CH 37

Raul looked into the papers and made deep wrinkles between his brows.

“I can’t believe the number of contaminated areas has already increased. It’s faster than last year.”

It had already been 100 years since demons began indiscriminately eroding the human world. It was becoming a daily occurrence that the Magi eroded animals and plants, turning the nearby village into a mess. To prevent this, the imperial family, as well as the nobles, were struggling. However, the world seemed to be running to the end toward destruction, and the situation was getting worse every year.

It’s not a situation where it could be resolved just by putting more guards, which was like pouring water from the bottomless dock. Unless a fundamental solution emerged, there would be less land for humans to use, and food would be severely scarce.

Raul handed over the next document.

“Huh.

It was a report accusing the vassals of doings such as misappropriating the family’s funds or exploiting the territories. All of them on the list were vassals to be eliminated that Theresa had given to Miranda.

“How did she find out about this…”

She is his daughter, but she is really a mysterious child to him.

“My Lord.”

Raul looked out of the papers at Donovan’s call.

“What’s going on?”

Donovan held out a silver tray containing only important letters. Hundreds of letters poured into the Duke Squire every day, and requests for visits never ceased. It was one of the tasks that a butler had to be able to do to reduce the fatigue of the head of the family by distinguishing important things well.

However, today, a letter came in which was difficult to judge even with Donovan’s good sense. It was a letter from Theresa. Usually, Donovan checked its contents and reported to the head family when there were unusual issues. Still, he had a strange intuition this time that he shouldn’t do it. That’s why he decided to bring the letter to Raul, even if Raul would scold him like, ‘Should I even check this?’

“Lady Theresa has written it.”

At that moment, color permeated Raul’s expression, which had only been indifferent, as if by magic. Although it wasn’t pleasant, it was Raul’s most lively expression recently.

“Give it to me.”

As expected. Donovan immediately handed out a neat white envelope.  He even put it on top in the first place.

Raoul looked down at the envelope with his narrowed brows and pulled out the letter. He skimmed through the contents and set it down on the table.

“She says she will select Damian West as her escort wizard.”

“He is the most notable wizard from the Squire Foundation. There is talk of him being the next president of the association.”

Raul also nodded with an expression of familiarity. “But I thought he had a very bad relationship with Theresa. What made her change her mind?”

“I will check about it.”

The conversation about Theresa did not end there. After going to school, Raul wondered how his eldest daughter was doing these days and whether she had any trouble.

“How is Theresa doing these days?”

Donovan had earlier guessed that there would be such a question. Just yesterday, he had received several reports from Theresa’s maid, Eloise.

“Even if not for the letter, I had something to report. She said that Lady Theresa joined the student council.”

“What? Student council?” Raul felt his blood pressure soar for a moment. “You mean she even got into the student council because of that guy, Clyde?!”

There was no other reason than circumstantial evidence.

Donovan expected Raul to be brimming with anger, so he waited quietly.

“Ha. I had let her make that damn club, but she’s held hostage by the Willow family now.”

The student council was a group that had to face monsters and demons directly under Willow’s control. But Squire’s daughter joined the student council? This could be seen as an overstatement and acknowledgment of Willow’s superiority over Squire. His stomach twisted when he thought of the dark intention of the Willow family, who allowed this to happen.

“I have no face to my predecessors.” Raul sighed over and over again and accepted the reality. In fact, the thing that he had been worried about for a long time exploded just now. There was nothing more he could be surprised about.

“Is that all?”

Donovan went on apologetically. “Lady Theresa’s maid wants to call for the family’s seamstress. She said the lady’s school uniform had to be completely mended.”

“Why is the school uniform all of a sudden?”

“I heard lady has lost a lot of weight lately.”

Raul’s eyebrows twitched at once. “How on earth did her maid take care of the princess that she had to mend all her clothes?”

There was a child who was like a greedy incarnation. Whether it was goods or food, she had to enjoy the best to the fullest to be satisfied. There was nothing to worry about her health as her actions were vigorous only until she was barely satisfied.

But even before school started, she ate strangely little.

Donovan added quickly. “She says that when the lady starts reading the magic book, lady concentrates so much that she forgets her hunger. Lady doesn’t even eat her snacks.”

“…Theresa?”

“Yes. I heard that the books lady reads daily also change.”

Raul pursed his lips and blinked his eyes. It was an absolutely unbelievable story.

Donovan’s report continued. “In addition, lady has never invited anyone to her dormitory until now, and there is no sign that she has been drinking.”

That was also a shocking remark.

Theresa was literally crazy about alcohol and parties. She drank at least four days a week heavily, using alcohol to cure her hangover and injecting herself with vicious shots. It was to the point of being banned several times.

The kid who got caught drinking secretly even though she was prohibited from drinking is now not having a party or drinking? Raul washed his face dry momentarily and asked Donovan in a ridiculous tone.

“Did Theresa make her maid tell lies?”

“That’s not true.”

At that time, Libby appeared softly with a knock on the office door.

“Father, I’m here.”

As soon as Raul saw Libby, he rose from his seat with a smile on his face. They held hands and sat side by side on the sofa.

“You came early today. Did everything go well at school?”

“Of course. The lectures were fun, and I made a lot of friends.”

Not just saying this, Libby had already invited the ladies of various families to drink tea twice this week alone. The ladies who were invited were well educated from dignified families. They were a qualitatively different group from the young ladies Theresa had always been with.

Clyde’s bride-to-be… She knows how to humiliate her father with that social club. I made her get engaged to pull herself together, but the engagement was annulled.

Raul began to ask Libby what he had never asked, perhaps because he was talking with Donovan about Theresa. “Did your sister seem to be doing well? Did she fight with Princess Bruni again?”

Libby pursed her lips. Um, Sister already had a fight, but… She had not told anyone the big fight was because Mimosa misunderstood her.

“I don’t know…? The first and fourth year don’t often run into each other.”

“Is Clyde’s bride or something like that still there?”

Libby nodded with a troubled look. Then Raul clicked his tongue as if he knew it. “When on earth is she going to come to her senses?”

“…Father, I don’t know much about older sister yet, but the ones I’ve heard of and experienced firsthand seem to be very different people.”

Instead of asking what it meant, Raul looked at Libby quietly and waited for her to continue. Strangely enough, it was because of Libby’s face and her faintly quivering voice he could sense her rebellion against him. However, it was strangely pleasing.

“Older sister is a good person, Father.”

It was the opposite of public opinion. Even he, her father, would never think so, but Libby firmly stated that Theresa is a good person. Raul laughed bitterly and patted Libby on the back of her hand.

“Yes. If you felt that way…”

Clack!

Before Raul could continue, Giuseppe came in with a rough door opening.

“Young Master.”

Donovan hurried up to Giuseppe with a frustrated expression and called him as if to dissuade him. Raul also made a stern look at Giuseppe’s rude behavior.

“Giuseppe, aren’t you past the age to enter the office without permission?”

“I was going to ask permission. Until Sister Libby says something strange.”

It was the first time Libby had seen Giuseppe antagonize her, so she looked taken back, then she asked him with a calm face. “Do you think I said something wrong?”

“Yes. Totally. She’s a bad person, a spoiled human being. If Sister heard what she did to our mom, Sister could never say she’s a good person!”

Of course, Libby had heard things about Theresa. However, she didn’t see Theresa as someone who would do such a thing.

Raul said in a frightening, pressing voice. “Stop it, both of you. Especially Giuseppe. If you behave more recklessly, I won’t let you off.”

Giuseppe was only huffing and puffing, but he no longer ran amok.

Raul suddenly felt a sigh and sent both his children out of the office. He suddenly remembered a cigar for the first time in a long time and took it out. When he thought about it, he realized it had been quite a while since he last smoked a cigar. There was no need to smoke cigars because Theresa was not at home.

Somehow, he laughed out loud.