Chapter 07
“Yes, I understand…”
As the butler reluctantly left, Layla’s face turned somber.
Of course, she didn’t believe Yuliana could truly manage the entire estate—but the fact that such a huge responsibility had been handed to her still left her uneasy.
Still, no matter how close Layla was to Kallion, she couldn’t question his decision.
***
Meanwhile, in the study…
I stared blankly at the stack of documents the butler had brought.
“It’s been decided, so I leave it to you, Madam.”
“…”
He looked incredibly nervous.
I asked, puzzled,
“Kallion really handed me control of the entire estate?”
“Yes…”
The butler’s face showed he didn’t understand it either.
I silently flipped through the documents.
They detailed every expense in the estate—from banquet costs, kitchen supplies, to the salaries of the staff.
The pile of papers was taller than me.
I skimmed through some of them and sighed quietly.
The butler, seeing that, fidgeted nervously.
“Um… there’s a banquet next month. We have to start preparing now if we want it to go smoothly…”
Seeing his worried face, I placed a hand to my forehead.
“Alright. Just go for now.”
Looking like he was about to cry, the butler finally left.
Kallion giving me the estate to manage—this never happened in my past life.
Before Denian was born, I had planned to live quietly, unnoticed.
This was completely different.
In this life, Kallion was forcing responsibilities on me that he had never done before.
Why? Did he suddenly recognize me as his wife?
No. That couldn’t be it.
I sat in silence, thinking… then let out a bitter laugh.
No—he just wants to watch me struggle.
He wants to see me fail and then use it as an excuse to belittle me.
“You still look down on me, don’t you, Kallion?”
But I wasn’t the foolish girl of the past anymore.
In my tenth life, I had become the wife of a noble head of household—respected across the realm.
To find out who orchestrated the deaths of me and Denian, I needed the power of a great noble family equal to Valdormer.
That’s why I approached the second son of the Silverstel family in my tenth life—
Not knowing he would eventually become head of the family.
Silverstel was a family known for its rare power to control ice spirits.
Besides the imperial family (Pavelruf), there were four main houses:
Valdormer, Heister, Silverstel, and Marcelino.
Marcelino had grown weak after losing their wood-spirit powers, but the other three still held strong influence.
These families constantly competed, trying to weaken each other’s powers.
I believed one or more of them had to be involved in my and Denian’s deaths.
I found nothing in that life.
But I still felt guilty toward my past husband—
He truly cared for me and loved me.
But despite everything, he couldn’t fill the emptiness in me.
In the end, I left him behind and chose this twelfth life—to meet Denian again.
As I was lost in these thoughts, there was a knock at the door.
I took a deep breath and composed myself.
“Come in.”
Thankfully, my voice came out calm.
It was Layla.
I looked at her curiously as she stepped in with a polite smile.
“Did Kallion send another message?”
Layla smiled sweetly and said,
“I’ve been assigned to help you for the time being. Please feel free to ask if anything is difficult.”
Her doll-like, fake smile made me smirk inwardly.
So now they’re assigning me a watcher?
Or maybe Layla volunteered herself.
I returned her smile.
I had planned to stay quiet until I had a child, but if they were going to hand me the knife, I might as well use it.
Now, I would find the person responsible for Denian’s death—what I couldn’t discover before.
And to do that, becoming the proper lady of Valdormer… wasn’t a bad idea.
It would make gathering information easier.
At least until I had the child and could disappear, I would act like the perfect wife.
I would use everything Valdormer gave me to uncover the truth.
A faint, meaningful smile crept to my lips.
“You probably know the estate better than I do, Layla. I’ll be counting on you.”
***
I could feel Layla staring at me.
She seemed confused—watching me handle the work so smoothly.
Even after several days, I managed the records with no issue.
“The budget for the banquet isn’t very generous.”
I said flatly.
Layla, who was sorting older documents nearby, answered stiffly:
“We spent a lot on the wedding. It’s hard to get more funds. And it’s not as little as you think.”
It was likely she and the butler had gotten Kallion’s approval for the budget.
But this banquet would be attended by all the major noble families.
I stood without hesitation and threw on a shawl.
Layla quickly followed.
“Madam, where are you going?”
I answered bluntly:
“It’s better to talk directly with the merchant about the banquet supplies.”
She hurried after me and said,
“If it’s about supplies, I can summon the Himer Merchant Guild. They’ve always worked with House Valdormer.”
Her voice was full of annoyance.
I looked at her indifferently.
“No. I won’t be using that guild this time.”
“What…?”
Her expression froze.
Then she frowned and spoke like a teacher correcting a student.
“Madam, the Himer Guild has worked with House Valdormer for a long time. We don’t do business with just anyone.”
She was lecturing me now?
I almost laughed.
In just half a year, Valdormer would regret not working with this other merchant.
“It’s a good chance to open up trade with a new guild.”
Ignoring her objections, I walked out.
Layla followed with a deep frown.
In the carriage, she didn’t hide her displeasure.
But as the lady of the house, she couldn’t openly argue.
She had no choice but to tag along.
I stared out the window, treating her like a ghost.
Unlike the major guilds in the capital, the one we were heading to was located on the outskirts.
It was still small, unknown among the great houses.
But my previous husband—head of Silverstel—was the first noble to work with them.
Their prices were reasonable, and the merchant lord was passionate and clever.
They would grow fast.
Also, this guild secretly traded in information—
Something I badly needed, since I couldn’t use Valdormer’s servants freely.
As I thought about that, the carriage neared the building.
I looked up—
And froze.
A man was walking out of the merchant building.
Lloyd de Silverstel.
The second son of Silverstel. The future head of the house.
And… my husband in the last life.
