“I understand. Please be careful on your way.”

Deborah instinctively offered a sensible greeting, but in truth, she couldn’t comprehend Zen’s actions. A butler and maid selecting a tutor.

‘Could this be how it was originally done?’

Was this why Anna Franklin, feeling disregarded, later mentally tormented Dia?

“Miss Deborah.”

Cedric’s voice captured the gaze of the confused Deborah.

“I’m sorry. You’re already so busy, and I’ve added to your workload.”

“Haha. How is this because of you, Miss Deborah? It’s due to the master being busy.”

The good-natured man leaned forward and whispered to Deborah.

“By the way, I heard some interviewees have already arrived?”

Why was he saying this so secretively? Though it seemed strange, Deborah just went along with his behavior.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So, perhaps we should give some extra points to the person who arrived first?”

Deborah quietly smiled in response to Cedric’s joke and thought.

‘Was he always like this?’

The Cedric she knew seemed more dignified. Kind, but not one to joke around.

‘This personality isn’t bad though. No, it’s actually more comfortable.’

Cedric, observing Deborah’s soft smile, thought.

‘Hmm. She’s not to be underestimated, as expected.’

Thus, the two shared quiet smiles directed at each other.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Zen said, hurrying his steps.

“It’s alright.”

Todd replied calmly while handing over some documents. As soon as he sat in the car, Zen didn’t hesitate to take out the papers and scan them. The documents listed the aliases Duke Buin used for business, including some new ones he hadn’t seen before.

“They’re increasing.”

Zen smiled wryly as he examined how each persona used their assets.

As expected, Duke Buin’s overall assets were declining. However, the figures in these documents differed significantly from what he had calculated before.

‘The forced sale of Zelaman wasn’t that big, but is this all the impact it had?’

Frowning, he looked at another document.

The paper was densely filled with money flows associated with ‘Duke Buin’ rather than aliases. As Zen quickly scanned it, he noticed that the most run-down and insignificant southern coastal property among Duke Buin’s lands had been sold for a large sum.

Even most nobles or businessmen would find it difficult to pay such a large amount at once. And no fool with that much money would buy such a dilapidated piece of land at such a high price.

Zen checked the buyer’s name and let out an exasperated laugh.

“Ha!”

Marquis Delta. Of course, it was him. A noble gentleman and at the same time a businessman who would do anything for money. That old fox wouldn’t do something so foolish without reason.

‘It must be because of his grandson.’

Belus Seymour Richmond Delta. The beloved grandson of Marquis Delta, and also someone Zen needed to meet.

“Has he returned?”

Todd answered without hesitation to Zen’s question that omitted the subject.

“Yes.”

Zen stroked his dry chin.

‘I’ll be seeing him soon.’

And very soon at that. Zen could guarantee it.

Belus was bored to death. Compared to Gratian, Astrian was a warm country, where even in the depths of winter, it was uncertain if snow would fall.

Just a few days ago, he had been sleeping in late in that cozy country, but now he had to visit the Duke Buin’s residence at a time when he should be sleeping.

The only fortunate thing was that Duke Buin was out, so there was no need to unnecessarily see that face.

‘That man is so thick-skinned, he still holds his head high in front of me.’

Once again, Belus’s grandfather had taken care of one of the Buin family’s debts. Really, no matter how you looked at it, it was a losing business.

“W-would you like more t-tea?”

To marry a woman like this, who stutters and smiles foolishly right in front of him, they have to keep shelling out large sums of money.

‘Except for the title of Duke, Buin is utterly worthless. There’s nothing to boast about.’

Belus raised one corner of his mouth towards the woman who lowered her eyes as soon as they met his.

‘Margaret Violet Buin…’

Common reddish-blonde hair, a plump figure that seemed to lack self-control, and as if wanting to emphasize her weak constitution, she would let out an unpleasant rough breath every so often, and why did she stutter so?

‘I wonder what Her Majesty the Queen saw in this woman to name her Margaret.’

She resembled neither a noble pearl nor a small white daisy flower.

“Heh heh…”

Laughing as if mocking, Belus showed his empty teacup and said.

“What a dreadful thing to say. How could I have gulped down this hot tea, only to have that effort go to waste?”

“Ah…”

Her already red face turned as red as the sunset. Belus, disgusted even by that sight, stood up and said.

“It seems I’ve kept my promise to have a cup of tea. Please take good care of that fragile body of yours, lest it worsen further.”

A harsh voice rang over Margaret’s head. Margaret couldn’t raise her head and only clutched at her skirt.

“Th-thank you. P-please, t-take care.”

Instead of replying, Belus let out a low laugh and left the reception room.

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

“My lady.”

The nanny who had been looking for Margaret as soon as Belus left, rushed in and sat on the floor. She tightly held Margaret’s hands, which were trembling as if plunged into ice water.

“Wh-what should I do? I c-couldn’t even th-thank him properly.”

Today, Margaret had intended to convey her gratitude to Belus for the kindness Marquis Delta had shown. She had practiced her words for days.

“I c-couldn’t even b-bring it up. B-because I’m as s-slow as a s-snail.”

“No, that’s absolutely not why.”

The nanny gently patted her hand to help her calm down. But Margaret was far from calming down.

The nanny’s nose stung. She was frustrated. How could the only princess of Gratian receive such treatment? Her godmother was none other than the Queen, and her maternal family was an ancient count’s house.

There were things money couldn’t buy in this Buin Duke’s household, yet how could Belus of the Delta Marquis family behave so rudely?

“D-don’t tell Father. He’ll s-surely be upset.”

The nanny wanted to say that was impossible. That the Duke must know about this, that he should have known for a very long time.

‘Surely if the Duke loves his daughter more than his own life, he wouldn’t stand idly by such a terrible situation.’

He would return all the money and everything else to take care of his only treasure, his daughter. Although their finances might decline a bit, Buin is still Buin.

Margaret wouldn’t have to suffer until she quietly entered God’s embrace as a grandmother, and the nobles of Gratian would respect Buin, who had always been noble, until the day they disappeared from this world.

However, the nanny couldn’t relay Margaret’s pitiful situation to Duke Buin.

“And wh-what if Father says to b-break off the engagement…”

Margaret mumbled, sobbing. The nanny nodded in agreement and once again tightly held Margaret’s hand.

Ah, what is this thing called love? How does it make one so cautious at an age when one should be full of vitality, and make a face as lovely and adorable as an autumn fruit tree grimace?

The nanny felt her heart breaking.

If Deborah had been working as a maid continuously until now without a break, she might have become a ‘head of a section’ by now.

If that were the case, she could have given her opinion to the head maid or the mistress when hiring or selecting managerial staff.

But after leaving the Heather family, Deborah had to do various jobs until she met Madam Saint, and as a result, she never held a managerial position anywhere.

In other words, this was her first time conducting an interview.

‘I’m feeling nervous.’

Although she appeared no different than usual on the outside, she was a bit jittery inside.

Moreover, the interview location was the same place where Deborah had her interview. The space where chaos ensued with screens and tables falling over and teacups breaking was, of course, neatly tidied up.

Nevertheless, just entering this space vividly reminded Deborah of that incident, and she easily recalled the bewilderment and tension from that time.

“I’m not sure if it’s really alright for me to be here.”

When Deborah voiced her concern, Cedric said,

“Of course it’s alright. It was the master’s order.”

“Haha.”

The interviewees they were to meet today were four in total.

Abigail, Clara, Grace, Irene.

All four were married women in their late thirties to early forties who had finished raising their children, so there would be no problem with them staying as live-in tutors.

They were all skilled in social dancing, could play the piano, and could recite by heart the poetry books currently popular among noble ladies.

How could they select the most excellent person among these four so similar individuals? The method was quite obvious and simple. They could present a new problem and see who excels.

“Then shall I ask the questions to the interviewees?”

Cedric asked Deborah, who was smiling but somehow looked a bit sad.

“Oh my, if you could do that, it would lighten my heavy burden considerably.”

“Haha. If you have any questions you’d like to ask, please don’t hesitate to say so.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll just trust you, Mr. Learford.”

Deborah smiled and thought.

‘Yes. Perhaps this situation is better than if Zen were conducting the interview.’

The polite and humorous Cedric wouldn’t ask rude questions.

‘It’s better if fewer people get hurt. Especially since three will be rejected…’

So Deborah thought she would just need to sit peacefully during the interview.

However, somehow Cedric’s questions were quite different from what Deborah had expected.