Chapter 8

The dinner didn’t end until late into the night. Part of the issue was that the duchess kept refilling the duke’s wine glass, and the duke unexpectedly drank too much as a result.

Saying he had business to attend to the next day, Diego was the first to leave the party. When the timing seemed right, Cedric and Estella also left.

She carried Cedric to his bedroom and handed him over to his maid. It was time for him to brush his teeth and enter dreamland.

Having dropped Cedric off, Estella thought for a moment.

Duke Bertha had told her to come to his office after dinner. However, she doubted the drunk duke even remembered the promise he had made.

After some contemplation, Estella eventually headed to the duke’s office. She would be the disappointed one if she lost this chance to claim her money.

Unfortunately, her fears became a reality. No one was in the duke’s office. She had hoped that he’d at least leave a check, but she found nothing on his desk.

Estella wasn’t too disappointed because she had expected it. Perhaps Duke Bertha was still in the dining room, drinking.

Instead of waiting for the duke, she left the office.

Fortunately, she could while away the time in a room next to the office, so she entered the connected library.

All manners of books were on display in the massive library. She’d been to the room a few times before, but she hadn’t picked out a book for herself yet.

Brushing the spines on the shelves with her hand, she slowly walked forward. Lamps were placed here and there, so she could make out the letters.

As Estella peered around, she spotted a familiar face she wasn’t particularly fond of seeing.

“Lord Diego?”

Because she hadn’t expected to see him here, she’d reflexively greeted him.

Diego slowly turned his head toward the sound. Estella realized that she had made a mistake, but she tried to sound as relaxed as possible as she continued the conversation.

“It’s late. What are you doing in the library?”

“Why are you here...?” However, Diego paused and nodded as if he remembered something.

“Oh. Um...” He grabbed a book from the shelf and lifted it over his shoulder. “I came in here to pick a book to read in bed.”

He was still speaking in a monotone voice. He’d drunk a few glasses of wine during dinner, but he appeared clear headed. Even when he’d gotten up from his seat to leave the party, he’d looked sober.

Maybe the next day’s appointment had simply been an excuse. Whatever the case may be, it was none of her business.

“Oh... Okay, have a good night.”

Having long conversations with a killer wasn’t something she enjoyed.

Estella dipped her head and walked past him.

Diego, who had been staring at Estella, suddenly grabbed her.

“To be honest, I was a bit surprised,” he said.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I already knew that Cedric wasn’t keeping up with his studies.”

Estella froze and glanced at Diego. Still holding the book in his hand, he stepped toward her.

Estella reflexively took a step back.

As Estella moved farther away from him, Diego naturally closed the gap. Because of this, Estella withdrew until her back touched the wall.

With nowhere left to retreat, Estella took a defensive stance. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to talk to you, but you keep moving away. I had no choice but to keep walking toward you.”

“We can have a conversation even if we’re five steps away from each other.”

“But then you wouldn’t be able to see me because of your preposterously thick glasses.”

As he said that, he tapped the glasses Estella wore.

“Preposterously thick?” Estella was stunned to hear such a harsh critique. Her eyesight wasn’t that bad, but she was particularly fond of these glasses because she thought they made her look the part of a governess.

“It seemed almost as though you performed magic overnight.”

Diego tugged on the ties of Estella’s collar. It was originally intended to be tied into a bow, but she had left them hanging loose because she’d felt bloated after dinner.

In no time, Diego tied a beautiful bow for her.

Estella felt his hands skim across her collar. They were quite warm. She thought perhaps this was a ploy to distract her.

She tried to concentrate on the conversation.

“What do you mean by ‘magic’?”

“It seemed to me that you have a talent for helping your students cram for exams.”

“It is true that Master Cedric read the entire book.”

It was rather an achievement because they’d stayed up all night. Estella proudly squared her shoulders.

“Unfortunately, that seems to be the case,” Diego said in a calm tone.

Estella was surprised by his comment. Diego seemed genuinely bothered by his brother’s accomplishment.

Did it trouble him to the extent of murdering his younger siblings as well as his abusive father? Couldn’t he have at least spared the innocent children?

Before she knew it, she blurted out in a harsh tone, “Shouldn’t you be happy that your younger brother is so eager to learn?”

With undecipherable eyes, Diego stared at Estella for a moment.

In a blunt tone, he said, “You say the most interesting things. As if Cedric were my real younger brother, and I am his real older brother.”

“You two are family.”

“And you sound tedious when you say things like that.”

Losing interest, Diego untied the bow.

Estella gathered her courage and pushed his hand away. Fortunately, Diego stepped back without any resistance. What he said next almost sounded like praise.

“It seems to me that you’re a well-educated woman who doesn’t belong with this family.”

“I’m simply doing my duties as a governess...”

Estella was about to make another retort, but she abruptly paused. She’d heard what sounded like a radio behind her. Such machines had not yet been invented in this era, of course, so it had to be actual people talking.

Estella furrowed her brow.

Was there someone behind the thin wall?

Now that she thought about it, the library was connected to the duke and duchess’s bedroom as well as the duke’s office.

Estella unconsciously listened to the sound coming from behind her.

“I need to maim him... before he grows up...”

“See? For what... abandon... him...”

“Even so... the legitimate... still in the house... do you think getting rid of him will be easy?”

Diego and Estella were the only ones in the library, so when they’d stopped talking, only silence remained in the room.

In the quiet, the voices beyond the wall rang unusually loud.

Diego seemed to have noticed the sound as well. He moved closer to the wall.

“I thought I heard something.”

As soon as Diego said that, a sudden realization hit Estella like a lightning bolt. She knew who was behind the wall and what they were discussing.

Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe as she stared at Diego.

She hastily moved away from the wall. Fortunately, she didn’t appear too clumsy as she pushed his hand away.

“T-there must be some rats inside the wall. You know how that often happens with old mansions... It’s nothing, so please get out of my way.”

“What are you saying? I just heard a voice.”

Estella reflexively reached out her hands and covered his ears. Her palms pressed against Diego’s temples.

Baffled, Diego looked at her. He was rarely flustered.

As if to ridicule Estella’s efforts, the conversation turned into explosive shouting.

“Well done! Thanks to you, look what’s happened to Diego! They say no one in the capital can compete with him in swordsmanship, so how are you going to pull it off?”

“I’m telling you I’ve recruited someone to handle it! He is one of the best assassins in the South. Damn it! I told him I’d pay him as much as he wants, so I’m sure he’ll be able to either kill or maim him!”

Estella learned in the worst way possible how difficult it was to soundproof ears. Her face turned pale.

She hoped that Diego hadn’t heard those terrible words. But her small hands couldn’t shield him from them.

Diego was stunned at first, then his face hardened. He tried to remove Estella’s hands, but she fought desperately to keep them there.

Estella quickly blurted out, “Don’t listen. It’s nothing.”

But it seemed that Duke Bertha was hell-bent on crushing her hopes.

Venting his anger, the duke shouted, “What about you? Why don’t you do a better job of raising Cedric? It seems he’s on the verge of spewing out some nonsense about not taking the title because it belongs to his older brother! I can’t believe Cedric said it’s his dream to be like Diego...”

“Don’t listen. I told you it wasn’t a big deal. Please don’t listen,” Estella pleaded with him again.

In the background, the sound of Duke Bertha discussing his plans to rid himself of Diego continued on endlessly.

Estella winced. She wished time would stop for a moment.