Chapter 58

Aneta had been tolerating Erez’s rudeness all this time, but now he was crossing the line without any restraint. She had no intention of continuing to let it slide.

“I’m sorry, but I’m the kind of person who values not just the results, but the process as well. I don’t want to help the Marquis over something that happened by sheer luck.”

Aneta spoke firmly while maintaining her composure. There was not a hint of wavering in her expression as she faced Erez.

Demanding a reward for acting selfishly, disregarding the original plot—could there be anything more absurd?

Instead of nodding in agreement, she felt only resentment.

“But I’ll still say thank you, just in case. However, remember that’s all there is to it. I won’t be helping you, Marquis Erez.”

Aneta had no intention of forcing any feelings on Carlos. She didn’t have the right to do so, so she didn’t even pretend to ponder Erez’s request.

“If that’s all, then I’d like you to leave now. I’ve been quite busy lately, so I don’t have time to deal with this. Oh, you’re welcome to have the tea that’s been prepared, if you’d like.”

A guest is still a guest, after all. Aneta gestured towards the untouched teacup prepared for Erez by Isabel.

Erez couldn’t hide his emotions as Aneta’s uncooperative attitude turned against him. What if he never got together with Carlos because of this woman’s interference? The anxiety was quickly replaced by anger.

The hostility he directed at Aneta was raw and unrestrained. The green eyes beneath his gentle-looking gaze were filled with venom, and the strange light flickering through them was incongruous.

“Then I’ll be going. I have a lot of paperwork to handle.”

Regardless, Aneta stood up and left the reception room without hesitation, leaving Erez behind.

She felt she had fulfilled her duty as the hostess by entertaining him so far.

The servants waiting outside quickly closed the door as soon as Aneta emerged, as if shaking off the impolite guest from their mistress.

Isabel, seeing the servants’ well-coordinated movements, gave a satisfied glance. But her calm was shattered by the sound of something breaking on the other side of the closed door.

It was obvious what had been broken. The ever-composed Isabel asked,

“Shall I bill the Marquis Bauter for the cost of the broken teacup?”

“No, it’s fine. They’re probably in deficit from all their extravagant spending anyway. Let’s just say I was the one who broke it.”

Even a single broken teacup would be enough for Erez to buy everything he had brought in today. But did he even know that?

Aneta, looking at the closed door with a dry gaze, soon turned and headed back to her study.

There was still a mountain of work to be done.

***

As Aneta turned away, it felt to Erez as though his pride was being trampled into dust beneath her feet. His eyes blazed with anger as he followed her retreating figure, biting his lip.

When Aneta disappeared behind the closing door, his furious gaze landed on the teacup she had pointed to.

“If you want, you can stay and finish your tea.”

As Aneta’s parting words echoed in his ears once more, Erez couldn’t hold back and roughly reached out.

“Who would want to drink this kind of thing?”

Erez grabbed the teacup and flung it to the floor.

Crash.

The sharp sound of breaking porcelain resonated as the shards scattered across the floor.

It was an impulsive act, a desperate attempt to vent his frustration.

The feeble efforts he had made so far vanished in an instant, but Erez was too consumed by the sense of humiliation to realize it.

‘She took everything I deserved, and now she dares to treat me like this? She should know her place as a mere supporting character. What should I do with this insolent woman? ’

Grinding his teeth, Erez longed to eliminate her immediately.

‘There must be a way.’

He tried to think of a weakness but had very little information about Aneta.

Moreover, everyone around her held significant positions of power. Erez wanted to avoid provoking them, if possible.

It wasn’t that he feared retaliation. If he had, he would have abandoned the idea of opposing Aneta long ago.

To Erez, they were merely tools to achieve and maintain a noble life. He planned to incorporate Aneta’s associates into his network after dealing with her.

Erez believed that, as the protagonist, he could achieve his goals. If only he could get rid of Aneta, everything would return to how it should be.

‘The best method would be to use someone close to her. Who does Aneta cherish but is also easy to manipulate?’

Erez pondered, searching for a suitable person—or rather, an easy target.

Suddenly, a familiar face he had seen a few times crossed his mind.

It was as if a light had been turned on in his head.

“Ah, yes, that girl.”

Erez’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he remembered Chris Devon, rumored to be particularly cherished by Aneta. She was supposed to be close to him in the original story, a secondary female lead.

‘Whether she’s a supporting character or not, I’ll just bundle her up with Aneta Adenauer and send them both away. I don’t need any other protagonists besides myself.’

Chris, with her naïve and upright nature, was the perfect pawn and bait.

Erez had always thought his power of control was insignificant. It had never been properly utilized in the original story, which only made him more dismissive of it.

Moreover, the relationship between the family heads was exceptionally good. Stopping the abilities of people on the same side would be utterly useless.

However, his perspective changed after the attack. Erez realized that his power of Control was more useful than he had thought and could be used to eliminate those who annoyed him.

‘I gave her a chance. She’s the one who kicked it away. So, I’m not at fault.’

From the beginning, it was wrong for her to covet another’s man. Erez harbored a bitter smile as he plotted to put Aneta in danger.

At that moment, a faint light descended upon the shards of the broken teacup on the floor. The light lingered briefly on the opaque surface before dissipating, without Erez noticing.

***

As autumn deepened, the once lush green fields of summer turned into a golden landscape. The cool breath of the wind caressed the earth, collecting the leaves of flowers and trees, and replacing them with bountiful fruits.

It was the season when farmers’ hands and feet grew busier as the ripe crops bowed their heads. Despite the fatigue from hard labor, their faces couldn’t hide the joy of reaping the fruits of their efforts and sweat from the past seasons.

On the other hand, some wore grim expressions as they sorted out the fruits of their labor. These were the officials who served the country.

Among officials, autumn was not a season of abundance and harvest, but a season of labor. While grain filled the barns of the common people, paperwork piled up on the desks of the officials.

Their faces, devoid of smiles, were as dry as the stripped rice stalks, and as pale as the faded autumn leaves.

Aneta and Carlos were in an even more demanding situation. The paperwork that passed through the hands of the officials ultimately ended up on the desks of the heads of each department.

During this time, ministers would seclude themselves in their homes to handle documents. This was due to an “act of consideration” by the Emperor, who suggested that they did not have to commute to the Imperial Palace to process more documents.

‘They say it’s for the convenience of the ministers, but this is almost like forced retirement.’

There were no exceptions. Russell demanded that the ministers, who received hefty salaries, deliver the expected value in return.

The first to be driven out of the Imperial Palace was Carlos. Seeing him, Aneta intuited that her turn would be next.

Unfortunately, her intuition was correct. Just yesterday, the same individuals who had moved the administrative documents to the Duke of Baltimor’s residence had once again knocked on the door of her office.

Aneta silently watched as the staff loaded the Welfare Department documents onto a cart. It was obvious where the papers were being transferred.

‘This feels like exploitation by a tyrannical employer.’

She felt like she was being worked to the bone. Even though she was known for her workaholism, endless paperwork with no rest made her feel as though she wasn’t truly living.

‘At this rate, I might work myself to death soon.’

It wasn’t an impossibility.

Her workload had just increased again.

“Chris.”

Aneta called out to the one standing there dazedly, clutching the stack of documents in her arms.

Chris, who had momentarily lost herself in the scene before her, finally snapped back to attention.

“Uh, Aneta, where should I put these?”

“You can place them over here.”

One of the knights who had been supervising to prevent the staff from misappropriating the documents stepped forward to receive them from Chris. Chris bowed her head respectfully.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be going now.”

The two exchanged polite farewells with smiles on their faces. It was a sight that would make Vernon jealous if he saw it.

The documents Kris had brought were loaded onto the empty cart that had just arrived. Rubbing her aching shoulders, Chris glanced around the bustling office and asked,

“Will you be working from home from now on?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect you to know that.”

“Vernon told me.”

Of course. Vernon would have kept her informed about everything. Nodding in understanding, Aneta inquired about her cousin’s well-being.

“Is Vernon very busy these days?”

“Yes. He said he would be traveling to the Kingdom of Luthivon with the Minister of Trade regarding the import issue.”

“To Luthivon? It’ll take some time for him to return after finishing his work there.”

“At least two weeks, he said.”

Thinking of Vernon’s business trip, Chris’s eyes drooped. Noticing the change in her mood, Aneta’s lips curled into a teasing smile.

“If you ever feel like crying while waiting, come to the Marquis’ mansion. No matter how busy I am, I can lend you my shoulder.”

“Aneta, please. It’s only two weeks. I can wait that long.”

“Really?”

Chris tried to maintain a facade of resilience, but she couldn’t fool Aneta.

As Aneta purposefully made an exaggerated surprise expression, Chris flushed deeply and stammered, her face turning bright red.

“Of course, I’m serious. So please don’t tease me.”

“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. As you said, I hope you’ll wait steadfastly. Got it?”

“Yes. I will.”

Chris nodded obediently, her earlier look of reproach gone.

If Aneta had a younger sibling, this is what it might have felt like. Affection shone through Aneta’s eyes as she looked down at Chris.