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Chapter 9
Calling her “vicious” would have been an exaggeration—the way she bullied people was almost childish. Sending the tea back several times was hardly a big deal.
There were people who adopted orphans just to use them as servants. Others sold people off to old men for money.
And some did both.
If anyone deserved to be called evil, those people were a hundred times worse.
‘Besides, after changing the way I brew tea to match the young lady’s complaints, my skills improved quickly.’
In other words, Julieta’s criticisms hadn’t been completely baseless.
If she had truly only wanted to torment her, she could have made up ridiculous excuses instead.
‘It actually helped me.’
Janette wasn’t the type to feel ashamed when her shortcomings were pointed out.
If someone pointed out something she lacked, then she could simply learn and improve.
In that sense, Julieta’s nitpicking had become valuable guidance for her.
No matter how much she thought about it, the young duchess didn’t seem nearly as cruel as the rumors claimed.
As Janette smiled faintly, the request she had entrusted to Theo suddenly came to mind.
‘By now, the advance payment should have arrived at the viscount’s estate.’
The request she had given Theo was related to Simon.
She had asked him to recover the money from that gambling addict in a “perfectly reasonable” way.
Janette looked up at the pitch-black night sky, her eyes sparkling like stars.
After Janette left for Ludwig—
the Graham Viscount family was thrown into complete chaos.
“Where the hell did that girl disappear to?!”
“To think she’d run away without appreciating how we raised her!”
There were still six months left until Janette came of age. They had already promised Count Verdin that they would hand her over as soon as she became an adult!
“We need to send people to look for her. She couldn’t have gotten far yet.”
“You’re right. Damn it. We’re already desperate for money as it is…!”
Everyone was preparing to send people after Janette, but Simon alone panicked internally.
‘This is bad…!’
The employment contract advance payment hadn’t arrived yet. Worse still—
once his parents heard that Janette had become a maid in Ludwig, they would obviously demand to know where the money was.
At the very least, he needed to hide the existence of the advance payment for a month. If only for the sake of his precious money!
As Simon anxiously wrung his hands, he remembered the advice Janette had given him.
“If my parents ask where I am, tell them you sent me to a convent.”
“What? A convent?”
“Yes. If you say I tried to run away and you sent me to a monastery to keep me there, they’ll feel reassured. There’s no place harder to escape from than a monastery.”
At the time, he had wondered whether all that was really necessary, but now it seemed like the perfect solution.
Simon grabbed hold of his frantic parents and repeated the lines Janette had prepared for him word for word.
His parents became furious at the part about her trying to run away, but sighed in relief when he said he had locked her away in a monastery.
“Good. You did well.”
“So which monastery is it?”
“Ah, well…”
Simon’s eyes darted around nervously when suddenly the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it! I’ll go!”
Over the past few days, whenever he heard the doorbell, he rushed out like one of Pavlov’s dogs.
If his parents happened to meet the person delivering the contract advance, it would be a disaster.
And finally—
“Are you the guardian of Miss Janette Graham?”
“…Yes! Yes! That’s me! I’m her guardian!”
At long last, his waiting bore fruit.
Simon’s eyes gleamed with greed.
That very evening,
Simon immediately headed out, clutching a pouch filled with the enormous sum of thirty million eckles.
‘How long has it been since I last played!’
Lately, he hadn’t even been able to gamble because he had no money. It would’ve been nice if there had been somewhere he could borrow from.
But rumors had spread saying, “Never lend money to Simon.” As a result, no one was willing to lend him anything anymore.
In high spirits, Simon headed to his regular gambling den.
“Oh? Young master, what brings you here? You brought money this time, right?”
“Of course! I brought plenty, so take me to a high-stakes table.”
At Simon’s proud declaration, the attendant exclaimed in admiration.
“Then I’ve got the perfect opponent for you. There’s a big spender who’s been showing up around here lately. He plays huge. Interested?”
“Good. Take me there immediately.”
Watching Simon’s eyes shine with madness, the owner clicked his tongue inwardly.
He’s going to lose everything again today.
And sure enough, a few hours later—
“U-uaaagh!”
Simon screamed as he tumbled through an alleyway.
A huge muscular man towering over him sneered down coldly.
“If you don’t have money, you shouldn’t come to places like this.”
“Y-you con artist! You’re a cheat, aren’t you?! How could you take all that money…?!”
“I’m not a con artist. You’re just an idiot.”
Crack.
The giant man flexed his knuckles, and the terrified Simon instantly shut his mouth.
After mocking the pathetic man thoroughly, the thug crooked a finger at the lackeys behind him.
“Boys. Deal with him. We should teach him what happens when you lose a game and still try to act tough without paying up.”
“Yes, boss.”
As the men slowly approached, Simon trembled violently.
“D-don’t come closer! Please don’t! S-save me!”
“Aaaagh!”
Simon’s pitiful screams echoed loudly through the dark alley.
