“Understood. Please take care.”

Deborah instinctively offered a polite farewell, though she couldn’t quite comprehend Jen’s actions. A butler and a maid selecting a governess seemed illogical.

‘Was it always done this way?’

Is that why Anna Franklin, who she thought was ignored, later psychologically pressured Diya?

“Sedric.”

His voice brought Deborah back from her confusion.

“I’m sorry. Despite your busy schedule, you now have more work because of me.”

“Ha ha. How is this your fault? It’s just something that came up because our master is busy.”

Sedric, smiling amiably, leaned in and whispered to Deborah.

“By the way, there’s already an interviewee who has arrived, right?”

Why was he mentioning this so secretly? Deborah felt something odd but played along.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So, how about giving some extra points to the person who arrived first?”

Deborah quietly smiled at Sedric’s joke, thinking,

‘Was he always like this?’

The Sedric she knew seemed more dignified. Kind, but not the joking type.

‘Not that this personality is bad. Actually, it’s more comfortable.’

Seeing Deborah’s gentle smile, Sedric thought,

‘Hmm. She seems tougher than I thought.’

They shared a quiet smile with each other.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

Jen hurried along.

“It’s fine.”

Todd replied calmly, handing over some documents. As soon as Jen sat in the car, he started skimming through them. They contained the aliases used by the Duke of Burin in his business dealings, including a new one he hadn’t seen before.

“They keep increasing.”

With a bitter smile, Jen examined how each alias was using its assets.

As expected, the Duke’s overall assets were declining, but the numbers in this document varied significantly from his previous calculations.

‘Even though the forced sale of Zelaman wasn’t that big, it caused only this much damage?’

Frowning, Jen looked at another document.

It detailed the cash flow related to the Duke, not under aliases, and Jen’s eyes caught on the sale of a dilapidated and worthless southern coastal land owned by the Duke. It was sold for a huge sum, unlikely to be afforded by ordinary nobles or businessmen.

Jen checked the buyer’s name and let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Ha!”

The Duke of Delta. Of course, it was him. A nobleman and a business magnate willing to do anything for money. That old fox wouldn’t make such a foolish move without a reason.

‘It must be for his grandson.’

Belus Seymour Richmond Delta. The grandson the Duke cherished and a person Jen needed to meet.

“He must be back in the country?”

Todd responded promptly to Jen’s implied question.

“Yes.”

Jen stroked his chin.

‘I’ll be seeing him soon.’

He was certain of it.

Belus felt unbearably bored. Compared to Gracian, Astrian was a warmer country where snow was uncertain even in deep winter.

Just a few days ago, he was lazily sleeping in late in that cozy country, but now he had to visit the Duke of Burin’s estate during his usual sleeping hours.

Fortunately, the Duke was out, sparing him the need to face the man.

‘That guy has such a thick face, even high in front of me.’

Once again, his grandfather had settled a debt for the Burin family. Truly, it seemed like a losing deal no matter how he looked at it.
“Would you like more tea?”

The sight of the woman in front of him stuttering and laughing foolishly as she offered him more tea was intolerable. To think he had to frequently shell out large sums of money to marry a woman like this.

‘Apart from its title, the Burin family is nothing remarkable. What’s there to boast about?’

Belus raised one corner of his mouth as he saw the woman, Margaret Violet Burin, avoiding his gaze as soon as their eyes met.

Margaret Violet Burin… With her common reddish-gold hair, lack of self-control evident in her plump figure, constantly breathing heavily as if to emphasize her frailty, and stuttering speech.

‘What on earth did Her Majesty see in her to name her Margaret?’

She resembled neither the noble pearl nor the delicate, small daisy.

“Ha ha…”

Belus chuckled mockingly, showing his empty teacup.

“What a dreadful idea. How can I make all this effort of gulping down hot tea go to waste?”

“Ah…”

Her already flushed face turned as red as a sunset. Irritated by her reaction, Belus stood up.

“It seems we’ve fulfilled the promise of having tea. Please take care of your frail health and rest well in your room.”

His sarcastic voice echoed over Margaret’s head. She couldn’t lift her gaze and just clutched the hem of her skirt.

“Th-thank you. Take care on your way.”

Instead of responding, Belus left the room with a low laugh.

Left alone, Margaret wiped her feverish face with her cold, trembling hands. But it was impossible for her to completely wipe away the sweat and tears that kept falling.

“Miss.”

As soon as Belus left, Margaret’s nursemaid rushed in and knelt beside her, tightly grasping her shaking hands.