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Chapter 21
The brat in a bad mood. Tsk. Celia clicked her tongue.
She didn’t understand.
Why on earth was that woman so appealing?
For three years, she had served as Jaden’s personal maid—bringing him meals, doing his laundry, taking care of countless chores. And yet, Jaden’s heart had completely been stolen by a pharmacist who had only been around for a few days.
Just a moment ago, even.
Knock, knock.
As soon as she knocked on the door, Jaden’s voice came from inside.
“Viola?”
It was so bright and cheerful that Celia could hardly believe her ears. Was this really the same arrogant little brat she knew?
But the moment the door opened and Jaden confirmed it was her, his expression instantly turned cold.
“…Ah.”
“Young Master, I’ve brought your meal.”
“Leave it there and go out.”
Thinking of it again, her temper flared. How could he be so rude to his prospective duchess? Celia fanned herself roughly to cool down.
‘That pharmacist woman isn’t ordinary, that’s for sure.’
After all, she had somehow managed to charm even the prickly Jaden. Surely, she had some cunning plan.
A plan to manipulate the child into her favor and use him as a stepping stone to get to the Duke.
Celia herself would have done the same, so it was obvious.
‘Being a mother seems to make her annoyingly good at winning over children.’
But it was laughable. The position of the Duchess wouldn’t be decided by something so trivial.
That woman was a commoner and a single mother; she was a noble-born countess.
‘How dare she covet my position?’
Celia had even personally gone to warn her as the future Duchess of Ascheln.
Yet that foolish commoner clearly didn’t understand. She was even insolent.
“Be careful of your actions. The future Duchess of Ascheln is watching you closely.”
“That doesn’t make sense…”
At that moment, Viola’s words came to mind.
Indeed, she wasn’t ordinary. Her innocent eyes seemed to scrape Celia’s patience raw.
“An insolent commoner…”
Celia ground her teeth.
At first, she had tried to ignore Viola. The woman acted like she was Jaden’s healer, but she would eventually leave the mansion anyway.
‘Even the best doctors failed before.’
There was no way a mere commoner pharmacist could succeed.
Surely, in a few days, her incompetence would be revealed and she’d be driven out.
But by now, Celia couldn’t shake a nagging feeling.
It was because of how Jaden’s attitude changed so drastically when he was with her.
“Ugh! That disgusting little brat is such a problem.”
Unable to contain her frustration, Celia spent the past two days actively digging into Viola’s background.
A single mother abandoned by her husband would surely have weaknesses to exploit.
Yet the maids and servants all seemed to have agreed to say they knew nothing.
There was no progress at all. But instead of discouraging her, Celia felt triumphant.
They were desperately hiding something. Surely, it must be an incredible secret.
“Let’s see how righteous you really are. No one knows who your child’s father is, or where you lived before? You must have rolled around in back-alley gangs or something.”
Hah. And yet she had the audacity to go after our Duke.
All the maids, even Jaden, treated her as if she were some kind of saint. Celia had to find out the truth, one way or another.
After leaving Jaden’s room, she strode irritably down the hallway, when something caught her eye at the far end. Familiar faces.
Mari and Becky. The maids who had so arrogantly confronted her in front of the laundry room.
Between them, a pink-haired girl was giggling.
‘Looks exactly like her.’
It was obvious she was that woman’s daughter.
Perfect. Perhaps this girl would know about her father.
Celia immediately approached them.
“You there.”
“…Lady Celia?”
Becky, seeing her, panicked and tried to block the child.
But Celia was faster. She roughly shoved Becky’s shoulder aside.
“Move. You’re in the way.”
Thud. Becky fell over.
“Ugh?”
Melody frowned and looked up at Celia.
Both Jaden and this girl… why did children these days have such insolent expressions?
Celia’s pride pricked, and she looked down at the child with a sharp glare.
“Where’s your father?”
“Ugh!”
“I asked where your father is.”
“P-please stop, Lady Celia.”
Mari stepped forward as if to protect Melody, but Celia ignored her.
Hah. Mother or daughter, equally irritating.
“What’s this? Why can’t you answer? Lost your tongue?”
“…Melody, don’t listen!”
Becky hurried to cover the child’s ears, but Celia said what she came to say.
“Tsk, tsk. The mother’s a single mom, and the daughter’s an idiot. Guess the blood will out… very fitting.”
Then it happened.
“Miss Dorn.”
A cold voice behind her made Celia jump. She turned to see Conrad standing there with a stern expression. His eyes behind his glasses glinted sharper than usual.
“Miss Melody is a valuable guest under His Grace’s patronage. Miss Dorn, this is not how you should speak to her.”
His tone clearly drew a line. But Celia pretended not to notice.
“…Not how I speak to her? What do you mean?”
Conrad’s raised lip and cold smile showed he wasn’t buying her excuse.
“You’d do well to watch your words. And…”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“There have been reports that you’ve been snooping into Miss Viola’s affairs.”
“I’m just checking because it’s worth checking! Conrad, do you know how cunning that woman is—”
But Conrad cut her off sharply.
“I think you may not be understanding clearly.”
“W-what?”
“I understand that Count Dorn has put considerable effort into securing a position for your maid, but…”
There was a faint smile on Conrad’s face, yet his gaze was deadly serious.
“Surely you don’t wish to render the Count’s efforts useless, do you?”
“…!”
Was he threatening her just because of a single meddling commoner?
Celia’s face flushed with indignation and anger.
While she was shaking with frustration, Conrad spun around and scooped up Melody.
“Miss Melody, you were startled, weren’t you? Shall we go together?”
“Ugh!”
Melody pounded her fists toward Celia defiantly.
Conrad cooed at her like she was adorable and left.
Mari and Becky, pretending not to care, seemed quietly pleased and followed behind.
Left alone, Celia could only mutter a bitter laugh.
High in the sky, a crescent moon hung.
Under its soft glow, Cain walked alone through the garden.
The cool night air did little to calm his mind.
An hour ago, he had received a report from Conrad.
“Analysis of Pharmacological Mechanisms and Principles Specifically Acting Within the Dragon-Blooded Body.”
An old book Viola had discovered in the DeVore Marquis’ library.
According to Conrad, it had originally been stored in the Duke’s mansion but had been lost for 300 years.
‘Strange.’
Even if it happened long ago, it couldn’t be dismissed lightly.
Information about the Dragon-Blooded was highly sensitive, potentially a weakness for the Aschelns.
Records were kept in the mansion’s secret library, inaccessible to anyone without Dragon-Blooded blood.
Yet somehow the book ended up in the DeVore library. It wasn’t stolen.
‘Only someone of Ascheln blood could even open it.’
Lost in thought, Cain continued walking.
In the distance, he noticed a figure scurrying through the garden.
A pink-haired girl with curly hair.
Cain couldn’t help but smirk.
‘Since when did the squirrel become nocturnal?’
