Chapter 2

“Or, what, are you going to take responsibility?”

“I should if I need to.”

Erich said with a stiff face.

“I can’t say that the Southern aristocrat family, Aren is fit for Clausener, but there’s no choice except enduring it.”

Claire’s eyes widened. She felt like she was going to have high blood pressure.

No, yes. Erich’s words were correct by the world’s general standards. Being a baron and geting married to the Duke of Clausener, one of the three most prestigious families in the empire, did not fit the case.

Perhaps the general butler of this mansion also holds the title of baron or higher and vassals have served from generation to generation, not by employment relations.

Claire was annoyed even though she knew it.

Claire was lucky enough to be born an aristocrat, and she was not righteous enough to preach freedom, equality, and philanthropy, abandoning her privileges.

However, the efforts that some of her ancestors claimed did not disappear from the depths of her soul.

Even if His Majesty the Emperor came, she would be angry if he said, anything like ‘Your family’ etc.

If he were an employer, then she would have put up with it.

‘But we’re not in that relationship either.’

There was nothing to lose. Did Claire make the mistake alone? Not at all. Did she seduce him? Absolutely not!

It just happened somehow. She didn’t mind to spend her night together with a young man of vigorous age.

It was absurd to give her a favor by saying that he would take responsibility for it, as if something had happened to her.

Did anyone cling to you to marry me?

“Thank you, but I will decline. To be honest, I’m not even grateful.”

At Claire’s reply, Erich’s lips hardened. It was a face that was showing anger.

Claire said proudly.

“It’s just a matter of consequence that I made a terrible mistake anyway, so let’s pretend it didn’t happen. What’s the big deal about sleeping once? That would be better for the Duke too.”

Erich’s brows wriggled when she called him the Duke. Claire raised her chin, wondering what he was so dissatisfied with, when she called him by a name suitable for his position.

Erich said.

“Do you want me to be a trash who takes the lady’s virginity and doesn’t even accept the responsibility?”

“Who said it’s my first time?”

Then Erich’s face cracked even more.

Claire regretted that she had spouted out too much. Pre-marital purity was an important virtue and a comatose for noble women.

But Claire soon changed her mind.

‘Well, it’s not completely wrong.’

Not in my current life, but in my previous life I had a boyfriend for quite a long time.

Erich couldn’t have been the first anyway. It was even more irritating to think so.

Claire opened the powder room attached to the bedroom and found a new dress for the woman. With new underwear.

“Hmm. I knew it.”

He’s very prepared. Claire may be the first to have an aristocratic partner for the night, but that must not be the case for him.

“As expected?”

“It’s nothing. Can I wear this?”

“……I’m sure it’s there for you to wear.”

Erich said in a stiff voice. Claire snorted.

The light blue dress was very luxurious. Even though it was anonymous, it seemed like it would be worth the price of Claire’s three party dresses.

Are you sending out all the girls who go to bed with you in expensive clothes like this? Or is there a separate owner of the clothes?

‘Hmm… … .’

No, he doesn’t have a fiancee, and he doesn’t have an open lover, so the latter isn’t possible.

Until then, no one knocked on the door.

She wore the dress and even the prepared pelerine to cover her perfectly ill-fitting appearance.

When I came out of the powder room, Erich was wearing his night gown.

“I’d like to call a carriage, but please call a heavy-mouth servant.”

“What are you gonna do if you have kids?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be in touch if I think even a drop of the noble duke’s pedigree will fall on someone like Baron Delford.”

“Do you have to say it in that way?”

“Then how dare I not contact the Duke and wait?”

“You got it twisted again.”

“What’s your problem?”

“I told you I’d take responsibility.”

Erich said, pulling the rope.

Soon the gray-haired butler came in and waited in a polite manner. Claire wore pelerine’s hood.

Erich said.

“You’ll come to your senses when you calm down. I’ll get back to you, so wait.”

“You don’t have to. I may not have been sane, but the Duke was sane.”

Claire spoke coldly and bowed in the most elegant gesture possible.

She was fussy in many ways. But what can she do with what has already happened?

‘Crazy. If I drink alcohol again, I am a beast, beast.’

About two months after saying that, it was her tongue and stomach that suddenly started to think differently and now this was the case.

She jumped out of her carriage and, without looking back, entered the alleyway that leads to Baron Delford’s house.

The Delford’s Baron townhouse was a small two-story house with a palm-sized garden and a wall next door.

The capital city was far from this territory. It was purchased by many aristocrats to live while their children were studying at the Academy.

House prices in the capital were sky-high, so it was great for a poor Baron to maintain this much.

“Master! Master! Where have you been?”

The butler rushed out. Claire said, lowering her hood.

“Give me some bath water. I didn’t do anything yesterday.”

Claire replied indifferently, thinking that he must have been worried because she had stayed out without a word yesterday. She even changed her clothes.

But the butler shook his head. Though still a young host, he was rarely worried about Claire.

It’s not because he doesn’t care and love Claire, but because she has been his owner since she was young and wasn’t considered to be cared for.

“No, I don’t care about what master did yesterday. There seems to be something going on with Miss Elisha.”

“Elisha?”

Claire walked quickly to the second floor where Elisha’s room was. The butler followed after her and said,

“She came in late yesterday, alone.”

“What? What about Masa?”

“Mr. Masa came only in the morning. He’s been looking for you all night.

“And about Elisha?”

“She’s back, and she’s gone straight into the bedroom, locked the door and won’t come out. Well, I can hear her crying.….”

“What?”

Although her body felt indescribably uncomfortable, Claire immediately headed to Elisha’s room.

When I listened, there was a sobbing sound that I could really hear outside the door.

Thump thump.

Claire knocked hard at the door.

“El, it’s me. Sister. Please open the door.”

The screams through the door ceased.

Contrary to her anxiety, Elisha came busily to open the door. The black cape, covered with dust and mud stains, was covered to the tip of her head.

“Sister.”

“What’s the matter, Ellie?”

Elisha opened her door just a little bit and she grabbed Claire’s arm. If the door opened a little, it was as if she won’t be able to hide from the outside.

All the shutters in her room were closed and the curtains were drawn. Plus, Elisha had pushed all the furniture she could move and had the windows closed.

When Claire came in, it was not until she locked the door that Elisha managed to pull the cloak down her head.

“El, you… … ?”

Claire was shocked to see Elisha’s face

The white and fine face was filled with bruises and scars. There was a tear in the arm, and blood was on the hem of the dress.

Now that I saw it, the stain on the cape, which I thought was a mud stain, was also bloodstained.

“What’s the matter?”

Claire took a deep breath and asked.

Yesterday was the Coming-of-Age Day for Elisha and other Academy graduates. It was her debut day in society.

Claire came to the capital to attend the debut party.

Yesterday, Elisha looked the prettiest in the world.

Claire was able to leave her alone because she heard that Elisha would have her last party with her friends in the dormitory at night.

But what’s going on?

Elisha grabbed her arm and hung on.

“Unnie, unnie. What should I do?

Tears welled up in the big sky blue eyes.

“I saw something I shouldn’t see.”

“What?”

“I can’t say, I can’t say, I can’t say.”

Elisha swallowed her breaths and barely spoke. She then sat down on the floor and +-breathed.

Claire sat crouching in front of her and hugged her.

“It’s okay, El. tell me what’s going on, your sister will take care of it. What did you see?”

“No, I can’t speak. My sister is also at risk.”

She trembled and grabbed Claire’s arm.

“Everyone will die if it becomes known that I saw them. You have to run away, sister.”
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