Chapter 1 – She Was Greedy (Part 7)

‘I don’t like it.’

Edwin thought as he watched Lorraine move documents with an indifferent expression.

“Lorraine, where should this go?”

“Oh, that goes to the basement archive. Just stack it by the door for now.”

Despite his disapproving gaze, Lorraine was focused on her work.

“This too? Oh… this too. But is there space in the basement?”

She blew away the hair that had fallen over her eyes and shifted her bright blue eyes.

Lorraine awkwardly smiled and responded.

“Probably…?”

“…Shouldn’t we organize the basement archive first?”

Feeling a vague sense of foreboding, Philip asked, and Lorraine shrugged her shoulders as she answered.

“It can hold about six months’ worth. I checked last time.”

“Well, that’s a relief, but… we’ll need to organize it soon.”

Philip scratched his eyebrow with the end of his pen, looking annoyed.

At that moment, someone knocked on the study door.

“Secretary, a moment, please.”

“Me? Sure, just a moment.”

At Paul’s call, Lorraine set aside the pile of documents on her lap.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Alright.”

Philip smiled and waved his hand. As Lorraine left the study, Philip turned his attention to Edwin.

After watching Edwin for a moment, he suddenly asked,

“Did Lorraine do something wrong?”

“Why?”

Philip shrugged.

“You’ve been on edge since earlier.”

“…….”

“You haven’t taken your eyes off her face, so I wondered if you had something to say.”

He muttered as he continued to look through the documents in his hand.

“It seemed like you were drilling a hole in her face.”

Philip placed the document he was reading on top of the stack to be taken to the basement archive.

After dusting off his hands, he turned around, looking at the impressive stack of papers.

“How many times have I told you to ease up?”

He began to nag in a tone as if scolding a seven-year-old child, with his hands on his hips.

“Even though she’s working in society, Lorraine is still part of a count’s family. It’s only natural she doesn’t like being suspected like this all the time.”

“…….”

“Especially being linked with Rochester must have been more upsetting. Do you know where the Wigg County is located? It’s within the Rochester duchy.”

Philip shook his head as if to say, ‘Do you understand what you did wrong now?’

“If you don’t want to receive another resignation letter, apologize quickly.”

“…….”

“Being so obvious about your suspicion is worse.”

Eventually, a sigh escaped from Edwin’s lips.

“If it weren’t for that time….”

“Exactly. You usually hold back well, so why did you act like that then?”

Philip asked, genuinely curious, but there was no answer.

***

It was precisely 2 years and 7 months ago.

The Duncan family’s townhouse on Lantil 5th Street was peaceful even then.

“Catch him!”

Except for very rare occasions.

“…What’s going on?”

Lorraine, who had been the Duke of Duncan’s secretary for about a year and six months, asked Philip, who was sitting next to her, while buried in a pile of documents.

“Who knows.”

Philip responded indifferently while checking the balcony and then got up from his seat.

“It’s probably nothing, so don’t worry and finish what you were doing.”

“…….”

“Don’t come out, no matter what.”

Even after a long time had passed since Philip went downstairs, the first floor remained noisy.

Every time she tried to calculate with the abacus—

“Bring out the Duke!”

“How many times do I have to tell you the Duke is not here right now?”

—The sporadic shouts broke her concentration, forcing her to redo her calculations multiple times.

“Damn it….”

Another mistake made her curse involuntarily.

Frowning, Lorraine blew away the hair that had fallen over her forehead.

“What’s going on, really….”

The first floor was still noisy, and Lorraine’s irritation levels rose with each minor calculation error.

She took off her glasses and pressed her tired eyes.

Philip’s admonition to stay put was already forgotten. She walked out to the landing, trying to make as little noise as possible.

“Let go! I won’t leave until I see the Duke… Lorraine?”

The source of the commotion recognized her.

The voice sounded familiar… Frowning, Lorraine fumbled in her pocket for her glasses.

Realizing she had left them on the desk, she scratched her head and muttered,

“Oh, on the desk.”

She had no choice but to slowly descend the stairs.

“Uh…?”

“Do you know him?”

Philip, who quickly noticed Lorraine’s reaction, asked.

“Uh… I do, but… I haven’t seen him in ten years.”

Seizing the opportunity, Peter roughly freed his arm.

“We weren’t just acquaintances. We were childhood friends….”

“Yes, childhood friends whose parents betrayed each other spectacularly are still friends, I suppose.”

Though her initial surprise was fleeting, Lorraine’s tone was sharper than ever.

Having delivered a precise counterpunch, she asked Philip,

“But what’s going on?”

“Ah… He’s the forty-ninth secretary, but….”

Unable to bear the slow explanation, Lorraine looked at Paul, who was standing nearby.

“He’s here because he thinks the trial verdict was unfair.”

“A trial?”

Lorraine’s face showed disbelief as she looked back at Peter. Peter raised his voice, as if feeling wronged.

“No! It’s just… a mistake with one document….”

“It wasn’t just one document.”

Philip, standing next to Lorraine, quietly pointed out the error in his statement.

At that moment,

“…What’s the situation here?”

A low, slow, and authoritative voice that only a person of power could possess resonated through the entrance hall.

All the employees in the hall turned to look.

“Your Grace….”

“…You’re back.”

There stood Edwin, who had gone to attend the monthly military meeting.

He walked in with steady steps, filling the spacious hall with a sense of authority.

“Is no one going to explain?”

His golden hair, as bright as honey, contrasted sharply with his black uniform, making him look like the grim reaper overseeing death.

Gulp-. The sound of someone swallowing was distinctly audible.

Edwin nodded slowly.

“Alright.”

Though the tone remained indifferent, there was a slight hint of interest mixed in.

‘This feels ominous….’

Lorraine’s intuition was unusually sharp at such times. Unfortunately, it was too late to avoid the situation.

“Lorraine Wigg, you start. You seem to know him.”

‘Damn it.’ 

Lorraine squeezed her eyes shut.

***

“Looking back now, isn’t it a small world?”

Edwin, who had been closing his eyes and reflecting on past mistakes, glanced at his chief aide, Philip, who had spoken out of the blue.

“Meeting a runaway tenant from ten years ago at work again, what are the odds? Don’t you think so?”

Philip, who was labeling the remaining documents, chuckled and continued.

“And making the other person seem suspicious in the process.”

There it was again. Edwin turned his chair towards the balcony.

“Anyway, apologize quickly. Don’t take it out on me.”

As Philip stood up after finishing his labeling, Edwin waved his hand dismissively, as if annoyed.

“If you’re done, leave.”

“Yes, yes.”

As the door closed behind Philip, Edwin let out a deep sigh.

In truth, Lorraine was innocent.

It was Edwin Duncan himself who was overly sensitive.

He knew this better than anyone.

***

The study was silent.

Edwin, who had been sitting quietly at his desk, finally spoke.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

Lorraine glanced down at Peter, who was kneeling. Frankly, it didn’t matter to her if Peter received a death sentence right there.

‘Who cares about a guy like him….’

But including herself in that category was a significant problem.

“I swear, I’m seeing him for the first time today.”

“He says you were childhood friends.”

At Edwin’s gesture, Lorraine’s icy gaze turned to Peter. Peter tried to smile nonchalantly, but his hunched shoulders revealed his true feelings.

Lorraine sighed softly.

‘Both of them are the same….’

All sorts of harsh words swirled in her mind, ready to spill out.

She gritted her teeth and forced a smile.

If she didn’t laugh at this absurd situation, she might just walk out.

“We did grow up in the same neighborhood, but… I have a lot to say if I wanted to.”

Lorraine spoke slowly, staring at Peter.

When he finally looked up, he met her sharp, bright blue eyes.

‘Isn’t that right?’

Gasp… Peter’s face turned pale instantly.

Having ‘lightly’ threatened Peter, Lorraine shrugged and continued.

“Anyway, whether you kill him or not has nothing to do with me. However….”

“However?”

“If you’re going to kill him, make sure he pays back the debt he owes my family first.”

Her clear boundary made Peter desperate.

“L-Lorraine! That incident wasn’t intentional! I was planning to hit it big and come back!”

“Oh, now that you mention it, you were a VVIP at an illegal gambling den. While you’re at it, please add that to the charges.”

Lorraine looked at Peter as if daring him to say more.

At that moment, Edwin, who had been quietly listening, raised his hand. He rubbed his smooth chin and muttered.

“You swear this has nothing to do with you….”

“Yes, it doesn’t.”

Lorraine replied more firmly than ever.

“Philip.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Peter Patrick, file another lawsuit against him. And Wigg.”

“Yes.”

“For precautionary measures, you’re suspended until his case is resolved.”

“What? But….”

Lorraine opened her mouth to defend herself against his harsh decision, but Edwin raised his hand, cutting her off with a stern face.

“No reversals.”

Lorraine squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her temples. Her head was heating up.

‘After all that effort to avoid this….’

It had all been in vain. Lorraine glared at the cause of this entire situation as she was led out by Philip.

‘I’ll kill him.’

It was the most humiliating moment in Lorraine Wigg’s life.