NRAL | CH 31

~Chapter 31~ 

When the Curtain Falls

“Then why is it in there now?”

“I apologize… but a few days ago, there was a thief in my room.”

Eleanor’s lavender eyes slowly shifted sideways. Her gaze landed on Nora and her maid, Eva.

When their eyes met, Eva visibly flinched. Nora remained calm, but her face was still pale.

Nora thought, There’s no way anyone would find out it was me—I got rid of all the evidence long ago. But what bothered her was why Eleanor, who had been silent all this time, was only now bringing up the theft.

“What? A thief?”

“Yes. On the day of the Portsmouth family’s dinner party, my newest hat, along with the jewelry in my box, disappeared. And it just so happened to be during the time I had sent my maid off to do another task.”

“If that happened, why didn’t you report it immediately?”

For the first time, Eleanor hesitated. Seeing this, Damian hoped, foolishly, that she had run out of prepared responses.

But there was one thing Damian didn’t know.

If Nora and Damian had planned this play, then Eleanor had been directing it.

“…I’m no longer the lady of Astria. I thought it would be better for both Father and the family if I stayed quiet.”

Her soft voice was filled with sorrow. It was clear she had been holding back, struggling to get the words out, which made it all the more pitiful.

There were faint sighs of sympathy from all around.

Once, she had been the proud lady of the house, but now she couldn’t even report it when her belongings were stolen. It was a situation that naturally drew pity.

“Father! That’s all lies! She’s the one who made the fake and put it in Nora’s jewelry box! She’s lying!”

Seeing how things were turning against him, Damian desperately tried to attack. But his words fell flat.

“If I wanted to frame Nora, I would’ve used the real earring, not a fake. I would’ve acted first, accusing her of having something she hadn’t seen before to get her into trouble.”

Eleanor looked at Damian as if he were pathetic.

“And the fake earring… you said it appeared this afternoon, right? I was in the garden all day with my maid. Sir Ernst was with me, too.”

“Of course, you would’ve just sent another maid to do it!”

“Another maid? Since Nora became the lady of the house, which maid here would still listen to me? The servants who can’t even bring me food on time would suddenly decide to help me frame the real lady? Sure.”

Eleanor glanced at the gathered servants, and some of them, feeling guilty, flinched under her gaze.

Indeed, ever since Nora was recognized as the real lady of Astria, many of the maids started treating Eleanor differently. They would bring her meals long after mealtime or use cold water for her baths.

Even the maids who didn’t directly discriminate against her just stood by and watched it happen. None of them wanted to risk getting into trouble by reporting it to the Duke.

Even Mary, the head maid, who had always claimed to care for Eleanor, did nothing more than stop the open mistreatment she saw in front of her. She never dared to report it to the Duke. That was her limit, and it was something Eleanor had anticipated all along.

“You…! Still, you must be—!”

“Enough, Damian! Keep your mouth shut!”

As Damian raised his voice, having lost the argument, the Duke silenced him harshly. Then, he turned to Eleanor and asked for more explanation.

“Ellie, continue. So, you hid the earrings in that box because of a thief?”

“Yes. I didn’t care if everything else was stolen… but I couldn’t bear to lose the last birthday gift you gave me, Father. That’s why I hid it in this box. I thought that since it looked so shabby, no one would bother with it, even if there was another theft. And, well… thankfully, I was right.”

Her final words were spoken softly, almost like a sigh. The Duke’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

“Are you telling me… that there was another theft?”

His voice was sharp, and his eyes tested Eleanor.

She pressed her lips together tightly, as if hesitating to speak.

The servants held their breath, waiting for her answer, while Nora clenched her fists, glaring at Eleanor.

Nora’s mind raced, desperately trying to find a way out of this situation.

There was still a chance for her to turn things around. Even if Eleanor claimed that someone had stolen from her, there was no proof.

“…No, there hasn’t been another theft.”

But what Nora hadn’t considered was that Eleanor would say she hadn’t been robbed at all.

“I don’t know where that fake came from, or how it ended up in Nora’s jewelry box. So let’s just end it here.”

Eleanor spoke with a bitter tone, forcing a weak smile.

It was as if she knew everything but was sacrificing herself, as though she believed it was her duty as the former Lady of Astria.

Her words were a denial, but they also carried a sense of affirmation—an admission far more persuasive than any direct confession.

“End it? We can’t just let it go, not for Ellie’s sake, Father!”

Nora shouted in a panic.

There was no way she could let it end like this. If they left it here, the rumors that would follow were all too obvious.

‘Eleanor made a fake earring to protect her real one from thieves, put the fake in her jewelry box, and Nora, not knowing this, fell into the trap, stole the fake, and then pretended she was being framed.’

‘Even so, Eleanor didn’t make a fuss about it. She chose to sacrifice herself for the peace of the family.’

This is what the servants would whisper about, even though there wasn’t any proof that Nora had stolen the fake.

If the gossip stayed within the household, it would be lucky. But if things went wrong, the rumors might spread outside as well.

To prevent that, Nora had to turn the situation around somehow.

“We need to get to the bottom of this! We need to find out who made the fake and who secretly put it in my jewelry box! If we don’t, it’s unfair to both Eleanor and me! There’s a victim here, and we have to clear things up…”

“A victim?”

Eleanor tilted her head and questioned her.

With her chin raised confidently, she shot a sharp look at Nora.

“Nora, there are no victims here.”

A play dragged on for too long only becomes tiring. So, it was time to bring down the curtain.

“I haven’t lost anything, and you haven’t been framed. So there’s no reason to escalate this further.”

Unless, of course, you’re deliberately trying to stir things up. Eleanor added coldly.

Though her words were aimed at Nora, they were really meant to convince someone else—someone who cared more about peace and efficient household management than about his children’s grievances.

And it seemed her words had hit the mark.

Duke Astria, rubbing his forehead as if tired, snapped, “Enough! End this here! I’m already busy with the ball preparations, and you’ve gathered the servants for this… What a waste of time!”

It was over. Both Eleanor and Nora realized it at the same time.

With the Duke declaring an end, no one could bring up the matter again. No matter who the real culprit was or what the truth was, the case was closed.

It would be remembered as a petty and pathetic incident where “the foolish Lady Nora tried to drag down Lady Ellie but ended up tripping over her own feet.”

Nora’s reputation would inevitably fall, and Damian, who had seemed to be in on the plan, would also face ridicule. Not that he had much of a reputation to begin with.

“Father, wait! Please listen to Nora!”

Damian raised his voice, trying to stop Duke Astria from leaving the room.

But his outburst only made the Duke more irritated.

“Be quiet! You, the heir to this house, don’t even know when to step in or stay out…!”

“Ah! Ouch! Father!”

The Duke grabbed Damian’s shoulder with his large hand, and Damian screamed in exaggerated pain.

How could being grabbed by the shoulder hurt so much? The Duke clicked his tongue in disgust.

Duke Astria was a sharp man. He had already figured out that Nora and Damian were the true culprits behind this incident.

After all, it was Eleanor who had originally suggested that it would be better for Nora to be recognized as the real daughter of the family for the sake of the household. There was no way Eleanor would suddenly try to frame Nora, especially not in such a sloppy way.

‘Foolish children…’

There were still many ways he could use Eleanor to benefit the family, yet here they were, trying to diminish her value without his permission. The thought of all the money he had invested in Eleanor only fueled his irritation.

At the same time, he felt it was necessary to put Nora in her place—she had become too arrogant too quickly, intoxicated by the sudden rise from maid to lady.

“From today, Eleanor will be fully in charge of preparing Nora’s debutante ball. Everyone, take note of that!”

He thought that by controlling Nora’s most important event, she would be forced to behave and not do anything reckless.

As expected, Nora turned pale and screamed in protest.

“F-Father!”

“If you say one more word, I’ll have Eleanor take back your room as well!”

His fierce command left Nora trembling. She had so much she wanted to say, but she couldn’t open her mouth for fear that her room would be taken from her too.

Tsk! Duke Astria clicked his tongue loudly and turned, walking back the way he had come.

The play had ended, and the audience quickly dispersed under the watchful eyes of the butler and head maid.

As many people had gathered, many curious glances were cast Nora’s way. Seeing the mocking looks in their eyes, Nora bit her trembling lips.

‘Damn it, damn it! That filthy, rotten bastard…!’

She had no hesitation in cursing a man who wasn’t even her real father.

Eleanor looked at her and smirked. She could guess what Nora was thinking without needing to ask.

How will you handle the long road ahead if you’re already furious over something like this? Eleanor thought with a mocking concern.

“Nora, did you want them that badly?”

Eleanor took a step forward, mocking Nora with pitying eyes. The golden earring in her hand made a clear sound as it swung lightly.

“Here. Then take it.”

With a pitiful smile, Eleanor tossed her earring into Nora’s palm, as if she were giving charity to a beggar.

 Nora’s eyes widened in anger, her fury boiling over.

“You…!”

“Shh, you should stay quiet. What if you lose the room you finally got by making more noise? Oh, or are you hoping I’ll pay extra attention to preparing your debutante ball?”

But as long as the thing she valued most was being held hostage, Nora couldn’t raise her voice.

Her debutante ball. Her precious debut. Until it was safely done, she had no choice but to watch her behavior.

When Nora pressed her lips tightly shut, Eleanor chuckled softly. Then, leaning down, she whispered in a low voice.

“If you want to bring me down, try stealing something I truly care about next time. Not a meaningless hat or an earring.”

Eleanor’s slender hand lightly patted Nora’s shoulder.