Chapter 8

Berengela was silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.

“…Countess. Do not slander the Count with baseless words.”

“Whether it is slander or not, you can check for yourself.”

Rachel held out the ledger she had brought, signaling for her to take it.

Berengela, clearly wounded in pride and unable to believe it, stiffened her face and remained still for a long moment. Finally, when she reached out to take the ledger Rachel offered…

Thud. The ledger fell to the floor.

“I’m sorry. My hands shook without thinking—it’s a ledger that exposes my husband’s secret funds and tax evasion.”

“…If even a single piece of this information is false, I will not let you go unpunished.”

“By all means.”

“Peanut.”

A maid who had been standing nervously at the back hurried over at the call. She picked up the ledger and handed it to Berengela, while Rachel turned and left the reception room without hesitation.

Berengela sat for a long time in the reception room, examining the ledger Rachel had given her.

It wasn’t until Berengela had read it all that Theodore returned to the mansion, rushing in with both hands full of food.

“Uh, Mother! I bought all the foods that are popular in the capital these days! I hope I’m not too late…”

“…Count. Is this how I raised you?”

“Pardon?”

Scratch!

Late into the night, the sound of Berengela punishing her son echoed constantly through the Ellosa mansion.

Late at night, in the office of the Archduke of Dikarsniak, the sound of precious metals clinking came regularly.

Clink-tang. A clear sound rang, and shortly after, clink-tang again.

Sian, leaning back in his chair, snatched a small object from the air and held it up to the moonlight. It was a beautiful cufflink set with a pale pink diamond.

Rachel had asked for a gift suitable as a token of love. The pink diamond cufflinks, currently a topic of conversation in the social circles, were perfect.

Yet Sian, having prepared the item, had spent days without reporting back.

Obtaining a pink diamond of this size was not easy. Rare and expensive, even by normal standards.

But for Sian, the only Archduke in the Empire and a guild informant, it was not difficult. The price, equivalent to an entire Ellosa mansion, was no burden to him.

The problem was that this precious item had to belong to Theodore.

It irritated him.

He recalled Theodore’s hands touching his mistress Jane carelessly in a dim alley. Imagining these pink cufflinks on Theodore’s shirt made his stomach turn. He didn’t want to deliver them.

There was another reason he delayed reporting—Rachel.

Even after investigating her again, he couldn’t uncover anything.

“I’ve never met someone so hard to figure out.”

For Sian, who knew everything about Emperor Sigarna and Grand Prince Titienis, this was truly unfamiliar.

In social circles, Rachel appeared as a devoted wife, indifferent to rumors, and discreet—nothing more, nothing less. She had few friends, and left traces of mistakes scattered here and there.

“Her connection to Vicar Rylas of the Yenis Church is unusual, if anything…but that seems to be only her father’s personal acquaintance.”

There was no evidence Rachel Ellosa was clever, wise, or calculating. She had never revealed her true nature in over twenty years. Not once.

To pretend to be foolish while being able to see through Sian’s identity and read the council’s suspicions? He couldn’t even gauge the level of meticulousness required.

“I thought I knew all the competent people in the Empire… how arrogant.”

Clink-tang. He flicked the cufflink, snatched it, and gripped it tightly.

It gave him the same thrill as holding Rachel in his hand.

“I want to hold on to her.”

He had used Phidusius as guild master to gather information, entrusted Stefan with the trade company for profit, and appointed Nick as aide to work closest to him.

He had spent so much time considering what task to assign Rachel that he hadn’t noticed time passing.

“At one point, I thought this desire was a necessary trait to become Emperor… but now it’s pointless.”

Emperor Sigar, Sian’s older brother, had inherited the throne.

While deep in thought, a familiar voice came from the doorway.

“…Dad?”

The only person who could enter the office without permission—his daughter, Dolorasa.

“…Doli. Still awake?”

“I came while going to the bathroom. Why aren’t you asleep, Dad?”

Seven-year-old Dolorasa was clearer-minded and more mature than her peers. Sian felt grateful, and sometimes pained, by it.

She never asked who her mother was, or what kind of person she was. She seemed to understand that asking wouldn’t yield answers. Perhaps she even knew he wasn’t her biological father.

Her small rabbit-shaped slippers made a soft shush-shush as she approached.

“Staying up late is bad for your health. Doli doesn’t want you to be sick.”

“You were worried about me? I’m sorry. I’ll go to bed now.”

“Okay. Sleep well, Dad. I’ll go back to bed too. I’m so sleepy.”

“Good night. I love you, Doli.”

“I love you too.”

Left alone in the office, Sian held the cufflink to his shirt. The pink diamond, a symbol of love, gleamed beautifully.

He could think about what to do once he had her in his grasp.

It was time to go see Rachel.

The next day, Theodore couldn’t go to work at the palace. His face and calves were swollen from Berengela’s punishment.

At breakfast, Berengela’s face was terrifying, as if she could explode at any moment, while Theodore looked pitiful, trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Between them, only Rachel and Graham shared a warm, happy atmosphere.

“Here, Graham. Beef—you like it. I’ll cut it for you.”

“You should eat too, Mom. I’ll eat one, and you eat the rest.”

“I’m grown, so I don’t need much. You’re still growing, so you must eat a lot.”

“Hmm… then I’ll eat two, grow big, and protect Mom.”

So cute…!

Rachel rubbed her cheek against Graham’s as he sat next to her.

Berengela, watching them, finally threw down her knife before finishing half her meal.

Clang!

“The mansion’s chef is terrible. The stench from the food is disgusting. Fire him immediately.”

“Yes, y-yes, Mother. I’ll fire him and hire a skilled chef…”

Theodore, with swollen cheeks, was flustered and kowtowed helplessly.

Berengela glanced at her son with disdain and left the breakfast room.

Thud. As the door closed, Theodore jumped to his feet. Clang! The table shook, dishes clattered loudly.

“Rachel. Are you insane? What’s gotten into you lately?”

He had been silent when Berengela was present, but now he scolded his wife—funny to watch.

Rachel frowned and hid Graham behind her back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we’re eating. We’ll talk later when it’s just us.”

“Do you expect me to eat now?”

It seemed impossible. His swollen cheeks made chewing painful.

“Still, wait. Graham and I haven’t finished yet.”

“The last time I brought Jane home, you embarrassed everyone, and now you bring an impossible ledger to Mother? What’s your scheme?”

“There’s no scheme. Jane was rude first. I gave the ledger to Mother because she is the senior of the Ellosa family. The highest-ranking person should know the family’s problems best, shouldn’t they?”

“Don’t talk back! Last night, because of you, I had to…”

“You’re the one who caused the problem! Inviting a rude, ignorant woman home, opening a hole in the family finances, evading taxes.”

Ignoring the wife who loved him, openly cheating.

Theodore’s face, red and swollen from being beaten, now turned red with anger.

“Shut up!”

His eyes wild, Theodore threw a silver cup filled with water.

It came so suddenly that Rachel froze, unable to dodge it.

Just as it was about to hit her…

Chaaang!

A sharp sound rang. The cup tumbled across the floor.

Rachel’s eyes widened in disbelief. Behind her, Graham trembled, standing on the table, holding the silver knife used to cut the beef.

“G-Graham?”

“Dad, you’re bad!”

Graham extended the small knife toward Theodore. His blue eyes held a chilling intensity.

Even knowing it wasn’t a deadly weapon, Theodore hesitated.

“Graham, put that down immediately.”

“No.”

“Graham.”

“Throwing things at people is bad! Didn’t you learn that from your mom?”

Did Graham know Berengela was Theodore’s mother when he said this?

“If you do something bad, you’ll be punished! If Dad does bad, I’ll punish Dad too!”

The small child’s trembling voice was a cute threat, yet the atmosphere was deadly. Even Rachel froze.

In the original story, Graham only became a killer because Rachel died.

But Graham had been born with extraordinary physical abilities, reflexes, strength, and a killing intent that could freeze anyone in their tracks.

In peaceful times, his talents had remained hidden. Now, in the face of his mother Rachel’s danger, they were beginning to awaken.