The main house of Winterfell Castle, the most private place among them, was inside the library.

In this space while both of the owners were away, a war of nerves was going on between the two characters.

“Gordon, are you really going to do this?”

“I’m sorry, Madam.  But I can’t just hand over the hostess’s seal.”

“That sounds very sad.  If someone hears it, they will mistake me for an outsider.”

It was Glenn’s aunt, Mrs. Grace, who insisted the elder man handed her the seal, and the butler, Gordon, who had the guts to not give it up without the owner’s consent.

No matter how much he had served the family from the previous predecessors, the butler’s status was only a servant.

To think that a mere servant stubbornly refused her order.

Grace’s glare as she stiffly raised her head grew fiercer.

However, she was not only good at asserting her authority and intimidating.

As she calmed her temper, she began to speak with her noble, aristocratic demeanor.

“Look, Gordon.  It was I who managed the housekeeping just a few months ago.  To be precise, it was you and me.  Are you saying you still don’t believe me?”

“I am very grateful to you for helping me a lot, Madam.  But unlike back then, the House of Winterfell now has a mistress.  I cannot give you a seal without her permission.”

“What?”

Laughter erupted from Mrs. Grace’s mouth.

“Is there really a mistress in this castle right now?”

“…. !”

She made an interrogative question, but Gordon wasn’t stupid enough to believe she was asking because she really didn’t know the truth.

Look at that elated expression– that expression was already certain that Nadia was not in the castle.

‘Did someone leak the information…’

After the death of her former lady of House Winterfell, Mrs. Grace was deeply involved in the management of the castle.

So, in a way, it was only natural that she, as the sister-in-law, still remained in the castle.

Gordon closed his eyes in surprise and opened his mouth.

“…I don’t mean to be rude.  It seems you already know everything.”

“You cannot cover the sky with your palms.  The servants are agitated saying that she has not seen their Madam for days.”

After saying that, Mrs. Grace put on a soft expression.

She fully understood Gordon’s position, which made him have no choice but to handle everything according to principle.

Her confrontation with him happened because his loyalty to the Marquis of Winterfell was too much.

So if she reminded him that now was not the time to fight each other and that they both had a common enemy, he would cooperate with her.

“Where do you think the daughter of Balazit is headed?”

“I cannot tell you.”

“Of course, you can’t tell because you don’t know where she went!”

“….I can’t give you more details, but that’s not it.  Madam soon….”

“I don’t understand.  Why are you covering her up so much?”

“I would like to remind you that Madam is now the hostess of the house. Please be careful what you say about her, no matter how private it is.”

“What?”

Mrs. Grace’s eyebrows twitched.  Careful?

She wanted to show him some pity, so she lowered her pride and held out her hand, but she didn’t know he would be so arrogant.

She had to settle her rage burning inside before continuing her words.

“That wren…  Of course, like you said, I should mind her title. I am just saying there is a possibility that the new Madam has betrayed our family. After all, don’t you think it’s too coincidental that she disappeared right after Glenn left the castle?”

“….”

“She came to our family with intentions, and she must have escaped while her surveillance was lax.  There must be something wrong with the estate.  Or she might have stolen something and run away.”

Gordon said nothing.  He had an expressionless face, but he was clearly agitated inside.

She went on, enjoying herself.

“Glenn has no time to waste waiting for that child to come back.  He’ll give me the ledger and the hostess’s seal soon or later. Shouldn’t we investigate what happened within the territory?”

She tried to instill a sense of crisis at the same time as implying that they were on the same side.

If she did this, he would understand her justification for entrusting her with the authority of hostess–

“No.”

“What?!”

….Gordon didn’t even look like he was thinking about Mrs. Grace persuasion.

At that point, beyond her rage, her heart was filled with tightness.  It was so unbearable, that she forgot the face she put in the front and yelled at him.

“Have you listened to what I have to say until now!  There could be big trouble before Glenn comes back!”

“There is no such thing.  I really didn’t mean to say this, but…”

Gordon sighed deeply and opened his mouth again.

“Madam is currently with His Grace.  So you don’t have to worry about whether or not she plotted something and ran away.  If that were the case, she wouldn’t have voluntarily gone to His Grace’s side.”

“That-that woman is with Glenn?  Since when did she…”

“In the first place, Madam left a letter saying that she was going to see His Grace.  Sir Fabian, her escort, accompanied her.”

“She went to Glenn?”

Mrs. Grace’s eyes widened to the size of a plate.

She never imagined that Nadia would have gone to Glenn.

However, it did not change the fact that she behaved suspiciously in the wartime situation.

Mrs. Grace persisted on that until the end.