Chapter 24
“And speaking of rumors, there are signs that someone has been intentionally spreading stories about Renee.”
Roman seized the opportunity to catch up on all the work he hadn’t gotten done this morning.
“What are the rumors?”
“In order to become a Duchess, she tried to become Edwin’s nanny, she did whatever it took. After bewitching Edwin, she is now approaching the Duke. That all the father and son are bewitched by her….”
Raynan’s eyes were unusual as he looked at Roman, who was reciting rumors about Renee, as if he was watching and reading.
Raynan’s question as to whether Roman was the source of all the rumors was conveyed without even having to say it.
Raynan’s suspicions were not particularly excessive.
If necessary, Roman would do more than that without blinking an eye.
But not this time. He didn’t want to misunderstand Raynan for something he didn’t do. Isn’t that also related to Renee?
“This is a maid named Erin.”
“It’s not her?”
“No.”
“I see. First of all, let’s say that’s the case, why did you intentionally start the rumor?”
“I’m looking into it. However, while investigating Erin’s background, I was able to discover something strange.”
When they moved on to the story about Erin, Raynan seemed to quickly lose interest and began shuffling through the documents.
Roman sighed. These days, the gap in Raynan’s concentration was especially wide.
As always, it was much more comfortable for Roman to be quiet about everything. Raynan seemed much more picky now than before.
I never thought it would be more tiring to be divided between what he’s visibly interested in and not.
Moreover, it was also a situation where Raynan was not the only one to worry about. Doesn’t Edwin look different from before?
And Renee, the one who puzzled Roman the most these days, he couldn’t figure out what the hell she was thinking.
She didn’t seem to be thinking or acting on anything in particular, which only made things harder for Roman.
Roman continued his report steadily, even as he lamented his situation in his head.
Even if it seemed like he wasn’t listening, Raynan was the person who didn’t miss out on important things.
And Roman couldn’t wait to get the job done.
“Nothing special, but there was something oddly deliberate about it.”
“Sounds like Renee.”
“Yeah. They’ve been friends for a long time, so I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
“A month or so.”
“I see.”
Raynan just waved his hand while concentrating on the documents. He meant stop and get out.
“And there’s one more thing I need to tell you about Renee.”
Roman pretended not to see the gesture and continued with the rest of his report.
*****
Due to the sudden visitor, I ended up not being able to hear anything from Roman. I began to wonder what story was important that he was so desperate to tell me.
Roman was not the one to worry about me. He certainly wasn’t the one to help me.
Maybe it was something that was difficult to talk about in front of people.
With that thought in mind, I went to see Roman after tea time with Edwin. He said he was in the parlor, so I went there and…
All I could see was a gorgeous woman walking away with haughty steps.
“Wow, she’s beautiful.”
It was a woman who looked like a doll. She was pretty, but her temperament seemed unusual.
Because the look in her eyes when she passed me was usually harsh.
It may or may not be a good match for Raynan.
“I hope she can be a good mother to young master Edwin.”
It didn’t seem like it would make any difference no matter which woman became Raynan’s wife.
It would be nice to just be a good person to Edwin.
If it wasn’t in the living room, it was obvious where Roman would be anyway. It must be Raynan’s office.
As expected, Roman was there.
But something was different from usual. There was no one guarding the area, and the door, which had always been tightly closed, was slightly open.
Roman’s voice came through the open door.
“Then shall I deal with her?”
“Yes. It seems like it’s having a bad effect on Edwin.”
“All right. I will handle it as quickly as possible.”
Deal with her. Is it really necessary to talk about it using such scary words?
Is there any woman who has a bad influence on Edwin than him?
In an instant, my mind turned white. The only people Edwin encountered now were the teachers in his classes, Marvin and I.
And among them, I was the only woman.
I guess the woman who they will be dealt with is me.
Suddenly, a chill ran through my body.
“What should I do…”
A small voice escaped my mouth without me realizing it. I quickly covered my mouth and pricked up my ears.
I was worried that Raynan and Roman might have heard my voice, but luckily it didn’t seem like that was the case.
They were still talking, so my voice seemed to be drowned out.
However, my heart, still racing anxiously, showed no sign of calming down.
I exhaled carefully, worried that it might reach Raynan and Roman’s ears.
I had to get out of here before I made another mistake and got noticed.
I looked around, saw that there was no one in the hallway, and left the place.
I was frustrated because I couldn’t move as fast as I wanted because I had to tiptoe and move slowly.
Still, thanks to diligently moving my feet without stopping, I was able to get far enough away that I could at least breathe freely.
As I stood holding onto the wall and trying to catch my breath, my body swayed. It was only then that I realized that I was exerting a lot of force on my entire body.
The days that I tried to avoid, thinking about what might happen, and the days that I tried to think positively about, thinking that it might not happen, passed by.
In the end, my fate was decided. It’s also pretty cruel.
What will change is whether I die at the hands of Edwin or Raynan. Maybe that was all that mattered.
Still, it’s better than dying at Edwin’s hands…
“Get a grip of yourself. He might be choosing someone else.”
I shook my head vigorously. I tried to come to my senses just a little bit, but instead I felt dizzy.
“For now, let’s calm down, calm down. Maybe it’s not me?”
Yes. Raynan just said it was her, and he didn’t even mention my name.
“So who is she?”
… It’s me. There is only me.
My efforts to clear my head were quickly thrown out the window.
Instead of providing ventilation, a dark energy gathered in, like dark clouds carrying heavy rain, along with thunder and lightning.
My body stumbled once again. I felt like my legs were giving out.
If things continued like this, I would have collapsed here. I started moving slowly again, holding my hand against the wall.
I wanted to get a little further away from where Raynan was.
“No, why me…”
A feeling of injustice came later.
What did I do so wrong? All I did was take good care of Edwin.
Did he know that I fell for Edwin’s eyes and gave him one or two more snacks?
Or not showing Edwin’s origami box, which, let’s just say, was my own…
“Ah!”
Before I knew it, I was in front of my room. The moment I grabbed the door handle, I was frozen by the hypothesis that came to mind.
I’d been caught thinking I had to tell Edwin about the ruse.
This is it. This is it.
It seemed like I had finally found the reason for his gaze that had been so persistent for so long.
It was clear that Raynan was trying to read my inner thoughts by looking at me so intently.
“There must be a hole for people to breathe.”
Even if I complained into the empty air with no one listening, nothing would change.
Rather, it was like confirming once again that I was just thinking nonsense.
Let’s calm down for now.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm my mind. As my heart, which had been beating vigorously, gradually regained its speed, a deep sigh escaped me.
“That can’t be possible.”
Even if Edwin was faking it, would it be something that would be dealt with by someone? And it was just a thought, not something that went in and out of his head.
“Then what? Why?”
What have I done to have a negative impact on Edwin?
If I had arrived a little sooner and listened to the story, would I have known the reason?
“Shall we deal with her?”
“Yes.”
The atmosphere in the office was definitely serious and solemn. So much so that the cold air seeped out through the small crack in the door.
Whatever the reason, it’s real this time. Really. I had to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Either die at the hands of the Loerian father and son or run away. I was standing in front of two crossroads.
I went into the room, trying hard to hold back the tears that felt like they were about to fall at any moment.
*****
Thinking he’d gotten all the important stuff out of the way, Roman turned to leave the office, but then remembered something.
“Is young master Edwin really the only reason you asked me to deal with Erin?”
In response to Roman’s question, Raynan nodded as if it was obvious.
“If Renee can’t live her life as usual, it will naturally have a negative impact on Edwin.”
Renee’s life hasn’t changed much, except that she sees Raynan less often. But Roman nodded without saying anything.
“More than that…”
Raynan, who was about to say something, stopped.
“Did you hear anything just now?”
“I didn’t hear anything…”
“I think I heard someone’s voice.”
Raynan tried to concentrate again, but he couldn’t even hear a person, let alone a human voice.
Roman also seemed to be concentrating and tilted his head and asked.
“Maybe you heard wrong?”
Raynan looked around slowly for a moment, then his eyes turned to the door.
“The door is open.”
“Oh, I guess I forgot because of Miss Krause’s story. I’m sorry.”
Roman stuck his head out and looked around before closing the door.
“There’s no one. I think you heard wrong.”
“It would be troubling for anyone to hear it…”
“I’ll keep an eye out to see if the story leaks out, just in case.”
“Yes. More than that, how did you know that Erin was saying strange things to Renee?”
“The only person in the Loerian household who can be said to be close to Renee is Erin, but their relationship seems a little too subtle for that.”
“Is there really no one else that close to Renee?”
“I think there used to be some, but now there’s hardly any. But even the ones that were, they don’t seem particularly close.”
“Doesn’t look close?”
“Most people are close to her because they have an intention.”
“Intention…”
“Yes.. apparently, Renee’s a big spender, who was originally a girl, spent her money extravagantly, so she tricked her into taking money from her.”
“Big spender? I thought Catherine said that she worked hard to save money before becoming Edwin’s nanny.”
“It is said that at some point, she changed drastically. And then everyone she was close to drifted away, and Erin was the only one left.”
“Maybe she came to her senses late.”
“Maybe.”
“What is her relationship with Erin?”
“She doesn’t really have any connection with her after being Edwin’s nanny.”
“Are you saying that Erin continues to approach Renee on purpose?”
“Yes. People who saw it in person said they didn’t think it was strange because they were close friends, but I think there was a different intention.”
