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~Chapter 39~
Glen turned after checking if Riden was hurt anywhere.
Realizing the man calling him was the eldest son of the Kenwolf Duchy, Glen grew more nervous than he had been when confronting Baron Florence.
“Yes, Count!”
“You were like a flower blooming in a lazy butler field—your courage for your master was very impressive. You’re the head butler of the McKerry household, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You are a fine example of what a butler should be in this era. The McKerry family is lucky to have such a fine head butler.”
As Merrick praised him and gently tapped the area where Glen was poked, Glen blushed and smiled shyly.
“The Duke’s personal doctor is here as well, so you should go see him.”
Glen turned his head to look at Riden.
He clearly wanted to go, so Riden just quietly nodded.
Riden stared at Merrick, who was quickly handling the situation.
‘Brother-in-law!’
For a moment, she wished she really could become part of his family. But no, no…
‘Stick to the future you’ve planned!’
Still, the man who almost became her brother-in-law was really amazing.
So Riden felt a tiny, very tiny bit of regret.
“My lady!”
Just as she was about to thank him, Merrick walked up first.
“Would you like to come to the duchy with me?”
‘Why?’
Why, why… Can’t I just say thank you here and be done?
That thought echoed in Riden’s throat.
Meanwhile, Baron Florence, who had been dragged off by the Duke’s knights to the city guards, was soon released and headed home.
He wasn’t jailed or beaten.
But for a noble to be taken away with both arms tied like that—it was very rare. Word spread fast, and even Madam Kim Si-eom (his mother) had heard.
“Oh, my son!”
When she saw Baron Florence stepping out of the carriage, she ran over, hitting her chest in distress.
“What happened to you? Huh?”
Her son clenched his teeth and stayed quiet. Kim Si-eom’s heart twisted painfully.
“Here, eat this first, okay?”
“What is—Ah, forget it!”
When her son slapped her hand away in frustration, the tofu-shaped ricotta cheese she was holding fell to the ground and got squashed.
Kim Si-eom couldn’t hold her anger anymore.
“You little brat! You think this is okay?! A decent man wouldn’t go barging into a place and come back like this, you idiot!”
“….”
Byungmin looked like he was about to cry.
Kim Si-eom tried to comfort her son, offering another ricotta cheese she had prepared in advance.
She knew how difficult he could be, so she’d brought two from the start.
“Eat it, quickly. It’ll help you calm down!”
“Mm.”
Baron Florence bit into the cheese while holding back tears.
“Mom, sob, gulp.”
“Eat slowly, or you’ll choke. Why isn’t there any tofu in this world? Ugh, so annoying. Still—chew and eat all of it, okay?”
As he ate, Florence replayed the scene in his mind.
He was dragged away in front of tons of nobles.
There were so many women… And the men too.
Even the servants on the street saw it happen. His noble dignity had hit rock bottom.
Total humiliation.
“Am I not going to get married again in this life either? Ugh.”
Last life, everyone got married except him—and now, same story.
Feeling miserable, Florence began crying, forgetting he still had cheese in his mouth.
‘So upsetting, really.’
Seeing her son so heartbroken made Kim Si-eom want to scream.
She comforted her crouching son.
“What happened? Stop crying and tell Mom. They said you got taken away for harassing a young lady—is that true?”
“Ah! Nooo!”
So wronged, Baron Florence screamed and writhed.
“I swear I didn’t even touch a hair on her finger!”
Kim Si-eom smacked her furious son’s back.
“You brat! If you touched her, of course you got dragged away! If you had to, at least make sure no one saw you!”
Baron Florence felt so betrayed.
Even his own mother didn’t believe him. He felt like a newborn baby abandoned by the world.
“Mom, you don’t believe me either? If I touched her, I’d admit it! Damn it!”
“You little punk, I spoil you too much and now you curse in front of your mom!”
“Aaaargh, seriously!”
Florence screamed after getting smacked on the back of his head—and it left him completely drained.
He muttered in a weak voice.
“Really, I just gave her bread and said hello…”
“And then?”
“And then that duchy guy—or count or whatever—he had power, I guess. He said I touched the table and the bread bag so it counted as harassment. What was I supposed to do?!”
At that moment, Kim Si-eom’s instincts flared. Could it be?
“The Kenwolf duchy?”
“Yes! Mom, you’re like a psychic!”
“The girl—was she the McKerry Count’s daughter?”
“Mooom?!”
A piece of cheese fell from the corner of Byungmin’s mouth as he looked stupidly shocked.
Si-eom gently wiped his mouth and said warmly:
“My son, don’t worry. No matter how many jerks or witches there are in the world, your mom will beat them all. I’ll protect you, okay? Why are you crying like a baby, my sweet boy? Now stop.”
Baron Florence wiped his tears and asked:
“Do you have a plan, Mom? We’ve got debt too… and no money. What are we gonna do?”
Kim Si-eom’s face turned ice cold.
Baron Florence stared closely at her face, listening carefully.
He could almost hear her brain spinning fast.
“Mom has a plan.”
“…Yeah. You always do.”
“But Byungmin, about the McKerry girl—how did she react?”
“She…”
He tried to remember the last thing she said.
“What a remarkable family.”
Her reaction—shy, maybe? She seemed startled, but not aggressive.
The butler and the duchy guy had attacked him, but the young lady herself had stayed quiet.
“She didn’t stop them, but she didn’t really join in either. I think she liked me… a little?”
“Really?”
Kim Si-eom’s lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Reputation can fall—but it can also rise again.
If her son’s reputation had fallen, she would just raise it back up.
“Mom will take care of it.”
She stood and left, off to carry out the sudden plan that struck her.
Riden went to the duchy with Merrick that same day.
The duchess had asked for her.
She needed to try on the debutante dress being made, so she was told to visit the duchy for a fitting.
“Who else would wear the dress made for you? If you won’t wear it, I guess I’ll toss it to beggars on the street.”
Riden felt burdened receiving a dress when she wasn’t even going to marry into the duchy.
So she told the duchess she would pay for it instead of taking it as a gift.
But—
“So now you want me to sell it to you like some street vendor forcing goods on people? My little chick has no respect for me at all.”
She still didn’t understand why she was the duchess’s “chick,” but pushing too far didn’t seem wise.
Seeing the duchess’s cold, sharp gaze, Riden closed her mouth right away.
The duchess gave her two options:
Wear the dress, or tear it to pieces.
‘Isn’t that too much?!’
Still, she didn’t want to see the beautiful debutante dress—made carefully by Sera Wang, Phil, Twiffany, and Minolo—get ripped up and thrown to beggars.
She wanted to ask, “Why go this far?” but all her courage from the previous encounter had run out. After that, her only answer was “Yes.”
Sigh…
Now, on her second visit to the duchy, Riden stepped out of the carriage.
