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CHAPETR 06
A butler dressed in a formal uniform entered her room.
The figure of the heir apparent standing before the fireplace flickered with the flames. Or perhaps it wasn’t the fire that was flickering, but the heart of the heir.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, the butler cleared his throat to announce his arrival—but Adele was quicker.
“I must’ve called you too late at night. But I heard something so interesting that I just had to share it with you.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ll keep it short. Is that true?”
The butler flinched at Adele’s direct question. Jacqueline had already given him a rough explanation on his way up.
“Well… the heir apparent…”
“Yes. I thought I was the heir apparent, too. But now, it seems I might not be.”
“…”
She was smiling, but it wasn’t a real smile.
An elegant yet sharp smile—so much like Count Sergio himself—forced the butler to speak.
“Well, the thing is…”
According to the family’s traditions, the heir must be a married adult.
It didn’t matter whether they were legitimate or illegitimate, male or female… well, none of that mattered now. Only one thing mattered to Adele.
“…Why have I never heard this until now?”
“My lady…”
“Does this make any sense to you?”
It felt like a heavy blow to the back of her head.
To think the position she had always assumed was hers… might not be.
Adele laughed hollowly in disbelief.
She wasn’t just a chaebol’s daughter—she was the chaebol.
The pinnacle of wealth and power, unmatched by anyone.
She had lived her whole life with that singular goal in mind. Not wasting a single second, she had walked the path of a perfect heir.
This wasn’t just a matter of losing some position. Losing the heirship of the guild meant her very existence was being denied.
“Why didn’t Father say a word? Something this important should have been told in advance!”
“Well, until now, most heirs have arranged marriages right after their coming-of-age ceremonies. But in your case, the Count thought there was no need to rush. Hasn’t he always said that you, his eldest and legitimate daughter, would be the heir?”
“Then why now?!”
“Well… he probably didn’t expect Lord Zerox to be matched with Lady Noella.”
“…”
“Even the Count couldn’t have seen that coming.”
“Enough.”
Adele raised a hand, cutting off the butler’s hesitant words.
Right. If even she didn’t know, how would her father?
So basically, her father had been delaying her political marriage because he assumed she’d end up with Zerox—only to have that opportunity stolen overnight.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her rising emotions.
“Did Father say anything else?”
“In the first letter he sent after his departure, he instructed us to prepare your marriage so that everything would be ready when he returned. He said that now that your coming-of-age has passed, finalizing your marriage would solidify your place as the heir.”
“…This is just… I have to ask, just in case…”
“…”
“Did Noella deliver that letter?”
“That’s… yes.”
“I figured. You may go now.”
Of course.
Adele pressed her forehead and waved the butler away.
As soon as he left, Jacqueline—who had been anxiously watching—hurried over.
“My lady! What on earth is going on?!”
“…I know, right.”
That sly little thing.
Adele gritted her teeth, leaning one arm against the wall.
She’d been lenient with her, thinking she’d be gone soon—and now the girl had the nerve to hasten her own death.
Looking back, it had been strange from the start when Noella suddenly reached out to Zerox, whom she’d always treated like a stranger.
“Still, I don’t think the young lady intended things to go that far…”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
That girl wasn’t the type to settle for just that.
Thinking of the terrible things Noella had done in the novel, this was child’s play.
Her goal couldn’t have been something as petty as stealing her sister’s lover.
Given her inferiority complex over being born out of wedlock, which was constantly mentioned… Adele now knew exactly what Noella really wanted.
“Wow… and I let it slide.”
“Please, calm down. As the Count said, you’re the rightful heir. He wouldn’t change his mind over one silly family tradition.”
“He would. In a heartbeat.”
Jacqueline could say that only because she didn’t understand how things worked.
Ironically, in business families, tradition was everything.
Why do you think chaebol families in Korea still dress in hanbok at dawn and perform ancestral rites? It’s not because they’re poor or ignorant.
Chaebols hate change. And among them, no one knows her father better than Adele.
“When Father returns and hears that Noella’s marrying Zerox, what do you think he’ll say?”
“Eh? Well… wouldn’t he scold her?”
“No. He’ll think, ‘So the girl had more potential than I thought.’”
“…”
“That’s the kind of man my father is.”
As expected from a true chaebol, he had no time for morality or honor.
The only reason he had considered Adele as his heir wasn’t because she was the eldest or legitimate daughter—it was because she consistently proved herself capable.
“And he’ll think: ‘If she was any good, she wouldn’t have let her sister steal her man.’”
“…Surely not…”
“Want to bet?”
Adele had never lost a bet in her life. Jacqueline shut her mouth tight.
Adele began pacing, her forehead still resting in her palm.
“…If only she’d said it was love. But to stab me in the back like this…”
“What will you do, my lady? If you go to Lord Zerox now…”
“Do I look like a recycling bin? Why would I go crawling back to someone who left me for another woman?!”
“…Y-you’re not thinking of giving up the heirship, are you?”
“Are you crazy? I’d rather rip my own heart out!”
“…”
“Haah… there’s no other choice.”
No matter how she thought about it, there was only one solution.
She had invested too much to give up now.
This one event might not instantly make Noella the heir—but it would surely cause her father to reevaluate Adele’s worth.
“I’ll just switch horses.”
“…What?”
“I’ll make it look like I dumped Zerox first—for someone better.”
“But the Count is returning next week! There’s no time!”
“A week is enough for two people to fall in love.”
“…Have you even been in love before?”
Jacqueline stared blankly at Adele, then quickly lowered her head. You couldn’t say everything you were thinking.
There was only one thing that mattered: her lady had made up her mind.
“But… who exactly do you plan to marry? You can’t just pick anyone in a rush.”
“He has to be better than Zerox, at least.”
The atmosphere turned serious.
If she wanted a man her father would approve of, he’d have to outshine the previous candidate.
Saying, “I don’t like Benz, I prefer something humbler” would only make her a laughingstock.
“Father won’t care about money. We’ve got more than enough already.”
“Exactly. There’s no family richer than Sergio in the South. Even if there is, it’s better to avoid messy entanglements. What you need is a man of solid character and ability who can support you.”
“Right.”
Now they were getting somewhere.
Adele’s face brightened.
“First, he has to be a noble. Otherwise, he can’t marry me, the daughter of a count. No greedy, talkative types either—they’d try to take everything in a divorce. And he should be tall and handsome—not for me, but because we’ll attend many public events together. Smart, so we can hold a conversation. And faithful—no cheating—so ideally, someone chaste. Not bad, right?”
“…Not bad. But does such a man even exist?”
“So you think that too, huh?”
Bingo.
Adele folded down her fingers one by one.
The more she spoke, the more she realized how decent Zerox actually was.
Sigh.
She let out a low sigh, and Jacqueline mirrored her with a worried look.
“Good family, tall, handsome, smart, not greedy… okay, maybe we could kidnap someone like that. But chaste too? That’s basically asking for a celibate monk in a fancy suit.”
“…”
Now that was a bit much.
Adele looked sour. Hearing herself described as needing a “celibate monk” was depressing for a young lady.
“And anyone like that would already be married. Unless they’re some temple knight or something…”
“…Temple knight?”
“You know…”
Jacqueline laughed, finding her own comment ridiculous. So she didn’t notice Adele’s face change.
“…A man who has it all but isn’t interested in worldly things… that’s basically a knight of San Fidelio Temple. But my lady—what’s with your face…”
“Wait.”
Adele raised a hand to stop her, a complex expression settling over her face.
One that was serious… but also held a glimmer of hope.
No way.
Jacqueline’s jaw dropped as Adele raised a brow.
“…Why didn’t I think of him before?”
