LDPL | Chapter 71

Episode 71

Before long, Carlos really did move into the building across the street.

Vroooom!

“To the left, to the left! Lift it up a little!”

“Turning slightly to the side~!”

The move was so extravagant that dozens of strong men and even magical tools were mobilized.

‘He said he’d live modestly since it’s temporary…’

Natasha’s expression turned slightly dry. After all, she had heard that he bought out the entire first to third floors of the building across the street for a premium and was converting them into a private residence.

‘…As expected, a duke operates on a different scale.’

If this was considered modest, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what a grand residence would look like.

This area was relatively busy, even in the capital, so both land and property prices were quite high. Buying out and evicting two or three well-running businesses must have cost a fortune.

‘Their faces looked good, though.’

Even though they were practically forced out, the merchants moving their belongings had remarkably bright expressions. He must have given them a hefty bonus…

Fearing she’d feel envious, Natasha didn’t even dare ask. It was undoubtedly at least twice the original price.

After about a week of this grand-scale move, Carlos, as if it were only natural, came to greet Natasha.

“I look forward to your kind cooperation from now on.”

“Oh, yes. Your Grace, have you finished moving in?”

“Yes, I just need to organize the interior a bit more, and it’ll be done.”

As Natasha and Carlos exchanged greetings, Jeanette emerged from the first floor and made a fuss upon seeing them.

“Oh my, Attorney! What a coincidence!”

“Jeanette?”

“I just created a new menu item, and I happened to need someone to taste it. But who is this gentleman next to you…?”

“Oh, let me introduce you. Your Grace, this is Miss Jeanette, who runs the bakery on the first floor. Jeanette, this is… um, Duke Winchester.”

“What?”

Jeanette’s eyes widened. She stiffened momentarily as she looked between Natasha and Carlos before suddenly bursting into laughter.

“Oh, that was a joke, right? You almost gave me a heart attack!”

No matter how busy the area was, it was still a commoners’ district.

Aristocrats, who were notorious for hating to mix with commoners, would never choose to live in such a place.

Jeanette had the natural assumption in her mind that “A noble would never stay in a place like this.”

“…Please, just call me Carlos.”

“Then, call me Jeanette as well.”

Natasha didn’t bother correcting her misunderstanding.

Carlos didn’t seem particularly eager to clarify, and from the way Jeanette was looking at them, she clearly misunderstood their relationship. Natasha found it amusing and decided to play along.

“If you have some time, would you like to try the new menu item?”

“I’d love to.”

Jeanette glanced at Natasha with a knowing look.

Her expression seemed to say, “You’ve been getting along with such a fine man and didn’t say a word to me?” Natasha decided, once again, not to clarify Carlos’s identity.

An awkward tea party took place inside Natasha’s office.

While Natasha silently ate her dessert, Jeanette kept striking up conversations with Carlos.

“I was wondering what was happening when the entire first to third floors were emptied out. I never imagined I’d end up with such a wonderful neighbor!”

“I appreciate the warm welcome.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. Please, help yourself!”

Jeanette subtly slid the dessert plate closer to Carlos.

Natasha, who had been eating with her fork, gave Jeanette a sulky look, but Jeanette paid no mind.

“How is the taste? This is the new menu item I’m planning to introduce…”

“It’s absolutely delicious. Is this from the bakery on the first floor?”

“That’s right. It’s closed at the moment, but… I plan to reopen after some reorganization.”

After the legal battle with Lowell, Jeanette had left the hotel Ludwig had provided and returned here.

For Natasha, it was good news since she didn’t have to look for a new tenant.

“With skills like yours, why was the shop closed in the first place?”

“Well… It’s a long story.”

It wasn’t something she could easily share with someone she had just met, so Jeanette simply smiled awkwardly and let it slide.

The two continued to chat amicably. It was almost as if they were having tea together without Natasha.

Except for the moment when both Jeanette and Natasha had to stop Carlos from drinking Ivan’s tea, the time passed in complete tranquility.

“Oh my, look at the time.”

Carlos checked his watch, looking surprised.

“I still have some unpacking left, so I should be heading back.”

“Oh dear, I must have kept a busy man for too long.”

“I’ll see you again soon, then.”

Carlos looked directly at Natasha as he said this. Caught off guard, Natasha simply nodded absentmindedly.

“Take care!”

Click.

With Jeanette’s warm farewell, the office door closed.

‘This is going to be a hassle.’

Jeanette turned around, her face filled with curiosity.

“Natasha!”

“It’s not what you think.”

“What do you mean? I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“I know what you’re going to say, and you’re completely wrong.”

She cut her off firmly, but Jeanette wasn’t convinced.

“I’ve never seen him around here before. Is he a merchant from afar? If he has the financial power to buy an entire building’s first to third floors, he must be the head of a massive trading company!”

“He’s Duke Winchester.”

“If you don’t want to tell me, fine.”

Even when she told the truth, Jeanette dismissed it outright. Natasha just shrugged.

“So, how did you two meet?”

“Does a divorce attorney need a different method to meet people?”

“Was he your client?”

Natasha nodded calmly. At that, Jeanette’s face instantly fell.

“No matter how rich he is, a divorced man is a bit… He doesn’t have kids, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Haah, well, that’s a relief… But how did he end up getting divorced? Don’t tell me he cheated or something?”

“I can’t disclose the details. It’s a matter of client privacy.”

Natasha’s silence seemed to fuel Jeanette’s imagination, making her expression even paler.

“Oh, my god…”

“He’s not a bad person, so don’t worry about that.”

“Well, that’s a relief, at least.”

Whatever Jeanette had imagined, Natasha’s reassurance visibly eased her anxiety.

“But that’s not the real issue here, is it? What about you and Duke Müller?”

“…Well…”

Jeanette hesitated to answer. She let out a deep sigh before finally speaking.

“…As a father, he seems like a good person.”

Her tone was clearly defensive.

“The three of us met recently. Because of visitation rights. At first, I thought he was just using it as an excuse to meet Lowell and maybe try to take him away… But he didn’t seem to have any such intentions.”

Natasha smirked coldly to herself.

‘That’s because Lowell isn’t his real target.’

In Natasha’s eyes, what Ludwig Müller truly wanted wasn’t Lowell—it was Jeanette.

Lowell was likely nothing more than a means to an end.

“Rather, he was incredibly kind… and he played with Lowell really well. In those moments, he seemed just like…”

Jeanette swallowed the rest of her sentence, but Natasha could easily infer the missing words.

‘Like a normal family… That’s what she was about to say.’

Natasha quietly observed the conflicted look on Jeanette’s face.

She had always pushed Ludwig away, but that was largely due to the fear that he might take Lowell from her.

And now, that fear seemed less and less justified.

“Jeanette, can I ask you something?”

“…”

“Do you still love Duke Müller?”

“…‘Still’? That makes it sound like I loved him in the past.”

“Didn’t you?” Natasha asked calmly. Jeanette flinched and took a step back.

“Of course not! He was my sister’s fiancé. I was just… It was just a one-night mistake…”

Jeanette couldn’t even finish her sentence. Even to her own ears, it sounded like a poor excuse.

Natasha already knew from her background research that Jeanette had met Ludwig as a substitute for her twin sister.

But high society was far more rigid and conservative than people thought.

And in Hammond Kingdom, even more so than the Empire.

Could ‘standing in’ for Charlotte Verben really be synonymous with spending the night with Ludwig Müller?

If anything, in that situation, refusing would have been the normal response.

Yet Jeanette hadn’t refused.

Maybe she had been drunk and made a mistake—but Natasha knew for a fact that Jeanette never even touched alcohol.

“…”

“…”

A brittle silence fell between them, one that seemed ready to shatter the moment either of them spoke.

“…How could I not?”

In the end, it was Jeanette who surrendered first.

“How could I not love him?”

Her words were a raw, anguished confession.

“When everyone ignored me, disregarded me, pitied me… He was the first person to treat me kindly.”

The fact that he was her twin sister’s fiancé had always been a painful truth, but despite that, she had always waited.

She had always hoped Charlotte would lose interest and let her attend the ball in her place—so that, even just for a moment, she could dance with him.

But every time she returned from meeting him, she had been overwhelmed with unbearable sorrow.

Because no matter how sweet the dream, the reality was that she was not the one he wanted.

She was merely Charlotte’s stand-in.

“Back then, I was starving for that kindness. That’s all… That’s all it was.”

Jeanette’s voice was cold as she drew a clear line.

It seemed less like she was speaking to Natasha and more like she was trying to convince herself.

“He was my sister’s fiancé.”

This relationship had been twisted from the very start.

Whenever Jeanette saw Ludwig clinging to her, it felt like she was staring into the eyes of her younger self—

The little girl who had envied her twin, who had desperately tried to mimic her.

Every time she looked at Ludwig, that younger version of herself stirred restlessly inside her.

Not because she loved him—

But because deep down, a part of her took satisfaction in having taken something that once belonged to Charlotte.

Jeanette loathed that ugly part of herself.

Whenever she saw Ludwig, she was reminded of the past she wanted to forget.

Memories she wished would stop tormenting her.

“It’s not supposed to be like this…”

Her murmur was distant, her eyes unfocused.

Natasha clapped her hands together loudly to snap her out of it.

Clap!

Startled, Jeanette looked up.

“I wasn’t trying to interrogate you.”

“I know.”

“So, in the end, even if you once had feelings for Duke Müller, you don’t love him now, right?”

“…That’s right.”

Her response came a little late, but Natasha pretended not to notice.

She was a lawyer, not a therapist.

“Then that’s all that matters.”

“…What?”

“Why?”

“That’s it?”

“What else do you want me to say?”

Regardless of anything, Ludwig was still Lowell’s biological father, and his visitation rights were legally undeniable.

And if he was a good father, then wasn’t that enough?

“…”

Jeanette’s expression remained uneasy, as if something still didn’t sit right with her.