IWMHWD 15

Chapter 15 – Master and Disciple

2023.11.15

“Who do you think you are, raising your voice here? So uncultured. Then again, what kind of manners could you have learned in that household?”

“Why are you holding a letter addressed to me, Madam?”

“Is that really the issue here? There’s a thief in the house! Ha, now I understand why the Marquis of Vasquez sent you to Abrams.”

Arnold snickered, chiming in supportively beside Helena.

The only one who remained silent was Baron Lancaster. Caught off guard by the sudden turn in the atmosphere, he let out a low cough and tried to grasp the situation.

Cordelia struggled to steady her roughening breath as she spoke.

“A thief? There must be a misunderstanding. I never—”

“Oh really? Then what do you plan to say about this letter? It clearly states that you’re to send 100,000 linkits to Vasquez!”

“We must throw her out of this castle immediately. Who knows what else she might do. Mother!”

Helena waved the letter and shouted. Lily, seizing the moment, insisted that Cordelia be expelled at once.

Cordelia’s rage surged at their continued insults. She wanted to leap from her seat and scream at them to shut up.

She bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood. Her clenched fists left deep nail marks in her palms. Even her throat stung.

“Please calm down, Madam. Let’s hear the Countess’s explanation.”

“Oh, Baron Lancaster. I forgot you were here.”

Helena exaggerated her reaction as if just now realizing the baron’s presence.

“Ahem. How unfortunate that such an unpleasant matter arises during our dinner.”

“She probably filled Craig’s head with nonsense about Mother, too.”

“There’s no excuse now, especially with this letter as evidence.”

“Excuses? Hmph. She should be grateful we’re not kicking her out naked. Oh, my head… How did we let such trash into the family?”

Helena’s harsh tone turned theatrical as she placed the back of her hand dramatically on her forehead. Arnold clicked his tongue and shook his head, while a smug smile formed on Lily’s lips.

Under the barrage of insults, Cordelia repeated to herself reflexively, “Endure it, endure it.”

But then, suddenly, a thought struck her.

“Why should I endure this?”

The moment that realization hit her, the boiling anger in her head and chest cooled in an instant.

“May I have a look at the letter?”

“Oh yes, Baron, take a look for yourself. You’ll see just how shameless this woman and her daughter are.”

“Hmm. Even so, this one letter isn’t enough to jump to conclusions about the Countess. It’s a request, not evidence of an actual transaction, is it?”

“My goodness! What more proof do you need? The letter talks about sending money so casually—it clearly means she’s done it several times before!”

Baron Lancaster handed the letter back to Helena. Lily, furious, snapped at him.

But the baron remained calm and collected.

“At the very least, we should listen to the Countess’s explanation.”

“There’s nothing to hear. It’s obvious, isn’t it, Mother?”

“Let’s summon the castle’s treasurer right away. If Lily is right, this might not be the first time she’s stolen from us.”

Then, like a lightning bolt, it hit her. Every suspicion, every question—suddenly made sense.

“Helena’s afraid of me.”

She would normally ignore Cordelia—but now she was sharpening her claws. And she’d invited Baron Lancaster, a man of great influence in the family, to dinner for this very occasion.

Helena was trying to swing the scales of power back in her favor.

Cordelia was delighted. So much that she almost laughed.

Because she finally realized—she no longer needed to crawl and beg for their mercy.

“That’s actually a wonderful idea, Madam.”

All eyes turned to Cordelia.

She had drawn her long-honed blade.

“What did you just say?”

“Let’s summon the castle’s treasurer.”

“Oh my. Are you going to confess?”

Lily scoffed and took a sip of the wine next to her.

“A confession? That’s a fine idea. Why don’t you start, Lily? If you confess, I might be lenient and not exile you.”

“What? What confession? Are you crazy?”

“You’ve got plenty to confess. Like when you looted the Abrams warehouse before getting married without the late Count’s knowledge. Took quite a haul, didn’t you? Remember?”

“You… What are you talking about!?”

Lily’s face turned pale, then quickly returned to normal.

Cordelia had memorized Leonard’s report word-for-word.

“Shall I list the things you stole from the Abrams vault? Five paintings by Deschamps, twelve sculptures by Le Médit—sold them all off to a fence. Will that jog your memory if we check with the treasurer?”

“You’re lying! Do you have proof? Huh?!”

“At times like this, you’re supposed to say, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Lily.”

“Y-You—!”

Lily jumped up, her face bright red. She grabbed the wine glass, now half full.

She looked ready to dump it over Cordelia’s head—but someone unexpected stopped her.

“You seemed a little unsteady. Are you alright?”

“…Let go. Baron Lancaster.”

“Pardon me,” he whispered politely, releasing her arm. Lily glared daggers at him.

Cordelia scratched her hand beneath the table. Not just her hand—her entire body was itchy. Her throat stung like it had been bitten by ants, but she held it in.

“Sounds like you’ve picked up some wild rumors.”

“Oh, you’re here too, Viscount Dylan. I’ll give you a chance to confess as well.”

“What? Have you gone insane…?”

“You assaulted two married women from the territory and beat them before throwing them out.”

She calmly listed the charges. But inside, her organs were in turmoil, as if bitten by a snake.

She knew something was wrong, but she couldn’t collapse now. She had to see this through.

“You’re spouting nonsense. You’ve clearly lost your mind.”

“One had red hair and a slightly crooked nose. The other had black hair, black eyes, and a mole on her neck.”

“…!”

At her disturbingly detailed description, Arnold Dylan gasped.

“Oh, what were their names again? Daisy and…”

“Shut up!”

Arnold shouted in panic. His desperation was obvious.

Judging by his reaction, Emily had done her job well. A smug smile formed on Cordelia’s lips.

As the situation grew stranger, Helena bit her lip and breathed heavily. Baron Lancaster watched Cordelia with keen interest.

“Don’t try to distract us. We’re talking about your theft right now.”

“Yes, Madam. We were talking about theft.”

Cordelia smiled brightly, agreeing with Helena.

“Craig may have let it go at the time, but your theft isn’t something so easily forgiven. You handed tax collection rights to Reynald Arsou in exchange for the Manhow estate, didn’t you?”

“Huh. That’s news to me.”

“Is it? Strange—everyone’s memories seem faulty today.”

Cordelia pinched the skin on her hand under the table. She was itching all over—desperately.

Trying to ignore her throat that felt like it was burning, she recalled the report.

“What might help jog your memory? Oh, how about those lovers you hid in that estate? Should I call them as witnesses?”

“You—you…!”

Helena’s eyes went as wide as they could go. Cordelia drove the final nail in.

“Your tastes are so consistent, Madam. Blond hair, blue eyes—just like all your past lovers, right?”

“Fascinating, Countess.”

Baron Lancaster finally spoke again.

“You do have solid evidence for all of this, I assume?”

“Of course, Baron. Otherwise, how could I bring these three to court?”

The word court made everyone in the room gasp.

For a noble, being dragged to court was the ultimate disgrace.

“Justice must be restored in Abrams. That’s what Craig wants most of all.”

And she had more than enough evidence.

Based on Leonard’s report, she’d had the servants gather additional proof. She always knew a day would come when she’d need it. She just didn’t expect it to be so soon.

“I should be the one bringing you to court—for forging evidence like this!”

“Hand me the letter.”

Cordelia held out her hand toward Helena. Helena trembled as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Unless you’d rather go to trial. I’m fine either way.”

Helena’s lips twitched. The tide had clearly turned. Everyone in the room could sense it. Even Arnold was silent.

“It itches, it itches, it itches…”

Cordelia gritted her teeth. If she showed weakness now, Helena would pounce again.

She knew exactly why she was itching like this.

Peanuts.

She had a severe nut allergy—especially to peanuts.

She’d nearly died as a child after eating them without knowing and had avoided them ever since.

Everyone in the castle, including the servants, knew that. So the reason she’d ingested peanuts now was obvious.

Just then, the dining room doors burst open.

“Craig!”

Helena’s expression brightened instantly. She waved at him as if he were her savior.

“You’re just in time. There’s something you need to hear. This woman—she’s been stealing money behind our backs and—”

“What happened to your face?”

Leonard didn’t even glance at Helena. He walked straight to Cordelia.

“The letter.”

“What?”

“Madam has my letter.”

Cordelia felt like her whole body was being eaten by ants. But her eyes never left Helena.

Under that scorching gaze, Helena flinched—and handed the letter over to Leonard.

“F-Fine! Craig, read it yourself!”

“What’s in it?”

Leonard glanced at the contents and casually tossed it onto the table.

“Send it.”

“What?”

“Send it. Don’t tell me Abrams doesn’t even have a hundred thousand linkits in the vault?”

“Have you lost your mind?! Why would we send money to Vasquez?!”

“Craig, what are you doing?! Why are you taking her side?”

Helena and Lily screeched, unable to believe his response. Leonard leaned back smugly in his chair.

“It’s just a bit of pocket change.”

“Pocket change?! Craig, you clearly don’t understand—100,000 linkits is no small sum.”

“So what? Are you saying we don’t have it or we do?”

Leonard scanned the room with a cocky grin.

He was so smug that even though he was on Cordelia’s side, it was irritating.

“Ha. Craig…”

Helena forced a smile, her jaw clenched.

“It’s not that we don’t have it—it’s just money we need for something important.”

“Something important? Perfect timing then. Her brother’s going to the Academy. That’s important, right?”

“Craig!”

“Hrk…”

That was her limit. Her body swayed visibly. Leonard immediately caught her by the shoulder.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“Leave her. Craig, about the money to Vasquez—seriously, this is…”

Helena furrowed her brow, continuing to talk.

“Kh!”

Cordelia inhaled sharply. But no air entered her lungs.

Desperately, she grabbed Leonard’s sleeve. He shouted to the servants in panic.

“What’s going on? Don’t just stand there—get a doctor, now!”

“Pea…”

“What?”

Using the last of her strength, she pulled Leonard close and whispered in his ear.

“Pea… peanut…”

“Peanut? Why—?”

“Oh dear! Looks like someone carelessly ate peanuts again. I told her to be more careful.”

Helena clicked her tongue, crossing her arms and staring down at Cordelia.

Leonard shook her roughly. He was shouting something, but Cordelia couldn’t hear him anymore.

Tragically, that was where her memory ended.