The Creditor Is My Husband? - Chapter 35

The nanny, who had been curious all day, bombarded Giselle with questions as soon as she arrived home.

If it were the usual Giselle, she would have answered even the nanny’s trivial questions with a warm smile.

But she, with a hardened expression, instead of answering the nanny’s question, asked a different one.

“Where are Father and Mother?”

“Pardon? Ah… The Baron is out and hasn’t returned yet. The Madam is currently in the reception room with a guest. Young Master William is also…”

The nanny, though perplexed by Giselle’s unfamiliar demeanor, answered faithfully. Giselle, without even listening to the full answer, turned and headed towards the reception room.

“Oh my, miss! You haven’t even taken off your outer clothes yet.”

Surprised by Giselle’s unexpected behavior, the nanny hurriedly followed her. But she walked on, looking straight ahead with her hands tightly clenched.

She couldn’t even think about being considerate of the nanny’s bad knees.

Not until she confirmed the truth of what she had heard at the dress shop.

“Ah, miss. You’re back.”

The head maid, coming out of the reception room, saw Giselle and widened her eyes in surprise before quickly bowing her head in greeting.

“Is Mother inside?”

“Yes, miss. Please wait a moment. I’ll inform the Madam… Oh my!”

The head maid was about to announce Giselle’s arrival to those inside. But Giselle had no intention of waiting.

She opened the reception room door and entered before the head maid could finish speaking.

“What’s the matter, head maid? It seems noisy outside… Giselle?”

The Baroness, who had been asking in an irritated tone, realized it was Giselle who had entered, not the head maid, and smiled brightly.

“Oh my, Giselle. You’re back? Did you choose your wedding dress well? I should have gone with you, but I thought you were going with the President and couldn’t prepare in time.”

“……”

“Next time, let’s go together. You haven’t chosen the jewelry yet, right? I have a better eye for such things than you, and besides, a mother should help with wedding preparations…”

“Mother, what is all this?”

Giselle, who had been quietly looking at the jewelry and accessories spread out on the table, interrupted her stepmother and asked. At this, her stepmother, Ireina, twitched her cheek and answered awkwardly.

“What do you mean, what is it? I was in the middle of choosing a few accessories for you to wear at your wedding. Ah! This is perfect timing. Would you choose for your mother? William, being a man, just says to do whatever I want.”

“With what money?”

Giselle asked her stepmother again. Her stepmother, noticing that Giselle’s expression was not normal, tried to speak quickly, but Giselle continued before she could.

“We don’t have money to buy such accessories. No, forget buying, we don’t even have money to rent them.”

“Gi-Giselle. What are you saying right now?”

The stepmother glanced at the jeweler sitting with them and then forced a smile again. However, Giselle had no intention of participating in her ridiculous act.

“We barely paid off Father’s debt with Senior Lucas’s help. That was just recently, wasn’t it? So with what money are you buying these jewels? An, to even call a jeweler to our home?”

“Giselle!”

Finally, her stepmother also dropped her pretense and revealed her true self. At her sharp call, the jeweler, who had been only observing the situation, flinched involuntarily.

But Giselle looked at her calmly. It was a familiar daily occurrence, and on the other hand, her boiling anger wouldn’t easily subside.

“…Would you answer for Mother? Who was supposed to pay for these jewels and accessories?”

“Pardon? Ah, well, you see…”

The jeweler, flustered by the sudden change of questioning directed towards him, stammered.

Lucas Taylor’s fiancée, whom he had only read about in newspaper articles, was right in front of him.

But something seemed a bit off.

‘She doesn’t seem to be on good terms with her mother…’

Moreover, she seemed to view negatively the very act of buying jewels and accessories in the name of President Taylor.

“Well… ahem.”

“Did President Lucas Taylor say he would pay for it? Did he say that directly?”

“Ah, no. That’s not the case. But… other dress shops and jewelers contacted the Taylor family and all received payment. So, ahem, I thought naturally he would…”

“Other dress shops and jewelers, you say.”

Giselle let out a hollow laugh in front of the bewildered jeweler. Then she bit her lip hard before releasing it, and pointed at the table.

“Take everything back.”

“Giselle!”

“Sister!”

William, who had been silent until then, called out to Giselle in protest along with his mother, furrowing his brow. But Giselle, paying no heed, spoke to the jeweler again.

“We’re not buying anything, so just go back.”

“……”

The jeweler, after glancing around nervously, eventually packed up everything he had displayed on the table and left.

He had judged that while making an immediate profit was important, it was more crucial not to offend the future mistress of the Taylor family.

“What on earth are you doing! Is it okay to humiliate your mother like this in front of others?”

As soon as the jeweler left the reception room, the Baroness raised her voice irritably. William also joined in criticizing Giselle.

“It was just a few pieces of jewelry and accessories we were trying to buy. Did you have to do this to Mother? What kind of story did you hear to come barging in like this?”

“What story did I hear? That’s a good question, William. I was originally going to ask Mother, but it’s fine if you answer too. I’ve heard various things about you as well.”

At Giselle’s words, William involuntarily flinched. That reaction alone was enough to guess. But she opened her mouth again to confirm.

“I heard you’ve been throwing around Senior’s name lately.”

“…W-who said that?”

William’s eyes darted nervously from side to side.

“Who said that? Who’s been talking for you to say something like this?”

“Everyone in the world knows about it? William, they all know well that you borrowed money using Senior’s name and poured it all into gambling, and that you went to bars and paid for everyone’s drinks?”

“That… that’s.”

“Moreover, a few days ago, you rented a hotel room with courtesans… Ah, enough. I can’t say more than that because it makes my mouth dirty.”

Giselle looked at her half-brother’s face, which was turning red and blue, and sighed.

It was an embarrassing story.

The story that the dress shop owner and employees hesitantly shared left her speechless.

She hadn’t thought much of her step-brother causing all sorts of trouble and incidents, as it wasn’t anything new.

But most of the things he had done using Lucas’s name to increase his spending were beyond what she had imagined.

“And I heard you even contracted for a car a few days ago.”

This was the biggest incident among them all.

A car purchase contract.

Seeing her brother flinch at her words, she spoke firmly.

“Go and cancel the contract first thing tomorrow.”

“Cancel the contract?”

“Of course. How are you going to buy a car? Even most rich people can’t afford to buy a car. It’s something only royalty, high nobility, or those in the highest class can ride. So how could you…”

“Why can’t I buy one?”

William interrupted Giselle mid-sentence. Giselle was so dumbfounded by his retort that she gaped for a moment before finally managing to clutch her chest and ask again.

“With what money and how are you going to buy it? Are you planning to use Senior’s money?”

To her question, William answered with silence. It was a silence that was as good as an affirmation.

“Are you crazy? Are you in your right mind?”

A car was equivalent to a decent mansion in the capital. As it was a representative new technology proving the advancement of industry and the changing times, it commanded a correspondingly high price.

Something everyone dreams of and desires, but not just anyone can purchase.

“We need to know our place! You’re not even earning to buy it yourself, how can you demand such a thing from Senior?”

“Why not? Compared to his wealth, one car would be nothing more than a drop in the bucket. Are you saying he can’t even do that much for the family of his future wife?”

“William!”

“William is right about that, Giselle.”

Just as Giselle was about to say something to William again, her stepmother spoke up. Then, with an incredibly confident expression, she continued speaking to her.

“It’s not like a car would be a big burden for President Taylor. Besides, what would people say if we live shabbily? They would criticize him as a cold-blooded man who doesn’t even take care of his wife’s family. Are you trying to make your future husband look petty just to save a few pennies?”