Chapter : 11
Even if I fought with Morgan, it seemed like no one would be on my side anyway, so even if I steeled myself and fought him, I’d only be at a loss.
Besides, I didn’t want to be thrown out.
If I was going to leave, I wanted to walk out on my own two feet.
“Tsk. You should’ve done that from the start.”
Morgan flinched, as if surprised by how readily I agreed, then soon put on a smug expression.
As if he knew I’d end up like this.
That despicable smile deepened even further.
“If you get caught again next time, I won’t let it slide, Patricia.”
Satisfied, Morgan left the room with the triumphant look of someone who had won a fight.
Bang!
“Haa….”
After Morgan finished causing a scene and left, all the strength drained from my body.
“Why is everyone like this to me, seriously?”
I complained belatedly, on the verge of tears, but there was no one on my side anyway.
“I’m already busy as it is.”
If I was going to meet Gerhardt tomorrow, I’d at least have to pretend to look for the photograph, but my exhausted body melted into the chair.
“…I shouldn’t have returned the necklace.”
In the novel, Patricia boldly attended the ball wearing the necklace she had picked up from Lawrence.
She probably wanted his attention.
And just as she intended, she got more than enough of it.
Lawrence, furious, reported the matter to Duke Herarila, and because of that, Patricia had to spend several months in a monastery.
I returned it because I felt like I’d end up in a monastery too if I kept it.
Tsk. I’d returned it because I knew what the necklace meant to Lawrence—but maybe I’d misjudged things.
It had been nothing but a sincere act of goodwill.
And as a result, now I had to meet Lawrence once every week.
“Haa…”
How was I supposed to find a photograph barely the size of my thumbnail?
“It’s impossible!”
A deep sigh escaped me. If I couldn’t find the photograph… I’d have to face his anger all over again.
“His mother’s keepsake.”
It must have been an important item to Lawrence Gerhardt.
It was only natural that he’d be angry.
Yeah. Every problem—
“Patricia.”
—came back to Patricia.
“Ha. This is all my fault.”
Letting out another deep sigh, I rolled up my sleeves, thinking I’d have to turn the room upside down again.
“Did you find it?”
“No.”
The young duke asked the moment he saw me, and I shook my head with an expression full of guilt.
I had searched the room all day yesterday, but I couldn’t find the photograph.
“…”
“……”
We had met for a single purpose, and with that unmet, there was nothing left to say.
As the silence dragged on, an inexplicable sense of guilt grew heavier, so I quietly spoke up to apologize.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
Lawrence said nothing. I bowed my head slightly and spoke again.
“…Then I’ll be going.”
We weren’t close enough to chat casually, and the sooner I returned home, the less likely my escape would be discovered.
To put it simply, I was supposed to be under house arrest—I shouldn’t even be here.
Even stepping out of my room required caution.
“Sit.”
My hips had lifted about two centimeters from the sofa when Lawrence said it.
It was clearly an order, but I didn’t bother arguing.
I sat back down and looked at him with a meek expression.
“Have some tea before you go.”
He gestured toward the teacup in front of me with his chin.
He was noticeably calmer than yesterday, but there was still no warmth in his voice.
It was cold and rigid as ever.
‘I don’t really want to drink it.’
Being alone with Lawrence was uncomfortable, and I felt like I’d get indigestion if I ate anything.
But I didn’t want to fight with the young duke over something so trivial, so I hurriedly drank the tea.
“Then I’ll be go—”
“Hey. Don’t you have any manners?”
I bowed again, eager to end the meeting, when Lawrence’s icy voice cut in.
His expression was more distorted than when he’d first entered the reception room.
Something else clearly displeased him.
He pointed at his own teacup, still far from empty.
“Ah….”
He meant I was supposed to stay until he finished drinking.
It was rude for a guest to stand up before the host.
“Oh, I thought you might feel uncomfortable being with me. I’m sorry.”
I hadn’t known Lawrence was the type to care about such etiquette, but either way, it was my fault, so I admitted it and apologized.
Given the situation, I was completely at his mercy.
As I stayed silent and waited for him to finish, he unexpectedly spoke again.
“Why would I feel uncomfortable?”
He asked as if genuinely curious.
“Uh… because you dislike me.”
“That’s true.”
He affirmed it so bluntly it was almost humiliating.
“And?”
“When you’re with someone you dislike, it’s uncomfortable.”
At my answer, given in response to his expectant look, the corner of Lawrence’s mouth twisted.
“So you’re saying you’re being considerate of me?”
With a mocking smile, he continued,
“Now, of all times?”
“……”
“You bothered me every single day by coming here, and now you say you’re being considerate? Then am I—”
“Huh? I came here every day?”
A chill ran down my spine, and I hurriedly interrupted him.
Lawrence, who seemed to be barely holding back his anger, glared at me sharply.
“Trying to pretend it never happened now?”
“I didn’t come every day—there’s no way….”
The young duke’s lips twisted crookedly.
He stared at me, clearly furious.
“……”
The novel briefly mentioned that Patricia stalked him, but it never went into detail about her misdeeds.
‘I thought she only bothered him at banquets or balls?’
Had Patricia really come here every single day, like Lawrence said?
Well, it was a romance novel—there was no need to go into exhaustive detail about the villainess’s stalking.
The thought that Lawrence might be right made my heart sink.
I didn’t want to believe it.
My jewels. My gold and treasures—I was starting to get a sense of where they’d all gone.
A deep sense of despair welled up, and I wanted to cry out in frustration.
“Haa… Did I really come here every day?”
“Not only did you come every day to harass me, you even tried to drug me with some pathetic concoction—and now you pretend you don’t know?”
When I met his red eyes, my shoulders trembled involuntarily.
I was momentarily stunned into silence by the resentment in his gaze.
What was that look?
For just a moment, Lawrence looked like someone who had been abandoned.
“So you want to pretend it never happened?”
“What? No, that’s not—”
To be honest, I did want to pretend it never happened.
Being held responsible for things I hadn’t done was unfair and exhausting.
But seeing the sadness in Lawrence Gerhardt’s eyes, I couldn’t help but try to explain.
“You really live comfortably, Patricia.”
The sadness in his eyes quickly froze over.
He looked at me with contempt, then stood up and left the room without hesitation.
Once again, I was left alone in the reception room of the Gerhardt estate.
“Haa… What’s going to happen now…?”
What was Lawrence feeling? What was he thinking? What had that expression meant?
I couldn’t tell, and my head ached.
It felt like everything was getting tangled again.
“Haa…”
The young duke’s anger was a problem, but my mind was already filled with other thoughts.
‘My jewels. My funds. My lifeline!!’
If Patricia had really come to see Lawrence every day without Duke Herarila knowing, then it was obvious where all those jewels had gone.
She must have used them all to bribe the servants into silence.
Stupid Patricia.
Not a single thing she’d done benefited me.
She came to see Lawrence, angered him, and then gave away all her jewels just to keep angering him.
I briefly wondered if she might have hidden the jewels somewhere in the room—a secret compartment.
Like loose floorboards or a hollow space in the wall, like in movies.
I wanted to believe that. I didn’t want to let go of hope.
“Damn it.”
I’d planned to leave the Herarila estate as soon as possible.
Now, that was impossible.
I thought things couldn’t get any worse.
“How dare you sneak out of the house again?!”
When I returned from the Gerhardt estate, Duke Herarila was looking for me.
“You useless fool! From now on, you won’t get a single coin from me—understand that!”
“What?”
I could only gape at the duke’s words.
“That’s ridiculous!”
“You idiot! I can’t stand the sight of you—get out at once!”
Just like that, my allowance was cut off.
Damn it.
I’d planned to save money here before leaving—but having my funds cut off completely… this was a disaster.
‘Then what am I supposed to do now…?’
Having lost all hope, I wandered the corridor outside the duke’s office.
Should I go back in and beg for forgiveness?
The thought crossed my mind, but—
“……”
I still had enough pride left not to grovel pitifully for mercy.
“Haa…”
This is absurd.
The servants who found out I’d gone out must have reported me immediately.
Why?
Because this time, I hadn’t given them any money.
‘I mean, after everything they’ve taken from Patricia all this time, couldn’t they have let it slide just once? So heartless.’
No matter how I thought about it, they had absolutely no sense of loyalty.
Patricia was seventeen.
She must have been receiving maintenance funds for over ten years.
Which meant the servants had been pocketing bribes for over ten years as well.
“……”
They must have made quite a fortune.
That was why they’d endured Patricia’s outrageous behavior all this time.
