Chapter 9
Of course, Linus protested fiercely, but I ignored him.
He made a huge fuss for half a day, then quieted down once his wounds started to worsen again.
For about four days, he didn’t eat or drink anything, but after collapsing from exhaustion once, he began eating well.
After that, he behaved quietly without any major outbursts.
Apparently, he’d decided that staying here was better than wandering around outside.
“What’s this?”
As soon as I entered the office, I saw a mysterious box on my desk and asked about it.
Edward, who must have just arrived as well, loosened his cufflinks and rolled up his sleeves while tilting his head.
“Not sure. Looks like Frederick brought it here.”
I opened the box. Inside was a short note from Frederick, the butler of the Edute estate.
He said he’d found a box of letters while cleaning out the late Count Edute’s underground storage.
“They must be letters Father wrote. Oh, there are Mother’s letters too.”
I skimmed through them. They were practically love letters, and the paper had yellowed from age.
Edward took off his vest and hung it roughly on the coat rack before coming over.
“Would you like me to organize them for you?”
He asked with his hands on his waist. I stared blankly at his neatly combed hair and clean face. It had been a while since I’d seen him look this tidy.
He really did look different when he cleaned up.
“It’s nothing important. Just shove it somewhere in here.”
I closed the lid of the box. It was quite heavy—there must have been a lot of letters inside.
As I staggered while lifting it, Edward chuckled and took it from me easily.
“Your father must have really loved your mother.”
I watched as he carried the box to a bookshelf, opened a drawer, and put it inside without effort.
“The previous Count Edute was famous for being a devoted husband,” Edward said as he brushed off his hands.
He then took out a neat navy handkerchief from his pocket and dusted his fingers.
“Was it because Mother passed away so early that he became that way?”
The late Count Edute had been a kind man, but after the Countess died, he apparently lost his mind.
Thanks to that, the real Count Edute—my father—had to grow up fast and take over the family duties before officially inheriting the title.
Edward’s hand stopped mid-motion at my question.
After a brief silence, he shoved the handkerchief back into his pocket and strode toward me.
“Because of that, the Count became who he is today.”
He lifted my hand and gently kissed the back of it.
“Isn’t it a bit late for a morning greeting?” I thought.
“That’s not like you, my lady. You shouldn’t dwell too much on the past.”
Did he think I was blaming myself for my father’s death?
I shrugged and sat down. “Alright. Enough of that—let’s get to work.”
Edward smiled, went back to his desk, gathered some documents, and brought them to me.
“These are the ledgers we received from Baron Cotnam.”
The Cotnam family was a titled house that had bought its nobility with money.
Though, honestly, their wealth couldn’t even compare to the Edute family’s pinky toe.
Still, Baron Cotnam had once been a physician and made quite a fortune selling medicines.
So much that he could buy himself a title—impressive.
“What’s all this? I can’t understand a single word! These medical terms are impossible.”
I grumbled, and Edward sighed deeply before coming to stand beside me.
He leaned close, pointing at each line with his finger as he explained.
Our faces were way too close.
“There are quite a few detoxifying medicines here. This one is made from the Polrnati herb—used to neutralize toxins.”
Edward said that, resting his chin on his hand and frowning slightly.
Wait a second, Edward—how do you even know all this pharmacology stuff?
“I suspect Viscount Winstin may have been experimenting with Prince Arnold’s poisoned blood.”
“What? Experimenting?”
Startled, I asked again. Edward handed me a few documents with simplified explanations.
Even after reading them, I had no idea what they meant—but if Edward said so, it must be true.
I knew from the novel that Viscount Winstin had abused Linus.
But to think he experimented with the male lead’s poisoned blood?
Oh my god. I should have realized from the moment “hearts” were being stolen—this was a dark novel.
My memory of the story was fuzzy.
I opened the bottom drawer of my desk with a key and took out a small notebook—my diary, where I had written down bits of the original plot.
It had been quite a memorable story. Probably because it was both the first and last romance novel I ever read.
But the diary was filled not with the protagonists’ romance, but with notes about the political situation and national affairs.
Well, that was the money-related stuff.
So even rereading it, there wasn’t much useful information about Linus. Ugh.
“What’s that?”
“A diary.”
“You keep a diary?”
“Of course. I’m a woman of deep emotions, you know.”
Edward nodded absentmindedly and went back to work. That hurt even more. He could’ve at least teased me!
I glared at the side of his face and flipped through my diary again.
“Will you just leave Prince Arnold as he is?”
I didn’t know. What could I do?
At least for now, Linus didn’t know I was the one who stole his “heart.”
So for the time being, I’d stay close and keep an eye on him—to figure out what he knew.
“You saw how Viscount Winstin tried to frame me, didn’t you?”
I lowered my diary and turned toward Edward’s desk.
Actually, just turning my head was enough to see his face.
That’s exactly why I set up Edward’s desk inside my office—to make everything efficient.
Easy to give orders, easy to talk. Perfect.
“Rather than end up falsely accused of murder, wouldn’t it be better if I publicly claimed I’m protecting Prince Arnold?”
Edward nodded seriously.
I’d convinced the ever-pragmatic Edward.
Inwardly, I gave myself ten high-fives and did a victory tap dance before answering coldly,
“I refuse any objections.”
Edward just nodded again, expression saying, Got it.
“What? I’m not the top donor this year?”
“It seems Viscount Winstin achieved the highest donation to the temple this time.”
That damned Winstin.
Whatever I did, that man always found a way to trip me up. Truly the most annoying human alive.
Grinding my teeth, I walked down the corridor of the Edute mansion.
“The correction period’s still open, right?”
Edward nodded, as if waiting for me to ask.
“Yes. The new bishop assigned to the LeMandinus Temple is… a bit inflexible.”
“Then give him more money and adjust the records. If he refuses, offer something else. If he’s not greedy for wealth, he must be greedy for power.”
I turned sharply on my heel to look at Edward following behind.
“For example—what about the next Papal Council election? If he gets chosen as bishop again, he’ll be eligible for the papal candidacy, right? That should do. Let’s request a revision so the Edute family is recorded as the top donor. You get what I mean? Handle it well.”
“Yes, my lady. Don’t worry.”
Edward nodded confidently.
On the Aran continent, everyone worshiped a single god, Ammanes.
Thus, the power of the Papal Church was immense—even the LeMandinus Empire couldn’t defy it.
Temple donations were one of the Church’s key methods of exerting influence over other empires.
And donations came with major tax deductions.
Whoever donated the most each year received a 60% tax exemption.
That’s why Count Edute and Viscount Winstin competed neck-and-neck every year.
Usually, though, the diligent Count Edute—who spent the whole year currying favor with priests—always came out on top.
My father really was a man after my own heart.
Anyway, I needed to make even more money—so I could build the artificial heart and fund Ellot’s war efforts.
“This year, too, the top temple donor will be House Edute. It’s a good thing, isn’t it? Let’s donate a lot.”
It wasn’t like I never gave to the temple.
But since Winstin was so obsessed with outdoing me, I had to resort to these petty tactics.
I didn’t even know how he managed to make such large donations when his family’s finances couldn’t compare to ours.
I was thinking about that when I started up the stairs—and ran right into Linus coming down.
He looked startled when he saw me.
“Good day, Count.”
He greeted Edward briefly as well before turning back to me, blocking the way. It seemed he had something to say.
“Are you feeling any better?” I asked.
Linus stiffly nodded, his expression frozen.
There was something strange in his eyes as he looked at me.
Wait—did he overhear our earlier conversation?
“Thanks to you… I’ve recovered a lot,” he said reluctantly.
He clearly hated admitting I’d helped him.
The noble male lead frowned deeply as he grudgingly thanked the villainess.
Why did that feel so good?
“I heard the Edute family donates to the temple every year. I didn’t realize it was true.”
He thought it was just a rumor?
Apparently, people heard about it but dismissed it as gossip, saying, The Count Edute would never do such a thing.
Linus must have thought the same.
His eyes now held a faint—barely noticeable—hint of admiration.
Oh no. I think he’s completely misunderstood.
Does he think I’m donating to the temple out of pure goodness?
And that I’ve been the top donor every year out of selfless devotion?
Dear lord, this male lead is too pure for this world.
And because of that, my conscience hurt like hell.
