Clatter. The large black eyes moved busily as if they were about to make a sound. Seeing that aimless gaze, the person added an explanation in a calm voice.

“The section you’re looking at now contains information about real estate. It includes the mansion, of course, and some of the surrounding land.”

“Ah! Yes, yes… I see…!”

May nodded her head vigorously in response, but… in reality, she didn’t understand the content even after hearing the explanation. No matter how many times she read the sentences with occasional difficult words mixed in, their meaning didn’t sink in. Among the several pages of paper, the only thing she clearly knew was her own name….

Heir: May Louise

Even that seemed out of place, with the word ‘heir’ attached to her name, making everything feel incomprehensible.

‘Inheritance….’

To think that she had family who would leave her such a thing?

The appearance of a family she didn’t even know existed and a sudden inheritance were things one would only expect to see in books. Surely, the protagonist in a novel she had read recently also gained a wonderful family, a lover, and wealth all at once upon discovering the secret of their birth.

‘But I’m hardly protagonist material…’

Unlike the attractive and capable individuals she had seen in books, she was ordinary in appearance and below average in ability.

The only thing she was somewhat good at was cleaning, and she was a loner without a single friend, complete with a stutter that emerged whenever she got even slightly nervous.

For such a below-average person to encounter this kind of incredible luck, it was indeed strange.

‘Could it be a scam…?’

Ugh, May grunted, narrowing her brows as she stared at the person across from her.

The handsome man with a cold impression looked too intelligent to be a con artist, but… perhaps that very quality could be a good weapon for deceiving others.

With such thoughts, transparent suspicion appeared on her innocent face. But the man’s baritone voice that suddenly rang out shattered her musings.

“Do you need further explanation?”

It was a question that seemed to pierce through her inner thoughts, dispelling her suspicions.

“Uh, well…”

“If there are any parts you found difficult, please feel free to say so.”

It was an ostensibly kind statement, but the man who had introduced himself as a lawyer actually seemed a bit bored. It was understandable, given that there had been no real progress in the conversation while their ordered tea was growing cold.

Of course, he didn’t clearly show such emotions on his businesslike face, but May clearly saw the annoyance that had settled in his eyes upon hearing her fumbling response.

“I-I’ll read it one more time. Just a moment…!”

The needless suspicions that had been gradually swelling up evaporated in an instant. May, who habitually hunched her shoulders while watching the other person’s reaction, hurriedly flipped back to the first page of the documents she was holding.

But much to the lawyer’s chagrin, it was once again a repeat performance.

Her narrowed eyes read the sentences over and over again. May particularly focused on the task of counting the unmanageable numbers.

‘One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand….’

As the units increased, a shocked look settled in her black eyes. The endlessly listed numbers intimidated her.

Hearing her faint sigh, the lawyer checked where May’s gaze had landed and added another explanation.

“That’s the amount before inheritance tax. The inheritance tax is about 40% of the total value, including real estate, jewels, and valuables.”

It was a mechanical repetition, not a word different from what he had said earlier. And even after deducting 40%….

‘Still, it’s too much….’

May swallowed hard, recalling her own salary.

Her workplace, the Duke of Hale’s mansion, set quite high wages for maids befitting its prestige. May’s salary, having worked there for several years, was quite substantial.

But now, it felt as if someone had scribbled a bunch of zeros after that decent amount. The sum was so ridiculously large that it didn’t feel like real money.

And it was unbelievable that this enormous amount would become hers with just a few signatures. It wasn’t unreasonable to suspect it might be a scam.

‘What should I do.’

May’s fragile heart was now pounding. If she opened her mouth, it might jump out. She took several sips of the cold tea placed in front of her to prevent such a mishap.

Even after that, she hesitated for a long while before finally managing to ask what she was curious about.

“Um, you said grandfather passed away a year ago. But, why did this come to me only now…?”

It was the first question that had come up since their meeting.

Perhaps because of this, despite her timid and seemingly inadequate way of speaking, the lawyer answered as if he had been waiting for it.

“Ah, it’s because your mother, Emily Louise, completely renounced Prieto Castle about seven years ago, which is about a year before her death.”

Although he did make a somewhat strange expression while saying this.

‘…Renounced?’

May blinked for a moment upon hearing this unexpected answer.

“To be more precise, she legally severed her blood ties with Walter Prieto. So, because the connection between May and Mr. Prieto disappeared, it took some time to trace your whereabouts. As you know, Louise is a common surname.”

“Ah….”

Shouldn’t he have mentioned that first? The lawyer, perceiving the meaning in her slightly trembling eyes, shrugged his shoulders.

“The reason I didn’t mention that part earlier was because I thought you would already know about it, May.”

Ah, come to think of it…. Such family matters weren’t something one should hear from a stranger of a lawyer.

“Even before tracing your whereabouts, the death itself was discovered late. He didn’t keep any employees, so there was no one to announce the obituary.”

And with these words, May’s gaze stopped abruptly on one of the documents. The will. It was the first thing she had received from the lawyer.

On the faded paper, there was only a short sentence stating that all of his possessions were left to May Louise. Without even a single line of ordinary greetings.

It was too bleak a content to be left for family. Especially considering that it was the medium through which one could leave their final words….

May silently repeated the name ‘Walter Prieto’ written at the end of the paper. As expected, no significant memories came to mind. Not even the face of the grandfather’s existence, let alone any recollections….

Did she really deserve to receive such an enormous fortune?

Learning about the relationship between her mother and grandfather, May felt a bit uncomfortable. She habitually bit the inside of her cheek and timidly interlocked her fingertips.

‘They must have been on very bad terms….’

That’s why her mother never said anything about her grandfather. Moreover, if they were already living as strangers and still went through the legal procedures…. The rift between them must have been deeper than whatever she could imagine.

Suddenly feeling as if she was sitting on a chair made of thorns, May looked around nervously, feeling guilty. As if her dead mother might be looking at her with resentful eyes, or as if she was afraid God might rebuke her for her greed.

She thought that if she made a choice blinded by material desire now, she might suffer consequences as great as that enormous sum.

Given that her luck usually favored the bad side, it wasn’t entirely baseless speculation.

“Um, what if I refuse it?”

So, after much deliberation, she asked cautiously, causing the lawyer’s eyebrow to twitch. He quietly lifted the teacup he hadn’t taken a single sip from until now and lightly moistened his throat. His gray eyes showed undisguised, or rather unconcealed, annoyance.

“I understand. When people suddenly come into a lot of money, they tend to get scared or suspicious.”

As if he had made some judgment, he neatly folded away the attitude of patient waiting and took out a pen from his br*ast pocket, placing it in front of her.

“Ah, I’m not suspicious…!”

‘I was earlier, but… not this time!’

Her desperate hand-waving, loud enough to make a sound, was lightly ignored.

“However, I don’t recommend refusing the inheritance.”

The eyebrows beneath the hair neatly slicked back with pomade had changed to those of an overbearing person. This seemed to be the man’s true personality.

“Setting aside that it’s a stupid choice, the procedure is more complicated than you might think. If you make such a choice, you’ll have to see my face at least five more times, and there will be that many more documents to fill out. If you postpone your decision because those processes are bothersome, you’ll have to receive regular contact.”

The feeling that there was a particularly strong accent on ‘stupid’ was not just imagination.

Directly interpreting the man’s words, he meant she should not increase his work by making the stupid choice of giving up an enormous fortune.

“You probably know well enough that it’s not a good thing to see a lawyer frequently.”

His tone sounds as though teaching an ignorant child. Glancing at May’s flushed face, the man continued.

“The Imperial law is very kind and… troublesome. It’s because there are many ignorant people who try to reclaim their rights belatedly after renouncing inheritance. That’s why they give multiple chances to choose. To make sure if you really want to give up that fortune, or if you’ve made a wrong choice swept up by momentary emotions.”

At the sound of papers being shuffled, May’s shoulders flinched. A small tsk could be heard at her fragile appearance. The lawyer, who had tidied up his surroundings as if about to leave soon, spoke while maintaining a bit of rudeness.

“May, money is just money.”

His attitude was uninhibited, as if he had found a way to deal with the person in front of him.

“If it were me, regardless of what Emily said, or rather, if I had heard bad things, I would be more inclined to accept this. As a kind of compensation.”

He seemed to have misunderstood that May hated her grandfather like her mother did. In reality, she hadn’t heard anything about her grandfather, including her mother giving up her maiden surname….

May didn’t bother to correct this point. She knew that would result in fewer contemptuous glances.

“Donating it, giving it back… there are ways to reduce guilt through such means. Well, if that appeals to you. Anyway, once you receive the fortune, it’s up to you whether you throw the money on the ground or let it rot untouched. No signature or lawyer needed for that.”

At this pointed advice, May, who had frozen up, finally reluctantly picked up the pen. It was a slow and powerless attitude, unbefitting of someone inheriting a vast fortune.

Seeing this, the man added in a somewhat softened tone.

“I checked and found that Emily’s debts have been transferred to you, May. There are some peculiar aspects… but anyway, we plan to settle that before starting the inheritance process on our end. Mr. Prieto wanted the inheritance to be as clean as possible. I’ll send the procedures to be followed later in writing. That seems to be better for you.”

“Ah, yes, thank you…!”

“And the documents you’ve signed….”

The lawyer’s eyes briefly glanced at the wristwatch on his left hand.

“It won’t be difficult to submit them today. I think all procedures will be completed in about a week. It would be better to inform your current workplace as soon as possible.”

“Pardon?”

At May’s stupid repetition, the man, showing a smile for the first time, said as he took off his glasses.

“If you’re thinking of continuing to work as a maid with such a fortune, well, that’s up to you too.”

“Ah….”

A small exclamation escaped at some realization. The man, who had been frowning for a moment as if contemplating something, then said with a somewhat strange expression.

“As I said earlier, it’s not good to see a lawyer often… but if you need any advice later, feel free to contact me.”

Then he tapped the business card on the table that he had handed out when first greeting her.

Attorney Dominic Vicenti

May’s gaze naturally shifted to it.

“Dominic….”

As she reflexively repeated the name written in neat handwriting, the man added in a businesslike voice.

“I’ll give you free advice on how to identify scammers.”

It was a playful remark that didn’t quite match that voice. May’s face turned bright red as she realized her earlier thoughts had been exposed.

‘He knew.’

“I… I’m sorry for misunderstanding….”

Seeing her fumbling apology, the man let out a laugh as he stood up.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. A reasonable amount of suspicion isn’t a bad thing.”

“Ah….”

May had to cool down the heat in her cheeks for a while even after he left. Even then, the embarrassment hadn’t completely subsided.

However, as she calmed down somewhat, one important fact rose to the surface.

‘I can quit working at the ducal mansion…?’

That was something she hadn’t thought of, overwhelmed by the numbers in front of her.