18. How Could You Do That Last Night?

2023.10.18.

Fed her, housed her, clothed her. Even entrusted an unmarried young woman with important duties. There was a limit to repaying kindness with betrayal.

“What on earth did Yuan, that crow, steal to make him act like this?”

“Stop just lying there and do something, husband. I’m getting letters from the Pelliese household asking if they’ve given up their business!”

Mother and daughter stood by the bed, voicing their deep concern over the count who lay motionless. The count merely groaned, “Oh, my head—.”

Regina, her eyebrows twitching, finally blurted out what she’d been holding back.

“Father. From now on, I’ll be the one helping you with your work, not that crow.”

Regina sidled up to her father’s bed, gently lowering herself onto the edge, whispering softly.

“To be honest, I can do it far better than that weakling. My handwriting is much more beautiful than hers.”

Though she’d never actually seen Yuan’s handwriting, Regina was certain she was superior, and began clinging to her father’s arm.

“Father?”

“…….”

“Father. Fa-ther!”

“Can’t you be quiet?!”

Before the count could push his clinging daughter away, Countess Pelliese sharply yanked Regina back, shouting.

Her already frayed nerves were at their breaking point, and her childish daughter’s stubbornness made it unbearable.

“Why not me? Now that Yuan’s gone, the assistant position in the study is open! I clearly heard it—she’s essential to the family’s business, right? Why should some freeloading half-crow get that role instead of me? She’s already left! Frederic’s all brawn and no brains—his handwriting is atrocious and he’s hopeless at studies! Obviously, I should be the one helping Father! Who knows? If word spreads that Lady Pelliese is capably supporting the family, a household in need of a capable mistress might send a marriage proposal!”

“Get out, Regina.”

“Father!”

“Leave.”

The count, who had been covering his face with his arm and listening to the argument, suddenly pulled his arm away, yanked it free from Regina, and turned his back on her.

His flabby, sagging back looked pitiful.

Regina hesitated, ready to throw another tantrum, but upon seeing her mother’s fierce glare, screamed, “Just try bringing in someone else as assistant!” and stormed out.

Priscilla, about to shout after her, paused to catch her breath, then gently shook the count.

“Husband, husband, wake up. The guests are waiting again in the study’s side room…”

“Didn’t I say not to receive guests?!”

The count, who had only been groaning in misery, abruptly sat up, furious.

“I can’t function without Yuan!”

“Then what are we supposed to do? Turn away guests who’ve brought heaps of gold—more than before? Don’t you remember how everyone criticized us for letting Frederic and Regina marry without securing a proper estate? Where will the money come from now? Are you saying the family will collapse without that girl?”

“It will collapse! It will collapse! Even if they bring gold by the cartload, it’ll all be for nothing without her!”

“Be reasonable! You’re the head of the Pelliese family! She was just an assistant!”

Eventually, the countess stepped back, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, silenced by the count’s furious outburst, spittle flying.

“Let’s be honest. That girl Yuan—isn’t she your illegitimate daughter? ‘The only link between my brother and me’—what nonsense. Since when have you ever respected your brother? You ran off saying you’d rather be a merchant than associate with a family that looked down on people! You weren’t close to your brother—you were close to your mistress! That’s the only link! I’ve always been suspicious. You quietly favored that girl, never assigned her to harsh duties outside the study. While you sent Louise out on errands without hesitation, you always called Yuan into the study to entertain guests.”

Pacing the bedroom, the countess clenched both fists and shrieked.

“And now you’re bedridden like this! What is going on? What is she to you? You made such a scene when she left, and now you’re lying here incapacitated—why? I played along before, but I need to know for sure. Tell me! Tell me now!”

Finally, the countess grabbed the count’s shoulders and began shaking him.

The count trembled, his flesh jiggling under the hysterical woman’s grip, yet he remained silent.

How could he say it?

That girl brought gold into the household.

She was the true source of the Pelliese family’s power.

The legitimacy of the Pelliese name came from her strength.

Their reputation in academia, in the capital, as the rightful heirs—none of it would exist without Yuan.

How could he admit such a thing?

He had barely established his authority as head of the household through gold, and now even that could be lost.

“Has this woman gone mad?!”

The count wanted to cry, despite his loud protest.

He hadn’t even opened the letters from noble families asking when they could visit again.

Even after sending desperate messages to First Prince Bollonico, begging for help, there had been no reply.

The most important truth was this:

He couldn’t carry out his research alone.

And only now did he realize it with crushing clarity.

“You think I don’t know you made her do all sorts of menial tasks? You needed her too—that’s why you agreed that day, isn’t it?!”

Shoved away, the countess burst into tears, devastated.

“Oh, my fate. Oh, my fate! I married the second son of a family with no title, thinking at least he was resourceful—but look, he brings home illegitimate children! He parades that crow as the family’s heir, humiliates me in front of everyone, and now he pushes me aside! Gerret Pelliese, how could you do this to me?!”

“She’s not my illegitimate child—stop writing novels! Just control your children! Don’t fill Regina’s head with nonsense—prepare her debut properly! And stop receiving guests for now! Remember that!”

“What will we do now? You’ve already incurred the First Prince’s displeasure!”

“I’ll go to Cielo myself and settle this!”

Terrified of First Prince Bollonico though he was, Gerret Pelliese feared most of all that his true weakness would be exposed—that he would lose the very identity of being a Pelliese.

How had he even earned this countship?

He needed to send the current wave of guests away with expensive medicine, and Yuan—the goose that laid golden eggs—had to be brought back at all costs, whether through divorce or broken engagement, and locked in a side room.

“What settlement? You can’t possibly be thinking of bringing that girl back! Risk the First Prince’s wrath for her? Then trample over me! Just kill me instead!”

No matter the misunderstanding, the Pelliese secret had to be protected.

Even Gerret Pelliese, who valued gold above all, knew that revealing the existence of the golden goose meant the end.

A secret all Pelliese heads kept sealed.

The golden goose of the Pelliese.

He would rather die than let anyone monopolize it—be it a crown prince or his shrieking wife before him.

Gerret Pelliese, still clutching his head, rose and furiously scribbled a letter.

All or nothing.

Since he was already disliked, he might as well go all the way.

The letter, hastily written, was naturally addressed to First Prince Bollonico in the capital, Cielo.

***

Yuan entered the bedroom and saw Clade sitting stiffly.

Clade gave her a look as if regarding a trivial creature, and Yuan calmly clasped her hands politely, pretending composure.

She had forced her way into the bedroom to remind him of last night’s events, but honestly, she would rather die than demonstrate her ability directly before him.

Fortunately, the man whose face had once been filled only with hostility now twitched faintly, his expression subtly shifting. His ears occasionally flushed red, as if lost in some private thought.

And perhaps out of some faint hope—or fear—he kept glancing at her, his gaze flickering down to her long legs beneath the nightgown, then quickly away.

Clear signs of his unease.

‘My ability must remain hidden.’

She had to stay useful in this household without exposing her power.

Nursing the sick was familiar to her.

And as long as this fierce man remained her husband, even if the Pelliese came to take her back, she might not have to go.

Yuan never, ever wanted to return to Pelliese.

The people of this black mansion were somewhat blunt and rigid, but the moment she gave them an opening, they couldn’t help but shower her with warmth, like starved souls craving affection.

The warm hearts within this desolate mansion.

As Clade Euphris’s legal wife, she had the right to stay—and that meant Clade couldn’t simply cast her out, even if he owned the estate.

Especially since she had completed the choyah ritual and received imperial approval!

‘I have the right to live in this mansion.’

Trying to calm her racing heart, Yuan stared directly at Clade’s face.

‘You might have killed my sister. The one who should leave isn’t me—it might be you, the one who could be a criminal.’

Be confident. I have the right too.

“What are you doing? Regretting while staring at that ruined face? Looking at that face, how could you even do what you did last night?”

“?”

Yuan’s boldness crumbled instantly—Clade’s gaze wasn’t as angry as she’d expected from the outside.

Seeing her defiant yet vulnerable demeanor with his own eyes, witnessing that she didn’t avoid him completely, he seemed to gain some measure of certainty about the choyah having been completed.

“!”

Even more astonishing—when a flicker of doubt crossed Yuan’s eyes, Clade couldn’t bear it and abruptly turned his gaze away.

A flawless, pale face came into view, half-shadowed, hiding the grotesque half.

Long lashes trembled slightly downward, carrying a hint of quiet shame.