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Chapter 13
In fact, I had been certain of it for several days even before I told them to bring the ledgers.
No—perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I had predicted it even before Moretti was driven out.
‘There’s no way there wouldn’t be people skimming money.’
The current Duke of Cohen was the kind of man who would sell out his country and even kill his own nephew if it meant securing his own wealth and glory.
There was no way any decent talent would gather under such a man.
‘Anyone under him would be swarming with people ready to commit corruption the moment they got the chance.’
On top of that, the villa was inevitably under less scrutiny than the main estate.
Especially here, where all attention was focused on monitoring and abusing Edmund.
There was no room to spare to care about corruption among the employees.
‘For people like that, this would be an environment where not skimming money would make you look like a fool.’
I already knew an environment quite similar to this one, even if it wasn’t exactly the same.
‘The wretched orphanage I grew up in was just like this.’
Because I knew such examples so well, I already knew the answers before even interrogating them.
‘They’ll pin all the blame on Moretti and deny everything themselves.’
The answers came exactly as I expected, but it didn’t matter.
‘I didn’t stay idle for an entire month for nothing before making my move.’
As I pulled a notebook from inside my clothes, I smiled with a sense of victory.
Inside it was a list of most of those who had taken part in the embezzlement, including the two of them.
I recalled my conversation with the “collaborator” who had given me this list about ten days earlier.
The library, as always, was filled with the smell of old books and dust.
Casia, who had been sitting alone and reading aloud in a clear voice, suddenly stopped.
“……?”
Edmund, who had been hiding behind the curtain and listening to the lesson from the window seat, grew flustered.
At this point, it was hardly hiding at all—he wasn’t even making the bare minimum effort to conceal himself, and his foot was sticking out beyond the curtain.
The boy was puzzled.
What’s wrong with her?
This wasn’t a moment to interrupt the lesson—neither in terms of time nor content.
Then Casia’s voice rang out.
“Come out.”
“……!”
The words came like an ambush.
Edmund was so startled he nearly fell to the floor.
What? Why all of a sudden?
Up until now, their lessons had continued based on a silent agreement.
An agreement between Casia, who couldn’t openly help Edmund, and Edmund, who still didn’t fully trust Casia.
It was an unspoken pact, a precarious relationship that would end the moment either side let go first.
Is she letting go first?
Edmund bit his lip.
Thinking about it, maybe it was only natural.
So far, Casia had only ever given. It wouldn’t be strange for her to abandon a relationship that offered her nothing in return.
Even as he tried to rationalize it that way, a crushing anxiety crept up his throat.
Then Casia urged him again.
“Come out. There’s something I want to talk about.”
“…….”
Edmund hesitated fiercely.
And then, at last, the seed of trust that Casia had been carefully planting in him finally sprouted, painfully but surely.
After nearly twenty days of hiding like a mouse behind the curtain, the boy finally peeked his head out.
“…What is it?”
He realized, for the first time, how difficult such a simple act—stepping out from behind the curtain—could be.
Even though they both already knew of each other’s existence.
It felt embarrassing and tense, as though he were standing naked right now.
That was why his gaze dropped to the floor without him noticing.
Tap. Tap.
Light footsteps approached Edmund.
When the boy looked up in surprise, the girl was already right in front of him.
Casia smiled brightly, dazzling noon sunlight spreading out behind her.
“……!”
For a moment, Edmund had the absurd illusion that the sunlight itself was radiating from Casia.
It was a truly ridiculous thought.
“So we’re finally facing each other properly in the library.”
“…Do you feel like you’ve won or something?”
For some reason, Edmund felt his cheeks grow hot.
When he turned his gaze away again, unexpected words came from Casia’s lips.
“Want to work with me on something?”
“What?”
When Edmund looked back at her in disbelief, Casia’s expression was serious.
She didn’t look like someone joking or teasing at all.
“There are a lot of white ants gnawing away at the pillars of this villa. You know that, right?”
Having grown used to Casia’s way of speaking over the past twenty days, Edmund immediately grasped the hidden meaning.
She means there are a lot of people skimming money and assets.
Edmund knew it well himself.
No matter how much he was treated like a ghost, he was still the young duke of Cohen.
And this estate was the place where he had been born and raised.
“Look.”
Casia’s hand grabbed Edmund’s short sleeve.
The frayed threads at the end of his worn-out sleeve caught between her fingers.
Then her gaze shifted to Edmund’s shoes. His old shoes didn’t fit properly, and he wore them with the heels crushed down.
Casia said coldly,
“Even the lowest servant in this villa wears better shoes than you. No one else wears clothes that don’t fit or shoes like that.”
Edmund felt a horrifying sense of humiliation and couldn’t hold back any longer.
“I know that! Do you think I’m blind and brainless?! How much more are you planning to humiliate me?!”
Casia’s eyes widened.
“Is that all that’s humiliating?”
“What?”
“Aren’t you angry? Don’t you feel furious?”
“……!”
Edmund looked up at Casia in shock.
The girl who had been smiling like the sun moments ago was gone.
In her place stood a skilled and wicked schemer.
And the proposal that followed was something Edmund could never refuse.
“Don’t you want to make the traitors pay, even just a little?”
It was a temptation as sweet as a devil’s whisper.
That’s right. The “collaborator” who helped me this time was none other than Edmund!
When Edmund finally stepped out from behind the curtain after such a long wait, I nearly cheered.
Finally!
And when the child nodded at my proposal, I had to restrain myself from jumping for joy.
My proposal was simple.
“Tell me about the people who are siphoning off the villa’s budget. If you know how to secure evidence, tell me that too.”
“…Why do you think I’d know something like that?”
Edmund’s doubt was reasonable, and I had already prepared my answer.
It was also based on fact.
“I’ve only been here for two months. But I heard you were born and raised in this villa. And from what I’ve seen, you seem to know things like secret passages that nobody else knows. So I just thought there was a good chance you’d know. Naturally, you must have seen and heard a lot more than I have. Am I wrong?”
“…….”
“If you don’t know, that’s fine. You can just keep living as you are now.”
I didn’t forget to act as though I wasn’t the one in a hurry.
“If you really do have that evidence, what are you planning to do with it?”
“I’m going to take complete control of this villa.”
“You already are.”
“You know it’s not fully in my hands yet. Even Moretti couldn’t do anything about the ones who truly held power.”
“…If I help you, what do I get out of it?”
“You’ll be able to vent a bit of your anger on the traitors. And I can help you reclaim at least some of your rights.”
I emphasized it clearly.
“From the rats who are stealing and using what belongs to you.”
And Edmund accepted my proposal.
He told me about the true power holders within the villa and the web of corruption intertwined around them.
Because I already knew what to look for, securing the evidence was easy.
The reason I made this proposal to Edmund was simple.
I also know that Edmund knows how to use the villa’s hidden mechanisms.
And that he was using them to gather information on the villa’s employees.
In the original story, he even succeeded in escaping the villa using them.
By adding my own actions to that information, I could achieve a better result earlier than in the original.
Perfect. If we get good results by cooperating, it’ll also be great for building Edmund’s trust in me.
I carefully wrote down the information Edmund gave me.
After staring at it for a moment, Edmund suddenly asked,
“Do you believe what I’m saying?”
“Yes. I do.”
When I answered immediately, Edmund looked even more flustered.
He seemed to be thinking, How can you trust me so easily? but couldn’t bring himself to ask it outright.
I simply looked at Edmund’s hands and asked instead,
“The wounds on your hands have healed a lot. The ointment worked well, right?”
“……!”
Edmund’s face turned bright red again.
Why was he angry this time? Did he dislike receiving the ointment?
While I tilted my head in confusion, the boy ran out of the library, and I never got to ask what he was upset about.
And now.
I could finally confront Masha and Paul with confidence.
As I recited the names of those involved in the embezzlement one by one, their faces turned ashen in an instant.
Both Masha and Paul tried to deny it uselessly.
“N-No! This is a misunderstanding!”
“I would never do such a thing—!”
I smiled and shook my notebook.
“Why do you think I stayed quiet for a whole month after Moretti was driven out? To make it easier for you to skim the budget? Of course not—I was buying time to secure evidence.”
“……!”
“Do you really think I’d say all this without proof?”
I drove in the final nail.
“I wonder how the Duke would react if he found out that mere underlings dared to deceive him and gnaw away at his warehouses. Aren’t you curious?”
Just as I had expected, Paul’s gaze turned vicious.
Even though I had anticipated it, the murderous intent in a grown man’s eyes sent a primal shiver of fear through me.
I knew exactly what he was thinking.
He thinks that if he gets rid of me right now, he can bury the whole thing.
I couldn’t give him the chance to try.
I spoke firmly.
“If I don’t leave on time, a carrier pigeon containing everything I’ve written about this matter will be sent to the Duke.”
“……!”
“Along with all the evidence I’ve gathered.”
In other words, it was both a warning not to do anything foolish—and a declaration of my victory.
