🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 32
Leo focused on the sound of footsteps coming toward him. It was Frederic’s. He held his breath and covered his mouth with both hands.
“Huh? What’s wrong, Frederic?”
“Must’ve been my imagination.”
“What was?”
“Nothing.”
For a second, Leo thought he might’ve locked eyes with Frederic earlier. But since his face was completely covered, Frederic probably hadn’t recognized him.
As Delphine and Frederic’s voices faded into the distance, Leo was finally able to breathe deeply again.
‘I can’t mess up this mission. No one can see me.’
Even after their voices disappeared completely, Leo stayed hidden behind the pile of crates for a long while before stepping out.
By the time he came out, Delphine and Frederic were long gone, and Tiago’s ship had already sailed past the horizon.
‘That man… He’s clearly involved in some shady business. There’s no way someone like him—who used to be a slave—could make that kind of money cleanly.’
Leo remembered the background check he had done after first meeting Tiago.
Tiago wasn’t exactly clean, but he was extremely good at hiding his tracks. The only rumor people ever heard about him was that he was popular with women. No one knew how he actually made his fortune or came to own multiple trade ships.
A crooked smile crept across Leo’s face.
‘If I could find out more about him… and get him on my side, it’d be easy to finally earn recognition from the family.’
His mind filled with different schemes—at the center of them was a shining image of himself, successful and standing above everyone else.
‘I need to find out more about this Tiago guy. And for that… Delphine might actually be useful. Hah. Who would’ve thought? That gloomy girl who used to do nothing but mope around all the time.’
Delphine had suddenly become important to Leo again. At first, when he heard that Charlie would be returning to Shairo, he’d shifted his attention back to her.
From what he heard, Charlie had also fallen out of favor with the royal family. Leo figured if he was nice to her, she’d probably open up to him again.
But now, Delphine was catching his eye once more.
‘She used to be plain and boring, but lately… she’s been showing some fire.’
Delphine’s recent changes had grabbed Leo’s attention. She’d started working for the Frederic family, and she’d even made a connection with Tiago, the so-called “Prince of the Sea.”
Leo smacked his lips slightly. A golden opportunity to climb back to the top of his family was right in front of him.
‘First, let’s finish this mission.’
He pulled his cloak tighter and headed toward the designated warehouse.
With every step he took, a twisted ambition trailed behind him.
I had a week of sweet, sweet vacation. Originally, I was going to take unpaid time off, but Ecor—the head butler—was so thrilled to hear that Frederic was going to attend my birthday party that he gave me paid leave instead.
Ecor had always been generous with me. I mean, I was basically hired to make sure Frederic went out more, and I was doing a pretty good job of that.
‘Seriously, it’s no small feat dragging that brat around.’
And the fact that Frederic even went to get a new outfit for my birthday party? That was enough to move Ecor to tears.
‘Well, technically, it’s because Charlie is coming to my birthday party. But whatever. No need to spell that out.’
I looked at myself in the mirror. My birthday was already tomorrow. I’d already used three days of my vacation just preparing for the party.
Sending out invitations, checking the outfits, booking a private chef… My mom took care of most of it, but there were still some things I had to handle myself.
Like the money part.
That’s where Mom and I clashed the most. Even this morning, we had a huge fight.
“Mom! I told you not to hire such an expensive chef!”
I waved a piece of paper in my hand that listed the chef’s costs. Including desserts, it came out to 1,000 Ruk—an amount that could easily eat up my parents’ monthly income.
“We’re having guests from respected families. We can’t embarrass ourselves. We have to do it right.”
“Mom! Do you even know what real embarrassment is? Those guests know our family is going under. Throwing a fancy party like this just gives them more reason to mock us. That’s the real embarrassment!”
Mom dabbed the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and looked away. It was clear she had no intention of canceling the chef.
Looking at her expression, I started to feel a little bad for being so harsh. But knowing how much she loved to spend money, someone had to say it.
The truth was, Mom was never going to change.
But what really got me angry came right after.
“Mom, what’s this letter? Is it something we have to pay for? Give it to me. I’ll check.”
I started going through the stack of papers in front of her.
I flipped through each handwritten letter until I found it—the truth about our situation.
“Mom, what is this?”
I waved the letter in her face. Mom moved her handkerchief from her forehead to her eyes.
“It’s a statement… showing what we still owe.”
“What? But didn’t Dad invest in the Libere? I heard we made a huge return—like ten times, even hundreds of times the investment.”
I remembered stopping Dad from selling off everything before I moved in with Frederic. He’d said he was going to buy the Libere…
“What happened? Did he back out? What’s going on?”
Mom answered with a trembling voice.
“That money… it’s gone.”
“Gone? Where did it go…? You spent all that money?”
Now my voice started to shake too.
It was no small amount. At least 10,000 Ruk. And now she was saying it was all gone?
“Where did all the money go?!”
My voice practically shook the ceiling. Mom’s eyes filled with tears as she answered.
“We bought some dresses, some furniture… And your birthday dress too… Before I knew it, it was all gone.”
I dropped the letter on the table and slumped into a chair. That crushing, empty feeling washed over me again.
“Mom, are you spending like this just because you think I’m making money now? Well, forget it. I’m not giving you a single coin of my salary. Sell the house. Sell your jewelry. Figure it out on your own.”
After saying that, I slammed the door and walked out. I think she called after me, but I didn’t hear it—and I didn’t want to.
“Sigh…”
I looked back at my reflection. Delphine Flerain. Age 21. Still young and in her prime, but the girl in the mirror looked tired and stressed.
‘Ah, yes… eldest daughter of a ruined noble family. But no matter what, I won’t give them any of my money.’
I stared into my own eyes in the mirror and made a firm promise to myself: My paycheck stays mine.
“Haa…”
Another sigh escaped. The more I thought about my mom and this house, the more hopeless it all felt.
‘Just don’t think about it. Let’s just survive the birthday party and get back to work.’
Out of habit, I touched the pearl necklace around my neck.
‘It’s really weird. I don’t know if it’s magic or what, but whenever I touch this necklace, I feel calmer.’
In the mirror, the necklace gave off a soft glow. Even just by looking at it, you could tell it was extremely rare and expensive. Probably the best-quality pearl in all of Shairo.
‘I wonder how Charlie will react. This necklace used to be hers. What if she finds out I have it now?’
I remembered—Charlie was coming to my birthday party tomorrow.
‘Charlie… I’m finally going to see her.’
What would she look like?
In the novel, Charlie was described as a stunning beauty—blonde hair, blue eyes. The classic look.
Compared to that, my reflection looked… average. Light brown eyes. Pale skin. Brown hair. Nothing particularly striking.
‘This novel was popular, after all. The main character always gets the blonde hair and blue eyes.’
Now that I thought about it, only Leo and Charlie had blonde hair and blue eyes.
‘They’re a perfect match. Honestly, I hope they end up together.’
I turned away from the mirror and looked out the window.
The view from my family’s house was different from Frederic’s mansion.
I stood by the window like I was waiting for something and looked out.
You could see the city of Shairo from here. I knew I couldn’t actually see Frederic’s house from this distance, but I still tried.
“That’s strange.”
The words slipped out of my mouth.
“Frederic’s house… feels more like home now. I feel more comfortable there.”
Knock knock.
Frederic stopped folding clothes and opened the door. Bella was standing there in pajamas, holding a large book in her arms.
“You busy, sir?”
Frederic had been getting his formal outfit ready for the party tomorrow. There were plenty of maids who could do it for him, but he didn’t trust anyone to do it just right.
He still had lots to do—ironing, packing—but Frederic shook his head.
“No, I’m not busy, Bella. Come in. Want me to read to you?”
“Yes!”
Bella held out the book with both hands.
Frederic sat down in a cozy armchair next to the bright lamp. Bella climbed up and sat on his lap.
