Chapter 41

Philip entered belatedly, announcing his presence. However, since he was not the figure the servants of the Duke’s estate, including Liam, had been eagerly anticipating, they could not hide their disappointment. 

Noticing the unusual expression on the elderly butler’s face, Erhen asked with a crooked smile,

“What? Was someone else supposed to come along?” 

“No, not at all, Your Grace. I trust you had a pleasant vacation?” 

“Well, in my own way.” 

As Liam took Erhen’s coat, the Duke shook his head as if it were nothing. The coat, covered in dirt, had been changed during the carriage ride, so Liam had no way of knowing what Erhen had endured the previous night. 

“Danielle is being looked after by Baron Roysfe.” 

“Yes. The young lady is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow.” 

“As an indifferent uncle, I’m ashamed.” 

Despite his words, Erhen had been consistently checking on Danielle’s well-being through Philip while staying in Heringen. Liam, who had felt a pang of disappointment that Charlotte had not come along, now smiled warmly as if those feelings had never existed. 

“You must be weary from your long journey. A warm bath has been prepared for you. Once you’ve finished bathing, we’ll serve your meal right away.” 

“Prepare it in the study.” 

“Yes, Your Grace.” 

After their brief exchange, Erhen left. As he disappeared with Liam and a few other butlers into the second-floor hallway, the servants, who had been holding their heads down, began to gather around Philip, buzzing with excitement. 

Caught off guard by the sudden attention, Philip, who had done nothing wrong, began to step back nervously. 

“Sir!” 

“W-What?” 

“Where is Madam?!” 

Among them, Cassie, the leader of the group, grabbed Philip and shouted. 

“Where is Madam, and why has His Grace returned alone?!” 

“Madam? There’s no Madam in the Duke’s estate…. Oh, are you referring to Viscountess Lintz?” 

“Yes! So where is Madam?” 

Cassie leaned in close, her face inches from Philip’s, and stared intently into his eyes as she pressed him for an answer. It was clear she expected a proper response. 

“…? Of course, Viscountess Lintz has gone to the Rothschild estate.” 

“Ah…?” 

Cassie froze at Philip’s reply, her expression one of utter confusion. As one of the maids who had personally attended to Charlotte, it was an answer she had never considered. Naturally, Charlotte belonged at the Rothschild estate, not here. 

But. But! 

She had thought, ‘Once our Madam, always our Madam!’

“If that answers your question, may I now go and finish tidying up…?” 

“Ah… yes, yes.” 

Still dazed, Cassie mumbled absentmindedly. After adjusting his crumpled clothes, Philip left, and the members of the “Charlotte Fan Club” within the Duke’s estate murmured in disappointment. 

“Of course, Madam is no longer part of the Duke’s household.” 

“Why did we think she’d come straight here?” 

“So His Grace went all the way to Heringen and just came back alone…?” 

“…Are we saying all the scenarios we imagined were just delusions?!” 

Their voices were filled with disappointment and regret over their mistaken assumptions. 

Then why on earth did our Duke, His Grace, go all the way to Heringen for his vacation?! 

***

In the hallway of the Rothschild mansion, on the way to the dining room, Charlotte grumbled with a face full of dissatisfaction. 

“I’m going to escape.” 

“…You’ve already tried five times and failed six.” 

Lida, who was following behind her, replied quietly. 

It had already been two days since Charlotte arrived at the Rothschild mansion in Hamern. On the day of her arrival, she had taken a warm bath, only to collapse into bed without even eating, exhausted from the journey. Today, she had spent the morning catching up with her family after a long time and had tried to go out in the afternoon, only to be stopped by the guards at the door. 

When she looked up at the guards with a puzzled expression, one of them awkwardly explained, “I’m sorry, Viscountess. You’ve been instructed to rest inside the house until your visit to the royal palace.” 

This was undoubtedly Lucas’s doing. 

Though Lucas’s warnings about her relationship with Erhen hadn’t fazed Charlotte, he was still trying to limit her actions within his power. 

With less than three weeks left in her contract relationship, two days had already passed! She couldn’t bear to spend another day confined to the house. 

Thus began Charlotte’s escape attempts. But she hadn’t expected to fail six times in a single day, from lunch to dinner. Including the attempts she hadn’t made herself, as Lida pointed out. 

“I don’t know why you’re so eager to go out, but since you’ll be heading to the royal palace tomorrow anyway, I think it’s best for you to rest until then.” 

Lida said in a trembling voice, unable to forget the terror of the train station. 

Lida had been fortunate enough to avoid the chaos by staying on the train during the incident, as she had been checking the luggage after Charlotte disembarked. But witnessing Charlotte and Erhen running through a hail of bullets from the safety of the train had been terrifying for her. 

Though the train station incident had been one of the biggest events in the relatively peaceful past year of the Rohadin Empire, miraculously, there had been no fatalities, only minor injuries. 

Charlotte couldn’t help but think of the mastermind. If it weren’t for the one-month grace period he had allowed, the damage might have been far worse. 

And so, the remaining days of her contract relationship with Erhen felt even more precious. 

“Fine. I’ll wait until tomorrow to go out….” 

Seeing Lida’s tearful expression, Charlotte couldn’t bring herself to insist further. 

By then, they had reached the dining room, and Lida opened the door. 

As Charlotte entered, the eyes of those already seated turned toward her. 

“Sorry I’m late!” 

“You’re here. We have a guest, so you should have hurried a bit more. Come, sit down.” 

Johanna gently scolded her. 

Since Richard’s family had left after lunch, only her parents and Lucas remained in the mansion. 

“A guest?” 

At the mention of a guest, Charlotte looked puzzled. A man seated in a chair facing the same direction as her turned around. 

And then. 

“It’s been a while, Charlotte.” 

Seeing his face, Charlotte unconsciously bit her lip. 

The person she least wanted to see. The person who perhaps embodied her guilt. 

Dietrich Schleicher, the head of the Katarina Foundation and a respected philanthropist in Rohadin, was sitting there. 

“What are you standing there for? Sit down.” 

Lucas said, noticing Charlotte frozen in place. She flinched and forced a smile. 

Charlotte had to work hard to hide her trembling hands as she walked to her seat. 

“It’s been so long that I almost didn’t recognize you. It’s good to see you, Dietrich.” 

“Good to see you too, Viscountess. Please feel free to speak as you used to.” 

“Haha, no. I should maintain proper manners now. By the way, I’ve heard about the good work you’ve been doing.” 

Charlotte exchanged pleasantries with Dietrich as she sat down. Once everyone was seated, the table was filled with an array of dishes. 

Caspar began the conversation. 

“Indeed, as Charlotte mentioned, Dietrich, you’ve been doing philanthropic work. If you’d informed us earlier, we could have helped you more.” 

“The Katarina Foundation—it sounded familiar, but I never imagined you were the one running it. I was so surprised when I read about it in the papers.” 

“If there’s anything we can do to help in the future, just let us know.” 

“This rascal didn’t even mention it when he came to see me at the company last time.” 

Caspar, Johanna, and Lucas all instinctively felt it. If Charlotte hadn’t married back then, her place might have been at Katarina’s side. 

Thus, their gazes toward Dietrich carried a subtle sense of indebtedness. 

Dietrich shook his head. 

“No, it’s nothing. It may be called a foundation, but it’s not doing anything grand.” 

“Building schools isn’t grand?” 

“Well, if I may ask for help, it would be from the Viscountess.” 

Dietrich smiled brightly as he looked at Charlotte. Once again, everyone’s eyes turned to her. 

Charlotte, who had been quietly cutting her steak to avoid the conversation, flinched under the weight of their stares and looked up. 

“Uh? Me?” 

“Yes, Viscountess.” 

“Well… haha. It would be an honor to help the foundation.” 

“I’m planning to establish a vocational program at the school, and I was hoping to include barista training. I’d like to ask for your assistance with that.” 

Dietrich looked expectantly at Charlotte. His innocent gaze made Charlotte slowly nod her head. 

Dietrich smiled warmly at her. 

“I suppose we’ll be seeing each other often, Viscountess.” 

Charlotte returned a faint smile. The conversation then shifted to other topics. 

But why? Helping Dietrich should alleviate her guilt and benefit both the foundation and the café, yet she felt an inexplicable dryness in her throat. 

A strange, unknown anxiety began to grow in her chest. Charlotte gripped her knife tightly. 

Her heart felt heavy. In moments like this, when she felt suffocated, she couldn’t help but think. 

She wanted to see Erhen.