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Chapter 05
The Villainess Opens a Department Store
“Why, of course it’s Lord Charmeuse, respected by everyone.”
“Can someone who’s never once received a warm touch or a loving embrace as a child truly be respected by everyone?”
Madam Séverine was struck speechless. As she faltered, I drove the final nail in with a mocking tone.
“Yes, perhaps Antoine, raised under your strict discipline, will become an excellent viscount. Intelligent, cold, and perfectly capable of distinguishing what benefits his family.”
“Of course. That is precisely why he must receive proper education starting now—”
“But I want my little brother to grow up loved, to share that love with others, and to become someone respected because of it.”
It was a common story. Parents who ruled their children with violence when they were young, only to be abandoned later when they grew too old to control them by force.
If Antoine turned out like that in the future, it would be troublesome for me as well.
The original novel had made it painfully obvious which country its names and places were modeled after. And if history followed the same path as that country…
For a moment, I could almost see the cold blade of a guillotine shimmering before my eyes. My body shuddered.
If I had to be reincarnated, I’d rather have been a rich family’s dog or cat.
Anyway, that was why I had to raise him properly from now on. I steeled myself once more.
“Well, that requires a qualified teacher. And in that regard, you are unfit—both as a tutor and as a governess.”
I pulled a neatly folded paper from my bodice and tossed it in front of Madam Séverine.
The moment she recognized it, a strangled gasp escaped through her clenched teeth.
“Adelaide? What is that?”
“Evidence of where the governess was last night.”
“M-My lady! No! That is… it’s nothing!”
“Give it to me.”
Mother unfolded the letter and began reading.
“‘When the clock strikes midnight, I will wait in the stables. Please strike me with the rod of love as you did before…?’ W-What is this? Madam Séverine! What is the meaning of this obscene letter? Explain yourself!”
“No, no, my lady! I am innocent! I’ve been wronged!”
“So it seems the one who was corrupted was not my son—but you.”
At last, Mother’s voice rose.
“How could you! I—I trusted you…!”
“Eleanor, getting angry is bad for your health. Calm down—”
“Does it look like I can calm down? Haah… ha…”
Mother’s face flushed instantly with shock and fury.
“Call the stable master at once—!”
Suddenly, she clutched her chest and collapsed into Father’s arms.
Father ultimately settled the matter.
“Madam Séverine. I think it would be best if you sought employment elsewhere. I’m afraid I cannot provide a letter of recommendation.”
Madam Séverine protested in despair, as though her world had crumbled.
“My lord! I truly did my best for the young master! Please, just one more chance!”
“Thank you for your service.”
Withered like dried fish in an instant, Madam Séverine opened and closed her mouth soundlessly.
At last, realizing that no excuse would change the situation, she lowered her head and left the room.
“Antoine. It’s all over now. You must have been frightened. I’m sorry—I should have left you in your room.”
Though he likely did not understand the adults’ conversation, Antoine seemed to sense the gravity of the atmosphere and had buried his face in his sleeve.
“Sniff… hrng!”
Hrng?
Surely not. No, it couldn’t be.
Carefully, I pushed his head back.
And then I screamed.
“Antoine! I told you not to wipe your nose on silk!”
* * *
“Sigh… I thought we had finally found someone trustworthy. I feel so sorry for Antoine. And Adelaide too… She must have been upset all this time, keeping quiet to spare her sick mother. Perhaps we should raise them ourselves?”
Having finally calmed down, Eleanor leaned her forehead against the window to cool herself, letting out a deep sigh.
Her heart still throbbed with betrayal and shock.
Charles glanced at her before picking up his pen to draft a notice seeking a new governess.
“Please don’t talk about dying, my dear. You’ll collapse again at this rate. We’ll just find someone better. But Ellie… doesn’t Adelaide seem a little… different today?”
He almost said strange, but quickly searched for a gentler word.
“Love… and respect…”
What had I learned at Adelaide’s age? Charles tried to recall.
He didn’t remember clearly, but it likely hadn’t been much different from Madam Séverine’s methods.
In fact, since there had only been boys in his household, it had been no different from the military.
Power. Authority. Wealth.
A meticulously arranged schedule built around the idea that those were the only means to earn respect.
Unable to endure it any longer, he had run away from home.
Only after traveling the world and becoming an adult did he realize those were not the only ways to be respected.
Eleanor herself was proof of that.
Though far gentler and physically weaker than he, Charles found himself unconsciously straightening his clothes whenever he entered her room.
“By that woman’s logic, the most respected person would be on the battlefield—not in the cathedral.”
And yet, how had Adelaide understood something it had taken him adulthood to grasp—at the tender age of ten?
It seemed too serious to be mere childish innocence.
Almost as if she had experienced it herself.
His thoughts were interrupted by Eleanor’s scolding.
“You feel that way because you’re rarely home! I’ve told you to visit more often!”
“Do you think I enjoy wandering outside instead of staying in my own house?”
Though he raised his voice in protest, Charles put down his pen and glanced at his wife apologetically.
She was right. Every time he returned from a journey, the children had grown startlingly fast.
Adelaide especially—she had barely worn the dresses and shoes he brought her before outgrowing them.
“I had no idea Adelaide cared so deeply for her brother.”
“Well… she’s ten now. It’s an age when children mature.”
“If she matures twice over, she’ll start outsmarting her parents.”
“Dear!”
Eleanor widened her eyes like a startled rabbit.
Charles chuckled and leaned his head against her shoulder.
Still, today’s Adelaide seemed to have changed in more than just body.
The moment he met his daughter’s eyes—like violets mingled with the sea—she felt strangely unfamiliar.
Had she truly matured? Or had something happened?
“Perhaps I should look for work that allows me to stay at home.”
“I’d like that… but you need to find a new governess before you leave again.”
“Hmm. Speaking of travel, since Adelaide has grown up, perhaps we should reward her with a fine gift?”
“Well… that wouldn’t be bad. Then we’ll have to summon the merchants soon…”
Though what the children truly wanted was something else.
Swallowing the rest of her words, Eleanor rested her head against her husband’s chest.
* * *
Madam Séverine and the stable master were dismissed that very day.
Until a new governess could be hired, Antoine and I were to remain inside the estate.
But I felt neither boredom nor confinement.
It wasn’t just because the Charmeuse estate and gardens were vast.
Everywhere I looked were scenes of the home I had missed so dearly—landscapes I had believed I would never see again.
The enormous central fountain, especially, had become Antoine’s and my favorite spot as the weather grew warmer.
“Big sis! Let’s play at the fountain again today, okay?”
“You want to get scolded for soaking your clothes again?”
“Hehe…”
With an embarrassed grin, Antoine tugged my arm.
His grip felt a little stronger than before. Or was that just my imagination?
“Hm?”
Running ahead of me, Antoine suddenly stopped and tilted his head.
“Who’s that man?”
“That gentleman is definitely…”
There was already someone at the fountain today.
And not just anyone.
It was an extraordinarily welcome guest.
