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Chapter 04
Edmund saw Patrick and me meeting.
The boy’s red eyes clearly said it all.
‘I knew it—you’re nothing but my uncle’s lackey!’
His gaze was brimming with intense suspicion and betrayal.
Ah.
‘Looks like I lost every bit of goodwill I’d barely managed to earn.’
But there was nothing I could do.
I couldn’t take Edmund’s side in front of Patrick, the duke’s son.
If I did, I might get kicked out—or even killed—before I could help Edmund at all.
‘First, I need to deal with Patrick smoothly. There’ll be more time later to clear up Edmund’s misunderstanding.’
In contrast to how my heart felt like it was scraping along the floor, I heard Patrick let out a soft chuckle beside me.
Was it my imagination, or was that laugh filled with a sense of superiority and satisfaction?
‘No. It’s probably not my imagination.’
In the original story, Patrick had seduced Cassia for the sake of crushing Edmund.
He wanted to take everything from Edmund, the legitimate heir.
While I was recalling the original plot, Patrick began issuing orders to those around him—acting as if he were the master of this estate.
“Bring some tea.”
“Y-yes, young master.”
The servants, including Moretti, were far more obedient and efficient than when Edmund or I gave orders. That couldn’t have been my imagination.
In no time, refreshments were set up in the sitting room.
And the one who stepped forward to personally serve tea to the two of us seated across from each other was Moretti.
‘How transparent.’
Normally, Moretti would never do such menial tasks.
Just moments ago, she’d been strutting around as if she ruled the entire villa.
And yet now, she was holding the teapot herself and pouring tea into Patrick’s cup—adding a completely unnecessary remark.
“I brewed it myself. I hope it suits your taste.”
I swallowed a hollow laugh and looked down at the teacup placed in front of me.
The porcelain bottom was glaringly white.
‘So she didn’t pour any for me at all?!’
Just as I was about to open my mouth—
Patrick practically snatched the teapot from Moretti’s hands.
“H-huh?”
Throughout the entire time—taking the teapot, pouring tea into my empty cup—Patrick didn’t spare Moretti even a sideways glance. Then, as if annoyed, he spoke to me.
“It seems the servants at this villa are still poorly trained.”
I smiled gently and dipped my head slightly.
“I apologize. It’s only been three days since I got married, so I still lack a lot.”
“Oh—this isn’t meant as a criticism of you, Cassia!”
“No, it’s true. I’m painfully aware of my shortcomings. After all, I just ordered a servant to reflect on her actions, yet here she is blatantly ignoring that command.”
“…What?”
At my words, Patrick’s expression hardened, and the color drained from Moretti’s face.
Patrick asked, clearly condemning her.
“Is what Cassia says true?”
There was only one servant present—Moretti.
Naturally, the only person my words could have pointed to was her.
“I—I mean, that is—!”
“How dare a mere servant!”
Patrick was genuinely furious.
Like his father, he was an extreme classist.
No matter how insignificant my family might have been compared to the ducal house, I was still a noble—and now a member of the Cohen ducal family. It wasn’t strange at all for Patrick to be enraged upon hearing that a mere servant had openly defied my orders.
‘And besides, both in the original story and now… it looks like he’s trying to seduce me.’
The kid’s got a lot of nerve.
Naturally, I’d expected him to take my side over Moretti—and my prediction was spot on.
Before the anger of the family’s true power-holder, Patrick, Moretti was helpless.
She trembled violently, trying to offer a few excuses—
“I—I was only trying to follow the duke’s orders—”
“Silence. How dare you invoke my father’s authority in front of me.”
Of course, it didn’t work at all.
“Why aren’t you apologizing to Cassia at once?”
In the end, Moretti had no choice but to kneel before me.
“I’m sorry, madam. I… I’ve committed an unforgivable sin.”
Her head and shoulders shook with humiliation.
I took a sip of the tea Patrick had poured and replied calmly.
“At least you understand now. As punishment, your confinement will be extended to three days, and your pay will be reduced for a month.”
“Th-that’s—!”
“How very merciful of you, Cassia.”
Moretti couldn’t resist any further.
Like a completely defeated dog, she tucked her tail and retreated.
This time, she would probably obey the confinement order properly.
‘And if she ignores it again, I can just punish her further for daring to disrespect Patrick.’
This is the taste of a fox abusing a tiger’s authority!
Once Moretti shuffled out of the room, only the two of us remained in the sitting room.
The moment the door closed—
Patrick crossed his legs and said something utterly ridiculous.
“When I saw you at the wedding three days ago, I was pretty surprised. You’re far too good for a brat like Edmund.”
Informal speech, right away—and his tone became blatantly greasy.
I nearly spat out my tea, but with superhuman self-control, I barely managed to hold it in. I set the teacup down and forced a smile.
“Th-thank you for the compliment?”
“I’m just stating facts.”
He pulled his chair a little closer, sitting nearer to me.
And then he said the very thing I had expected—but absolutely did not want to hear.
“Cassia. What do you think about becoming close with me?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Edmund is a duke in name only. By staying beside him, you’ll never truly be the duchess. You know that, don’t you?”
I closed my mouth.
Patrick seemed to take my silence as agreement.
It wasn’t just a rumor within the Cohen family—it had already spread widely throughout the capital.
No one believed that young Edmund could overcome the duke and reclaim the title.
Probably not even Edmund himself.
‘I’m the only one who knows how this will really turn out.’
Patrick lightly kissed the back of my hand once more and smiled with his eyes.
“I’ll give you plenty of time to think it over. Just don’t keep me waiting too long.”
What remained after Patrick left were words so cloying they felt like a snail’s trail.
Thanks to that, I had to fight waves of nausea after seeing him off.
‘Ugh— I didn’t even touch the food, just drank tea, and it still feels like it’s sitting wrong!’
As I was about to head back inside the villa, Edmund’s eyes from earlier came back to me—those unusually red pupils.
‘Now that I think about it, he saw Patrick and me together from the third-floor window.’
I looked up at the window where Edmund had been standing earlier.
There wasn’t even a shadow there now.
‘Food! It’s food!’
It wasn’t until evening that I finally managed to have a proper meal.
I’d skipped breakfast while rushing to Edmund.
For lunch, I’d gotten so indigested from having tea with Patrick that I couldn’t eat.
And finally—when I put my first bite of dinner into my mouth, a thrilling sense of happiness washed over my entire body.
‘This is really good! Even if it’s a villa where Edmund’s being confined, it’s still a ducal household!’
Even if I’d been scammed into working as a villainess, hunger was still hunger.
Good food lifted my mood and gave me energy.
‘As expected, Koreans live on rice!’
Once sugar entered my stomach that had finally decided to accept reality, my head started working smoothly again.
That’s when I remembered something important.
‘Oh, right! By now, Edmund’s meal must be…!’
I’d only taken a single bite.
My stomach was empty, and my tongue was practically crying tears of joy.
But Edmund’s gaze from earlier—when he looked at Patrick and me—rose vividly in my mind.
That hadn’t just been distrust.
‘That was a look like he was calculating a clean kill!’
Day four of possession.
I’d only been taking action for a single day.
Edmund’s suspicion toward me must be at its peak, and any goodwill had probably sunk far below zero.
Holding back tears, I stood up.
When I naturally pushed a trolley with a meal straight into Edmund’s bedroom, the kid’s eyes widened.
“What is it? Why are you here?”
I beamed brightly and replied,
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? It’s only natural for a wife to come to her husband’s room.”
Edmund’s small face scrunched up dramatically.
