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Chapter 89
Thirteen Breads. The Carefully Built Tower Above the Swamp (9)
The MacClure mansion had many corridors even its owner didn’t know about.
Elly was certain that the Duke of MacClure didn’t know half of the house she had been born and raised in.
The hallways the servants mainly used were almost never lit.
Elly walked only along the servant-paths, like a little mouse.
That way she could avoid meeting Irein, or her father.
Thanks to that, Elly could come and go between the kitchen and her room without being seen by anyone. She’d even become adept at finding empty rooms among the lodging the staff used.
She could have secretly run away from the mansion.
Elly deliberately muttered aloud.
“Where are you watching from, Irein…?”
There was no answer.
Elly felt a little embarrassed. Anyone watching would probably think her odd. Now that she thought about it, it was creepy that she couldn’t see a ghost but could hear a voice.
‘She didn’t collude with her father to send that letter and set me up, did she?’
A belated suspicion made her stop walking.
If that were true, Elly would be walking right into a trap of her own free will. Of course she wanted to believe that Irein—who had gone so far as to risk her life—wouldn’t do something like that, but she didn’t trust her enough to stake her life on it.
‘…Should I have told Morris and come here with him?’
She remembered the promise to tell Ban whenever she was about to do something dangerous.
‘How could I tell him when he told me to go away?’
Ban couldn’t move, so the only person Elly could reasonably ask for help was Morris.
But she soon shook her head.
No matter how busy he was, the man who made a point of appearing at least once a day not showing up meant something urgent had come up. She didn’t want to bother someone who was busy.
Besides, Elly had personally fired all the employees Morris had connected her with today.
She didn’t want to cause unnecessary damage, but she also hadn’t held out firmly. That wasn’t something to be proud of.
It was proof she wasn’t yet capable of keeping many employees.
According to Morris, in business this kind of setback wasn’t even considered a hardship, but she didn’t want to announce that she had broken down and given up before she’d even tried to get through it.
And Irein wanted Elly to come alone.
The Duke of MacClure lost control of himself in front of Elly. He would show his truer self if no one else was there.
‘No matter what kind of person Irein is, the desperation that drove her to try to kill herself must have been sincere.’
Elly couldn’t accept that.
The way Irein clung to Mark and physically blocked him had not been an act.
Elly decided to try trusting Irein.
The Duke’s study was deep in the mansion. Elly reached the door that connected the library to the study.
She took a deep breath and put her hand on the doorknob, frowning.
“They said he’s a man who only loves money, but he’s more loyal than I expected.”
“Praise won’t get you anything.”
“No, really — I’m surprised. I hear there are plenty of women who were ruined by him after being toyed with and then losing his fortune.”
“You do like rumors, Your Grace.”
“Only other people’s rumors.”
“Then you understand that not every rumor is true.”
“Well, there’s usually some truth to them.”
It was Morris’s voice.
Through a slightly opened crack in the door she heard another voice.
“P-please, since you let me meet His Grace, p-please l-let me go…”
It was Seth Hastings’s voice.
“I’m sorry but I don’t like filthy things.”
“Are you calling me filthy?!”
“Excuse me, but you’re not exactly clean, are you?”
Morris laughed lightly; Elly couldn’t make sense of the situation.
“I’m really surprised, Morris Herzog. I can’t understand why a man who only cares about money would go this far for ‘my daughter.’”
“I invest in things of value. Your daughter is worth investing in. Even Prince Damian coveted her as soon as he saw her.”
“……”
“Perhaps Elly was a useless daughter to you. Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Could it be that you simply couldn’t bear to leave her alone?”
“How long must I listen to this incomprehensible talk? There’s a limit to how much I’ll tolerate someone showing up and being rude.”
“Didn’t you refuse every formal petition?”
“I have nothing to say to the merchant of the Mammoth guild.”
“If you had taken Elly’s place and given it to your illegitimate child….”
“That belonged to Irein originally.”
“Fine, let’s say that’s true. In any case, hasn’t everything you wanted been achieved now? If so, leaving Elly alone should cost you nothing.”
“Not everyone acts like you, calculating costs and benefits.”
“……”
“There are things you must do even if they aren’t profitable and even if you take a loss.”
“…You speak as if tormenting your own child is a righteous act.”
“I’ve tormented no one. I find this offensive. What basis do you have to make such accusations?”
“Accusations?”
Morris burst into an incredulous, helpless laugh.
“So hiring pirates to sink my ship isn’t an accusation?”
“You’re pushing nonsense. Do you have any proof?”
“Unfortunately, I do not.”
“Then I’m in the right to call the soldiers and have you expelled. I’ll let your previous rudeness slide considering you brought here Seth Hastings, who nearly died drunk on the street. Now leave my presence immediately.”
“Should I understand this as meaning you’ll persecute Elly regardless of profit or loss?”
“I’m not a crass merchant like you.”
“That figures. That was the part I overlooked. I assumed you’d leave it alone if there was no loss. That was my mistake.”
Morris had been confident after introducing Damian to Elly, thinking there would be no more concern.
Given the Duke’s character, Morris had calculated that the Duke wouldn’t risk anything to get involved with Elly.
But he hadn’t factored in the Duke’s hatred.
Morris’s common-sense judgment that the Duke had no justification to be aggrieved — that if anyone had reason to resent it would be Elly — turned out to be a miscalculation.
“If you’re a merchant who moves only by profit and loss, wouldn’t it be right to disengage from this matter immediately?”
“If my misfortune is to be caused by Elly, then Your Grace must be the instigator.”
“Some people just bring misfortune simply by being involved.”
“Aha. Is this superstition now?”
“I’ve heard not only have your sunken ships been lost, but your deals have been cut off one after another.”
“Well, for now, yes.”
Morris admitted it calmly.
It was a completely different answer from when he had once told her there was no loss.
“So you still won’t back off?”
“If Your Grace did nothing, that would be my fault and my misfortune, and it would have nothing to do with Elly.”
“Hmm, I suppose so.”
“Ban Michelle Cronin is confined in the house and the lord of the watchtower is being threatened by the elders, but that’s also just a result of successive petty misfortunes.”
“You really did nothing, Morris Herzog. One thing I’m sure of is that that girl is the cause of misfortune. I can advise you from experience.”
“I knew you’d come out like this.”
Morris spoke in a hollow tone.
“Why do you do this despite knowing?”
“To respond properly, I must know what Your Grace wants.”
Morris wanted to see the Duke with his own eyes.
If what the Duke wanted was merely for Elly to leave Rosso, there might be room for negotiation.
If he could negotiate quietly and swallow his pride, that would be best for Elly.
He didn’t want Elly to have to fail.
He didn’t want her leaving Rosso because of a failure.
Honestly, as long as he was there, he didn’t want Elly to experience failure.
If Morris hadn’t liked Elly or if his father hadn’t been involved, he would have let her fail spectacularly.
Early failure could be a lesson.
But if that failure came from her birth, she’d learn nothing.
“I want nothing.”
It was the worst answer.
He could not coexist with this man.
‘I’d worked so hard to buy her the pause in the war, and now he’s kicking it away with his own foot.’
Morris smiled thinly, swearing to drain him to the marrow.
“All right. I’ll be leaving then. Shall I take this with me? Or will you continue to use it?”
Morris nudged Seth with his toe.
“It’s your luggage—you carry it yourself.”
“Fine.”
Morris lightly grabbed Seth’s scruff. Seth let out a few sounds like cries.
Elly’s resolve hardened.
