Not long after, the Tolomiès mansion was turned upside down.

All the employees in charge of the annex were suddenly summoned and knelt before the angry old lady.

“How dare you bring an outsider woman, an unmarried young lady at that, into the annex of the historic Tolomiès Count’s family!”

Felix mumbled an excuse.

“She said she had nowhere else to go…”

“Nowhere to go? Why not! Isn’t she Baron Florence’s daughter? There are luxury hotels and salons!”

Madam Louise’s angry voice shook the room.

Felix bowed his head and said nothing, while the wronged maids knelt on the floor, trembling.

“I must have failed in raising my child.”

Madam Louise rubbed her temples with her fingers and leaned against the wall.

“Felix, I understand that you can’t spend your whole life looking at only one wife. Men can be like that sometimes. It’s not uncommon for a nobleman to have a mistress or two.”

What an extraordinary way of raising a child.

“But I thought you at least had the judgment to distinguish between those who can be brought into the house and those who can’t. I didn’t expect you to disgrace the Tolomiès family name with such nonsense.”

She sighed and turned her gaze to me.

“Elisabeth. I’m sorry to you. Really, my son is beyond help.”

It was quite a kind consolation, but I didn’t smile. I knew too well what words would follow.

“But when a man lives in society, these things can happen, can’t they? Be a good girl and try to understand and overlook it just this once. In a way, this happened because you didn’t properly manage the household, didn’t it?”

I bit my lip.

‘So, everything is my fault? My husband’s affair, Julia looking down on me, all of it? As if! It’s because you raised your child that way that your son turned out like this!’

Of course, I couldn’t say those words out loud. I just lowered my gaze dejectedly.

Fortunately, Madam Louise didn’t just say unpleasant things.

“But you know what? No matter what, I can’t stand by and watch a mere mistress occupy the annex of the Count’s residence.”

She ordered in a firm tone.

“As soon as day breaks, get that woman out of the annex immediately. Find her a place to stay, whether it’s an inn or wherever, and tell her to leave right away.”

Felix raised his head in surprise.

“Mother!”

“Felix, you need to properly understand how much you’ve crossed the line.”

After sternly rebuking her son, Madam Louise turned to me again.

“Elisabeth.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Madam Louise continued in a heavy tone.

“From now on, inspect Felix’s expenditures once a week. No matter how small the expense, if it involves using the Tolomiès family’s assets, make sure he gets your permission before spending. If you find any suspicious entries, report to me immediately without delay.”

“Yes. I understand.”

As I answered, I was inwardly shocked. I thought it would end with just sending Julia out of the annex, but an even greater fortune came rolling in.

While I was trying to hide my joy, Felix protested vehemently.

“Mother! That’s not fair! No matter what, I’m the head of the family. How am I supposed to live if I can’t even spend money freely!”

“If you’re the head of the family, you should have behaved like one!”

Madam Louise roared.

“You, don’t even think about spending a single penny without your wife’s permission from now on! Keep your mouth shut before I reveal everything you’ve done to Baron Florence!”

Felix’s shoulders trembled, but he couldn’t argue against his mother’s stern reprimand.

As Madam Louise went up to her room to calm down, he asked with a distorted expression.

“You… How did this happen?”

I put on the most sympathetic expression I could muster.

“I tried my best to hide it. I didn’t say anything even when Mother asked. I didn’t expect things to get so complicated.”

Of course, it was a blatant lie.

But Felix, seeing a glimmer of hope in that answer, clung to me and pleaded.

“Lizzy, please talk to Mother for me. This won’t do. No matter what, I’m the husband. How can I get permission every time I need to spend money?”

I pretended to be sorry and said.

“If that’s Mother’s wish, how can I go against it…?”

Felix’s brow furrowed. I didn’t mind and firmly drove the point home.

“I’ll check the ledger every Saturday evening from now on. Let’s both do our best not to give Mother any reason to find fault.”

As I waved my hand, the maids who had been kneeling hurriedly stood up and dispersed to their respective places. I left Felix alone and gracefully departed.

An angry scream could be heard from the first floor, but I didn’t care about that.

When I arrived at my room, Marie, who had been waiting for me, rushed over and asked.

“What happened, my lady?”

At last, I smiled without hiding.

“That woman is being kicked out of here tomorrow morning.”

“Oh my. That’s wonderful!”

I smiled softly.

It was truly a night worth raising a toast to.

***

“Leave? Now?”

Julia’s eyes widened. It was news like a bolt from the blue.

“What do you mean? Felix, you clearly said I could stay here!”

Felix, looking very troubled, tried to appease Julia.

“Just stay at an inn for a while. It’ll be brief. I’ll quickly find you an even better place to stay. So please, just wait a little.”

“Where could be better than here! Where am I supposed to go alone at this hour!”

It was still before dawn. It was far too early to find a place to stay right away.

Julia pleaded with tearful eyes.

“Please, Felix. Don’t abandon me. You’re the master of this house, aren’t you?”

At his lover’s appeal, Felix went to his mother one more time to beg, clutching at straws, but he only received a cold reply that if Julia wasn’t sent away immediately, she would have the maids drive her out.

Julia had no choice but to be expelled from the annex.

“How can this be!”

Once outside the Count’s mansion, Julia burst out in anger. With no maid to help, she had to carry her heavy luggage herself.

She had sneaked into the Tolomiès Count’s mansion without her father, Baron Florence, knowing. Due to her extravagant spending, she had little money saved. She had nowhere to go.

Julia sat down dejectedly in the grass.

Just then, she heard someone’s gentle voice.

“Oh my, mademoiselle. Why are you alone in a place like this?”

It was the first kind voice she had heard since being driven out of the annex.

Turning her head, she saw a young gentleman with a large build and tall stature. Due to his upturned coat collar and pulled-down hat, she couldn’t see his face.

Although she should have been afraid of an unknown man, Julia burst into tears at the warm attention she received after so long.

“Well, you see…”

She sobbed and poured out her story.

It was a tale full of distortion and fabrication, about how she had been living happily with her loved one when a wicked mother-in-law suddenly barged in and drove her out.

The dark-haired gentleman who heard the story clicked his tongue.

“Oh dear, is that so? The night road is dark, so please follow me for now. I’ll protect you safely until you can return home.”

He extended his hand to Julia.

Julia hesitated. Should she readily take the hand of a man she didn’t even know?

But her legs were already aching, the wind was cold, and her luggage was heavy. Moreover, the man who appeared before her now was too charming to refuse.

‘I’ll just rely on him for a moment, that’s all.’

Julia took the man’s hand without much thought.

***

Felix resented having his spending controlled, but Madam Louise’s attitude was unyielding.

In the end, he found himself in a position where he could only spend money freely within the allowance I set, and had to get my permission each time for any expenditure beyond that.

With my mother-in-law’s permission, I reviewed Felix’s spending records for the past half year.

The results were truly dismal. Of the money spent on maintaining the ‘dignity of Count Tolomiès’ over the past year, more than half had directly or indirectly flowed to Julia Florence.

First, I completely blocked the money Felix had been taking under the pretext of renovating the annex, the labor costs for the maids who had been serving Julia, and various small expenditures that had been leaking out.

“You’ve managed the money very well.”

Madam Louise said with a smile after checking the accounting ledger.

“I’m glad I entrusted you with the household finances. Thank you so much. It will be troublesome for you in the future as well, but please continue to manage well so that boy doesn’t spend money unnecessarily.”

“Yes. I will pay special attention to it.”

“Yes, it’s reassuring to have you here.”

Madam Louise closed the ledger with a satisfied expression.

I lowered my gaze, feeling a bit guilty.

The ledger looked perfect on the surface, but in reality, it had many loopholes.

Madam Louise might not know, but in my second life, I had learned several ways to save on small expenses while living alone.

There were many methods, such as bargaining to buy items cheaper than the list price and pocketing the change, or selling off unused supplies stored in the warehouse.

All the money I skimmed off went straight into my pocket. I needed a secret fund that I could use on my own, away from Felix and Madam Louise.

Madam Louise was unknowingly donating assets not only to her son’s mistress but also to her daughter-in-law, whom she trusted implicitly.

It was better that she didn’t know.

“By the way, have you heard about that woman? I heard she was invited to this ball.”