🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 36
Brizney pointed her finger at Alec and shouted. The adults were so shocked by the scene that they seemed to forget to breathe, frozen in place. In that chilling silence, Brizney’s cry echoed through the hall, and Eloise thought to herself—
“It’s like a bomb just went off.”
It seemed Brizney was the only one completely unbothered by the chaos. She even muttered to herself proudly, nodding in satisfaction.
“And you!”
Brizney’s finger turned toward Eloise, making her flinch and take a step back. That finger had just dropped a bomb on Alec—now it was aimed at her. Eloise swallowed nervously, bracing herself for the next explosion.
“M-me?”
“You thief! How dare a lowly orphan steal my place?”
A second bomb fell, and Eloise quickly shook her head.
“No, I didn’t steal your place!”
“You did! You took my place as Lady Reston!”
Brizney’s face flushed red, as bright as the pink dress she wore, her voice rising with fury.
“That’s not what happened! I—”
Before Eloise could even finish, Kylian’s furious voice rang out.
“Who do you think you are to talk to Eloise like that?! I won’t let you get away with it!”
At his sharp outburst, the frozen adults finally started to move again.
“Brizney, come here this instant! How could you say such things…?”
Cecilia’s face burned with anger, and realizing she had said something wrong, Brizney cried out in panic.
“I-I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Brizney, apologize. Now.”
Rian’s cold, firm tone left no room for argument.
“Brizney… where—where did you even learn such awful words like ‘thief’ and ‘orphan girl’?”
Claude stammered in disbelief, unable to believe such harsh words had come from his beloved daughter’s mouth.
“But it’s true! Daddy became the Count of Swinton because of that man, and she stole my place! The nanny told me so!”
“You—you’re still…”
“Cecilia, let me handle this. Sweetheart, your father gave the title to his friend. It wasn’t stolen.”
To Brizney, her brother and mother were always full of annoying scoldings—but now even her father was taking their side. The one person who had always defended her was gone, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Why… why are you scolding me too? Waaaah!”
She burst into loud sobs like a faucet turned on full. Kylian glared at her and snapped,
“Why are you crying?! You’re not the one who should be crying—Eloise is!”
Eloise rolled her eyes around, clearly exhausted, and finally let out a long sigh of defeat. Alec, looking full of regret, turned to her.
“My dear, you must be hurt. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think things would turn out like this.”
“It’s not that…”
The whole situation was tangled like a knotted ball of string—no matter what she said, it wouldn’t make things better. She bit her tongue and fell silent.
Just then, an administrator burst into the mansion, panting and frantic. He clearly brought urgent news, and Eloise’s face lit up—finally, something to break this unbearable tension.
“What’s going on?”
“C-could it be! A-are you…?”
When Eloise approached and asked, the man jumped in shock.
“By any chance, might your exalted name be… Lady Eloise?”
The over-the-top formality of his words made Eloise narrow her eyes.
“I have a bad feeling he’s not here to solve problems—but to make them worse.”
Certain of that ominous instinct, Eloise hung her head.
“Up before dawn, tortured by Bella over dresses, and now this…”
Completely drained, she couldn’t even form proper words. But even without her response, the administrator muttered to himself as if he’d confirmed something.
“Silver hair, blue eyes… It is her! Then… as unbelievable as it is, this really is… the Reston estate?”
He trembled like a man walking into a haunted mansion.
“M-me, of all people! I’ve only been an administrator for a week! And I’m just a low-level officer—I shouldn’t even be in a place like this!”
As he clutched his head in despair, Eloise nodded to herself—her suspicions had been right.
“What brings you here?”
“I-if my manners are lacking, please forgive me! I come under orders from the Captain of the Reston Knights!”
“Riena…”
Even the thought of that name made Eloise sigh; Riena was the last person she wanted involved in today’s chaos.
“Yes, ma’am! She said there’s an urgent matter for the illustrious Duke of Reston himself!”
Eloise rubbed her temple at his continuing exaggerated gestures and flowery words—but then her eyes lit up.
“That means someone has to leave! Which means… this madhouse might finally quiet down!”
“Shall I come with you, then?”
Better to go herself than let him waste more time with his ridiculous etiquette. She quickly volunteered.
“N-no, my lady! That would be unthinkable! It’s my duty as an administrator!”
Moving stiffly like a poorly-oiled machine, the man marched toward where the Count of Swinton stood.
“Exactly what I was afraid of! He’s going to make things worse!”
Eloise hurried after him to stop him, but the administrator reached his destination first and bowed dramatically.
“I pay my respects to the mighty Lord of the North!”
His booming voice echoed through the mansion, instantly silencing everyone. Everyone except Brizney, who immediately raised her voice again.
“See! He called Daddy the Duke of Reston too!”
“Brizney, that’s not what he meant…”
“Of course it is! He just proved I was right—that man did steal Daddy’s position, didn’t he?”
The administrator froze, eyes wide, clearly struggling to process what he’d just heard. As he slowly replayed the conversation in his head, his face turned pale as snow. He looked seconds away from fainting, so Eloise jumped in to save him.
“He just made a mistake—he’s new. Anyway, it sounds like there’s an emergency. Riena sent him here in a hurry.”
Eloise’s words not only defended him but also steered the situation forward. She grabbed his arm and shook it to snap him out of his daze.
“Eh?”
He blinked at her in confusion, then realized the entire Reston family was staring at him.
“Well? You have a report to deliver! Don’t just stand there!”
Startled by her sharp tone, he straightened up and stammered,
“Y-yes! There was a demonic beast attack on a civilian village… but the Captain of the Reston Knights handled it!”
That barely counted as a report, and Eloise’s patience finally snapped.
“That’s your report? There must be a reason Riena sent you to call for the Duke of Reston!”
“Ah, r-right! She also said—‘It’s the same abnormal pattern the scout Kane reported before!’”
Alec narrowed his eyes, understanding now. He needed to go see the situation for himself—but his heart ached for the little girl who had just been hurt by cruel words. He couldn’t bear to leave her.
“Riena is there, so the people should be safe…”
After a moment’s thought, Alec said,
“I’ve only just become Duke, so it might be better if the Count of Swinton goes instead. I should stay here with the children.”
“What nonsense! You’re the Duke now, not me. You’re the one who should go—I’ll stay here.”
Both men stood their ground, neither willing to leave the children. The administrator could only glance nervously between them, unsure what to do. Watching the scene unfold, Eloise finally lost her patience and shouted—
