CHAPTER 19
“We have more evidence to submit.”
The legal team nodded and presented a bundle of papers—financial records detailing Artur’s expenditures as acting head of the Jacqueline family.
“Under imperial law, those caught purchasing Rosdella can be arrested on the spot.”
He really was a drug addict, huh.
As expected, no one ever does just one bad thing.
I had discovered this by accident while investigating his financials to trace his slush funds.
Among his many suspicious expenses, Rosdella stood out—it was considered a high-end, highly addictive drug in those circles. Since it cost a fortune each time, it was easy to trace.
I turned to the judge and smiled.
The judge sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead, then gave a subtle signal to the imperial guards beside him. Receiving the signal, they approached Artur.
“T-This is a setup!”
“That’s something the skilled doctors at the palace will determine, Uncle.”
Seeing my smile, Artur turned red and trembled with fury. I ignored his glare and looked calmly toward the judge.
“Your Honor, shall we proceed with the trial?”
“That will be all for today’s lesson.”
He’s even more talented than I thought.
The more the lesson progressed, the grimmer Aaron’s expression became as he observed Ren’s skills.
This boy’s talent exceeded normal human limits.
The lesson had been on intermediate sword techniques—something Aaron had mastered at thirteen after starting at the age of six.
But Ren, despite this being his first formal training, was already absorbing the material, albeit clumsily.
I only taught it to test him, but… incredible.
Even when swinging the wooden sword, his posture never wavered—like someone who had already been through similar lessons. Still, his gaze lacked precision when following the blade, showing he was new.
“Thank you for the lesson.”
Renox bowed politely. Aaron caught a flicker of disappointment in the boy’s eyes and gave a faint smile before returning to a neutral expression.
Just then, Callisto entered the training grounds.
Aaron saw him and turned back to Ren.
“Don’t forget today’s lesson—review it thoroughly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Aaron quickly approached Callisto.
“How’s the trial going?”
“Let’s discuss that outside,” Callisto replied, glancing subtly at Renox.
Aaron nodded, and the two left the training grounds.
Left alone, Renox continued swinging his wooden sword, but he suddenly thought—he wanted to try a real sword.
Where’s a live blade?
No matter where he looked, he couldn’t find one. It made sense—it was just a practice ground, not the official one used by knights.
As he wandered near the edge of the yard, he heard voices and instinctively hid behind a wall, concealing his presence.
It was Aaron and the young marquis, Callisto.
“You flipped the trial completely. That couldn’t have been easy.”
“I didn’t expect things to turn around so fast myself—especially not for her sister’s sake.”
Aaron looked surprised and gave a faint smile.
From their conversation, Renox quickly inferred the situation.
It seemed they were talking about the trial involving Istasha Rowen’s abuse.
He listened more closely. The next name Callisto mentioned was familiar.
“Even if she acts indifferent, Clen really cares about Melin.”
So Melin Jacqueline was the same girl Istasha had once tutored.
That would mean Clemence Jacqueline was her family?
Family can be that reliable?
In the underworld, most kids had no families—or worse, families who were as bad as strangers.
He himself had been abandoned by useless parents, left on the streets.
So he had always thought of family as nothing more than a bothersome chain of blood.
But if family meant someone who would take such a stand for you…
I envy her.
He truly envied this Melin Jacqueline girl.
And at the same time, it felt strange—he was also Istasha Rowen’s student, yet their fates were so different.
“So, is Clemence going to get the title of countess? She’d be the youngest ever.”
Callisto shook his head.
“No, Duke Dinero hasn’t approved it yet.”
Aaron flinched at that.
“…And Clemence is just accepting that?”
“Even for Clen, going up against Duke Dinero is a tall order.”
That much was true. Aaron was about to nod when Callisto continued:
“That’s what I thought, but apparently, one of the businesses the duke holds a major stake in just got completely destroyed.”
“…Don’t tell me Clemence did that?”
“Yup.”
Aaron didn’t respond, but Renox could feel his stunned silence.
“And get this—the business she destroyed was Tara Transport, which is operated by the Jacqueline family.”
“Better make sure to stay on her good side, then.”
It was obvious the subject was Clemence Jacqueline.
“Yeah. She’s terrifying as an enemy,” Callisto agreed.
From their exchange, Renox quickly grasped the full picture.
Apparently, Clemence had wrecked a business her own family ran, just because she hadn’t been granted her title due to being a minor.
Hearing this, he muttered without even realizing it:
“…The world is full of lunatics.”
He’d never heard of someone using sabotage as a way to demand a title. The sheer scale of her actions baffled him.
And the opponent? Duke Dinero.
Even Renox, who had spent most of his life in back alleys, knew of Duke Georg Dinero.
The Iron Chancellor of the Seriel Empire. A tycoon who saw the world in terms of numbers and money.
A top-tier power among nobles.
Clemence Jacqueline’s boldness in diving headfirst into a fight she clearly couldn’t win—he just couldn’t understand it.
In the world Renox had grown up in, when faced with injustice or greater power, you stayed quiet.
Survival of the fittest.
For someone like him, challenging the strong was unthinkable.
He’d once wanted to become powerful—but quickly gave up.
Because he realized that true strength didn’t come from brute force, but from influence.
His desire to wield a real sword now faded. He turned back.
Yeah… Just having strength won’t get me out of this miserable life.
Even this sponsorship could disappear the moment the sponsor lost interest—it was no different from a mirage.
“….”
Back in his room, he lay on his bed with a sunken expression.
A life where surviving is lucky enough.
That was how he summed himself up—in one bleak sentence.
He lay there, eyes closed, exhausted but unable to sleep.
He rarely napped anyway.
Even if he tried, all he’d see were nightmares.
In those dreams, he always stood helpless, watching people scream, bleed, and fall around him.
He’d wake drenched in sweat, trembling.
Trying to think of something else, he suddenly remembered something Istasha Rowen once said about Melin’s sister.
“Her sister has red hair and golden eyes—how can siblings look so different?”
“She seemed smart, sure… but a bit too intense for a girl, don’t you think?”
Same eye color, same personality.
Clemence Jacqueline and Rose shared many similarities.
She’s clearly a noble, but never said her family name…
Suddenly, his sharp mind kicked in.
Everyone in the Skylar estate knew that Callisto and Clemence Jacqueline were close.
Even Renox had overheard the maids gossiping.
“Aren’t those two going to end up together?”
“I don’t know about the lady, but the young master definitely seems to like her.”
And Callisto called her “Clen”—a nickname, showing familiarity.
But the woman who introduced herself as Rose, his so-called contract agent, also seemed very close to Callisto.
Yet I’ve never heard any rumors about a ‘Rose.’
When he asked the maids about her, they all shook their heads.
How could someone so close to the young marquis be a complete unknown?
Could Rose’s real name actually be… Clemence Jacqueline?
