CH 11

11 Monologue of A Certain Marquis

TN 11/15

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“The number of people who managed to slip into Madam’s mansion is more than our initial expectation.”

As Sebas summarized the report verbally to me, I was reading the detailed list I got from him. As I read through it, I couldn’t help but heave a sigh. They had actually used the time I was in the royal capital to let so many of their people infiltrate my wife’s mansion. The more I thought about this matter, the more my body slumped into my chair.

It’s my fault. While I was blaming myself, Sebas suddenly said, “This matter is my fault. It only happened due to my carelessness in managing the employee, Master. Dispose me as you wish.”

I could hear the vexation in his voice and see the self-reproach in his face. He seems to be regretting his blunder deeply. Seeing this, I sighed once more and said, “Let’s just make sure the same incident won’t happen again. If this list isn’t wrong, then the one who got employed first is that woman called Mira. She got accepted since there was nothing suspicious about her as the reason she listed in her resume was a wish to learn etiquette, but…”

“Yes, indeed my lord, we were fooled. Before now, there was no indication of her duplicity at all. She was rather meticulous with her plan, working properly as a maid at first and waiting until after the master had gone to visit the royal capital before inviting the people in cahoot with her, including that fake fortune teller, into the mansion.” Sebas stopped for a brief moment to control his indignation before continuing.

“According to what Maria, the head maid, said. Mira managed to gain Madam’s trust in a short time and had slowly worked toward distancing Madam from her old maid using her eloquence. Naturally, Maria had tried her best to prevent that from happening, but that Mira somehow made it look like Maria was abusing her instead. Thus, causing Madam to get angry at her and distrust her.”

I was not surprised by Sebas’ recounting. Selena was indeed very kind to everyone. However, this time, it seemed that her kindness had backfire on her. Instead of being returned in kind, someone had taken advantage of that very kindness and almost caused a huge tragedy in our family.

Then, suddenly, Sebas bowed deeply towards me. When I wanted him to lift his head, he shook his head and said, “It’s my oversight. I had heard after that event Maria isn’t even allowed to get close to Madam. At that time, I should have noticed that something was amiss, instead of simply telling Maria to preserve for the time being until the master returned from the royal capital. My deepest apologies, Master. I hadn’t even expected that this blunder would almost cause a… tragedy.”

“It can’t be helped. No one but my son realized that Selena had got tricked by them. Besides, it’s not only you at fault here. I’m also in the wrong for not doubting or saying anything about that situation after I had returned from the royal capital.”

I consoled, “Don’t let this matter weigh your mind too much. We should now be careful so we won’t fall into the same trap twice in the future. Besides, looking at the bright side, I now realized that Selena’s heart is more delicate than my expectations. Since we now know this, we should be very selective of the people we appoint to attend by her side after this.”

“Yes! I definitely won’t allow anyone who has bad intentions to ever approach her again. Never.”

“What about Theodore’s mansion? Should we do a thorough clean up over there as well? Maybe even more so since he’s the heir?”

“I think we should keep Martha, sir. She’s our head maid in the Young Master’s mansion after all. Furthermore, Young Master is at an important age causing her to insist on keeping a constant companion, as changing Young Master’s caretaker frequently at his current age isn’t a good thing for his growth. She even especially gave me an instruction to stay by Young Master’s side as much as possible.”

The one who spoke was Kevin, who up until then was standing in the corner of the room. He was the one responsible for reporting the situation over Theodore’s mansion. After all, he was the captain of the small platoon guarding Theodore’s mansion.

“Yes, I suppose that’s for the best. Now that you mentioned it, I really should have been more suspicious when there was a sudden appointment for new personnels in Madam’s mansion. At least, more than I was in the hindsight. I mean, increasing the number of personnels without prior notification… that should have raised a red flag in my mind, especially since it was done without an official letter… and yet, I…”

Sebas slumped down even more after saying that.

“Come to think of it, did Baron Greyson know what kind of person that woman called Mira is when he introduced her to us?” Kevin suddenly asked, wanting to sweep away the atmosphere of self-reproach that hung amongst everyone in the room.

“The person himself insisted he had no idea that ‘Mira’ is such a terrifying woman. However, I think there’s more to this than what is spoken.”

“Well, I could hazard a guess on what he might say if pressed. Something along the line, ‘Oh, no. I only received a request from a village chief in my territory, claiming that he wanted her to learn etiquette. I had also checked her background, and nothing of such came up during my investigation. That’s why I’m confident enough to send her to the Marquis’ mansion. I really had no idea that she’s that kind of person!’, right? Furthermore, I believe that that said village had long since been erased from the map, which would mean that we’ll have to abandon further investigation into Mira’s true background.”

Just like a lizard’s tail.

“- If your speculation proves true, which I have no doubt it is, let’s just dispose of all of them immediately. And when someone asked for their whereabouts, we could simply say that they have suddenly vanished from the mansion without a warning. Moreover, that baron… to think that he dares to act so irresponsibly! Sending such a dangerous woman to work in my wife’s mansion!” I exclaimed, accidentally letting my ire slip from its rein, before continuing.

“We’ll put pressure on Baron Geyson and force him to pay reparation money for this incident. I should be able to force him to do that, right?”

“Your wish is my command.”

“Additionally, there’s an increase in the merchant’s traffic as of late, but…”

“Let us investigate the merchants too, Master. Right now, they might have not noticed the situation, but it’s only a matter of time before they realize that the person in contact with them is gone. When they do realize, they might make their move. At that time, it’ll be too late for us to act. Furthermore, perhaps we should investigate the stores and anyone related to Baron Geyson’s house as well.”

My sentence was cut by none other than the captain of my private army, Rowell. Make no mistake, although he was old and should have already passed his prime, his large frame still didn’t show any sign of decline at all.

“I see. You’re right. Based on their action, it was either they really wanted my family’s heirloom, the ‘Saint’s Tiara’, or they might be aiming for my family’s peerage. Or worse, they might be wanting both of it.”

I mused out loud. It might really be the case of trying to use my family as their stepping stone. However, to do that, they had to know all about us for it to succeed.

“They might be thinking that I was too young to inherit my peerage. After all, peerage isn’t something that someone in their twenties normally can receive. Still… how vexing. To think that a baron is looking down on me just because of my age-. But! It’s not like I want to inherit this position at such a young age, either. I only did so because my father passed away at such a young age… haa~h. What a mess.”

The other’s lawn is always greener than one’s own, huh. Still, how can that baron think that things are as simple as that? Especially if we consider the difference of scale between our peerage.

“Even if you say that, it’s not like you’re going to let them off just like that, right?” Someone said, cutting into my thoughts.

“Any idea for that?”

I looked at Rowell and asked for the best way to handle those merchants.

“In my opinion, we should send them a decree. As for the content… let’s just say that they’re under suspicion of having suspicious articles on their hands. Then, after we clear all the suspicious merchants away, we’ll divide the wealth taken from the guilty merchants to their victims. However, to do so, we must do a thorough investigation for this case. Additionally, we also must delay our payment for the items we bought as long as possible.”

Seeing my reluctant face, Rowell said, “We have no choice in this case, Master. We can’t tell them we’re investigating them. Although I do feel bad for the innocent ones, we really can’t let them go in case we startle the snake out of its nest.”

Even as he spoke, he looked clearly reluctant. However, he knew that this was the best choice as it would put the culprit in the corner with no way out, so he soldiered on. I nodded my head in agreement and heaved another sigh. This time, in relief.

“We’re really saved by Theodore’s quick wit this time. Although I have to admit, some parts of his speech caused me great anxiety. Thankfully nothing happened. Still, when I saw him handling this matter with such a calm face, I… I mean, aren’t he way too wise for a three years old child? Not only that, the way he quickly dispersed Selena’s worries after he unmasked the true nature of those swindlers, along with the way he simply got out of the mansion as if he knew that we’re going to handle the aftermath was simply… Did you teach him how to do all that?”

I directed my question to my son’s guard. However, Kevin only shrugged his shoulder and said, “Nay. We knew nothing about it. It’s all Young Master.”

Then, knowing that we were curious, he explained.

“He told me about how ‘that maid and the fortune teller is accomplice.’ before making his move. Moreover, he also told me to apprehend the maid at once upon his signal if she tried to do something with the decoy tactic that we, the employees, had trained together beforehand. Frankly speaking, Master, I’m also very surprised about this as neither me, Martha, or any other employees ever taught him about it. So, no matter how I think about it, the fact that Young Master knew of that tactic itself was strange. In short, I’m equally as surprised as everyone else here.”

“I see, even you, huh. I guess having too much wisdom will make him look more like a terrifying monster rather than a three years old child.”

“Although the young master is not like normal children, he is an extremely gentle and caring person. For example, he apologize properly when I feels down due to a certain incident*, and he doesn’t throw a tantrum after I scold him. He also won’t repeat a mistake after we’ve warned him, and always spoke to us with a bright smile on his face. Despite his position, Young Master is really a well-mannered child who doesn’t flaunt his position everywhere and becomes arrogant. Really, having such a young master like him makes us really glad.” Kevin defended my son, making me feel glad that my son had people on his corner.

As if he feared I would look at my son like he was a monster, Kevin hurried to say, “I and the other employees in the mansion, including Martha, can vouch with our whole being that Young Master is by no mean an evil being. In fact, I think the reason he did what he did today is to protect Madam.”

“―― I see. You’re right. Theodore did stay by Selena’s side all this time. I suppose he is doing it to pay attention to Selena’s mental health and because he is assured I’ll deal with the rest. He must have known that he can leave the rest to me ― to clean up the mess in Selena’s mansion and its aftermath.”

Such a kind child was definitely not an evil incarnation as that swindler claimed he was.

My son did inherit his kindness from his mother. He’s my, no, he’s our son after all.

Fuuh, it seems this fraud incident does take quite a toll in my mind… which was healed when I saw Theodore’s sleeping face.

“Nevertheless… for two of such wise children to be born in the same year… I hope it isn’t some sort of omen for the days to come. Still, if it really is, then…”

“There’s another wise child aside from Young Master?!”

“Yes, there’s a rumor about that child being widespread in the royal capital. It says that the three years old daughter from Duke Lilac’s house is a prodigy. I’ve yet to check the truth behind the rumor, though, since I have never met said daughter. However, seeing Theodore just now, I think I understand the base of that rumor.”

“That means our Young Master is also a prodigy!”

Kevin remarked with a bright voice.

Hahaha, he sounds like a father boasting about his son. I thought, feeling pleased by this as this proved that my son was truly loved by his surroundings.

“Ahem! Anyway, it seems the royal family is also keeping an eye at that prodigious duke daughter. It is just my guess, but perhaps it’s only a matter of time before they announce her engagement with the royal family.” I continued sharing the rumours from the capital and my speculation of what will happen. However, I then got serious.

“That aside―― make sure you don’t say anything about Theodore to a third party just yet. I want to keep his talent hidden as long as possible. I don’t want the royal family to pay attention to him. It’s still too early for that type of attention. Besides, I think you should’ve already known from our long history.” I paused, tone heavy.

“An extremely excellent subordinate will only buy grudges from their surroundings. And if we play this poorly, the royal family is the least of our worries. Anyhow, let’s hide him until he reaches adulthood. For his and for our safety. This being the case, please help me keep this matter a secret from everyone.”

“Your wish is my command.” My subordinates chorused together in one voice.

After this matter was settled, the three of us began to discuss more maneuvers we could use till late at night.