Fortunately, Carter returned rather quickly—and with an armful of delicious-looking snacks to boot.
“Huff…!”
The moment I popped a piece of the bright yellow pound cake into my mouth, the sweet aroma of honey tickled both my tongue and nose.
Until now, I thought the best dessert I’d ever had was that strawberry shortcake in my previous life… but this pound cake might just change my mind.
I was busy devouring the cake when I realized the atmosphere felt… off.
It wasn’t until I chewed and swallowed the final bite that I took a look around. Carter, the maid standing behind him, and even Finn…
It was hard to explain, but their expressions reminded me of Finn’s earlier look—slightly overwhelming in its warmth.
Yes, like a kindly grandfather gazing lovingly at his granddaughter! That exact vibe!
Was this just the default expression for people working in the Duke’s estate?
They all looked so serene that I nearly smiled back at them like a fool.
Shaking my head quickly to clear my thoughts, I called out to Carter in a somewhat solemn tone.
“Carter!”
“Yes, my lady. Would you like another slice of cake? Or perhaps try this jelly?”
“Yes, right here… I mean, no! I have a question.”
I gripped the plate that I had almost taken automatically.
I had nearly been lured away by cake and jelly again. So he was an experienced butler—his way of smoothly diverting the conversation was no joke.
“A question, my lady?”
“Yes.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Well…”
Just as I was about to ask, I accidentally made eye contact with Finn, who was standing stiffly behind Carter.
He was still smiling exactly the same way as before, which was unsettling enough to make the tiny hairs on my arms stand up. I hastily called out to Carter.
“Come here for a second…”
“Uh? Y-yes…” Carter leaned in, and I gestured for him to come closer.
When he bent down and brought his ear near my mouth, I whispered in a voice low enough that no one else could hear.
“Can you tell me why my mom and the Duke don’t get along?”
“Pardon? You mean the Duke and the Madam?”
Carter whispered back, matching my secrecy.
I nodded quickly, and he hesitated, letting out a low hum as if unsure how to respond.
The longer his silence dragged on, the more uneasy I became.
Finally, after what felt like ages, his lips parted cautiously.
“It’s a private matter between husband and wife, so I hesitate to say too much… But if I may offer one thought—it’s that the Duke realized his feelings far too late, perhaps?”
“Heh… I suppose that explanation doesn’t really help you much, does it, my lady?”
No, actually, I understood very well.
What little suspicion I had left instantly turned into certainty.
Harold had undoubtedly wronged my mom in a big way.
And I could deduce one thing easily enough:
Getting forgiveness from her would be as difficult as navigating through a thorny jungle to find some incredible treasure.
“Haa…”
Sitting in a crouch for so long had made my already plump legs feel even more swollen.
As expected, Carter hadn’t spilled everything. He only told me enough to give me a general sense of things.
But the answer I was really looking for came from an unexpected place.
Through a conversation between the maids who were cleaning my room.
They hadn’t noticed I was there and were chatting about my mom and the Duke.
“Wait, so the Madam is from the Principality?”
“That’s right. You didn’t know that?”
“I thought she looked very exotic… that explains it.”
“Anyway… I feel sorry for the Madam.”
“What? That’s pretty bold of you to say.”
“You say that because you don’t know what it was like before. The Duke never let her go out alone, and he was always away from the mansion, claiming he was busy. So she was left all by herself all the time. That’s not even the worst part—when she finally told him she wanted a divorce, he wouldn’t even let her leave her room. I hated him so much back then…”
“Hey, watch what you say. What if someone hears—oh my goodness, my lady!”
That’s how the conversation ended: with one maid spotting me peeking through the door.
As I sat on a comfy sofa, massaging my aching thighs, Carter’s earlier words echoed in my mind.
“I believe the Duke simply didn’t know how to express his feelings. From what we saw, he truly treasured the Madam when they were newlyweds. It’s just… he expressed it the wrong way, because she meant so much to him.”
“How exactly did he express it?”
“Uhh…”
Carter had smiled awkwardly at my question.
“I’d like to explain in detail, but… I’m worried it might upset you, my lady.”
Wait—what did he do that might upset me?
His words stunned me so much I sat frozen with my mouth agape.
Seeing my reaction, Carter quickly backpedaled.
“T-the Duke may be short-tempered and rough, but he never raised a hand against the Madam! He was just a bit… no, very neglectful, I suppose…”
The bitter look in Carter’s eyes as he said that stuck in my mind like glue.
“Hmmm…”
I tapped my leg with a small fist and walked slowly to the desk to begin making a proper plan.
It wasn’t a child’s desk, so it took some effort to climb onto the chair, but once I was up, it wasn’t hard to write.
I picked up a neatly arranged notebook and pencil and started listing Harold’s sins based on what Carter had told me.
- Treated Mom harshly due to misunderstandings about her origin from the Principality. (Seems to have a terrifying mouth on him.)
- Never let her go out alone. (Possible possessive jealousy disorder.)
- Constantly left her alone at the mansion using “busy” as an excuse. (Even forgot her birthday several times. Tsk tsk.)
- Locked her in the house when she brought up divorce. (Harold… t-r-a-s-h…)
“Wow… hahaha…”
After doing all that, he threatened me, destroyed our home, and dragged us here?
And based on Carter’s cautious wording, this might just be the tip of the iceberg.
Since I’m still a child, they probably felt the need to filter what they told me.
Especially when Mom announced the divorce—Carter said Harold had gone into a rage and tried to stop her.
As a longtime reader of romance novels and webtoons, I was sure he didn’t do it gently.
Yeah, Harold was ticking all the boxes of the classic “regretful male lead” building his mountain of sins.
Reading about that kind of guy was entertaining—when it wasn’t my mom on the receiving end.
There’s no way I’ll let Mom suffer like that, not while I’m around.
Especially because of someone else.
That’s why we need to leave this place before Mom gets hurt again.
Sure, life in a fancy noble estate was a thousand times better than being poor in the countryside.
But if Mom says she can never forgive the Duke… if Harold keeps hurting her…
I’ll take her and leave without hesitation.
The only catch is, if we leave, she might stop getting hurt emotionally—but her body would suffer.
We were poor before we came here.
That’s why Mom worked nonstop.
For me.
Yes, my decision was clear now.
At first, I just wanted to squeeze some money out of Harold so we could live safely, but that wasn’t going to cut it.
I needed enough money so that Mom would never have to work again in her life.
“My lady!”
Let’s get some money out of the Duke.
Not for free, of course. I’ll make a proper deal and ask for an “allowance.”
“Great!”
Hmm, what kind of deal should I make…?
What’s the best legal way to get an allowance from him?
“What do I do…”
“What do you mean, what do you do?”
“Kyaaah!”
A deep voice suddenly sounded right next to my head, startling me so much I flailed my arms and legs.
“Ack! Waaah!”
In that moment, my chair tipped backward, and I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the pain that was about to come.
