I watched her go, then nudged the door shut with my finger. Karla quickly moved to close it the rest of the way in my place.

“Mary.”

“Yes.”

“Go and fetch that physician from before.”

“Understood.”

Perhaps afraid that anything else she said might cause me trouble, Mary said only that much and bowed her head. Karla came rushing over to me instead.

“A physician? Young madam, are you feeling very unwell?”

“Karla. Would you go and bring me some tea that might help calm me down? I think the excitement has made my stomach pull a little.”

At my words, Karla couldn’t hide her flustered expression.

“What kind of tea should I bring?”

“Let me think. Go and ask around. You can pick from among the tea Mother drinks.”

Karla, who had been about to march out briskly after receiving my order, gave a small start.

“The madam’s… tea, you mean.”

“If anyone refuses…”

“No! I’ll bring it back no matter what. There’s no reason anyone would refuse when the young madam is asking.”

Karla balled her hands into fists and headed outside with more energy than ever. Mary followed shortly after. When the door closed and I finally had the room to myself, I felt my mood settle.

It was probably worse because I had just seen Illia. But knowing that this would stir up yet another wave of trouble, I couldn’t help but smile.

‘What it feels like to lose everything you have because of your own actions… find out for yourself. Sister-in-law.’

I walked quietly to the window and leaned against the sill.

It would take a while for Mary to return, and Karla going for the tea would take time as well. Before they came back, a carriage rattled its way out of the marquis’s estate.

“And yet she still rides around in the marquisate’s carriage. Maybe next time I’ll take that carriage first.”

Trying to swallow too much from the start only leads to a stomachache. I tapped the table with my fingers, unable to hold back the smile rising to my face.

Given Illia’s nature, she would be back soon enough. Next time, she would probably bring Larien, the second daughter of the marquisate and another sister-in-law. So I needed to prepare for what came next.

About thirty minutes later, Karla came in with the tea, looking exhausted. I could guess what she had been through, so I didn’t ask.

“Good work.”

“Don’t mention it! I… I’m glad to serve the young madam.”

How could I not know all the feelings packed into those words?

But I chose not to ask further.

She was someone I would make use of for a time and send away when the moment came. She was a good person, and I didn’t want her good nature to bring her harm. And at the very least, I wanted her memories of me, her memories of this marquis’s estate, to not be fond ones.

That way, someone as kind as her would learn to be a little more guarded around people.

“It smells lovely.”

“Does it! Then it was worth all the trouble of getting it! Actually, the next time there’s a trip to the market, I’ll go and pick out tea especially for the young madam!”

“There’s no need for that. Just speak to the steward and have them bring new tea.”

“Oh… oh! You, you’re doing that for me…”

Karla clasped her hands together and her eyes lit up.

“Hm…?”

“You’re saying that so I won’t have to make the trip for nothing, aren’t you?”

“……”

Don’t go out of your way for me. Don’t do things for my sake.

Live for yourself as much as you can.

No matter how many times I said it in roundabout ways, Karla’s feelings toward me seemed to be warm at their core. Seeing how she had taken my words the wrong way again this time.

“…Think whatever you like. It seems like no matter what I say, Karla always finds a way to think well of me.”

“Of course! You’re the young madam. My kind young madam.”

I watched her smile brightly like a child, clearly so pleased about something, then shifted my gaze to the teacup. Still, Karla must have stirred things up among the maids under the pretext of fetching my tea, so the small goal had been accomplished.

Thanks to that, the maids who had been so full of anticipation at the sister-in-law’s arrival would have seen her get driven out. They would come to realize on their own that the world that had belonged solely to their mother-in-law was over.

‘Those who wronged me will live in even greater fear.’

Fear of not knowing when I might cast them out. Every day they would think that what I did to the handmaids could happen to them too.

The small hope they had placed in the sister-in-law’s visit had been crushed. There was nowhere that would take in a maid dismissed from a noble house. So they had probably been hoping that things would settle down and the marquis’s estate would return to what it once was.

A mother-in-law who might hit them but would never throw them out was a more fitting mistress for them than someone like me, who filled them with the fear of not knowing when they might be cast aside. A noble striking a servant was not such an unusual thing, after all.

Just then.

Knock knock.

“Young madam. It’s Mary. I’ve come with the physician.”

“Come in.”

The door opened and in walked Mary alongside a man with his hood pulled low over his face. The medical bag tucked under his arm told me he was the physician.

“It’s good to see you like this.”

The moment he stepped in, Karla slipped outside as naturally as water flowing, and the door closed again. Because Mary had said “physician,” those waiting outside the door seemed to turn their attention even more toward this room.

“…Ha. I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I’d think of it as quite a good opportunity to earn a fair sum as a physician.”

“I won’t deny that I like money, but I have no desire to take on risks.”

“And yet you came along anyway. Doesn’t that mean you need the money urgently? Whatever you might say.”

I smiled pleasantly and looked at him steadily, and the physician cleared his throat and approached me.

“That jewel you gave me last time was quite fine.”

It had to be. Mother’s extravagance knew no bounds. She was especially fond of things that were large and precious, expensive and out of reach for others. So there was nothing in Mother’s jewelry box that wasn’t of great value.

But her indulgence was so excessive that she barely noticed when things went missing.

‘A few small pieces had already been pocketed by maids with light fingers, and she hadn’t even noticed.’

“So then, what seems to be troubling you today?”

“Nothing is troubling me. I simply want to make a deal with you.”

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

Whether it was the taste of the jewel from last time or the fact that he now knew I was the marchioness, his manner was markedly different from before. He carried himself with a degree of courtesy, and even his way of speaking had changed.

“From now on, come to the marquis’s estate whenever I call for you. And on the day your final task is done, leave this place.”

“Oh my. And why should I do that?”

“You already know that falsely examining me alone was a serious crime.”

I tilted my now-cooled teacup and studied him.

“It seems I’ve swallowed something I shouldn’t have.”

“Regretting it now won’t do you any good.”

“But you must know that doing so would put you in danger as well. More so than me.”

Testing me one last time, the physician gave me a small provocation.

“If I had been afraid of that, I never would have called you here.”

“Are you truly all right with this? I could walk out of here without listening to you and tell someone else everything.”

“That’s fine with me. But if that happens… you won’t escape punishment either. A physician falsifying diagnoses and fabricating ailments… well, that aside, the treasure you already sold happened to be stolen from the late marchioness.”

I let my words trail off at a leisurely pace, and the physician let out a small, quiet laugh.

“I see. It seems I have more to lose. The fact that you’re telling me all this means you could charge me with theft of a noble house’s property as well.”

“Naturally.”

“…To think I’d be caught so cleanly. This is exactly why I dislike nobles.”

“Like it or not, you’ll cooperate. I’ll send you off in a way that causes you no harm, and in a way that lets you find what you’re looking for.”

For a moment, his eyes clouded over.

“What I’m looking for.”

“Your lost daughter and wife. I know where the two of them are.”

I knew the future. I knew what was yet to come.

Why this man had been so consumed by money, and what had driven him to do something that would tarnish the name of a physician. I knew.

There had been the large sum of money Mother paid him, but there was another reason as well.

“…How do you…”

“No need to be surprised. I didn’t ask you for a false diagnosis without knowing anything about you. Rezef.”

“…It seems I’ve been caught quite thoroughly.”

A shadow of sadness crossed his face.

Rezef. Rezef Illeman. That was his real name. His family, the Illeman county, had for generations chosen to serve as physicians, a role little more than an honorary title, rather than enter politics. Rezef was no different. He had been an exceptional physician, though that name had by now grown faint, and his life had been on a steady, promising path.

But simply because he had misdiagnosed a certain marquis’s illness and caused his death, the Illeman county was made to bear a grave charge and brought to ruin.

The former Count Illeman died of a broken heart, and Rezef became a fugitive. The marquis’s household had demanded an absurd sum in compensation for the death.

And so his family was scattered to the winds.

Leaving behind nothing but an empty promise that he would find them again someday.

‘His obsession with money was because he needed to buy a new identity.’