Roselia’s gaze shook as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Looking at her, a black-haired man sneered.

It was Antonio, the wastrel of Viscount Hesing, who, even after the viscount’s death, couldn’t distinguish between heaven and earth, squandering the family fortune on alcohol and revelry, ultimately going missing.

While Roselia was in confusion, Antonio, who had scrutinized her from top to bottom, spoke.

“What a sight, isn’t it?”

“Isn’t he dead?”

She thought he must have died, captured by thugs in the back alleys due to his gambling debts, but there was no clear explanation of his survival in the original work. He just disappeared, captured by the riffraff and never came back.

Could this also be a change in the setting due to her altering the original story?

“He almost died. Instead, he should have lost his hand.”

Saying so, Antonio, whose hand that should be there was missing, waved his empty arm in a casual manner, causing Roselia’s eyebrows to furrow.

Looking at her like that, Antonio twisted his lips into a smirk.

“I heard some interesting stories while living in the back alleys.”

Saying that, Antonio, leisurely, scratched his ear with his intact hand.

“Well, Viscount Hesing’s eldest son working as a servant in the Duke’s mansion, what’s up with that?”

While Antonio was relaxed, Roselia, tensing up, sharply focused her gaze and spoke.

“What do you want to say?”

Amused by her visibly tense state, Antonio chuckled.

“While I was groveling in the back alleys, struggling to survive, you were living comfortably in the Duke’s mansion, weren’t you?”

“The fact that you ended up in the back alleys is your own doing.”

With a cold remark from Roselia, Antonio shrugged his shoulders.

“Well… if I were to tell the Duke about your true identity, wouldn’t you end up in the same situation? It’d be fortunate if you’re not killed.”

Yeah, she knew that very well.

Claude, who values credit and trust, would be the kind of person to do that.

Moreover, the betrayal and lies of the one she trusted were beyond words.

“What do you want?”

Facing reality, Roselia calmly sank her emotions, glaring at him. Looking at her like that, Antonio, smirking, continued.

“As expected, clever Roselia. Words do work a bit.”

“…”

“Get me 2,000 verangs by two weeks from now. Otherwise, I’ll expose your true identity.”

Instantly, anger surged. She expected him to demand money, but 2,000 verangs?

Even if he demanded 200 verangs, it would have been excessive.

What she paid for the debts of Viscount Hesing was 2,000 verangs.

Shouldn’t she receive it from that blasted Hesing’s leftover scraps?

Whether Antonio sensed her thoughts or not, he casually spoke.

“Indeed, smart Roselia. Words do work a bit.”
“If it’s 2,000 verangs, it’s on the cheaper side. Anyway, the mansion belonged to my possession. If I sold the mansion, I would have made 2,000 verangs, right?”

Damn it. It was suspicious that this blockhead was calculating the mansion, which had passed over to the dead Viscount, as the money I should receive.

“Thinking about you, disguised as a man, hiding obscenely in the mansion, even cutting off my hair and pretending to be a man, wouldn’t it give the Duke the chills?”

Unable to endure any longer, Roselia pushed Antonio against the wall, grabbing his collar.

“I paid off the damn Hesing Viscount’s debt with 2,000 verangs! You, demanding 2,000 verangs from me, what the hell?”

With one hand missing, Antonio didn’t resist, allowing himself to be caught by the collar.

“Who’s going to repay that money? Didn’t you join as a servant of the Duke to live comfortably?”

It was beyond comprehension, to the point of being mind-boggling.

How can someone think such thoughts with a human mind?

While Roselia was frozen in place, Antonio roughly pulled away from her grip and stepped back.

“Two weeks from now.”

Having said that, Antonio, chuckling, walked away between the shadowy alleyways.

“I hope nothing happens until then.”

Roselia, watching him until he disappeared into the darkness, clenched her fists, trembling.

Staring into space, Roselia, who was cleaning the front yard of the mansion, suddenly turned her head in surprise at the sound of a box being put down with a thud.

The one who dropped the box like tossing it at her feet was Denver, a servant of the Duke.

He, who had been unfriendly to her since the beginning, now seemed to be somewhat comfortable with her.

“Antonio, move this to the warehouse.”

Even for an adult man, the size of the box looked burdensome, making Roselia momentarily stunned.

Denver, looking down on her with disdain, continued.

“Can’t a servant handle this much?”

“Well… um…”

Denver’s attitude wasn’t surprising anymore.

And she thought there was no need to distinguish between men and women when working.

It might be a bit heavy, but it shouldn’t be too much to carry.

Thinking so, Roselia bent down, grumbling, and lifted the box.

Not only was it heavy, but the size of the box was so large that her petite figure was barely visible.