Chapter 5 – Part 4

Kristin didn’t appreciate her father’s words.

How many betrayals must he endure to come to his senses?

Kristin couldn’t understand her father anymore, who still seemed infatuated with Rose. She struggled to calm herself before speaking.

“I don’t want to doubt anyone either, Father. But who else in this house would give Cindy such orders besides you and me? Is there someone else besides us, Elena, and Mother in this estate?”

Viscount Vernon was left speechless by Kristin’s words. She was right, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it.
Just as he was about to question Cindy further, there was a knock on the door.

Knock knock—

“Who is it?” Viscount Vernon called out.

“It’s me, My Lord,” came the voice of Rose.

How did she know to come at this moment?

Kristin saw this as an opportunity. It was a chance to confront her mother.

“Father, should I ask Mother about this? If she didn’t give the orders, then Cindy would have no reason to eavesdrop.”

Viscount Vernon hesitated, contemplating the potential embarrassment if it turned out Rose was guilty. Not wanting to face that possibility, he turned to Kristin.

“Enough. Cindy is dismissed from her duties as of today. It is not appropriate for a servant to eavesdrop on her masters’ conversations.”

“What? No, I’m innocent, My Lord! I was just, I mean…” Cindy stammered, trying to defend herself.

Cindy’s face crumpled in despair, and when she realized there was no way out of the situation, her expression turned to one of resignation.

“Is something wrong? Could you open this door, please?” Rose’s voice rang out as Cindy’s words faded.

“I wonder what’s happening inside, My Lord,” Rose added urgently.

Kristin tried to meet her father’s gaze, but he avoided her eyes.

With Cindy’s sudden interruption, they couldn’t continue their conversation.

Instead, her father unlocked the latch and, at the same time, pulled a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to Kristin.

“Read this when you have time. I hope it doesn’t shock you.”

Kristin folded the paper and hid it in her hand as Rose entered through the now-open door.

“Oh my, Cindy, why haven’t you come out yet?”

“What do you mean, she’s been listening to our conversation through the curtains. She’s probably been listening the whole time. To think we’ve had such a servant working for us all this time.”

“Oh dear, My Lord, the reason I came up was precisely because of that. I had asked Cindy to take the curtain in here to be washed, you see. She was simply here for that purpose.”

“If that was the case, you should have said so earlier.”

The Viscount scratched his head, looking puzzled.

Since Kristin broke off her engagement with Raphael, the banks had refused to extend any more credit to the Edith family, citing a lack of collateral. Neither personal loans nor a mortgage on the estate were options anymore. There were rumors of him frequenting gambling houses, and no one was willing to lend to him.

Kristin had feared this situation but hadn’t fully grasped the reality until now. Still, she believed that as long as they could secure a loan using the estate as collateral, they could eventually pay off all debts once they began mining the diamond-rich land.

But reality was proving harsher than she anticipated.

‘I thought this would be too easy. Just because I know the future, doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly.’

“Anyway, Cindy must have been so startled when she saw the Viscount and Kristin enter that she accidentally backed away and hid. You know how kind and delicate Cindy is, don’t you, Viscount? She’s not the type to eavesdrop on her masters.”

“Still, this situation is—”

“My Lord, can’t you see how flustered and hurried I was when I rushed up here? Just look at my dress and hair. I ran up so quickly the dress is practically falling off my shoulders.”

Rose gently revealed her bare white shoulders to Viscount Vernon. Her face was full of concern, but as the Viscount blushed upon seeing her bare shoulder, she continued, sensing she almost had him convinced.

“There was a letter earlier,” she said, “but you can look at it this evening, and when you have finished talking to Kristin, why don’t you come and talk to me in the drawing room?”

Rose gestured to Cindy, indicating that she could leave now. Cindy had to disappear before being dismissed without hearing any further conversation, which would mean giving new orders to another servant. Despite careful selection, there was no one as suitable as Cindy in this mansion.

Rose couldn’t afford to send Cindy away, as she was easily manipulated into thinking she was loved and thus very obedient.

“Cindy, you must have been so scared. Go ahead and get back to your work. Don’t you have dishes to wash after breakfast?”

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll go back downstairs now.”

Cindy finally regained her composure and stood up hesitantly. Seeing this, Kristin crossed her arms and spoke to Cindy.

“I hope this doesn’t happen again, Cindy.”

“Kristin, don’t scold her so harshly. It must have frightened her.”

“Yes, My Lady. I was wrong. I’ll be on my way now.”

Cindy practically fled from the study, leaving Kristin anxious about what she might report back to Rose and Elena. Somehow, they would likely learn about the information regarding the mine.

There was no time. If they didn’t have the money to buy the mine, they would have to find it.

Just then, Viscount Vernon was tearing up the letter angrily.

“Father?”

“I thought you would have liked to see the letter this evening.” Rose said to him, as he angrily threw the torn pieces into the fireplace.

“In the evening, I’ll be spending time with Rose. So, I will read it now. Damn it all, do you know what was written in this letter?”

“What kind of contents were in it?”

“Hah, these people are ridiculous. It says they want to exclude me from the Viscount’s noble family gatherings, which they’ve previously called off because Kristin is marrying Duke Raphael. They sent me all sorts of things to make me look good, and now they’re saying I’m a disgrace to the viscount.”

“Did it say that?”

Rose said in disbelief, her gaze fixed on Kristin as if saying all this was because of her.

‘The repercussions of your breakup are only now beginning to show.’

“Try not to be too disheartened, My Lord.”

“That Duke Raphael, he’s set on ruining our family.”

“My Lord, none of this would have happened if Kristin had gotten married.”

“Well, that’s…”

The Viscount could not refute Rose’s words, as they were correct.

Avoiding the accusing gazes of Viscount Vernon and Rose, Kristin hurried out of the study. At that moment, tears of frustration welled up in her eyes. But she could not afford to appear weak, so she went to her room and locked the door.

‘What should I do now?’

The repercussions of the ruined wedding she had caused to avoid death were gradually surfacing. It felt like a noose tightening around her neck, slowly, like an unseen wave of horror engulfing her.

Just as Kristin was about to despair over the dreadful reality closing in on her, the face of Beatrice Charlotte, whom she had seen on the wedding day, suddenly came to mind.

“Sharon’s Boutique, 7 Willington Street.

It was the boutique that Beatrice Charlotte ran within the empire.

Sharon Boutique was growing daily, expanding its scale. While Kristin had the skill to embroider dresses, Beatrice excelled at embroidering items such as hats, handkerchiefs, and parasols. The fabrics for dresses there were also of very high quality and excellent craftsmanship.

Sitting on her bed, Kristin reminisced about her past with Beatrice Charlotte. After her mother passed away, she hadn’t seen Beatrice even once.

For six long years, it felt like being trapped alone in a pitch-black darkness. She couldn’t even play with her friend, the Marquis of Winston, nor did she receive any reply to the letters she had sent to Beatrice Charlotte.

Kristin thought that Beatrice Charlotte probably didn’t want to be associated with the Edith family, given her father and Rose.

If she were in Beatrice’s position, she too wouldn’t want to be involved with a family that acted disgracefully among the nobility.

Moreover, as a family grew increasingly wealthy through business, there was no need to be attached to a friend’s daughter who was not even her true child.

Kristin understood.

Beatrice Charlotte, who had cherished and loved her since childhood, had done nothing wrong. Moreover, as an adult now, Kristin didn’t want to rely on someone else’s help. When her mother passed away, Kristin’s warm and gentle world had already ended.

Therefore, no matter what challenges came her way, she had to resolve them herself. However, she faced difficulties in handling everything alone at the moment.

Kicking Rose and Elena out of Edith’s estate and finding the people who killed her in her previous life.

To revive the dying Edith family, to save them from being ignored by the nobility, and to escape from Raphael, who intended to use her under the guise of love.

With so much to do, she needed money to do it.

In the world of nobles, money automatically brought power.

If her father, despite causing drunken disturbances in the shopping district, had been a viscount from a family with much better finances, they wouldn’t have been mocked or ostracized by the nobles to this extent.

The noble world was like the wild; nobles who were powerless, poor, and without influential backgrounds were treated almost like commoners.

Kristin clenched her fists. If things continued like this, she would end up living a life no different from her previous one.

She shook her head as memories of her previous life flashed through her mind.

“I must see Lady Beatrice Charlotte and ask for her help.”