Madam and the Stable Keeper (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
Edith jumped in surprise and retorted to Walter.
“I was eleven when Isaac first came to our house. He stayed for about four years, so we were both just children.”
Walter raised an eyebrow slightly and apologized for his mistake. Even if they’d been close, they’d still been too young for anything serious to have happened.
However, something else caught his attention.
“So the reason you called me ‘Isaac’ when we first met was because you mixed me up with someone else.”
“We weren’t anything to each other.”
Edith replied with a pouty expression. Walter’s words made it sound as if she and Isaac had shared something deep.
“If we’d really meant something to each other, he wouldn’t have promised to write after returning home and then just cut off contact.”
“…”
“He was a bad kid. Even back then, he was scrawny and nasty. Always teasing me every day.”
“For someone who claims he’s a weak-willed, good-for-nothing fellow, you’re awfully long-winded about him.”
“Well….”
“Normally, you wouldn’t go into this much detail about someone you truly disliked.”
“…”
Edith fell silent. She’d heard remarks like this before.
Whenever Isaac happened to come up during conversations at the clinic, Edith—uncharacteristically—would grumble, and those listening would nod knowingly.
“You just can’t forget him, can you? That boy?”
It was something Edith could never admit.
“Anyway… that’s the only unusual experience in my life. I heard he has a big scar on his thigh.”
“A scar?”
“I didn’t see it myself—I heard it from his mother. I just wondered if you might have one like that, too.”
Walter paused as if thinking, then answered.
“No, nothing like that. Feel free to check for yourself if you’re suspicious.”
His gaze briefly drifted downward.
Edith shot Walter a sharp look—he never missed a chance to tease her. She resented how easily her face flushed crimson at the slightest embarrassing comment.
“Never mind. And if you truly are the diligent employee you claim to be, you wouldn’t tease your mistress like this.”
Edith brushed off her skirt and stood up. Walter, still wearing a playful expression, took the reins and lifted her back onto the horse’s saddle.
“As far as I know, to be a proper mistress, you ought to know how to use and dispose of your subordinates.”
Not form alliances with them.
Walter added this, and Edith’s expression soured.
“So you’re saying I’m a fake mistress, and that’s why you’re allowed to tease me?”
She asked in a deliberately sweet tone, but Walter merely adjusted the reins. The horse began moving eastward again, following his unhurried steps.
The prison where she was supposed to remain quietly confined drew steadily closer.
***
“They’ve sent some items from the wardrobe for you, Madam.”
Vivian arrived at Edith’s room early in the morning, accompanied by light refreshments. Ann and Marie, assigned to help organize the dressing room, came along as well.
“Thank you for coming so early.”
“It’s nothing, Madam.”
Ann and Marie gave a brief bow and headed into the dressing room to begin tidying up.
Edith called out to Vivian as she was about to follow them and asked quietly,
“Vivian, do you know anyone who’s worked at the mansion for a long time?”
“Someone who’s worked here a long time?”
“Yes. I’d like to ask about a tower I heard used to be on the estate. It’d be best if the person is trustworthy.”
Throughout her walk in the garden, Edith had tried hard to memorize the layout of House Portrion and its surroundings.
But no matter how thoroughly she looked, she couldn’t spot anything resembling the “tower where servants were locked up as punishment” that Jane had mentioned.
‘Since the viscount wanted Walter confined here for a long time, he probably hid the spell-release incantation somewhere no one could find it.’
In that sense, a tower that now left no trace—and whose precise location most current staff didn’t even know—was a rather suitable secret place.
Thus, Edith decided to investigate the tower further.
“There is someone. She used to be the head maid but retired due to health issues. She was very close friends with my mother.”
“Really? Could you send her a letter for me, then?”
“Of course. I still contact her occasionally, and the person handling the estate’s mail is one of Walter’s trusted men.”
Edith jotted down her questions on a sheet of paper and sealed it along with a delicate gold necklace.
“I’ll leave it to you, then, Vivian.”
“Yes. It may take some time, but I’m certain she’ll send a reply.”
While the two exchanged quiet words, Ann and Marie diligently organized the dressing room.
They couldn’t help but hope Edith might give them something again, as she had last time. Just yesterday, they’d sold the pearl earrings Edith gave them and enjoyed a rare, hearty meal with their families.
They knew the first wife still held the most influence in the mansion, but showing a little kindness to the fourth wife in hopes of receiving small rewards wouldn’t cause any trouble.
Edith easily read their calculated intentions from their expressions.
“By the way, I’m quite worried. Today, I’m scheduled to have a meal with the viscount’s other wives.”
“Don’t worry, Madam. Lady Elizabeth and Lady Isabel aren’t difficult people.”
“Really?”
Once again, Edith listened intently as if eager to hear more gossip.
‘It seems Sophia deliberately spoke badly about the other wives.’
Clearly, Sophia wanted to isolate herself from the other wives—that way, the chances of her schemes being discovered would be lower.
Edith continued listening willingly to whatever the maids had to say. Most of it was flattery meant to curry favor, but their attitude toward her remained very positive.
“I’ve felt lonely here since I don’t know anyone in the estate, so thank you for keeping me company.”
When Edith handed each of them an earring set with a tiny gemstone, Ann and Marie—feeling their expectations rewarded—resolved to clean the fourth wife’s room as often as possible.
Once ready, Edith left her room.
Sophia, spotting her, gave Edith a cold once-over from head to toe. Though everything Edith wore was off-the-rack, it enhanced her elegance just as well as custom-made attire would have.
“Edith, it’d be best not to slip up or deliberately do anything that might give others grounds to criticize you in front of the other wives.”
“I won’t, Sophia. By the way, I really love this dress you bought me.”
Edith smiled warmly, as if assuring Sophia she’d faithfully stick to their plan and reminding her not to forget her share of the profits.
“Oh, by the way, I have a stop to make on our way.”
Speaking in a tone that hinted at some scheme, Sophia led the way with textbook-perfect etiquette, coming to a natural halt right in front of the viscount’s bedroom.
“Oh, Edith. I have some matters to discuss with the physicians, so please go ahead inside first.”
“What?”
“You did say you wanted to see the viscount, didn’t you?”
“…”
Sophia sneered inwardly. Seeing Edith flustered by this unexpected turn soothed her somewhat.
Edith usually played the obedient wife for money’s sake, but her occasional careless actions had been irritating.
“Thank you, Sophia.”
Just as expected, Edith entered the viscount’s room.
The physicians, who had just finished their examination, were baffled. They knew clearly the viscount was in a coma, yet they couldn’t interpret Edith’s act of entering his bedroom.
Sophia offered them a bittersweet yet graceful smile and apologized.
“Please understand generously. Her future depends entirely on the viscount—she probably just wants to hold his hand and pray.”
“Oh….”
Only then could the physicians finally settle on how they should feel toward Edith or how to view her.
‘Well, of course. She’d want to appear as the viscount’s wife to everyone else.’
‘Married to a man in a coma—her inheritance rights must be precarious…’
‘Why doesn’t Lady Sophia dismiss a woman like that?’
Sophia smiled inwardly. Seeing the physicians’ gazes fill with pity and disdain as they watched Edith’s carefully closed door brought her relief.
“I’d like to ask a bit more about the viscount’s condition. Regarding the report you submitted last time, this herb…”
While Sophia deceived the physicians into believing she was the one most concerned for Nicholas Portrion in the entire world,
‘I never thought I’d end up in the viscount’s bedroom.’
Edith grimaced as she surveyed the room.
Though decorated in an overall antique style, the furniture barely registered in her mind.
Medical magic tools she’d only seen in Academy medical entrance exam textbooks. And amidst them, Nicholas Portrion lay completely still.
This bedroom was nothing more than a theatrical stage set to dramatically showcase his impending death.
“…Viscount.”
Edith feigned worry as she called his name and glanced at the magic devices. Judging by their color and resonance, the viscount was entirely unconscious.
“Nicholas Portrion. You absolute bastard.”
Unsurprisingly, there was no reply. Feeling slightly relieved, Edith scanned her surroundings.
Ever since the viscount collapsed, the servants assigned to clean seemed to have focused only on the area near his bed. His work area remained untouched, gathering a light layer of dust as if no one had approached it.
She vowed to offer a prayer of thanks to the gods if she found anything useful for escaping the estate.
And as if in answer to her plea, she soon discovered two thin ledgers tucked between thick books in a drawer of the desk.
‘Last year’s accounting ledger?’
She already knew from Walter and Vivian that the viscount had relinquished control over both the guild and estate finances.
The previous viscount—Nicholas’s older brother—had apparently paid close attention to such matters, but Nicholas himself had lived as a carefree idler ever since his brother inherited the title.
When his brother died suddenly and Nicholas inherited the title, he naturally had no knowledge of accounting. Thus, Sophia—his hastily arranged political bride—and Butler Whitman had taken charge of the ledgers.
‘Since Nicholas spent his personal fortune solely on lewd pursuits with women, it must have been easy to falsify the accounts.’
After double-checking that no one was coming, Edith flipped through the ledgers.
Back at Homann Clinic, where she used to work, tasks were often overwhelming, forcing her to pick up untrained skills on the job—bookkeeping included.
“Edith, accounting is useful whether you’re in the capital or a monastery. You’ll never regret learning it,” Madam Homann had said.
And she’d been right.
As Edith alternated between scanning the guild ledger and the household expense ledger, she quickly noticed something odd.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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