You’re digging your own grave.
It was a phrase Erne often used to taunt those who dared to mess with him. Yet, those people never actually dug their own graves—they didn’t even get the chance to pick up a shovel before Erne left them incapacitated.
“Damn it.”
They say karma always comes back around. Now Erne, digging his own grave, threw the shovel aside irritably.
“Why the hell was it buried so deep?”
Erne Rainland, reduced to shoveling? Even during his time as a servant, he had never done such a thing. Henry shook his head at the sight of Erne angrily complaining after finishing the digging.
“Let’s just open the coffin already.”
Henry brushed off the remaining dirt from the coffin with his hands and slipped the tip of the shovel into the gap in the lid.
Creaaak
With the sound of nails pulling loose, the lid began to open. Erne grabbed it with his hands and ripped it off.
“As I thought, it’s empty.”
The coffin was completely empty. Although it was expected since Erne was alive and well, they needed to confirm it.
“So, the coffin was buried without a corpse to begin with.”
Was the funeral just for show, while the real purpose was to steal the body?
Erne frowned as he closed the coffin lid again. Restoring the grave would require more digging, and he didn’t think this effort would lead to any new clues.
“This is such pointless work.”
“That’s because you’re literally digging right now.”
That’s not what I meant. Don’t you understand metaphors?
Erne glared at Henry, his eyes full of irritation, but Henry didn’t seem to care. He simply continued covering the coffin with dirt.
“So, what’s your plan now?”
“I’ll start by combing through every place I can remember.”
***
“Thank you, madam. Truly, thank you.”
Meanwhile, Judith, cradling an elegant bottle of alcohol in her arms, bowed repeatedly.
“That’s quite an excessive show of gratitude for a drink that was already opened, Miss Harrington.”
The Marchioness of Fernie waved her hand, signaling Judith to leave. Bowing deeply again, Judith quickly exited the drawing room.
“Miss Harrington, please wait.”
Just as she was about to leave the mansion, the Marchioness’s maid stopped her. The maid led Judith to the kitchen and handed her a few baby potatoes, a loaf of white bread, and a package of pork wrapped in paper.
“My lady was worried you might not be eating well.”
“Oh my, the Marchioness is so incredibly kind.”
Judith was genuinely touched. They say goodwill originates from the heart, and the Marchioness was proof of that. Among Judith’s candle customers, the Marchioness was a major patron.
Not only did she place large orders, but she always added a generous tip. Today, she even gave Judith leftover alcohol and food.
‘What a truly wonderful person.’
If not for the Marchioness, Judith would have had to spend hard-earned cash to buy alcohol. That morning, Erne had shamelessly demanded an allowance from her.
He said he needed it to buy a sword and clothes. Fine, clothes were a necessity. It stung a little, but she could manage to spare the money.
But then—
“I checked the kitchen, and there’s not a single bottle of alcohol. Make sure to get some.”
“What? Alcohol? You want me to buy it?”
“Yes, you, Miss Judith Harrington. Or would you rather—what, get divorced? Should we go through with that?”
Was this man seriously using divorce as blackmail over alcohol?
It was absurd. A husband threatening his wife to buy alcohol—he was truly the worst.
Judith had never intended to get married, but if she ever did, she wanted it to be with a stable, salaried man.
Instead, she ended up with an unemployed drunkard she had to support. She had no one to complain to, and her frustration was suffocating.
“He wouldn’t really drink a bottle a day, would he?”
The thought was foreboding. Shaking off her ominous thoughts, Judith shivered and headed home, only to be stopped by a familiar voice calling her.
“Miss Harrington—oh, Countess.”
“Mr. Cliff?”
“Have you been doing well?”
Lawyer Cliff dismounted his horse and waved at Judith.
True to his well-educated demeanor, he didn’t come empty-handed.
Cliff presented a box of spices containing salt, pepper, and herb powders as a gift, which Judith gladly accepted.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Cliff. The emergency funds you provided last time were very helpful.”
“It’s my duty to look after you.”
As she had noticed before, Cliff’s tone and actions were remarkably considerate. If their first meeting had been under normal circumstances, Judith might have mistakenly thought Cliff was interested in her.
“I heard a loan shark came by.”
After exchanging polite pleasantries, Cliff hesitated as they neared the mansion before bringing up the topic.
He explained that he had recently discovered missing paperwork involving a contract between Smith and the Count of Rainland, claiming he hadn’t been aware of it earlier.
“I had no idea the Count had resorted to dealing with a loan shark. You must have been so shocked. I felt terribly guilty when I heard.”
Judith found Cliff’s attitude subtly irritating. It was as if he were distancing himself from the entire situation.
From the day of the wedding until now, Cliff had consistently maintained the stance that ‘this was all orchestrated by the collateral family, and I’m just their representative handling the matter.’
If Cliff were an external lawyer hired by the family, his stance wouldn’t seem unusual.
But Erne’s explanation suggested otherwise.
“Cliff claims it was the collateral families’ doing? That’s laughable. The Ackerman family is the closest collateral branch to the Rainland family.”
If that were true, then Cliff was undoubtedly connected to her marriage.
“Though it’s a bit late, I’d like to offer you some help, madam.”
“Help?”
“Yes, I can lend you around three thousand gold. Wouldn’t paying off some of the debt allow you to extend the repayment deadline?”
That was true, but why would the family’s lawyer offer to lend her money?
“I’ll lend it to you interest-free.”
Interest-free, even?
“Yes, I should have disclosed the debt earlier, but that oversight was my mistake.”
Indeed, failing to notify her was his fault as a lawyer. But offering three thousand gold to make up for one mistake was unusual.
Having maintained a detached attitude so far, he now suddenly wanted to take moral responsibility. It was suspicious.
“What makes you trust me enough to lend me such a large sum?”
Judith could very well take the three thousand gold and run. Even if she used it to repay part of the debt and delay the deadline, Cliff wouldn’t benefit.
Judith didn’t believe in such generosity.
“You’re very astute, madam,”
Cliff said apologetically.
“To be honest, I would need some collateral. But there’s no need to worry—it would only be for appearances on paper.”
Of course. Judith narrowed her eyes. Fortunately, she had just the thing for such a purpose.
“What about the Rainland mansion?”
If Cliff’s offer were genuine, he would accept the mansion as collateral. Though unsellable, it was perfect as a nominal guarantee.
“The mansion as collateral? That’s too real, don’t you think? Ha ha. I’m not a loan shark, madam. There’s no need for such an asset.”
Ah, so he didn’t want the mansion.
Hiding her sharp gaze behind a troubled expression, Judith wondered what Cliff truly wanted under the guise of goodwill.
“How about your title?”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“That’s why it’s just nominal collateral. Even if you fail to repay the debt, I have no way of taking it from you.”
That’s not true. He would surely find a way. If he was offering three thousand gold, he must have a plan to take the title while evading the law. As a lawyer, he would know all the loopholes.
‘It seems Mr. Cliff wants to use me to become a Count.’
Did he think she was a fool? Pretending to consider it, Judith observed Cliff’s expression.
“Don’t feel pressured. Just think about it, madam.”
Even though his proposal was suspiciously obvious, he seemed certain she wouldn’t refuse.
Considering the old Judith, that was understandable. She had been naive and timid.
So timid, in fact, that witnessing Erne’s death had shocked her into following him to the afterlife.
‘If I were still that Judith, I might’ve been so scared of the loan shark’s threats that I’d gladly accept Cliff’s seemingly kind offer.’
But not anymore. The current Judith was entirely different on the inside, even if her exterior remained the same.
“Thank you for the offer, Mr. Cliff, but no matter how I think about it, I’d be causing you too much trouble.”
Judith waved her hands as if genuinely regretful, politely declining. Since Cliff still saw her as the old Judith, she had to play along.
“It’s no trouble, madam.”
“Oh, but it would be! I can’t bear the thought of being a burden to you.”
Judith insisted that she’d rather die than burden him and quickly fled to the front gates of the Rainland estate.
“Please don’t worry about me anymore, Mr. Cliff. The help you’ve already provided is more than enough.”
“But madam, if you could just listen—”
Judith, playing the part of a tragic heroine, gently pushed Cliff’s shoulder back and closed the gate. Holding onto the iron bars, she curtsied lightly and spoke with exaggerated politeness.
“It would break my heart to trouble such a wonderful person like you with a debt of three thousand gold. Truly, you are a kind soul. May you be blessed.”
With that, she grabbed the spices Cliff had given her and quickly disappeared into the mansion as if fleeing.
“Uh…”
Cliff’s outstretched hand fell limply. Letting out a hollow laugh, he crumpled the hat he had been holding.
“Is she actually managing just fine, or has she lost all sense of reality?”
smart 😂