KDPCD 13

Chapter 13

“…I’ll handle that myself.”

Father responded in a curt voice without even looking at me.

His hand resumed moving over the documents.

‘Of course you will.’

I bowed slightly and left his office.

Outside, Robber, who had been waiting, looked at me with curiosity.

“Did everything go well?”

I glanced back toward the office and chose my words carefully.

“Of course. Father always takes my perspective into account—I’m grateful for that.”

I had praised him earlier, but now he was already damaging his image. Asking questions like that right outside the office? No tact at all…

‘Well, no wonder someone like him ends up being an easy target for someone like me.’

I said to him in a gentle voice,

“Are you staying here on standby?”

“Ah, yes! But I can escort you to your room, Lady Bellady!”

“That won’t be necessary. I can go alone. Thank you for your service.”

“Understood, Lady Bellady—ow!”

I stomped hard on Robber’s foot before heading to my room.

‘Now that Father approved the mansion’s redecoration, he’s basically handed over internal management to me.’

That meant I now had influence over servants’ wages and employment.

‘I’ll be using this authority freely to bring everyone, including Robber, under my control.’

It felt surreal. Everything was unfolding exactly as I had planned.

‘All this time, I had to hide my presence and suppress my desires, always being pushed aside by Meldor…’

Alexander, the spirit sword, Zeppelin, Mother’s greenhouse, and now the mansion’s internal affairs—

They were all mine now. I had claimed them.

Pride welled up in me before I realized it.

With light steps, I made my way back to my room. Since I’d come without a maid, only the sound of my own footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Tap, tap.

The soft lighting and moonlight gently illuminated the quiet hallway. As I walked leisurely, a view from the window caught my eye.

From the fifth floor where Father’s office was located, I could see the expansive Alton estate gardens far more clearly than from my room. The higher vantage gave me a different perspective—one that instantly cooled my rising excitement.

‘Get a grip. You can’t be satisfied with just this.’

The main residence, where the direct members of House Alton lived, was in the center. Each family member had an entire floor to themselves.

The first floor was used as a shared space for receiving guests, so it didn’t count.

By family hierarchy, Father had the top fifth floor, Mother the fourth, Meldor the third.

And I—the second floor, the lowest.

I used to try not to feel bitter about it. Father was the duke, Mother a mage, and Meldor the heir—of course they outranked me.

But now, it was different.

I didn’t like the thought of anyone living above me anymore.

I was still too low.

‘Don’t forget. If I want to rise above this, I need to want more than what I’m given.’

Like taking over the now-ownerless fourth floor?

Or even claiming the fifth floor itself.

With that thought, I realized I still had a long way to go.

‘But I’m not worried.’

Because I had every intention of enjoying the process.

The reflection of my face in the arched window wore a confident smile.

Inside Father’s Office, after Bellady left.

Theodore found it impossible to focus on the documents.

He set down his pen and let out a deep sigh.

‘So exhausting…’

Leaning back in his chair, he stared at a photograph on the desk—a family portrait taken a few years ago at the urging of his late wife, Dohemia.

Dohemia sat on the couch with Meldor in her arms.

Beside them stood Bellady and himself.

Theodore stared at his wife’s beautiful smile in the photo.

“I don’t know how to deal with the children without you.”

His voice slipped out like a sigh.

It was his wife who had always served as the bridge between him and the kids. Now that she was gone, Theodore felt utterly at a loss.

“At least I used to spend some time with Meldor…”

Murmuring as if speaking to the image of Dohemia, Theodore’s gaze drifted to young Bellady in the photo—calmly smiling, a mirror of himself.

Lately, he couldn’t get Bellady off his mind.

More specifically, ever since Dohemia’s funeral, his daughter had changed.

The bright sparkle that used to shine in her eyes whenever she looked at him was gone. Her smile also no longer felt the same.

And the more he noticed that, the more fragments of past memories started surfacing unbidden.

‘Was I too harsh on Bellady?’

As the Duke of Alton, Theodore was an exceptionally busy man. He had little time or interest to devote to childrearing.

Meldor was the heir, so he had at least paid some attention there. But Bellady had always been outside his field of vision.

As a result, Theodore often felt awkward and distant toward his own daughter.

‘Still, I was unnecessarily strict with her.’

He had been cold and harsh with his words, always scolding her first during disputes.

Theodore genuinely wondered:

Why had he treated her that way?

Because she was the eldest?

Because she resembled him, and he had high expectations?

His thoughts spun endlessly like a chain reaction.

In truth, he had known about Bellady’s talent with the sword. He had even considered training her—but ran into opposition from his wife.

“Bellady? Wield a sword? What if she gets a scar… and then her future husband doesn’t love her? A woman must always receive love from her husband.”

Bellady was the eldest daughter of the Alton duchy, and not many would dare disrespect her. After all, times had changed—husbands couldn’t mistreat their wives like in the past.

But Dohemia had grown up in poverty in the northern regions and later lived secluded in a forest with a snow spirit. She had been completely isolated from the world and hadn’t kept up with societal change.

‘…Well, neither did I.’

At the time, even he had thought her reasoning made sense.

Even if the world was changing, Bellady wasn’t the heir—so there was no need to teach her something dangerous.

And so, despite knowing her potential, Theodore didn’t allow her to train with a sword. Worse, he excluded her from the heir curriculum she had so desperately wanted.

“Meldor is younger and the heir. We can’t miss the critical period for his education. But Bellady’s always been independent and mature. She’ll understand. Besides, she’s not the heir—she doesn’t need those lessons.”

Dohemia had said that, and once again, he had agreed. Even when Bellady screamed that she didn’t want it, he ignored her.

After that, she stopped expressing her thoughts.

And every time he saw her silently enduring, it left him with a gnawing heaviness in his chest—a heaviness he disliked.

‘I didn’t want to feel that way at home too.’

Maybe that was why he kept avoiding her and buried himself in work.

‘…Still, what’s the point of all this reflection now?’

The past couldn’t be changed.

The children had always been raised by Dohemia. Suddenly inserting himself now would just be absurd.

And it wasn’t like Bellady was broken or anything.

‘She’s already grown up.’

At her age, Theodore had made all his own decisions and learned responsibility through experience.

According to his wife, Bellady had always been good at doing things on her own. Surely, she would continue to grow up just fine.

‘This strange sense of discomfort must just be part of the process.’

Even so, the words Bellady had spoken earlier kept ringing in his ears.

“Don’t stay up too late in the office. Please get some rest, Father.”

Even if she had changed, she was still worried about him.

And that left Theodore feeling… off.

“…I should’ve answered more kindly.”

He muttered to himself, then brushed off the lingering thoughts.

He wasn’t someone with the luxury to play family games. He was the man responsible for the empire’s northern territories.

With that, he picked up his pen again and returned to work.

Meanwhile,

The moment Father entrusted the mansion’s management to me, I converted my study into a temporary office.

Mother had always delegated household affairs to Charles and Emily, so there was no proper office on the fourth floor.

‘Shame. That could’ve been my chance to move into the fourth floor.’

Oh well. There would be other chances.

I reviewed the reports Emily submitted and started to understand how the household operated. Thankfully, it wasn’t too complicated, so I quickly grasped the overall flow.

As I focused, a knock came at the door.

“It’s Robber.”

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Robber stepped in, arms full of documents I’d requested.

“These are the documents I’ve handled independently until now.”

I cleared away the papers I’d been reviewing and took what he handed me. Surprisingly, the reports were neatly organized.

‘I thought he’d be sloppy, but he’s more meticulous than expected.’

I said nothing and continued flipping through the papers. Robber cleared his throat and finally spoke.

“Ahem. I haven’t been head butler for long, but when it comes to paperwork, I was trained thoroughly by my father.”

“Looks like it. Good work.”

At my praise, Robber looked pleased with himself.

As I continued scanning the documents, I suddenly stopped. I pulled out one page and examined it closely.

“A personal fund usage log?”

“Ah, that!”

Robber grinned brightly.

“I created that especially for you, Lady Bellady!”

“What is it?”

He beamed and replied cheerfully.

“Well, I thought you might be a bit young to manage internal finances. Since you’re not yet used to budgeting for the household, I wanted to assist!”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes! You now set your own personal budget, right? Whenever you spend from it, just fill out this usage log and give it to me!”

At that, I raised an eyebrow.