~Chapter 66~
No matter how much I would miss Janus, there was no one I trusted more to run the hospital. He would never be swayed by Egbert’s bribes. Thankfully, Janus was alone. After losing his wife a long time ago, he had always lived by himself. He didn’t have any family who could be taken hostage, unlike the current hospital director.
“If you trust me with this, I’ll do my best,” Janus said.
He was ambitious and would make sure to get good results.
“I’m counting on you, Janus.”
“It already feels like I’m the director.”
“You’ll have a lot to learn.”
“Of course. Actually, I’m fired up about it. I’ll never let you down.”
I smiled.
Seeing Janus so confident made me feel like I already had the hospital in my hands.
At that moment—
Baldwin was receiving a visitor.
The Marquis of Horace showed up at Baldwin’s office without an appointment, looking anxious.
He just couldn’t figure out why Constantine was making trouble for him now.
If things went badly, he could lose his only son.
He had been planning to officially add his son to the family register after Gwenndolyn’s marriage. But if his son got a criminal record, it would be impossible.
His wife, the Marchioness, valued her reputation above all else and already hated all the illegitimate children. There was no way she’d agree if something went wrong.
‘I can’t divorce her either.’
He sighed deeply. The dowry she’d brought into the marriage was too big—he couldn’t bear to split it if they divorced.
He had to solve this problem—especially before his wife found out.
“It’s been a while, Your Grace,” the marquis said with a forced smile.
He tried to be polite, figuring that if Constantine was upset, he’d need to butter him up.
Baldwin nodded coolly, his eyes cold.
‘Doesn’t this guy have any manners?’ the marquis thought. He’d always been stiff, but lately, he was practically icy.
“The weather is nice today, Your Grace. It’s a perfect day for good people to meet and have a nice talk, don’t you think?”
Baldwin showed no reaction at all.
The marquis licked his lips and rubbed his hands, trying to calm his nerves.
Baldwin didn’t even offer him tea. Clearly, his mood was bad.
‘What on earth is all this about?’
He watched Baldwin, trying to figure out how to start the conversation.
‘Oh, whatever.’
He took a deep breath and spoke.
“I heard you’ve been working closely with the city guard lately, Your Grace. Actually, my son has gotten into some serious trouble, and I heard you were involved in resolving it. Do you have any ties to the Count of Benevin or his son?”
Baldwin gave a cold smile.
It was clear he was telling the marquis to back off unless there was a good reason. When had justice in Estus become so corrupt?
Baldwin wasn’t exactly a righteous man, but the marquis’s attitude was laughable—just assuming his son’s crimes could be covered up.
[I don’t know what you mean, Marquis.]
Of course, he knew. As usual, he drew the line with formal speech, but his eyes said much more.
“If my family has upset you somehow, please tell me. I need to know what’s wrong so I can fix it.”
The marquis was desperate.
He had always known Gwenndolyn chased after Baldwin as a child, though she’d lost interest after Baldwin’s accident.
‘Does he know about that?’
But was that really what this was about?
With Baldwin staying silent, the marquis only grew more nervous.
Finally, Baldwin spoke after a long pause.
[Lady Gwenndolyn of Horace has gone too far. I thought maybe the city guard was slacking off.]
What kind of excuse was that?
What did Gwenndolyn’s rudeness have to do with the city guard?
The marquis frowned.
“Did Gwenndolyn do something wrong?”
He hadn’t been keeping track of her lately—he’d been too busy with his son’s situation.
“It’s my fault for not keeping an eye on my daughter. Please, tell me what happened…”
Baldwin rang a bell. Luterick, who had been waiting, quickly entered.
“Let me explain, Marquis.”
The marquis turned to Luterick.
“Lady Gwenndolyn has been spending a lot of time with the Dowager and Countess Crenbel.”
“Did she offend the Dowager…?”
Luterick didn’t let him finish.
“She’s also been meeting with Her Grace, the Duchess. Last Wednesday, Friday, and again today, I believe.”
The marquis’s face showed he was putting things together.
‘Could it be…?’
He knew Gwenndolyn still cared about Constantine and that she was unhappy with her fiancé.
‘Why aren’t there any perfect men like Baldwin, Father?’
‘Hey, you can’t go looking at other men when you’re engaged. He’s the one you chose.’
‘He was the best of a bad lot.’
He remembered her pouting, and the shock on her face when she’d heard about Baldwin’s sudden marriage.
Luterick continued,
“Lady Gwenndolyn introduced Countess Crenbel to the Dowager and recommended her as Her Grace’s teacher for manners and etiquette.”
He took a deep breath.
“On the first day, Her Grace had to take a dance lesson for two hours in high heels. Then on Saturday, they went to Enshuber Salon, where Her Grace had to try on dresses for five hours straight.”
The specific numbers were overwhelming.
The marquis, trembling, looked at Baldwin.
Baldwin smiled coldly and gestured for him to keep listening.
“From our information, Lady Gwenndolyn often said things like, ‘Learn Baldwin’s taste from me, I’ll teach you.’ She also made many insulting comments to Her Grace, and in the end, the two of them even argued.”
The marquis’s face went from pale to blue.
An argument? Between a duke’s wife and a marquis’s daughter? Unthinkable! The title “Your Grace” was reserved for dukes—the highest rank among nobles.
His daughter, of all people, should have known better.
‘She did know better! That’s why she did it!’
She must have been upset that the Duchess was a divorced woman from a lower family, and jealous too. She wanted to show off her friendship with Baldwin to upset the Duchess.
He swallowed hard.
“And last night, Lady Gwenndolyn invited Her Grace to the ladies’ reading. We don’t know what will happen there, but it seems the other ladies have agreed on something.”
He remembered Gwenndolyn writing lots of letters last night. One was even in Luterick’s hand.
“To sum up: ‘Let’s teach the Duchess a lesson today. There’s no such thing as a noble who doesn’t know the ancient language. She should know her place.’”
Luterick read the letter without leaving anything out.
“That’s about it.”
“Your Grace!”
There was no way out of this. The marquis squeezed his eyes shut in despair.
