I picked up the red leather-covered book first from the pile. As I turned the pages, all the maids flinched. It was understandable. These were all books with content that was difficult to put into words. And the content itself? If either my brother or Kasion had seen it, they would have blushed in embarrassment.
“Is this everything?”
The maids all nodded.
I had checked all the red-covered books. The problematic book wasn’t among them. I quickly grabbed other books at random, checking their content, but nothing similar came up. So where on earth had the book I read disappeared to? It seemed like the kind of story these girls would have liked…
Failing to find the book made me uneasy. Perhaps it was a feeling of disappointment.
“I had hoped the rest would be wrong, too…” I muttered something I hadn’t meant to say aloud.
Maybe deep down, I had wished that discovering the book and experiencing the same events were just coincidences. Because if they weren’t, I would have to live my life constantly on guard against Kasion. Knowing the future isn’t exactly pleasant.
“Milady, what do you mean?”
“Nothing, really… I’m just frustrated.” I couldn’t explain anything to the butler, who knew nothing, so I just vented my feelings a little.
The servants who weren’t involved clicked their tongues and glared at the younger maids.
“Would you like to hire a more experienced maid? It seems this happened because there’s no one to properly discipline them,” the butler suggested as he flipped through the pages of a book with a frown.
“That’ll be the job of the future marchioness. She’s wiser and kinder than I am…”
The maids visibly relaxed. But I snorted and added, “But when it comes to managing people, she’ll be much stricter. So don’t worry.” I made sure to say the last part with a stern face.
“Kkiing—!”
At that moment, the puppy at my feet let out a soft whine. It seemed hungry. I picked it up. Normally, the maids would have fussed over the adorable puppy, but today, they remained silent with their heads bowed.
“So, there’s really nothing else, right?”
“No, Milady. There’s nothing more.”
“If any more come to light later, I won’t forgive you. You’ll not only be fired but you’ll be imprisoned for insulting the nobility.”
I looked around at the maids as I finished speaking. They kept their heads lowered, unable to even sniffle, their faces filled with guilt and fear.
“Not answering? Are you hiding something else?”
“No! There’s nothing else!”
“Selvia, who’s the author of these books?”
It was time to catch the culprit behind all this. Who had the nerve to write such things?
“I don’t know. No one… seems to know?” Selvia glanced at the other maids, who all nodded in unison.
“How can you not know? Did the author wear a mask while selling them?”
“No, it’s not that….”
“Someone must have brought it in at first.”
“Well, these aren’t mass-produced, and the maids from different houses pass them around, so it’s unclear who provided them first.”
My eyes narrowed in irritation. No one would be happy if their name was used in sleazy romance stories, especially not nobles who value their honor. That’s why this underground market thrived.
“Butler, burn them all.”
At my firm command, the maids’ eyes filled with tears.
They needed to understand. It was only because I had found them that things were ending this way. But what if Kasion or Serhen had found them? Or the princess, who had been depicted as a villainess? People would have died.
“if you want to read such lewd novels, just read romance novels. Don’t get caught reading ones with the names of nobles or imperials and end up getting yourself kicked out.”
The maids were decent enough people aside from this. There was no guarantee that firing them would bring in better replacements. Besides, if such novels were already popular among the maids, hiring new people wouldn’t change anything. The best I could do was stop my own maids from engaging in this.
After issuing my warning, I returned to my room with the puppy. Ordering a snack for the puppy, I sat at my desk. It was time to write a letter. A heartfelt apology letter.
“Ugh, I don’t know how!”
Staring at the blank parchment, I realized something. Apologizing was much harder than hurting someone. Admitting your wrongs takes a kind of courage that squeezes everything out of you.
* * *
As soon as Kasion returned home, he practically tore through his vassals. It had only been two years. And did they handle things like this in the meantime?
“Are you all hoping for another bloodbath in this house?”
This latest embezzlement scandal had been committed by a distant relative with only a trace of Pertelian blood. Kasion grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. Then, in front of the other vassals, he slammed him to the floor.
“Cough, cough, I’m sorry.”
“What? Did you think if I died on the battlefield, you could take over my house?” Kasion quietly stepped on the man’s throat.
“N-No.”
“If I’d returned any later, you would have squandered everything, wouldn’t you?”
“I just… hid it so no one else could covet Duke’s wealth…”
People never understood Kasion. If they would just admit their mistakes and beg, he might spare their lives. But why did they always give long-winded excuses like this? He hated it. He had seen too many of these people and each time, he found them disgusting and wanted to kill them.
“I will be dragged back to the battlefield again and again…” Kasion spoke slowly, his foot still pressing down on the man, whose face was turning red from lack of air. “So, you plan to swindle my wife while she’s left alone?”
The vassals watching swallowed nervously.
Kasion had never once mentioned marriage. He was a man who had shown no interest in women, always turning down their advances with cold words and glances. Even though his friend Serhen was about to marry, Kasion hadn’t entertained a single marriage proposal.
“Are the rest of you thinking the same? Just going to sit by while someone else steals from the family?”
“No, never!”
Kasion looked around at the remaining vassals before finally lifting his foot.
“Cough, t-thank you.”
“Thank you for what? Strip him of his title and send him to the mines.” He stripped the vassal of both his wealth and his title. While it looked like the man’s life had been spared, it wasn’t so.
For someone who had never done hard labor, work in the mines would be as good as death. And the man had been exploiting and abusing the miners there, so Kasion was granting them permission for personal revenge. They’d also be compensated for their suffering.
As Kasion finished his business and stepped out, the butler approached him hesitantly.
“What is it?” Kasion had been in a good mood when he went out with the puppy earlier. But ever since returning, he’d been on edge, which worried the butler.
“That’s… someone has come from Mellin Merchant Guild.”
“Did Serhen send them?”
“I’m not sure, but they did pass along a message.”
“What is it?”
“Viscount Kainum is trying to set up Lady Ariel with the second prince.”
Kasion punched the wooden door. The vassals inside, who had been about to follow him out, froze. Their eyes widened, and some of them even rubbed their throats nervously. It was essential to remember not to commit any offense against Kasion.
The door was completely broken, leaving a gaping hole in the middle.
“That second prince…”
“The second prince’s intentions are still unknown.”
“And?”
“It seems to be the viscount’s idea alone.”
Even so, it didn’t sit well with Kasion.
“Why would Serhen tell me that?”
“That wasn’t explained.”
“Well, it’s obvious. He wants me to get rid of the viscount, doesn’t he?”
His murderous smile made the vassals tremble. They had a pretty good idea who Kasion’s intended wife was now… but it seemed like his marriage wouldn’t come easily.
“And this…”
The butler carefully handed Kasion a piece of parchment. It bore the Mellin family’s seal, but not the head of the family’s. The seal showed a blue rose paired with a lily of the valley. It was Ariel’s personal seal.
Kasion’s expression immediately softened. It was as if the wound from earlier that day had already healed. After all, he had already set aside his hurt feelings after talking with Lireania.
“Everyone, leave.” Kasion dismissed the vassals who had been watching him with curious eyes. He then quickly headed back to a room. Not his own. It was the room he had repaired for the duchess, the one Ariel always used when she visited.
Very carefully, he used a letter opener to open the envelope. Despite his large, rough hands, his touch was gentle. Of course, it made sense. This was the same man who wielded his sword with more precision and grace than anyone else on the battlefield.
“Huff…”
For some reason, reading this letter made him nervous. Hundreds, thousands of soldiers didn’t scare him, but receiving a letter from Ariel always made him anxious. But after what had happened between them today, he needed to know what it said.
“Hahaha.” His loud laughter echoed down the hall, loud enough for the butler to hear from outside.
Whoever had said that Kasion hated long-winded excuses clearly didn’t know him well. His eyes practically sparkled as he read the letter, which was filled with nothing but long-winded explanations.
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Aw I hope they clear up any misunderstandings between them soon. I actually really like Kasion.