ITMLWKM 30

Chapter 29

Latia headed straight for her father’s bedroom.

While she had been talking with Gilbert and digging up herbs in the garden, she had assumed that Albus would have woken up by now.

However…

“He’s still not awake?”

“Yes. After everything that happened yesterday…”

The head butler glanced at Latia with a slightly displeased expression.

His look practically screamed, ‘Because of you.’

Still, maintaining his professional demeanor, he chose his words carefully.

“There were… some unexpected events yesterday.”

Although he had phrased it politely, he was still subtly placing the blame on her.

Of course, Latia didn’t care.

“Susan, what time is it?”

“It’s ten minutes before eleven in the morning.”

“It’s already far too late to be starting the day. Even if Father…”

She shot the butler a meaningful look, just as he had done to her.

Then she smiled brightly.

“…Even if Mother left home because she discovered that Father was having an affair with the maid Betty.”

The butler’s shoulders immediately stiffened.

After all, Albus was the one who had committed adultery.

And he was also the one who had failed to stop Raysina from leaving.

Then why are you trying to blame me?

Shouldn’t he be ashamed that his own daughter discovered something like this and reflect on his actions?

Latia continued smiling cheerfully.

The butler stared at her for a moment before bowing slightly.

“I’ll check to see whether the marquis is awake. Susan, please escort the young lady to the study.”

“Yes, of course.”

Susan accepted the instruction naturally.

After the butler disappeared into Albus’s bedroom, Latia and Susan quietly exchanged amused glances and headed toward the study.

At the same time, Albus was curled up beneath the heavy curtains in his bedroom.

“Ugh… ngh…”

He was groaning in reality while running through a nightmare in his dreams.

Becoming the head of the family hadn’t been easy for him.

If he hadn’t married Raysina, the daughter of a duke, he would have eventually lost the battle for the succession.

Father always favored Gilbert, the son of his concubine.

In truth, Albus and Gilbert were half-brothers.

At one point, Gilbert had openly declared that he wouldn’t participate in the fight for succession because they had different mothers.

But Albus had been afraid of how much their father favored Gilbert.

So he framed him and had him expelled from the family.

Afterward, Albus claimed all the achievements his father had failed to accomplish during his lifetime and used them to strengthen his own position.

Raysina and her ducal family had contributed enormously to his success.

That was why the thought of his wife’s family turning against him terrified him.

If the ducal family decides to expose everything, who knows what will happen?

They had helped him obtain the title of marquis.

They could just as easily take it away.

The terrifying possibility of losing everything drove Albus to blame Raysina relentlessly.

It’s all Raysina’s fault! If only she’d supported me properly from the beginning…!

He had started his affair with Betty because Raysina constantly looked down on him, reminding him that it was her family that had elevated him to the position of marquis.

But Betty was different.

She always admired him.

She praised him.

She took care of him.

That woman never showed me any affection at all. She didn’t even know how to respect me as her husband and the head of this family!

In other words, Betty had restored all the confidence that Raysina had crushed.

Naturally, he had become attached to her.

But that attachment had placed his entire position in jeopardy.

Without the ducal family…

His in-laws were both his greatest support and the chains binding him.

The reason Albus had been collecting leverage was to free himself from the ducal family’s influence.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

I need to cultivate these medicinal herbs properly. Otherwise, our trading company will always remain dependent on the ducal family’s business. But now that my affair has been exposed, what am I supposed to do? They might never help me again!

Even while trapped in his nightmare, his mind remained consumed by worries about the present and the future.

Then—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Someone shattered his nightmare with the sound of knocking.

“My lord, Miss Latia is here to see you.”

The butler’s voice was calm and quiet.

Yet Albus’s eyes flew open as if someone had set off an explosion beside him.

“Hah… hah…”

He had awakened so violently that his heart actually hurt.

Running a hand over his exhausted face, he asked,

“Who… did you say came to see me?”

“Miss Latia is here.”

“Latia…?”

“Yes. I’ve already escorted her to the study.”

At that moment, a chilling light flashed across his blue eyes.

That’s right.

The reason yesterday turned into such a disaster…

The reason my affair with Betty was exposed…

His pounding, alcohol-soaked head recalled yesterday’s luncheon.

“Everything Latia said is true. I saw it myself. That maid named Betty didn’t even deny it, did she? She searched Latia’s room while looking for valuables. Oh, and wasn’t it during that search that she found some medicine?”

“She saw the medicine and immediately said, ‘That’s the marquis’s.’ Later, Latia explained that she had been mistaken because the marquis kept the same medicine in his study.”

“But isn’t that strange? How did Betty recognize the medicine immediately?”

“Almost as if she’d seen it before in the marquis’s study.”

It was all because of that bird Latia had brought.

No.

If Latia hadn’t handed Betty that flowerpot in the first place…

If she hadn’t exposed Betty for stealing…

Raysina would never have left for her family’s estate!

Fury blazed in Albus’s eyes.

That damned girl…

Everything was Latia’s fault.

I was finally starting to treat her a little better, and now she’s forgotten her place and dared to destroy the peace in my home?

His resentment was overwhelming.

He barked an order.

“Bring me some water to wash up immediately!”

The moment he saw Latia, he planned to grab her by the hair.

“Hmm… He’s taking a while.”

Sitting on the sofa, I swung my feet back and forth while muttering to myself.

The cookies on the desk smelled delicious.

But I resisted.

I couldn’t allow him to find even the smallest excuse to criticize me.

After a while—

BANG!

The door flew open with a deafening crash.

“Latia!”

Father stormed inside.

For a moment, I thought the door had broken.

My heart raced in surprise, but I pretended nothing had happened and stood up calmly.

Straightening the dress I’d inherited from Elene, I greeted him politely.

“Father, you’re here.”

He ignored my greeting and marched toward me.

His expression practically shouted:

“How dare you!”

His tightly clenched fists, fierce eyes, and firmly pressed lips made it obvious that he was preparing to hit me.

But why would I just stand there and let it happen when I could read his expression and predict his actions?

Instead, I took a step toward him.

“…!”

If I had tried to run away or shown any fear, that hand would have immediately grabbed my hair.

This little brat…

He had absolutely intended to do it.

But when I approached him instead, he was the one who stepped back.

Like Bill and Ron, Father was the kind of person who was weak in front of the strong and strong in front of the weak.

I smiled innocently.

“There’s something I’d like to show you.”

“…What?”

He had lost his opportunity to explode in anger.

His expression turned blank with confusion.

“Would you sit down first?”

“…Fine.”

In the end, not only did he fail to grab my hair, but he couldn’t even manage to curse at me.

Instead, he sat down across from me.

Susan, who had been waiting, placed a flowerpot on the table.

“This is…”

“It’s Blade Mint.”

More specifically, it was Blade Mint that I’d purchased from the Gruan Trading Company and transplanted into the garden.

“I heard that the young leaves of Blade Mint are very effective at relieving hangovers. If you chew them directly, their cooling properties work immediately.”

“Yes, I already know that—hmm.”

Father suddenly stopped speaking.

Hmph. He probably thinks I heard he was suffering from a hangover.

I could practically see him twisting my actions into something suspicious.

“Someone as hardworking and respectable as you, Father, shouldn’t still be coughing at this hour of the day. I was worried.”

“…”

“Did no one prepare anything to help with your hangover? I thought that might be a problem, so I prepared this for you. Or have you already eaten something?”

I spoke with an innocent expression.

Father hesitated.

Then he reached toward the Blade Mint.

He plucked a young leaf, placed it in his mouth, and began chewing.

The moment he did, a strange light appeared in his eyes.

“This is…!”

“It’s Blade Mint grown in our garden.”

I deliberately emphasized the point.

Father muttered in confusion.

“But it shouldn’t relieve a hangover this quickly…”

Then something suddenly clicked.

His mouth fell open.

He immediately plucked another leaf and began chewing again.

I quietly observed him.

His face was becoming increasingly filled with shock and disbelief.

Yes. You’re surprised, aren’t you?

Normally, it took five young leaves from the garden’s Blade Mint to achieve any noticeable hangover relief.

But now, after chewing only two leaves, his hangover had completely disappeared.

And he’d finally realized it.

“…Replacing all the soil really was worth it!”

My advice had worked.

The herbs simply needed time to mature.

That was the point I wanted to drive home.

It was obvious that he would resent me for exposing his affair with Betty.

Yes, I’d helped the Gladellis Trading Company before.

But that alone wasn’t enough to completely win him over.

I needed him to understand something.

If he followed my advice, he would see quick, reliable, and undeniable results.

And most importantly—

I wasn’t a card he could simply throw away.

Hiding my triumphant smile, I asked,

“Has your hangover improved?”

“Improved? It’s completely gone! Hahaha!”

Father burst into hearty laughter, completely forgetting that he’d come here intending to punish me.

I’d solved the problem that had been giving him endless headaches—the poor quality of the medicinal herbs.

Surely he’d forgive me for exposing his affair now.

After all, restoring the herbs’ original potency meant he could earn far more money while using much smaller quantities.

And if that happened…

“I’ve finally become unstoppable!”

He could finally achieve his greatest ambition:

Independence from his wife’s powerful family.