She hadn’t thought that far yet.

She hadn’t even decided whether to quit Hans’s office or continue working there if the inheritance became hers.

Her dream was simply to become a wealthy person without a job.

She had never imagined, even roughly, let alone in detail, how she would live after getting the money.

Come to think of it, everyone else had their own distinct purposes.

Vivian wanted to buy her in-laws’ favor with money, Felix wanted to pay off his debts and try a new life, and Wilhelm wanted to help his wife’s family.

By current standards, Adelaide seemed to have the most grandiose goal.

Not to counter her eldest sister, but Marie was genuinely concerned about her future.

How should she spend the money to be known for spending it well?

If she had known this would happen, she would have read books on asset management in the real world.

‘Back then I had no assets, and now I have no knowledge.’

While Marie was lost in thought without answering, Hans stepped in for her.

“That can be decided after receiving it. It’s not like submitting a business plan is a requirement for inheritance. Marie is the rightful heir anyway.”

“Ah, how boring.”

Adelaide leaned back against the chair with an indifferent expression.

“Are you Marie’s spokesperson now? The attorney is being overly protective of just one client. Anyone watching might misunderstand.”

“What kind of misunderstanding are you referring to?”

“That you two are dating.”

Hans’s face remained largely unaffected by her provocation.

The provocation worked on someone else, though.

Felix, who had just taken a sip of his tea while blowing on it, choked in surprise at those words.

As he coughed and sputtered, Adelaide handed her brother a handkerchief without shifting her gaze from Hans.

“Even though we’re family, I’m still officially a client.”

“Sister, are you hiring us then?”

Marie snapped back to attention and grabbed her sister’s hand with a brightened expression.

“You’ve made such a good decision! You absolutely won’t regret it!”

“Y-you don’t need to be that grateful. So, about the fee…… will you charge the usual amount?”

“Since you’re rich, I’ll charge you a lot!”

The youngest sister responded with a bright smile to her eldest sister, who had been subtly hoping for a family discount.

It would have been proper etiquette to offer a family discount, but Marie tended to set her fees based on the client.

Of course, in Adelaide’s divorce case, it wasn’t an exorbitant amount considering the sheer size of the assets involved.

“Look at this girl. No blood or tears in her? I’m your older sister, don’t I get some kind of family discount?”

“I told this to Wilhelm too, but discounts disappeared a long time ago. We occasionally provide free representation for vulnerable social groups, so we make up for those losses by extracting more from wealthy clients like you.”

“I don’t know if I should call this shrewd or……”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Marie winked at her sister and placed a pre-prepared case delegation contract on the table.

It was important to get Adelaide’s seal on the contract before she changed her mind.

Other law offices were also eyeing her, so they needed to create a binding agreement.

“If you don’t have your seal, a fingerprint works too.”

“No, I have it.”

Adelaide took out her seal from her bag.

The fact that she had brought it this far suggested she had intended to appoint Hans as her legal representative from the beginning.

‘This cunning sister of mine, planning to sign the contract all along.’

Marie bit her lower lip to suppress a smile.

“You seem to do your job well, but I wonder if you’re good at managing household finances too.”

Adelaide muttered while stamping the contract.

“Household finances? Why bring that up suddenly?”

“Without dreams or plans, people tend to spend recklessly.”

“Are you worried about me? Afraid I won’t manage the money well after getting the inheritance?”

“What! No way! I’m not worried about you but about the assets father left behind! Someone who’s used something knows it best, and I wonder if someone like you who’s never spent money knows how to spend it properly.”

Marie’s face turned bright red as Adelaide hit the mark.

Adelaide, like their father Paul, had a character that struggled with honesty.

Though she desperately wanted to reconcile with her siblings, she couldn’t approach them first.

Even while missing them every day.

“If you’re worried I’ll blow through father’s money, there’s no need. I may not know how to spend it well, but I’m confident I can be frugal and save.”

How much had she tightened her belt both in the real world and while living here as the black sheep of the Klein family, “Marie Klein”?

She had some confidence in her ability to save and manage finances.

‘Right. As long as I avoid gambling and stocks.’

She would never gamble even if she died and came back to life, so that wasn’t a concern, but stocks were a bit worrying.

Could she trust herself?

Even she couldn’t trust herself.

“Just don’t get into stocks.”

As if their telepathy had worked, Hans whispered in her ear.

Though frustrated at being known as having terrible luck with stocks, she had no rebuttal and could only shoot a fierce glare at her friend and boss.

“What Hans said earlier is right. Marie, you can take your time to think. How you use it is up to you.”

Felix spoke in a kind tone.

His eyes were full of trust in Marie.

He intended to believe in and support whatever choice his youngest sister made.

She had never been wrong before.

Had there ever been a time when following Marie’s advice didn’t work out?

Vivian, himself, and Wilhelm had all regained happiness because of Marie.

“I’m being made out to be the bad person here.”

Adelaide pouted her lips.

“You should go now, brother. Don’t you have a council meeting?”

“Yes, you must be busy, brother. Go ahead.”

The two sisters joined forces to urge Felix’s departure.

They needed to discuss not only the divorce case but also the attempted m*rder targeting Adelaide’s life.

Since she didn’t want her brothers to know, Marie planned to keep the secret for now.

But given the gravity of the matter, she would soon persuade Adelaide to inform others.

They needed to assign people to either watch Adelaide’s every move or accompany her to prevent anyone from harming her.

Felix rose first, disappointed that Marie had used formal speech with him in front of Adelaide.

“Adelaide, you should know too. Marie and I have become close enough to speak informally with each other.”

“I didn’t ask?”

“Marie, now that we’ve even signed a contract, don’t mind Adelaide and feel free to show your relationship with your brother.”

“Haha…… S-sure.”

Satisfied with his youngest sister’s response, the doting brother turned around, waved his hand coolly, and left the tea house.

Adelaide clicked her tongue in disdain as she watched him leave.

Marie immediately got to the point.

“Sister, have you made enemies with anyone?”

“No. Unless it’s Vivian.”

“Our second sister?”

“Fighting with Vivian is all. I’ve never raised my voice outside the family.”

People tend to take for granted those they should cherish most—their family.

There’s no need to maintain appearances in front of family.

People get angry, show emotions, reveal their worst sides, and fight.

That’s why family members know each other’s flaws best.

“Who knows you’re that author?”

“Felix and my publisher’s editor-in-chief.”

“Is the editor-in-chief trustworthy?”

“The editor-in-chief wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Adelaide shook her head.

“I know. Killing you wouldn’t transfer your assets to them. You’re a goose that lays golden eggs, so keeping you writing is definitely the profitable option.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“I’m asking if they’re discreet. I wonder if they might have revealed your identity to someone who knows you.”

“That’s absolutely impossible. I told them I’d quit writing if even one more person found out.”

Logically, considering the money Adelaide brought to the publishing house as their star author, they wouldn’t reveal her identity for mere pocket change.

“Hans, who benefits most if my sister dies?”

“Wait! What are you saying?”

“The legal order of inheritance is spouse, direct descendants, direct ascendants, siblings, and then collateral blood relatives within four degrees of kinship.”

While Adelaide was surprised, Hans took over Marie’s question and explained to his client.

Direct descendants include children, grandchildren, and adopted children.

Adelaide had no children, so this didn’t apply to her.

Direct ascendants refer to parents, paternal grandparents, and maternal grandparents, but since none of them were alive, this was also irrelevant to her case.

What remained were spouse and siblings.

“My husband doesn’t even know I write.”

“Doesn’t he wonder where the living expenses you bring home come from?”

“He thinks I borrowed from my second brother. I’ve always been asking father and my brothers for money before.”

“How certain are you that it’s not your husband?”

“It’s definitely not him!”

“Then that settles it.”

Marie spoke as if reaching a conclusion.

“There’s no one with a grudge against you strong enough to want you dead, and your husband, who would be first in line for inheritance, is definitely not the culprit according to you.”

“……”

“Then it must be one of our siblings.”

Adelaide’s face turned deathly pale at this bombshell.