Chapter 83

# 83

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Theorban felt his vision blur and shrank back.

'What, what is this?'

He was confused, unable to properly recognize the scene before him.

Then, he gradually realized that he had been moved right in front of the mansion’s main gate.

"Lark…!"

Theorban trembled with anger, his cheeks quivering.

Even if Lark possessed formidable martial arts, it was unacceptable for him to treat Theorban this way, given that he had a clear weakness: the anesthetic herb.

Theorban gritted his teeth and called for a carriage.

"I’ve endured enough. I can’t take it anymore!"

He intended to exchange the anesthetic herbs he had harvested in large quantities today for the reward.

But now, the reward was not the issue.

As soon as Theorban arrived home, he said to the butler who had come to greet him:

"Didn’t we receive a statement from the collateral nobles before?"

"Yes, it’s stored in the safe."

He had preemptively obtained statements from Esselred’s vassals and distant collateral relatives who were still alive when he sent a letter to the Empress about the successor.

"Hmph. If the head of the family remains unmarried and childless until the age of thirty, they must choose a successor from the direct bloodline."

This was an old family law that had long been rendered meaningless.

Theorban had discovered this obscure, nearly forgotten law in his efforts to make his daughter Esselred’s successor.

"Just wait and see!"

Lark had numerous disqualifying factors. There was ample evidence that he had failed to properly manage the family.

Theorban planned to initiate a motion to impeach the head of the family once he had his daughter seated as the successor.

#14.

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Well done, Charlotte

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"Are you feeling better?"

Nabia slightly twitched her eyelids and lifted them, turning her head at the worried voice.

Blink.

Her blurry vision saw a jumble of colors.

White, brown, mint.

Nabia quickly recognized them and couldn’t help but smile faintly.

The three people who had been anxiously waiting for Nabia to wake up felt their hearts melt at the soft smile she made as soon as she opened her eyes.

How could she be so adorable?

"Why are you all here?"

Her voice was hoarse and her small fist rubbed her eyes.

Margaret could detect the joy in Nabia’s voice. She gently brushed the silver hair out of the child’s face.

"It’s almost time for lunch."

"Lunch…"

They watched Nabia with encouraging eyes as she squinted, trying hard to focus her vision.

Nabia suddenly wondered why she was lying in bed.

'Now that I think about it, this room seems different…'

"It’s never quiet around here."

Nabia sat up abruptly.

"Be careful! You’ll hurt yourself if you get up too quickly!"

Nabia, holding her dizzy head and frowning, asked:

"What happened to the Duke, or rather… Wood Agnus?"

"Don’t worry. Everything was resolved yesterday."

Nabia, with a dazed look, repeated Margaret’s words:

"Yesterday, you say?"

"Nabia, you slept for a whole day. It’s only natural after staying up all night."

Schleman, standing beside her, spoke with a guilty expression.

"I didn’t think he would send an assassin after you. I should have been more careful about your residence."

Nabia shook her head quickly.

"No, it’s my fault. I didn’t expect Earl Alvin to be so cruel."

Minerva quickly interjected:

"No, no! It’s the Earl’s fault!"

"Minerva is right."

Margaret’s agreement made Schleman laugh awkwardly, and Nabia stopped blaming herself.

Feeling a warm, fuzzy sensation upon waking, Nabia thought the situation seemed dreamlike.

She hadn’t really explored the interior of the Duke’s mansion, so she didn’t know exactly what it looked like.

Still, she could easily guess that this room was one of the most luxurious in Esselred.

What kind of room is this to be so lavish?

"Is this not the room I usually use…? Where am I?"

Schleman replied with a strangely pleased tone:

"This is the third floor. It’s the room that has been used by Esselred’s successors for generations."

'Third floor? Successor’s room?'

Nabia’s eyes widened.

"But why am I…?"

Schleman laughed awkwardly in response.

"Well, according to my lord, he brought you here because incidents kept happening on the second floor."

As he explained, he thought his lord could have put it more kindly, but he had chosen to be so blunt.

Margaret shook her head as she listened to Schleman’s stark, unadorned explanation.

No matter how bluntly her lord had spoken, to relay it so bluntly…

'He really lacks tact.'

Nabia, still looking confused, pondered the situation.

Why did he bring me to the third floor, telling me not to bother him, after the night the assassin appeared? Nabia found Lark even more incomprehensible.

'Can I really get along with such a capricious and arbitrary person?'

She felt a sigh about to escape her lips.

'How did Prince Creed become the Duke’s adopted son? He doesn’t seem like someone who would try to please anyone…'

At that moment, Schleman cleared his throat and spoke to Nabia.

"And there’s another piece of news I need to tell you."

When Nabia looked up in confusion, Schleman spoke in a slightly lowered, serious tone:

"I’m not sure whether to congratulate you or console you, but as of yesterday, you have been disowned from Agnus."

"Ah… It was easier than I thought to be disowned."

Nabia had intended to be disowned from Agnus.

'But I thought it would be difficult for now.'

Nikan had planned to ensure she was treated well here and had a chance to become a foster daughter before making any definite arrangements for her disownment.

What happened yesterday that led to her immediate disownment?

"Yesterday, my lord said he would disown you to cover up the Agnus family’s mistakes."

Nabia’s expression was still unsettled by Lark’s consecutive strange actions.

Thinking about Lark made her head ache.

"I don’t understand what the Duke is thinking…"

As Nabia muttered, Schleman nodded.

"Actually, I don’t understand either."

Minerva also nodded.

"I…"

Only Margaret chuckled.

"Could you tell me more about what happened yesterday?"

* * *

Nabia listened to the events that unfolded after she fainted yesterday.

Schleman tried to soften the description of Lark’s undignified words and actions.

Even so, Nabia was speechless with surprise.

'Both Nikan and Theorban must have been deeply hurt in their pride.'

However, in Nikan’s case, since Wood had clearly committed a wrong, he probably wouldn’t seek immediate retribution.

The question was how Theorban would react.

'He already tried to send his daughter as the successor. That means he must have a definite way to force it.'

"Is there any way for Earl Alvin to force his daughter to become the successor?"

Schleman and Margaret, having been vassals of Lark since he was seven, were not familiar with Esselred’s old family laws.

"You should ask my lord about that."

Nabia’s face showed her discomfort.

Having to ask Lark was not a pleasant prospect.

Lark clearly found her annoying.

Schleman had said as much, hadn’t he? That he brought her to the third floor because she was annoying.

Even if he had said he found her annoying, why did he give her the successor’s room? It was hard to be optimistic.

'Actually, I prefer the second floor.'

Using the third floor wouldn’t make her annoying presence disappear.

On the contrary, if Theorban found out, he would surely cause even more trouble.

But could Lark really be so thoughtless?

'I don’t think so.'