Chapter 34

# 34

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* * *

Wood was resting in his room, following the advice to recuperate for a few days to ensure his mana flowed smoothly.

"Master! They say Vivian's incurable illness has been cured!"

The news from the servants fell on deaf ears.

He continued to try to recall the memories he had forgotten.

Strangely, a sharp, animalistic instinct kept warning him that he must remember.

'I clearly remember grabbing the collar of that servant.'

Whenever he tried to recall more, his whole body would shiver, and his heart would race.

Moreover, he had nearly died from a mana surge, but apparently, Nabiya was perfectly fine.

"Ugh! This is so frustrating!"

In his frustration, he threw things around the room.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door and came in.

"Master, a person named Charlotte, who used to be Nabiya's personal maid, requests an urgent audience. What should I do?"

"Nabiya?"

Wood was about to tell them to go away but hesitated.

He had a strange premonition.

"Let her in."

Charlotte, who had been demoted from a personal maid to a laundry maid, entered the room looking rather disheveled.

As soon as she saw Wood, she knelt on the floor and bowed.

"Thank you for granting me an audience, Master."

Her submissive demeanor softened Wood's heart.

"Alright. What do you want to say?"

Charlotte spoke solemnly.

"I have something to report about Miss Nabiya. Please have the servants leave the room."

Wood instinctively sensed that she was about to say something unfavorable about Nabiya and quickly dismissed the servants.

"Everyone, leave this area for a moment."

"As you wish."

Once everyone had left and the room was quiet, Charlotte began to speak.

"Miss Nabiya is actually a commoner."

The truth that she revealed as soon as she opened her mouth gave Wood a severe shock.

Not even a low-ranking noble, but a commoner? How dare such a despicable creature deceive him for days!

'I'll kill that insect right away!'

At that moment, Charlotte seemed to read his thoughts and added,

"This is a matter that your father kept strictly confidential. It would be troublesome if it became public, Master."

"Hmph, I already know that much."

"Indeed, you are perceptive."

Wood exhaled sharply, trying to calm his anger. If he defied his father again, he would really be in trouble this time.

"The important thing is not this, Master. If we do nothing, Miss Nabiya will be sent to the House of Asselred as an adopted daughter."

"What? That can't be!"

"If Miss Nabiya becomes the heir there, she will be on equal footing with you, Master..."

"That's absurd!"

This was a terrible disaster that must not happen!

"Moreover, your father might even arrange a marriage between you and Miss Nabiya."

Wood felt as if he had been hit on the back of the head several times.

The most terrifying part was the idea of marrying a commoner.

Besides, Wood already had someone he liked.

"Is that what Father wants? Is it true?"

The story was so unbelievable that Wood strongly doubted Charlotte.

"There is a way to verify it. You can ask the Duke when he returns."

Charlotte's demeanor was extremely confident.

"But by then, your father will have already appointed Miss Nabiya as the heir to the House of Asselred."

That meant the marriage would be a natural progression.

Wood, though young, was not ignorant of political marriages.

In fact, due to his lowbrow friends, he was rather precocious when it came to relationships and marriage.

Charlotte, with a mournful tone, tried to provoke Wood.

"Wouldn't it be better to marry the person you love, Master?"

Of course, that would be ideal, but as long as Nikan remained the head of the family, it was impossible.

The woman he loved, Lady Lucia, was in a position where he could not make her his mistress.

"How could Father...?"

Charlotte, who had been watching Wood's dejection, spoke with a cold smile.

"I have a good plan."

Wood's head snapped up.

"What is it?"

"That is... "

Bang!

Before Charlotte could finish, the door suddenly opened without a knock.

Both of them looked at the door in surprise.

The person who entered was none other than Filippa.

"Master!"

Filippa, who had been locked up, looked disheveled and had dark circles under her eyes, exuding a sinister aura.

"Master! Please help me, I am innocent...!"

Filippa, about to plead her innocence, noticed Charlotte. Her voice broke with a rage that was almost murderous.

"Y-you, lowly woman, why are you here?"

Wood frowned.

He was about to hear something important and didn't want to be interrupted.

Moreover, he had heard that the nanny was in prison for a crime. How could she be in his room?

Charlotte glared at her coldly.

"How dare you enter the Master's room without permission, Filippa? Don't you know that is a grave offense?"

Filippa, who was not addressed with the respectful "ma'am" and was being criticized, was furious.

"You damn woman...! This is all because of you!"

Filippa roughly grabbed Charlotte's hair.

"Ah! Let go!"

"Filthy insect! If you were gone, everything would be fine!"

Wood used magic to knock Filippa back.

"Ah!"

Filippa fell to the floor and then propped herself up, her face frozen in shock.

"Master...?"

Wood looked down at Filippa with the same revulsion he would feel for a disgusting insect.

"If you committed a crime, you should stay in prison. What are you doing here?"

Filippa recognized that look.

It was the same look Wood gave Nabiya!

Realizing this, Filippa's eyelids twitched.

"How could you, Master? How could you treat me, who raised you, like this...?"

"Shut up."

"..."

"What are you even doing here? Father is at the palace."

Then he remembered someone else who had the authority to do this.

"Vivian, that fool..."

While Wood was scowling, Linden and the knights rushed into the bedroom, worried that the deranged Filippa might do something.

Wood said irritably,

"Lock the nanny up again. No matter what Vivian says, don't let her out!"

"As you wish."

Filippa, looking dazed, was dragged away by the knights.

Wood glanced at Filippa with the same disgust he would feel for a dirty object and then turned away coldly.

A useless nanny was no longer his concern.

He turned to Charlotte.

"So? We need to finish what we were talking about."

* * *

While Charlotte was handling the tasks Nabiya had instructed, Nabiya returned to her room and began to organize her belongings.

She called the accountant and asked to resell all the items from the Ancier Boutique, using the family's funds to cover the cost.

The accountant looked at her strangely and asked what she was planning to do.

Nabiya said she wanted to buy gifts for her family and go out.

Nabiya had never gone out before.

While no one had explicitly forbidden it, it was an unspoken rule.

However, Nabiya had a good excuse.

"Today is the day Vivian's illness was cured. There will definitely be a banquet. I want to give gifts for the family's health and happiness..."

Even with a child's taste, it wouldn't be much, but the accountant nodded in agreement.

Nabiya smiled gratefully.

The accountant, handing over the money, shook his head at her shy smile.

He was weak for children.

Nabiya, after collecting the money, waited for Charlotte to come out of Wood's room.

And then Charlotte came out.

"I have done as you asked, Miss."

Charlotte, who had heard and understood everything Nabiya had said, felt chills run down her spine throughout the entire scheme.

She could now clearly see the picture Nabiya had been drawing.

'An heir to the House of Asselred...?'

To be adopted from one family to another? Who could come up with such a radical idea!

'But the House of Asselred is known as a garbage dump.'

What could she be planning to do there?

"Here."

Nabiya handed the money she had received from the accountant to Charlotte.

"Pay off your breach of contract today and run away. Starting a coffee house in the port will be safer and more profitable."

"Thank you."

"Go quickly."

Charlotte hesitated for a moment, then took the money and left the room.

Nabiya, alone in the room, looked out the window.

Swish!

Finally, the rain began to pour from the gray clouds.