Chapter 6

Karl’s wrinkled face stiffened.

“So you did it hoping the mood would turn sour… what do you mean by that?”

“There’s not just one problematic servant in this mansion, right? I wanted everyone to reflect on their own mistakes through this incident.”

As Rachel had said, most of the Ellosa household servants had their faults. The fact that no one had reported Marsha while she spent so much time on her social duties was proof enough.

Though circumstances and methods differed, their thoughts were all similar:

“Count Theodore doesn’t care about the mansion anyway. Countess Rachel is kind, but not very clever. So we’ll just pretend to work diligently and mooch off this household.”

Karl was the only one actually working diligently. To him, Theodore was a truly “special person.” Even so, with the other servants slacking off, he had said all he needed to say.

Marsha had been punished first because she was a nanny. Among her various faults, neglecting the child was the worst.

By dismissing Marsha in a somewhat harsh manner, he hoped the other servants would get their act together. Return anything they’d stolen, and don’t neglect your duties.

…Well, not every servant would be that naïve.

Karl sighed and bowed his head.

“…It’s my fault for not managing the servants properly. Please forgive me.”

“You’ve been handling my duties in my stead all this time, Karl. That’s my fault. From now on, I’ll pay closer attention.”

“I’ll inform the servants of Marsha’s mistakes and tell them to be careful with their conduct.”

“Good. Thank you.”

The conversation ended.

Karl’s plan to scare Rachel using the servants had failed. Instead, she had scolded both him and the servants for their mistakes.

As he left the reception room, Karl’s eyes flashed.

“Lately, the Countess seems different than usual. I need to be more careful.”

But it was too late.

After Marsha’s dismissal, Rachel canceled all her plans and had dinner with Graham.

Graham was thrilled.

“Today, can I really have dinner just with Mom?”

“You wanted to eat just with Mom?”

“Of course! Mom is the best in the whole world!”

“Then let’s eat together every day. How does that sound?”

“Yay! I’m excited!”

Graham was so happy that he hopped around in circles around Rachel’s chair several times.

“I played alone in the garden today! Wasn’t I good?”

“Really? Didn’t you get bored playing alone?”

“Not at all! I made this for Mom!”

Graham picked up the plate he had left in the corner of the table and handed it to Rachel. Inside the shallow plate were a few flowers.

“It’s the tea you drink every day… flower tea!”

Flower tea!

This little boy knew about Rachel’s hobby of drinking flower tea alone on lazy afternoons.

Rachel took the plate from Graham and pretended to sip the tea.

“Wow. It’s even prettier and tastier than the tea I usually drink!”

“Hehe.”

“Can I keep this, Mom?”

“Of course! It’s a gift from you.”

A happy smile spread across little Graham’s face.

He was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at him.

In the novel, Graham was described as an unmatched beauty—and now, at just four years old, the child was dazzlingly lovely.

As Graham sat down to eat, he suddenly frowned.

“Ah, Mom. I dropped it…”

It looked like a piece of roasted beef had fallen.

“Oh dear. Don’t pick it up and eat it—it’s dirty. Wait a moment and I’ll bring you a new piece. Okay?”

“Yes! I’ll wait nicely.”

His determined reply was adorable, and Rachel laughed.

Right—no matter how hungry he was, he shouldn’t eat dirty meat. Picking it up could get him seriously sick.

Rachel had been arranged to marry Theodore from the day she was born. Theodore was four years old—the same age as Graham now.

The hopelessly romantic Theodore had despaired and felt trapped as he grew up.

“A loveless arranged marriage… how dreadful!”

When young Jane appeared at the start of marriage preparations, she became a perfect escape for him. Perhaps because it could never truly happen, his feelings burned even brighter.

“A love forbidden by class, age, and even parents… such cruel fate! But I will overcome it with the power of love!”

…That was Theodore’s thinking.

Truly laughable. If one were to write a tragedy, why drag poor Rachel into this mess?

Rachel sliced the meat passionately, as if channeling her resentment toward Theodore.

Whether he understood her mother’s feelings or not, Graham fidgeted and chatted nonstop throughout the meal.

“I picked up a stick and pretended to be a knight from the book—it was fun!”

“Graham, a knight? That’s amazing. I’ll protect you too someday.”

“Of course! Mom, I’ll definitely protect you. If a bad guy shows up, tell me. I won’t forgive anyone who hurts you.”

He straightened his back and shone his eyes like a true knight.

While her husband didn’t pretend to protect her, her son was reliable.

Rachel smiled with delight.

“Thanks. But if you get a girlfriend later, I might feel a bit left out.”

“I won’t have a girlfriend.”

“Really?”

That won’t do. Dolorasa would be disappointed.

“When I grow up, I might feel differently.”

“No! For me, there’s only Mom!”

Graham jumped off his chair and ran to hug Rachel tightly around the waist.

Yes, yes, she patted the child’s head.

A shy, introverted child had always clung only to his mother. Since Marsha the nanny hadn’t been that attentive, it was hardly surprising.

Because of this, Rachel’s death could have been an irreparable trauma for Graham.

It was heartbreaking.

She wanted to give the gentle, shy child a friend his own age. She wanted to go find Dolorasa immediately—she would surely be a kind and wonderful friend.

But divorce and financial matters were still mountains of problems.

For now, Rachel would have to be Graham’s friend.

“Just wait a little, Graham. Today, Mom has set a bait for your future father-in-law.”

She hoped Sian would soon follow Theodore. Once he came saying he’d found evidence of the affair, she could use it to finalize the divorce and reunite Graham with Dolorasa.

Even thinking about it made her excited.

Today, Karl asked the same question as always.

“What are today’s plans?”

“I’ll be reading in the study again. The novel I started yesterday is really interesting. It’s called ‘I Became the Mother of the Male Lead Living with an Affair Man’—about a young countess who divorces her husband and falls in love with a wonderful duke.”

“Hmmph.”

Karl cleared his throat, clearly uninterested.

Rachel widened her eyes and stopped speaking.

“Oh, sorry. You don’t like that kind of story, do you?”

“No. I’ll assume you’ll spend the day in the study. A bill from the guild has arrived—would you like to check it?”

The guild’s bill!

Had they already found evidence of the affair?

Heart pounding, she unfolded the paper and read:

*[Billing for commission:

Round-trip travel to the mansion: 20 gold

Waiting fee: 13 gold

Advance payment: 5 gold

Currently searching for the requested items. I will ensure delivery by the specified date under the honor of the guild.

Guild Senior Informant, Alias]*

Unfortunately, it didn’t include what Rachel wanted.

It was disappointing that things hadn’t progressed faster, but she had no choice.

Since no troops were dispatched, it seemed her claim wasn’t entirely false. That was a relief.

“I asked him to find it, but I have no idea what counts as solid evidence of the affair. No cameras or messages here.”

Sian was smart; she had no choice but to trust him.

She handed the paper to Karl.

“Pay the billed amount. Anything else?”

“Lady Berengela is scheduled to arrive at the mansion today.”

“Finally, today. Prepare to receive her.”

Berengela Ellosa—Theodore’s mother and Rachel’s mother-in-law.

Fortunately, it looked like Rachel could prepare the gift in time for her arrival.

She was already curious to see her expression upon discovering evidence of her son’s tax evasion and hidden assets.

“Ledgers, ledgers, ledgers… right.”

She rifled through dusty shelves, selecting the necessary books. To avoid suspicion, she inserted other books or changed the order.

Over the past few days, Rachel had pretended to read novels in the study while locating documents related to household management and finances.

Neglectful Theodore had tucked important papers around the study.

“Just as I expected—it’s a mess.”

The ledgers were only formally organized for reporting to the palace or paying taxes.

The Ellosa lands were fertile and productive, yet after Theodore inherited the countship from his father, the household was always tight on funds.

“He openly started giving everything to Jane once he inherited the title.”

At first, he even recorded it as “poverty relief,” which was ridiculous. Jane was a commoner; hearing that would have bruised her pride.

Later, he reduced the household income entirely, giving part to Jane and recording the remainder as the family’s revenue.

With reduced income came reduced taxes. Theodore must have been pleased, thinking he was getting the best of both worlds.

Rachel snorted.

“He left his child without money for food, sent him to mercenary work, and let him become a killer. Truly a despicable son.”

As Graham grew, he too would realize Theodore’s actions. He would lose faith in humanity and love. Killing as a mercenary would be easy for him—he showed no hesitation or mercy.

Poor Graham.

Having roughly organized the ledgers, Rachel opened her novel and sat down.

After reading two chapters, there was a knock at the study door.

“Madam, Lady Berengela Ellosa has arrived.”

The time had come.

“Yes, I’ll go. Karl, summon Theodore.”

Now, to deliver the gift to the mother-in-law eager to scold her daughter-in-law.