which grated on her nerves.
Carol had never actually behaved that way, but to Kate, it felt as if she was acting arrogantly because the Duke was behind her.
Was that all?
Recalling the earlier events, Kate’s nostrils flared in anger.
How dare that cornered rat try to bite her?
‘I could be the culprit too?’
She tried to grab Kate’s ankles, staring her straight in the eye.
It infuriated Kate, who felt she wouldn’t be satisfied until she saw Carol expelled from the Duke’s Mansion with her own eyes.
“Made sure of it, did you?”
Margaret muttered as she undid her cloak, gazing at the ceiling.
Kate nodded vigorously as she smoothed Margaret’s disheveled blonde hair onto the dark sofa.
“Of course.”
It was fine to look suspicious when entering the general store, so she properly wore the hood low enough to cover her nose. Just enough for the brown hair to be clearly visible.
“Good. Thank you, Kate.”
“It’s what I should do.”
“…I’m worried.”
“I set the condition of not selling to locals in exchange for a low price, but I didn’t expect it to sell this quickly.”
She had no intention of actually selling the jewels, but had to put them up at the general store, hence the condition.
There weren’t many outsiders in the north, and even fewer who could afford such expensive jewels.
So the plan was for the store owner to only testify that the buyer had brown hair, after which she could repurchase the jewels.
“Yeah. Who would have bought them so quickly…”
“…I’m sorry.”
The emerald was a jewel the former Chesworth family head had gifted to Margaret. He said it was the first he had chosen himself, treasuring it uncut.
Watching her composed miss, Kate blinked back tears.
Margaret closed her eyes. It would be a lie to say she didn’t mind losing it, but this was an opportunity to meet the Duke at a small price.
“No. It’s rather a relief they’re gone like this.”
Having come this far, she knew what gossip would spread if she broke off the engagement and returned.
‘Everyone already knew the marriage between His Grace the Duke and the eldest daughter of the Chesworth family would not happen.’
‘Even for a political union, the conditions were too mismatched.’
‘But to go all the way to the North only to be rejected must sting.’
The thought of becoming a laughingstock made her sick.
“I don’t need him to love me.”
Margaret muttered resolutely.
For the sake of the business ventures the Chesworth and Winternox families were pursuing through this marriage, she could willingly give up the Duke’s affections.
Not begging for love was Margaret’s last shred of self-respect.
Despite the roaring fireplace, the room felt unnaturally cold.
****
Mrs. Wells stood with a tense face before the tightly closed door.
Knock knock.
“It’s Wells.”
“Enter.”
Even after she entered, he did not spare her a glance from the sofa.
The window had been opened, letting in a draft to relieve the stifling air.
Mrs. Wells stood beside him.
“I will explain everything that happened.”
“Before that, let me ask one thing.”
“…Yes.”
“I have always considered you one of my people. Even as the council took real power, I could remain composed because I had my people.”
“I am Your Grace’s person.”
That was an unchanging truth. She regretted her actions that made him doubt that truth.
“Jessica, what do you think angers me most?”
“……”
The Duke did not wait for her answer, continuing his words.
“That in a situation where I should have simply sent the young lady back since it was just a union between families, something I was unaware of happened to make me the one who must apologize.”
Even the Duke was not shameless. From the start, it was a mismatched marriage. If canceled, people would gossip behind his back about some issue from his accident, but Miss Chesworth would face direct attacks.
“The council intended to proceed with the marriage to Miss Chesworth, so you must have known they were just waiting for her to make a mistake.”
The Duke had guessed Miss Chesworth would cause some trouble here. But he had intended to use that as an excuse to send her back to the capital, taking the loss on business matters to renegotiate.
The council would surely throw a fit over the business losses, but it was within the Duke’s discretion to handle matters to that extent.
“I won’t make excuses. This was clearly my mistake.”
“……”
“I will accept any punishment graciously.”
The Duke roughly ran his hand through his hair. His sharp canines were exposed with each ragged breath.
“Why did you hide it? You had ample opportunity to speak up.”
He had said he was angriest about situations developing without being reported to him. But in reality, what stung most was someone he considered his own deliberately deceiving him.
“I brought the child from an orphanage in case you are unable to have an heir.”
“What did you tell his parents?”
“They said they would do anything for money.”
While she had told Margaret Chesworth she brought an orphan, in truth she had essentially purchased the child.
“Trash.”
The Duke spat the scathing word and took a sip of the icy cold tea.
There was no sweet aroma, only the frigid scent of winter pervading the room.
“Even if it was the council’s instruction, keeping it secret was my decision.”
Mrs. Wells had served at the Duke’s Mansion even before he was born.
Without a husband or child, she devoted her life to the Winternox family, rising from a contract servant to the Duke’s personal attendant.
But at some point, Mrs. Wells had started acting for Edward Winternox himself, not just the Winternox family.
It was impudent, but Mrs. Wells had dared to think of the Duke as her own child.
Even after his cursed transformation, her feelings remained unchanged.
She knew exploiting a young child was wrong. But then what about the Duke?
Shackling someone who had been free after the curse manifested was also unforgivable.
She felt sorry for Noah, but sorrier still for the Duke. So she had lied to the child about why he couldn’t meet the Duke, erasing the Duke’s existence from his life.
“So you mean you kept it secret because speaking up would only torment you, since you couldn’t stop the council’s decision to bring the child.”
“…Yes.”
While she would continue serving, she had lost the Duke’s trust.
‘You will only become lonelier and more solitary.’
Miss Carol had only extended her contract by a mere month, saying she would think it over some more.
Mrs. Wells inwardly resolved to try persuading Miss Carol again. The Duke had liked her enough to keep her by his side despite knowing her status was falsified.
More than losing his trust, what pained her most was the Duke now being unable to trust anyone.
The Duke studied Mrs. Wells, awaiting her punishment. He had been willing to hear her excuses, but she offered none.
Strangely, it put his mind more at ease. Initially he had been furious at his own ignorance of household matters while tending to other duties.
But it was extremely rare for a cursed patriarch to participate in family affairs. Hadn’t the previous patriarch also behaved like someone afflicted with dementia, let alone handle business?
“I am angry you couldn’t speak up, but I can’t say I don’t understand rationally.”
“…Pardon?”
Mrs. Wells raised her bowed head in surprise.
“You must have feared provoking one of my episodes.”
