Chapter 3

Clang!

Elina awoke to the sharp sound that pierced her ears. It was almost impressive how persistently they tormented her. She glanced briefly at the door and then closed her eyes again.

Despite having gone to bed as soon as she returned to her room yesterday, she was still tired. In fact, it wasn’t just today. Recently, she had been living in a state of constant drowsiness.

She could even fall asleep while eating.

“Yawn, ah!”

Elina stretched her arms upward, keeping her eyes tightly shut. But it wasn’t easy to shake off sleep. The intensity of Madame Rasiche’s demands had been increasing, and her body seemed unable to endure it any longer.

Eventually, she reluctantly got out of bed after lingering in the sheets for a while longer.

“Hello, kitty.”

As soon as she opened the small window in the attic, a black kitten nestled into her arms. It was a kitten born from a cat she had saved by chance about a month ago. The other kittens were nowhere to be seen, leaving only this one. She had grown quite fond of it after seeing it every day for weeks.

Then, from a nearby roof, a large black cat meowed. It was the mother cat, resembling the kitten in her arms. They say if a kitten is touched by human hands, the mother will abandon it. But this one didn’t seem to be entirely like that.

Or maybe it hadn’t been touched by her hands enough.

The kitten, slightly larger than a fist, circled on the bed where Elina had been lying. When it climbed onto her thin nightgown and rubbed its face against her, it tickled, making her laugh automatically.

Did I have a nice scent or something?

“Your mom is over there. I’m not your mom!”

Elina carefully picked up the kitten and brought it to the mother cat outside the window. The blue eyes embedded in the mother cat’s black fur seemed to glint.

Before the cat family ran away, Elina brought a round bowl and filled it with water. Normally, she would have secretly bought cat food while running errands, but she had run out yesterday and had nothing to give.

After drinking the water from the round bowl for a long time, the two cats quickly disappeared somewhere.

“Those little ones, really.”

Elina looked blankly at the spot where the two cats had vanished. Whenever she saw cats with black fur and blue eyes, she thought of that man. It had been over a month since it happened. On a rainy summer day, she had sought absurd affection and received it in return.

That man also had black hair and sparkling blue eyes.

“His name was Floi.”

It was likely a pseudonym as well.

She couldn’t grasp whether it was okay to dwell on the events of one night for so long. She resented herself for taking out the note he gave her several times a day. He might have already forgotten her, and nothing was left in between.

Lost in repetitive thoughts, the noise outside the door started again. Elina grabbed a broom and flung the door open, fearing something else might break.

The loud noise quickly subsided. But looking down at the hallway floor, as always, cheap porcelain lay shattered and sparkling.

Sigh. Elina swallowed a sigh and silently bent down to sweep up the sharp fragments.

“Miss, Madame Valois is looking for you.”

Turning her head slightly toward the voice, she saw a glimpse of two or three maids in white aprons.

Yes. She was a lady in this house, lower than a maid. It was something she felt so often that it made her angry rather than sad.

“Okay.”

The maid on the opposite side of the hallway spoke informally, avoiding the sharp porcelain fragments, and Elina also responded absentmindedly, keeping her eyes fixed on the broom and dustpan.

Then the maids, for some reason displeased, clenched their well-ironed maid uniforms and stomped out of the hallway.

Why were they like that?

Elina carefully scanned the hallway once more, checking for any fragments she might have missed, and then returned to her room. After putting the porcelain shards into a bag to avoid injury and wiping the broom and dustpan with a damp cloth, she realized she was short on time despite waking up early.

“I guess I won’t eat breakfast.”

Lately, she hadn’t had much of an appetite, so it wasn’t a big loss. It just meant today would be a somewhat tiring day.

Elina quickly washed and dressed in a neat dress. Her brown hair, flowing above her waist, was naturally pulled up.

Her face reflected in the small mirror on the dressing table showed no expression.

Elina put on her shoes and swiftly left the attic. She only needed to endure a few more months. Thinking that brought a slight smile to her lips.

The inheritance system of the Koseli Empire took effect exactly one year after the heir reached adulthood. And Elina was spending that last year. It had been unjust from the beginning, but there was nothing she could do about the laws and systems of the Empire.

As she reached the center of the Valois mansion, the sharp sound of heels greeted her.

She didn’t want to turn around. Elina forced a smile onto her expressionless face and turned her body.

“You’re late, Elina.”

“Good morning, Madame Rasiche.”

“Rasiche, you say. Elina, how many times must I tell you? I am Madame Valois.”

“But Madame, you’re not my mother.”

“Elina.”

“You know I’m the only Valois in this world.”

“You still don’t know your place.”

Madame Rasiche’s expression, which had been smiling beautifully like a rose on a fresh summer day, suddenly turned cold.

Ah. Beloved mother and father. Why did you leave me so young? There are so many bad people in the world, and you didn’t even warn me about them.

Suddenly becoming someone who didn’t know her place, Elina lifted her head and looked at the noble Madame Rasiche. She was truly a dazzling woman from head to toe. Everything she wore was made from the enormous wealth of Valois, so it was expected.

How did she become such a frightening person?

Just two years ago, she had been like an angel from heaven to Elina.

A relative of the Valois family. No, it was hard to call her a relative with such faint blood ties, but she acted as the owner of Valois because of Elina’s choice.

When young Elina was left alone, crying after her parents’ funeral, it was she who comforted her, saying it was okay. When close relatives demanded the housekeeper hand over the family’s inheritance rights to them instead of the young daughter of the Earl and Countess of Valois, she came to Elina alone.

At just seven years old, she took care of the orphaned child during the funeral, took over the authority, and secured the position of temporary head of the Valois family. She promised to be family, gifting a teddy bear that a young noble child would like and introducing a new older brother.

Thus, she became the guardian and temporary head of the Valois Earl family’s enormous wealth and heir, and Elina believed for a long time that she was a good person.

Until the dismissed housekeeper secretly visited Elina around this time two years ago, after the funeral of the Earl and Countess of Valois had ended.

“Why are you acting like this? Oh, are you still upset about that day? I said it was a mistake.”

Madame Rasiche, her bright blonde hair pulled high, smiled like a painting with her red eyes shining. She was beautiful, regardless of her age.

Was that why? She didn’t realize the shocking truth behind the beautiful smile.

That day, when the long-awaited trip was at risk of being canceled due to sudden heavy rain, Madame Rasiche, unlike her usual self, took her anger out on the people nearby. Elina was, of course, the first target included.

Madame Rasiche always thought she had Elina in her grasp. So she enjoyed belittling and tormenting her, even though Elina’s status was higher than hers. 

Unable to vent her anger on the young Viscount who had personally come to guide them in the southern travel destination, Madame Rasiche took it out on Elina, who was serving tea beside him.

In front of numerous maids and visiting nobles, Madame Rasiche slowly poured sticky milk tea over Elina’s head. Her gesture was so graceful that anyone watching might have thought she was creating a piece of art rather than venting her anger. Though she had been submissive to stay in the mansion, that day was the first time she felt such humiliation. 

The unfamiliar Viscount who looked at her with concern. The sympathetic glances of the maids who called her “Miss.” On that rainy day, the milk tea poured over her head was cold and didn’t hurt, but she couldn’t stop tears from falling from her eyes. Even cleaning dust piles wasn’t as humiliating. Serving the Madame among the maids wasn’t this humiliating either. 

After Madame Rasiche and her family, along with most of the servants, left for a delayed trip, Elina secretly slipped out of the mansion. It was the day she met the man with black hair and blue eyes. The man named Floi who loved her.

Madame Rasiche naturally took Elina’s arm and led her to the dining room.

Her tightly grasped arm hurt, but she bit her lip hard and endured it. Elina composed herself again and spoke in a carefully crafted voice.

“No, since you said it was a mistake, Madame Rasiche.”

Madame Rasiche approached Elina knowing only she could be the heir to Valois. 

She knew the detailed conditions needed for the seven-year-old Elina to become the heir to Valois, making it intentional. 

Madame Rasiche even made the clauses of the contract Elina had to follow to inherit the estate very favorable to herself. 

Because of a contract signed at just seven years old, she couldn’t expel Madame Rasiche. 

With no one to help her and being an adult in a legally disadvantageous position, she had no choice but to endure. 

The will her parents had drafted to prevent unforeseen events was temporary, so the conditions were stringent.

[The heir to the family receives protection until reaching adulthood, or if there is no guardian, receives protection from the legally designated guardian.]

[The same applies to heirs who have not reached one year after becoming adults.]

There were even strange conditions stating that being outside the Valois mansion without special reasons would disqualify her from inheriting. 

Madame Rasiche had written detailed contracts separate from the will, making the content more complicated. 

From age seven when she signed the contract to age twenty, one year after becoming an adult, she had to follow Madame Rasiche’s words under the guise of “protection.”

Madame Rasiche regretted not adding more to the contract back then. Closing her eyes for a long time and opening them made her mind feel a bit clearer. No one expected her parents to pass away so early.

Still, she would endure the next few months to inherit her parents’ enormous wealth. Even if it meant engaging in legal battles with Madame Rasiche.

“Elina, shouldn’t you be looking for a marriage prospect?”

After learning two years ago that Elina had met with Valois’s loyal former housekeeper, Madame Rasiche began to torment Elina without restraint. Hoping she would eventually run away from the mansion. But since Elina didn’t move as she wished, she had been using other tactics lately.

“I don’t want to do that yet. Since he will be the husband of Valois, I should take my time finding a good person.”

Elina replied with a smile. After all, she and Madame Rasiche were supposed to be a harmonious guardian and ward. Until two years ago, they maintained a smooth relationship. Nowadays, whenever they met, she brought up marriage prospects.

If she were to marry before properly inheriting, all the wealth she inherited would go to her husband. Since she couldn’t drive her out of the mansion, Madame Rasiche seemed intent on attaching a man of her liking to Elina to share the wealth. Whatever it was, it didn’t work on Elina.

Moreover, no young lady from any family married just after reaching adulthood. It was a feature of the Empire to have a one-year grace period in all systems after becoming an adult. Of course, there were exceptions. If a young lady had caused an incident, she might have to marry early, but…

“You’re no longer a child. You’ve passed the age for stubbornness.”

“Of course. I’m not a child. I’m an adult who knows what is right for me.”

“You don’t know how much I care for you. It’s heartbreaking.”

Being married to someone she arranged was a slightly better chance of holding onto some wealth than being driven out of the mansion, so “caring” could be used. But why should she share her parents’ wealth with Madame Rasiche?

The wealth Madame Rasiche received was sufficient as maintenance for the guardian of Valois’s heir. For kindly coaxing a seven-year-old child, that much could be given. But all the wealth her parents left was hers.

Of course… she kept thinking about Floi, who loved her since that day. But would she really marry him? If she did, she would have to share her parents’ wealth too. That day, the man who loved her was a precious memory… Yes, she should think that way. To survive in this world, being selfish was right.

“How about becoming Viscount Havel’s second wife? I heard the Viscount is kind.”

Ha. Elina barely held back a scoff. Speaking as if it were a favor. 

Wasn’t he a vile man who directly said his greatest joy in life was welcoming a new, pure, young bride every year, with his white hair?

“Are you suggesting I become the second wife of an old noble?”

“He may be on to a second wife, but old? You shouldn’t say such things, Elina.”

To someone not yet twenty, a noble over forty could be considered old, couldn’t he?

Elina held back her words and smiled lightly but intensely.

“The Viscount wouldn’t like me.”

I’ve been with a man young enough to be his son.