“Ba—by?”

She was so startled that a hiccup popped out. Daphne hurriedly covered her mouth.

“That’s what my grandmother called my mother. Baby, she said.”

‘Baby?’

She swore it was a word she had never heard before.

Life in Korea, previous life, and until now.

No one had ever called Daphne so affectionately.

Because she had real bad luck with her family.

Among the nicknames she had heard so far, the most affectionate was ‘my sister’, which Alan often said.

Hiccup!

“That’s nice, baby. It’s like little daughter-in-law¹.”

“Isn’t that too discourteous of a name, Mister Zegman?”

Selma, who had been observing the situation, quietly intervened. Then Zegman winked and pointed at Daphne.

“Isn’t it just right?”

Selma followed with her gaze on Daphne and soon nodded.

“No, it is.”

Oppose it to the end!

Instead of the sound of her mind, another hiccup popped out. Daphne bit her lip.

‘What about Sir Wessler?’

She thought she could trust Sir Wessler, who’d be discreetly upright and courteous

“……”

Wessler silently turned his gaze toward the wall.

It was Wessler’s sad choice that neither Zegman nor Daphne could beat.

“Your Grace.”

Ultimately, the last choice was Kael.

Daphne watched Kael loosen her hair tie so he could tidy her hair.

“Can’t you stop it?”

“…I apologize for this.”

Yes, you won’t.

It’s already hopelessly taken.

‘Let’s give up. It’s just a nickname.’

It’s better than being wary of her. Daphne nodded, thinking so.

Until Zegman said.

“It’s late, but welcome to our family, baby.”

He laughed after saying that.

She was at a loss for words to answer. The hand holding the ribbon string was tense.

Zegman’s expression as he looked at Daphne changed strangely.

“Wait, baby. You.”

“Zegman!!”

The door opened wildly with a loud noise. It was Madeline who came in, bypassing the dissuading knights.

“You woke up, you opened your eyes!!”

“…Brother Madeline?”

Zegman’s face hardened horribly. It wasn’t the face of a person who was laughing a little while ago.

“Thank you, thank you! Ha, how worried I was about you!”

Madeline came running and tried to force Zegman into a hug.

But first, Zegman tore Madeline’s arms off fiercely.

“Why is my brother still in the castle?”

It was a cold voice that made the body shiver.

“W-where else would I be. My brother is sick. Besides, I’m already a member of the Bertrand Grand Duchy.”

“Brother.”

Zegman revealed this.

“The day before I collapsed, I must have made it clear. I will not tolerate it any longer.”

‘The day before he collapsed?’

It was the day Daphne arrived at Bertrand Castle.

‘Neither Madeline nor Zegman were among the people who came to meet me.’

She thought it was because the arrival time was too late, but was it?

In fact, if you think about it, Zegman may not have known, but Madeline was a human who would crawl to meet the princess.

Didn’t he try to make a rude statement even at the first meeting?

Meanwhile, Zegman raised his voice again.

“Leave this castle quietly or—!”

Zegman suddenly shut up.

He seemed conscious of the people in the room, especially Kael and Daphne.

“…There is no change, brother.”

“No, I—!”

Zegman turned his head. It was an apparent dismissal. Eventually, Madeline was kicked out of the room.

‘Huh.’

Daphne also sneaked out to the hallway while looking at someone.

“Damn it, the half-penny bastard would have to search for the thing, but I couldn’t grab my brother’s ankle when he recovered…”

Madeline, full of rage, was muttering to himself in an empty hallway.

Half-turned eyes, and above all, the expression he showed when he saw Zegman earlier.

It was dread.

Daphne’s lips curved up. She thought it was just a simple betrayal, both in the original story and previous life.

‘Was it murder?’

It was going to be a bit busy today.

Daphne smiled and returned to the room.

***

“You damn bastard!”

Crash!

The tableware fell to the floor with a clatter, ruining all the appetizing food.

Despite ruining the entire meal, Madeline breathed heavily as if he was still angry.

“Ho-Honey. Stop it.”

Mrs. Davent was terrified and hugged Rose tightly.

Their young daughter, Rose, only blinked her big eyes in her arms.

“Rose is scared.”

“What do you want me to do about that!!”

But Madeline had no intention of stopping.

Instead, he shouted as if threatening his wife and young daughter.

“Are you guys ignoring me now that I’m like this!?”

“When did we ignore you! Honey, I’m just.”

“Shut up! The only thing you know how to do is clean!”

Madeline, who was shouting, paused. His wife’s favorite teacup was out.

“Who did you drink that with?”

“A lady came and left for a while. To thank me for coming to her wedding.”

“Ha! A very wealthy life. Your husband is making a fuss about feeding you! Relaxing while flirting over tea!”

Bang!!

Madeline roughly slammed the door shut.

Cries came from behind the door, but it didn’t matter to him.

‘Damn half-penny bastard.’

Madeline gritted his teeth and walked down the hallway.

Madeline’s head now was filled with thoughts about Zegman and what happened during the day yesterday.

‘Shit!! I could have been Kael’s guardian if I had gone after him!!’

Although he rose to the position, Kael was still young.

So if Zegman also died, one of his relatives had to become Kael’s guardian.

Of course, it will be a guardian only in words, but that alone would be able to wield tremendous power.

No matter how much he is cursed, he is the Grand Duke of Bertrand, who continues the legitimate bloodline of the imperial family.

And Madeline had no doubt that the guardian would be himself.

Because, wasn’t he the closest relative?

‘Damn it, I crawled all the way here in anticipation of Zegman’s death!’

Madeline, who was expelled from the family, came straight to Bertrand as soon as he learned that Zegman was terminally ill.

It was with the mindset that if Zegman dies, if he was next to him, nothing will fall off.

Then, at Ritena’s funeral, Madeline realized something.

If his brother dies like this, he will take his young nephew and this territory himself.

‘I was told to get out, but the sky was on my side until then.’

Because Zegman collapsed after giving him an ultimatum to get out. Besides, didn’t Selma say it would be the last time?

However, things got complicated because of the princess. He didn’t know she knew how to cure an incurable disease.

He treated her well for the purpose of sticking to the emperor, but he betrayed himself on the subject of commoners.

This is why you shouldn’t believe in things that are born of low blood!

‘I can’t get caught.’

Madeline shuddered.

Didn’t he hide something in Zegman’s room, where he was resting, hoping his brother would go away in peace?

If they find out, they’ll try to kill him without caring about his pure intentions.

He had to run away, the thought filled his head.

‘There’s plenty of stolen money.’

His pockets were full with bribes received from the upper ranks.

It was enough to move to another continent and settle down.

‘But if you just go, you’ll get caught. I need to buy time.’

Kael was not a pushover.

Once he disappears, he will surely start his own investigation.

‘I’m sure it will be discovered.’

Where and how much he took bribes. Everything will be revealed.

So he had to buy time. It was necessary to distract them from the investigation.

Let’s throw it away for now. Abandon that bothersome wife and daughter.

‘Then I can stall.’

If they stay together, they won’t know that he had run away.

‘Honestly, I’ve been too generous until now.’

Madeline’s face contorted.

When the fifth business collapsed and Count Davent kicked him out, he also cut off help from his mother’s family.

What should have been thrown away then.

Still, he had kept his wife and his child until now.

How merciful. So, even if he left now, he wouldn’t have anything to say.

It’s a world where guilt by association remains, but honestly, do you need to think about what’s behind?

You don’t.

‘Yes, and the princess. Let’s take advantage of that too.’

He also intended to thoroughly retaliate against the princess who betrayed him.

‘I’ll try to tempt her to go with me for now.’

He was sure she was still scared here, so she’ll follow the person who treated her kindly.

Then the ladies-in-waiting sent by the emperor will notice and the emperor will immediately put pressure on the grand duke.

At that time, all he had to do was casually run away.

A family and a princess.

If he used only two of them and threw them away, he could secure his safety and future.

‘Good, good. Then let’s do that.’

We’re leaving now! Let’s get the money first and go find the princess.

Madeline’s steps became busy. Madeline headed to the office where he worked with other accountants.

Madeline, lighting a candle to light the darkness, looked around and soon touched under his desk.

The surface opened with a click.

In case an enemy invaded the castle, he hid the bribes he had collected in a secret space created to hide important documents.

Madeline stretched out his arm and took out a pouch that he had previously exchanged for money and jewellery.

It was thick and heavy. It was the fruit of the proud efforts he had accumulated in the past.

afterword

little daughter-in-law¹: an affectionate and now somewhat dated form of address. literally means baby daughter-in-law (source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%EB%A9%B0%EB%8A%90%EB%A6%AC)