Lloyd looked around the cold interior of the house.

Since Admund’s last visit, the house had become a complete wasteland.

Those who had sided with Lloyd were all fired without letters of recommendation, or dragged away somewhere by soldiers.

On the other hand, those who bravely spoke out about Lloyd’s wrongdoings were given key positions within the family.

Witnessing this situation, Lloyd’s heart burned hot with anger.

“Mother, please stop Father!”

“Is that what should be coming out of your mouth right now?”

“You know too, Mother. Father is acting unreasonably because he dislikes me now!”

Compared to the busy Duke who was rushing around the imperial palace, the Duchess who remained at the mansion was already getting a headache from the situation at hand.

Suddenly things got busy and she was exhausted, and now the one who could be called the cause of this situation came and started yelling.

The Duchess let out a bitter laugh, dumbfounded.

Lloyd, still unaware of what he had done wrong, kept shouting.

“Lloyd, do you know what wrong you’ve committed?”

But still, as he was the child she had painfully given birth to, she still felt some pity for him.

If he would honestly confess his sins now, she was willing to show some leniency.

She hoped he would show at least a little sign of remorse.

If he did just that much, it seemed like he could recover even a tiny bit of the trust that was previously lost.

The bond of family.

Because blood was thicker than water, she at least wanted to see her son’s honest side.

But Lloyd’s attitude was different.

“Mother, I did it out of love for Aria.”

“Lloyd.”

“You know how much I like that girl, don’t you Mother!”

The Duchess was at a loss for words.

She was disgusted to see her own child still not come to his senses.

The future head of a noble family had attempted to violate a young lady who wasn’t even engaged to him. And then he says he did it because he loved her.

Faced with this brazen attitude, the Duchess didn’t know how to respond and felt a headache coming on.

‘Even if we neglected him, how could he turn out like this?’

At this point, the Duchess thought of one person.

The butler.

A loyal servant of the Duke’s family and a proper head of a count’s family.

This was the result of him taking full charge of Lloyd’s education.

On top of her disappointment in Lloyd, her anger towards the butler surged.

Though the two who had neglected their son had no right to speak, it was still upsetting that they had to watch their child become so ruined because of it.

“You still haven’t come to your senses.”

“Are you saying I’m strange now?”

“The sin I asked about in the first place wasn’t that.”

“What do you mean?”

Lloyd’s expression, which had been clouded with frustration, suddenly hardened coldly.

Seeing that expression, the Duchess felt a chill.

Lloyd’s eyes were filled with hostility.

“I thought something was strange from the moment Admund visited the mansion.”

“L-Lloyd.”

“What exactly did he say?”

“Lloyd, stay still.”

His gaze towards his parents was fierce. The obviously bewildered Duchess unconsciously took a step back.

But the more he saw the Duchess like this, the more Lloyd’s insides burned, and he put his hand on her shoulder to prevent her from escaping.

“I thought it was strange from the beginning.”

Lloyd also noticed something was off.

What happened with Aria occurred in front of the Duke.

At that time, the Duke showed no anger, but rather seemed completely resigned.

But now he was suddenly changing everything.

For Lloyd, it was like a bolt from the blue.

So he needed to know even more.

What was happening without his knowledge.

“Lloyd!”

Finally, the Duchess raised her hand.

As he was her first child and moreover the only one who would inherit the Duke’s family, she had never laid a hand on him.

But faced with Lloyd’s forceful attitude, for the first time she left a red mark on his cheek.

Hot tears flowed from her eyes.

“Right now your father is busy running around trying to save the family that’s in crisis because of you, and what have you done?”

Lloyd couldn’t answer.

Shocked by the unexpected slap from her, his whole body stiffened like a statue.

Among the servants watching, no one intervened between the two.

Among the servants remaining in the mansion, there was no one who viewed Lloyd favorably.

There was no reason to stop him from being scolded in the mansion where none of his supporters remained.

“Because of you, the family that he and I have worked so hard to build is now in crisis!”

People who were worried about the usually frail woman unleashing her anger approached her.

They were concerned she might collapse, given her weak constitution.

But even this woman who never got angry seemed to have completely lost control and couldn’t calm her fury.

“Why did you do such useless things and make this mess! Why did you do such things and make our peaceful household so chaotic!”

The tears kept flowing.

Normally when talk of Curtis Street came up, she would click her tongue and say only pathetic people went to such places.

A place where various illegal activities like gambling, drugs, and black market trades flourished.

Though it remained on the streets for some reason, just frequenting the place tarnished the entire family’s reputation.

There could even be rumors that the family was involved in crime, which could lead to direct investigations.

That’s why the Duke was now moving like a man with his foot on fire, trying to clean up the mess Lloyd had made.

Meanwhile, Lloyd realized what bomb Admund had dropped from the Duchess’s words.

“So what if I did?”

But Lloyd reacted nonchalantly even as he saw his mother wailing.

At that nonchalant reaction, even the tears flowing from the Duchess’s eyes stopped.

For a moment she thought she had heard wrong.

But seeing Lloyd’s reaction, she realized she hadn’t misheard.

“I needed something to enjoy when Aria was always by Admund’s side.”

“Lloyd, you had Clea as your proper fiancée!”

The more she saw her son’s broken state, the more the Duchess’s heart seemed to shatter.

On top of that, she felt guilt.

Clea had always been good to them.

Not only did she endlessly help the Duke’s family, she also resolved all the Duke and Duchess’s existing difficulties at once.

She wasn’t as bad as the rumors said.

The two had very much welcomed Clea becoming Lloyd’s wife.

But now, imagining her being forced to stay by the side of their good-for-nothing son, they felt nothing but sorry.

“The only person I held in my heart was Aria.”

The Duchess thought it was rather fortunate that Clea and Lloyd’s engagement had been broken.

Though it might be very regrettable for the family, considering the help they had received from her in the past, it was for the best.

“So please help me, Mother. So that I can be with Aria.”

The Duchess closed her mouth at the sight of Lloyd shamelessly making demands, as if he had completely forgotten what had just happened.

Lloyd headed outside without waiting for her answer.

As she watched him leave, she felt she should stop him, but her body wouldn’t move.

“Are you alright, my lady?”

She sat down in a nearby chair and took a deep breath.

Along with her aching head, she finally noticed the gazes around her.

Along with feeling embarrassed, she was at a loss for what to do next.

“Send someone to him right away to report the current situation.”

“First, madam…”

“There’s no time to waste. Please hurry.”

If they’re not careful, it may not end with just family disgrace.

He is the heir to the Duke’s family after all.

Who knows what he might do.

Thinking they needed to inform the Duke of this immediately, she tried to hurry.

“Have someone follow that child and stop him.”

She hoped.

That Lloyd wouldn’t break any further.

And that the household wouldn’t become any more chaotic.

But was her wish too much to ask?

* * *

“So you’re saying you want to borrow money from me?”

“That’s right.”

Barwin smiled in disbelief.

The people who had appeared one after another at his mansion today were all trash.

To be honest, he didn’t even want to deal with them, but he didn’t drive them out because it seemed like an interesting situation might unfold.

“Doesn’t the young master receive an allowance from your family?”

“Ha, so you’re saying you won’t lend me money.”

He had already been in a state of rage when he entered.

Seeing Lloyd’s gaze sharpen, Barwin decided not to provoke him further.

It was hard to predict how such an unpredictable person would react.

‘Even if I lend it, his family will repay it anyway.’

With the Percy family as a backer, there was no problem credit-wise.

But there was one thing that bothered Barwin.

The fact that the other party was hostile to Clea, who had saved him.

He pondered that point for a moment, then handed a money bag to his subordinate beside him.

“Alright. I’ll lend it to you if you sign.”

“…Thanks.”

As Lloyd signed and quickly left with the bag, Barwin’s subordinate asked.

“Is it alright to let him go like this?”

“It doesn’t matter. Someone like that will only get himself in trouble the more money you give him.”

That was why he had given him the money.

Not giving him money would limit what he could do.

It’s better to give him money and let him run wild as much as possible.

“So where is the other guest?”

Meanwhile, his gaze turned to another direction.

“Ah, if you mean that junior, he’s in that room over there.”

“These family heirs are really ridiculous.”

With a cold expression devoid of any smile, he headed towards the room where Steve was.

To tie up the unfinished conversation.