Chapter 6 (Part 1)

Amy was born and raised in the Seidon Ducal House. Literally, she was born here and has lived here all her life.  

Amy’s mother was a maid in the Seidon Ducal House. Though skilled in many ways, she was so uneducated that she didn’t even know she was pregnant, and thus gave birth to Amy in the servants’ quarters.

The previous Duke and Duchess of Seidon offered to gift her a small house out of kindness. However, unable to leave her nursing infant to work, she declined their offer and stayed in the servants’ quarters to raise Amy. The generous Duke and Duchess were considerate of her situation.  

Unlike now, there were many servants back then, so they worked in shifts, allowing Amy to be raised by many hands.  

From the time she started walking, the child learned to read the room, and before she could even read, she learned how to wring a mop properly.  

At the age of four, Amy began helping her mother with work and roamed the Seidon Duke’s residence, even before Tenus was born.

Amy watched the affectionate demeanor of the previous Duke and Duchess and the harmonious family dinners from a distance every day.  

She witnessed the Duke unable to rise from his sickbed, the sight of his funeral procession leaving the front sea of the Seidon Dukedom, and the grief-stricken young Duke and Duchess afterward, and even the end of the Duchess.

“Brother. Are you trying to sneak out without Mother knowing again? Don’t go to nice places alone, take me with you!”  

“Naya. Don’t bother me and go away.”  

“I’ll tell Mother!”  

“You know she won’t care.”  

“Ugh…”  

She also knew about the childhood of the Seidon Ducal siblings, who were quite fond of each other. 

She even knew about the time when the now proud Tenus Seidon was learning to walk and kept falling.  

It’s no exaggeration to say that her life was intertwined with the history of the Seidon family.

But he doesn’t know her?

How can he not know someone like her?

“……Enough, ahem, forget the water, you can leave now.”

Gritting her teeth, Amy found it unbelievable that the owner of the mansion didn’t know her at all.  

What does that girl, who became a mere Duchess overnight, have that I don’t? Unlike Sellakia Seidon, who idles around without doing anything, I am a pillar of the Seidon family. She, with nothing but a deceitful beauty, doesn’t deserve Seidon.

Though she was initially frightened by the news of her return, Sellakia, being clumsy, remembered nothing. Realizing that Sellakia posed no threat to her, Amy changed her attitude.  

So, as she had been doing, she continued to treat her coldly and planned to punish her again in a way she deserved, without a peep…  

“Didn’t you hear me?! I told you to get out now!”  

Startled by the thunderous voice, Amy snapped back to reality. Aldrich’s hollow, gleaming eyes and Tenus’s indifferent gaze were directed at her.

Hmph. Just you wait.  

Amy resolved that one day she would make Tenus’s eyes, which were looking at her, shine like polished glass.  

“Yes, Lord Logue.”  

As for Aldrich, it would be fortunate if he were still alive by then.  

Giggling, Amy skillfully hid her smile and bowed as she left the room.  

“…….”  

Tenus didn’t take his eyes off Amy’s disappearing figure.  

Did he notice something?  

Aldrich felt his heart pounding so fast that he thought his eyes might roll back. He steadied his voice as he placed his sweaty palm on the back of the golden ladybug.  

“Wh-what brings you here all of a sudden?”  

“Is the pension you’ll receive later insufficient?”  

“What?”  

“Or do you want to keep holding onto your petty power?”  

In the blink of an eye, Tenus, who had been at the door, was right in front of Aldrich.  

Pressed by the overwhelming presence, Aldrich took a step back. But he couldn’t move far before his back hit the glass window, limiting his movement. Forced to tilt his head up, Aldrich saw Tenus wearing an expression he had never seen before, even though he had known him for quite some time.  

“My mother cherished her only younger brother. She entrusted you with a position beyond your means and arranged for a future without prospects.”  

“…….”  

“I intend to honor Mother’s wishes. Even if it means enduring some minor losses and damages to the family. As you know, the Seidon Ducal House does not spare money on charity.”  

Aldrich knew well that Tenus did not think highly of him.  

Yet, Tenus had never abandoned the ambiguous courtesy of politeness. This was the first time he had openly shown contempt. Because of that, Aldrich was more dumbfounded than offended by the insulting words directed at him.  

“Even if you create a hole in the ledger, tear down the fortress walls that have stood firm for centuries, mismanage the servants and ruin the castle, become the laughingstock of the retainers, it’s all fine. I’ll accommodate your convenience.”  

Why did this child suddenly erase the line he had drawn?

“As long as you keep one thing in mind.”  

Suddenly, the dark blue eyes that had been fixed on Aldrich turned to the side. Tenus’s spirit, which had been intense, suddenly subsided as if it had been a lie.  

Even without looking, Aldrich had a good idea of who was there.

It was the place where Tenus had stayed before coming up to the Duke’s proxy office, and the spot Aldrich himself had been glaring at.

It was where Sellakia Seidon, who had erased Tenus’s line, was.  

* * *  

Returning to his office, Tenus stood in front of the glass window, leaving the backlog of documents behind. Since it was right next to Aldrich’s office, the view reflected in the glass wasn’t much different from there.  

“It’s disgraceful.”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind. Tenus frowned and turned his head. Dominic, who met his gaze, added to his words.  

“…is what Miss Naya would have surely said if she were here.”  

“You seem to have plenty of time, worrying about someone who left the mansion long ago.”

Tenus gestured with his chin towards the pile of documents neatly placed on the desk.  

“Use your abundant free time to organize these documents.”  

“…Aren’t these your workload for tomorrow? If you’re pushing this onto me, what will you be doing?”  

“Territory inspection.”  

Ha, Dominic almost burst into laughter in the face of the head of the household.  

The territory inspection was only used as an excuse to quietly search for the Madam when she disappeared. Other than that, he would just send a retainer, and he had never personally gone out for a territory inspection.  

And now, suddenly, he was going out for a territory inspection tomorrow?  

Dominic bit his tongue, eager to point out the truth, and lifted his glasses. It seemed better to do his work before more tasks fell on him.  

Returning to his businesslike demeanor, Dominic said while flipping through the documents.  

“All the retainers have unusually expressed their intention to attend the meeting. The banquet schedule has also been announced, so the family will be there as well.”  

“The castle will be bustling for the first time in a while.”  

“The Madam only sent out two invitations for the banquet. One to Viscount Lensch. The other to a post office box in a remote rural village. The recipient doesn’t have a surname, so it seems to be a commoner.”

“A commoner?”  

“Yes. Should I look into it?”  

After a moment of consideration, Tenus shook his head.  

“No need. If they attend the banquet, we’ll observe then. If they don’t attend, it means they’re insignificant, so there’s no reason to investigate.”  

“Understood. For reference, there was no invitation sent to Young Master Pyregen.”  

“…….”  

“Your Grace?”

There was no reply. Dominic, who had been buried in the documents, looked up curiously. Tenus was still gazing out the window, just as before. It was obvious who he was looking at.  

“If you can’t take your eyes off her like that, why didn’t you stay a bit longer?”

Dominic couldn’t resist muttering the words that had been on the tip of his tongue. He regretted it too late, but what returned was not a bombardment of tasks but a cynical mutter.

“I can’t make the mistake of drinking seawater just because I’m thirsty.”  

“…….”  

“I don’t want to overlook the lesson I learned from the predecessors. …I must not.”  

The low voice, barely audible if one didn’t listen carefully, seemed more like a vow to himself than words meant for someone else.  

Swallowing a frustrated sigh, Dominic asked.  

“Are you really not going to tell the Madam about the telegram from the Imperial Family?”  

“She seems to be in a good mood for once. There’s no need to spoil it by telling her.”  

“But still…”  

“I’ll tell her myself later.”  

Tenus cut him off as if leaving no room for reconsideration. It was when Dominic hesitated, unable to immediately accept it. Tenus, still gazing outside, grumbled irritably.  

“Why on earth is she trying to hide the cat?”

Even while dealing with the mess caused by Aldrich, who was supposed to be acting on behalf of the Duke, Tenus hadn’t shown any irritation or even sighed. And yet, he was reacting like this over just a cat.  

Dominic decided he must not secretly convey anything to the Madam. No matter how loyal his actions were, if he went against the seemingly insane will of his lord, it could lead to significant problems for himself. It was the intuition of the chief aide.  

What? Not supposed to drink seawater?

Dominic quietly shook his head.  

Already seems like he’s plunged into the seawater and can’t come to his senses, so what’s the big deal about drinking it now?