Chapter 27

“…Hah.”  

Johann immediately left the room to allow Lia and Rafaella to rest comfortably.  

‘Apologizing like that is such an awkward thing.’  

The tone he thought would come out formal and stiff changed the moment he met the child’s eyes.  

Even to his own ears, it sounded gentle.  

He wondered how he could have been so stern with the child all this time.  

‘…And why was it so painful to see that little one crying in her mother’s arms?’  

He hoped that no more tears would ever fall from Rafaella’s eyes again.  

Even he felt the heart of a parent who wished only for their child’s eternal happiness.  

He called for a maid and instructed her to bring warm tea and dinner to Rafaella’s room before heading to the first-floor drawing room.  

By now, his mother and his youngest aunt, Carolina, would already be there.  

Before leaving Penelope’s room earlier, his mother had stopped him briefly.  

“This matter cannot simply be overlooked. I always let it go, thinking of her as your father’s cherished younger sister and my sister-in-law. But look at the result of that leniency.”  

Isabella’s expression was bleak.  

“I’ll go ahead and speak with Carolina. You escort the others and come down afterward.”  

He, too, had always turned a blind eye to Carolina living beyond her means in the Duke’s mansion, out of a sense of guilt toward his late father.  

It wasn’t just his mother who had been lenient with Carolina.  

‘…I was no different.’  

Using the excuse of being busy with northern affairs, imperial court matters, and other issues, he had pretended not to see Carolina acting as if she were the lady of the Ducal household.  

If he hadn’t known that Carolina and Marco were mistreating Rafaella, he would have continued to ignore it.  

“Your Grace, may I have a word?”  

As Johann descended to the first floor and headed toward the drawing room, Samuel stopped him.  

He followed Samuel into a nearby empty room.  

“After you and Miss Lia went upstairs with the Duchess Dowager, several servants came to me, Your Grace.”  

“Servants?”  

“Yes.”  

The observant servants, who had seen the Duchess Dowager coldly ignoring Carolina, realized that the situation was different from usual.  

They thought that perhaps this time, the Duchess Dowager and the Duke wouldn’t let Carolina off the hook.  

After all, there was now a new variable: the young lady of the house.  

Carolina, shocked by the Duchess Dowager’s attitude, had returned to her room with Marco.  

The head maid and the butler had followed her.  

With no one left in the central hall to keep watch, the servants eagerly approached the Duke’s aide to report the misdeeds Carolina had committed.  

“How could lowly servants like us live without paying attention to Lady Carolina?”  

“Since Lady Penelope fell ill, Lady Carolina has acted as if she were the queen of the Blumhart mansion.”  

“It was excessive! She tried to change everything in the mansion, punished anyone who displeased her, and even drove people out.”  

When the former head maid spoke up, Carolina immediately accused her of disrupting order and drove her out.  

The former head maid, who had served the Blumhart family for generations, left without a word, not wanting to burden the already troubled Duchess Dowager further.  

The new head maid was a woman who had served Carolina since her time at the Marquis’ estate.  

She was so ill-tempered that she nitpicked on minor issues and tormented the maids.  

Carolina’s son, Marco, was like a little devil, bullying the young maids and servants, making everyone’s lives miserable.  

Unable to endure it any longer, the servants had turned to the butler.  

The butler had promised, with a kind face, to speak to Carolina, but all they received in return were pay cuts and punishments.  

The butler was also Carolina’s accomplice.  

The servants could no longer protest and had no choice but to endure silently.  

Those who had served the family for generations held on, hoping for change. Those who hadn’t had nowhere else to go.  

Even if they wanted to leave, the head maid and butler would never provide them with a letter of recommendation.  

The butler quietly sided with Carolina.  

He even overlooked Carolina embezzling the budget allocated for Rafaella to fund her own luxuries.  

The servants had found it odd when someone from the salon came again, even though Carolina had already ordered winter clothes.  

They feared Carolina, who seemed to have taken over the mansion entirely.  

That fear extended to Lia and Rafaella, whom Carolina disliked, preventing them from treating the two kindly.  

“Ha, so the butler was aiding my aunt.”  

The butler of the Blumhart family had always been from a family that served the Dukes for generations.  

They considered it an honor to serve as the family’s butler and had always fulfilled their duties admirably.  

Robert Burns, the current butler, was believed to have the same attitude and dedication.  

“…After hearing the reports, I checked the ledgers and found several discrepancies between the records and actual expenses.”  

“The butler must really adore my aunt to go as far as falsifying the ledgers.”  

Johann sarcastically remarked as he reviewed the ledgers.  

‘What a spectacle.’  

Even in a place without a dragon, a lion shouldn’t act as the master. This had gone too far.  

This wasn’t a matter that could be resolved by simply driving them out.  

“…And then the gardener’s assistant came to see me.”  

“The gardener’s assistant?”  

“Yes, the gardener’s name is Thomas. The assistant said he witnessed something.”  

One of the gardeners, Thomas, often shirked his duties, leaving his work to his assistant while he napped or disappeared somewhere.  

The assistant, annoyed but unwilling to give up a good job, silently took over the gardener’s tasks.  

Today, Thomas had again abandoned his work and disappeared into the woods with a maid.  

‘What a spectacle.’  

The assistant, used to such behavior, continued his work, thinking nothing of it.  

Then he heard a commotion and went to investigate.  

Marco was about to hit the young lady. Before the assistant could intervene, the young lady struck Marco and fled in shock.  

The incident happened so quickly that the assistant, hearing Marco’s cries, hid quietly as Thomas and the maid approached.  

‘I don’t want to get involved. Better to stay under the radar.’  

However, Thomas and the maid lied about what had happened.  

The assistant wanted to tell the truth but hesitated, thinking no one would believe the word of a mere assistant.  

“So, in the end, everyone kept silent.”  

“…Yes.”  

“This is what happens when the master of the house doesn’t properly manage the estate.”  

“……”  

“D*mn it….”  

If his mother had been preoccupied with Penelope, he should have paid attention.  

‘Who would have thought my aunt would turn the ducal mansion into such a mess….’  

He had thought Carolina, who had lived in the Blumhart mansion since childhood, would have some affection for it, even if not for the Marquis’ estate.  

Though it pained him to do so, he couldn’t let Carolina’s crimes go unpunished, especially her treatment of Rafaella.  

‘If Father were alive, he would have fallen in love with Rafaella the moment he saw her.’  

And he would have been even more furious with Carolina.  

* * *

After finishing his conversation with Samuel, Johann headed to the first-floor drawing room.  

The Duchess Dowager sat, ignoring Carolina, who was feigning tears and acting pitiful.  

The butler and head maid stood behind them, with the butler looking at Carolina with a sorrowful expression.  

It was unclear whether he couldn’t hide his feelings or was unaware of his own expression.  

“How is Rafaella doing?”  

As Johann sat on the sofa, Isabella spoke.  

“She seems to be fine.”  

“That’s a relief. The poor child must have been very frightened.”  

“Johann. Marco and I are truly innocent!”  

As soon as Isabella finished speaking, Carolina turned to Johann, pleading.  

“What are you innocent of? I hear Marco has been bullying Rafaella.”  

“Who said that? Who dares to…”  

“Aunt, many people have said so.”  

Johann cut her off.  

“Do you believe them?”  

“Penelope said the same.”  

“But what would Penelope know, confined to her room…”  

Carolina trailed off, realizing she had spoken out of turn.  

“Moreover, the maid who cared for Rafaella lied.”  

“What!”  

“In the garden, your son was actually bullying my daughter.”  

Hearing the distant tone Johann used to refer to Marco and Rafaella, Carolina flinched.  

“Johann, it was just children playing, and someone misunderstood…”  

“Misunderstood? Would you say the same if your son were the victim?”  

“As you know, Marco is just… just very playful.”  

“If it were up to me, I’d drag your son to my daughter right now and make him kneel and apologize.”  

“…What?”  

Carolina, looking aghast, questioned him.  

“To kneel for something like this?!”  

“For now, Rafaella’s recovery takes priority, so we’ll address that later.”  

“Johann, Johann. I raised Marco poorly. It’s my fault, so…”  

“Do you think this is a matter that can be brushed aside?”  

“……”  

“Aunt, your son has repeatedly tormented my precious daughter.”  

Carolina trembled as she listened to her nephew’s voice, filled with rage.  

“…What kind of fool would let the person who bullied their daughter off the hook?”