ISGJV 14

Chapter 14

Masha and Paul were visibly breaking into cold sweats, racking their brains as hard as they could—doing anything to escape the corner they were backed into.

But there was no way out for them.

‘Because I won’t let them.’

As if to apply more pressure, I flipped my notebook idly and spoke.

“You two know better than I do how much the Duke despises people who overstep their place.”

Masha and Paul exchanged glances.

At least they were sharper and more perceptive than Moretti.

They immediately chose to throw themselves flat on the ground and beg me.

“Please spare us, my lady! Our insignificant lives are entirely in your hands!”

“We’ve managed this villa for over six years! Keeping us alive would be far more useful to you!”

Shouting like that, both of them dropped to their knees before me.

Masha even showed tears, rubbing her hands together as she pleaded.

Paul slammed his forehead against the floor over and over.

All this, despite the murderous intent they’d shown me just moments ago.

‘Leaving people like this alone is like knowing there’s cancer and choosing to ignore it.’

I had no intention of doing something so foolish.

Just then, as if on cue, the door burst open.

The faces of the people who stormed in without warning were familiar.

Naturally, Masha and Paul knew them far better than I did.

“W-Why is Deputy Butler Basten here…?!”

“Don’t tell me you already informed the Duke?!”

“You said you hadn’t told the Duke yet!!!”

“You were playing with us?!”

The faint hope lingering in their eyes turned into despair.

I smiled brightly and replied,

“It’s true that I didn’t tell the Duke. But I never said I hadn’t told the head butler, did I?”

Aside from Deputy Butler Basten, the others who entered were the same people who had come to the villa before.

Along with Baron Lomond, the head butler himself.

‘Deputy Butler Basten and the senior servants under the head butler.’

They were the ones who handled the Duke’s dark and dirty business.

They were the ones who dragged Moretti away, and Basten was probably the one overseeing the interrogations and torture.

As if to prove he was used to such grim work, Basten had a menacing appearance.

Scars marred the area near his lips and eyes, and killing intent seeped from his gaze.

With a stiff expression, he approached me and bowed his head once.

“The head butler sent me. He said the young lady uncovered the termites gnawing away at the pillars of House Cohen.”

“That’s right. Take this.”

I handed Basten the notebook containing the list of those involved in the embezzlement.

The moment they saw it, Masha and Paul’s faces drained of color.

“N-No! Not me! I didn’t do it!”

“She did it! This woman did it! I’m innocent!”

Restrained by the servants, the two began screaming hysterically.

Ignoring them entirely, I added to Basten,

“I’ve already sent the related evidence to the head butler. So you only need to take away the names on that list.”

“The head butler asked me to convey his thanks.”

That’s right. This time as well, I passed the credit to the head butler.

In truth, catching embezzlers at a villa wasn’t something worth boasting about before the Duke.

To him, villa servants were worth less than ants beneath his feet.

‘But among the servants, it’s different.’

If I informed the Duke directly, the head butler would surely be reprimanded for failing to control his staff.

But if the head butler appeared to have discovered and reported the embezzlement himself, then this incident would become his achievement.

‘And I made it that way.’

After reading the list, Basten muttered coldly,

“The villa will be emptied out.”

That alone showed how many were implicated.

‘A third of the villa’s staff was involved in embezzlement—and all of them held fairly important senior positions.’

And my real objective wasn’t just currying favor with the head butler.

‘This will punch a huge hole in the villa’s manpower.’

Recruiting new people takes time. Finding trustworthy ones takes even longer.

Naturally, the watchful eyes on Edmund would have to loosen.

‘Good. With this… Edmund’s escape in a few months will be much easier.’

I watched the embezzlers being dragged away screaming, a gentle smile on my face.

‘Goodbye. Thanks for giving me a perfect excuse to replace the staff.’

They were all embezzlers and child abusers.

There was no room for sympathy.

One week after the uproar in which a third of the villa’s staff was taken away at once.

Edmund stared blankly at what lay before him.

“……”

A maid with an unfamiliar face cautiously asked,

“U-Um… do you not like it, Young Duke?”

What she had brought was a new set of clothes and shoes for Edmund.

A clean, well-fitting linen shirt; a coat and trousers embroidered neatly at the edges—not gold-threaded, but tidy; and shoes with flawless, smooth toes.

Strictly speaking, the quality wasn’t the finest for someone of Edmund’s status.

‘And yet… it feels excessive for me.’

That was the scar left by the past six years.

During that time, he had received proper clothing only a handful of times.

What he’d been wearing until now was something they’d grudgingly made for him about a year ago.

Naturally, the fabric and finish were lower quality than even the servants’ clothes—the cheapest of the cheap.

As Edmund grew, they’d occasionally let out the hems, but he was never given anything new.

The same went for his shoes.

As a result, he’d been forced to walk around in worn-out clothes that didn’t fit.

‘Just cleaning up the embezzlement led to all this…?’

It was hard to believe.

Pulled back to reality by the anxious voice of the rookie maid, Edmund finally responded.

“Young Duke…? Is there something wrong?”

“No. You may go.”

Relief washed over her face as she hurriedly fled the room.

Since the incident a few days ago, many things had changed.

Most of those who had led the abuse and neglect of Edmund had been dragged off to the ducal estate.

Many who followed them in looking down on and mistreating the boy had disappeared as well.

Those who remained lay low under the ominous atmosphere.

And the newly hired ones didn’t know how things had been before.

As a result, Edmund’s treatment changed dramatically.

“You’ll be able to vent your anger on the traitors, at least a little. And I’ll help you reclaim some of your rights.”

Just as Cassia had promised.

There was one more advantage.

The watchful eyes that had constantly monitored Edmund vanished almost completely.

Thanks to that, moving around became much easier.

‘Finding the head of the family’s seal will be easier too.’

The boy muttered unconsciously,

“…Is it really okay to trust her?”

The subject of those words was a girl with chestnut-brown hair and light green eyes, smiling innocently.

Someone he’d kept telling himself he couldn’t trust—mustn’t trust.

Yet now, he couldn’t easily deny it anymore.

The presence of the clean, well-fitting clothes before him silenced him.

They felt like the culmination of all the goodwill the girl had shown him.

“……”

After standing dazed for a moment, the boy shook his head.

Then, slowly and carefully, he began to dress.

The stiff, perfectly fitting new clothes felt unbearably awkward and unfamiliar.

Like the strange kindness a girl was showing him.

And then, wearing his new clothes and shoes, Edmund ran into the one person he least wanted to meet in the world.

“Ah, Edmund!”

“……!”

Cassia was walking toward him from the opposite direction, waving cheerfully.

For some reason, blood rushed to his face, and he felt as though he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.

Panicking, the boy looked around.

‘She shouldn’t act like that where people can see!’

He checked to see if any servants were watching them greet or talk.

Unfortunately—or fortunately—there was no one around.

Thanks to the massive reduction in staff.

That left him unable to use the excuse of servants to avoid Cassia.

Cassia approached with quick, light steps and whispered brightly,

“Those are new clothes, right? They look nice!”

“T-That is…!”

Normally, he would’ve snapped, ‘So what, are you showing off now?’

But for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out.

Then—

“!”

Suddenly, Cassia stepped much closer.

Right up to him.

So close their breaths nearly touched.

Her pale pink lips filled his vision.

Edmund felt like his heart was about to leap out of his mouth.

Thump-thump!

His heart pounded against his head, leaving him utterly flustered.

In his thirteen years and nine months of life, this was the most cornered he had ever felt.