Meanwhile, having received the letter the night before, Callisto looked at the small boy standing before him with an awkward expression.
‘Black hair, green eyes, an eleven-year-old boy. Identity unknown.’
That was all the information he had about the boy.
He had accepted him at Clemens’s request, but he still hadn’t figured out the boy’s identity.
‘Still, if Clemens sent him, there must be a reason.’
He opened his mouth and spoke to the boy.
“This is where you’ll be staying from now on. If anything feels uncomfortable, tell me… and if there’s something you want, make a request to me.”
“…You suddenly kidnap someone and expect them to believe that?”
Lennox glared at the man in front of him with a hostile gaze.
They had even taken the little valuables he had left, and now they were pretending otherwise.
Truly the worst kind of people.
“Just tell me what you really want.”
Kidnapping?
The man looked at Lennox in confusion. There hadn’t been a single mention of anything like that in Clemens’s letter.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding… We brought you here to take care of you. You’re in a situation where you need an adult’s protection.”
Despite his explanation, the suspicion in Lennox’s eyes only deepened.
‘This is a bit of a difficult situation.’
Callisto felt as though he had already gotten off on the wrong foot with this boy.
“What do you mean, suddenly telling me to leave the house?”
Lisette looked flustered at the large bag placed in front of her.
I kindly explained.
“It means I don’t intend to let you freeload anymore, so you should move out.”
If someone who had been playing king in an ownerless house got kicked out, wasn’t it only natural that the one playing queen beside him would be kicked out too?
“F-freeload?”
“Or would you like to work here as a maid? If so, I can offer you a job.”
At my words, Lisette’s face twisted instantly.
“What? How dare you—!”
She raised her hand to slap me.
But Agathe quickly grabbed her arm, and Lisette struggled.
“Ahh! Let go of me!”
“That’s exactly why I just told you to pack and leave.”
I shrugged.
“Agathe.”
“Ahhh! Let go of me!”
At my signal, Agathe dragged Lisette out just like she had done with Arthur.
‘Whew, that feels refreshing.’
Right after that, I called the servants into the hallway.
“What happened while I was away?”
“It was… the same as always…”
“So you’re saying Melin has been living on such poor meals all this time.”
“……”
“I’m curious about that ‘everyday life,’ so speak quickly.”
At my words, the servants only glanced at each other nervously, until one who had witnessed Arthur and Lisette being thrown out spoke up first.
After hearing the story, I let out a hollow laugh.
“…So no one paid any attention to Melin at all?”
What she ate, whether she bathed, whether she slept—
No one had cared about her at all.
‘…Not even me, her older sister.’
In the original story, the first keyword used to describe the female protagonist had been “airheaded charm.”
If that were the case, maybe Melin had just smiled thoughtlessly through it all.
‘Honestly, I wish that were true.’
For some reason, my mouth felt dry.
“From now on, make sure Melin lacks for nothing.”
I couldn’t scold the servants too harshly, since I wasn’t entirely without fault either.
“If something like this happens again, you’re all dismissed immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Among the relieved faces, I looked at one person in particular.
The current head butler, Adler—the young man who had replaced the old butler five years ago.
“However, the head butler is dismissed.”
He had long since become Arthur’s spy. I couldn’t leave his man here.
Perhaps he hadn’t expected this, because the butler looked shocked.
“Pardon?!”
“As head butler, you are responsible for all matters of the household.”
“Th-this can’t be…”
As I looked indifferently at his devastated face, I recalled something.
‘Come to think of it, I heard the head butler has a daughter. Her name was Julia Grissel, right?’
Maybe I should contact her.
It would be better to have someone who knew the family, even a little, than a complete stranger.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out.
“Big sis, what’s going on?”
Melin, hugging her cat doll tightly, looked around with wide eyes at the unfamiliar scene.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Startled as if I’d been caught hiding something, I quickly changed the subject.
“Melin, is there anyone here who took care of you?”
At my question, Melin narrowed her eyes and looked at the maids and servants before pointing to one person.
The maid she pointed to looked gentle and kind, almost like a deer.
“When Melin said she was hungry, she gave me bread. It didn’t have black spots.”
‘It’s boiling… I’m boiling.’
Eating bread without mold should be normal—but the fact that she said it like that meant it hadn’t been normal for her.
Right now, I deeply regretted it.
‘That bastard… I should’ve beaten him a bit more before kicking him out.’
I asked the maid for her name.
“Lisa.”
“I’ll assign Lisa as Melin’s personal maid.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Still flustered, Lisa bowed awkwardly. I turned to Melin, who looked confused.
“Melin, you won’t be seeing uncle anymore.”
“Mm, I see…”
Melin nodded sleepily.
“Do you want to see him?”
At my question, Melin stared at me, then shook her head.
“Umm… I don’t really want to.”
At that, I immediately spoke to Agathe.
“Agathe, make sure uncle lives comfortably there for the rest of his life.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
If even Melin—who liked almost everyone—said that, there was no need to discuss it further. He could rot in the mines for all I cared.
‘Well, I basically saved his life, so Arthur should be thanking me instead.’
Now that the thief who had been looting the empty house was gone, it was time for the real owner to take over.
For a minor noble without parents, succession required approval from the family’s vassal house.
Would Duke Dinero grant that approval?
Recalling the original story, I felt slightly doubtful.
‘Let’s start with something easier.’
First, I needed to recover the family funds Arthur had embezzled.
I had already been tracking that for five years, so it wouldn’t be difficult.
I just had to build things up step by step.
A few days later.
I had begun making small investments using the secret accounts Arthur had hidden.
“A letter has arrived.”
At Agathe’s words, I shot to my feet.
‘Did a reply finally come from Duke Dinero?’
It had been a week since I sent him the letter regarding the succession.
However, when I checked the sender, I felt a slight disappointment.
The letter wasn’t from Duke Dinero—but from Marquis Skyler’s house.
Clen. May I visit tomorrow morning?
—Callisto Skyler
There was only one reason he would come to see me.
‘Lennox Euclid.’
Come to think of it, I wondered how Lennox had been doing.
I had briefly forgotten about him because of everything else on my plate.
‘Once I meet Callisto, I’ll need to properly set the direction of my support.’
After reading the letter, I immediately sent a reply.
The next morning, as written in the letter, Callisto arrived at the count’s residence, and I greeted him.
“Cal, it’s been a while.”
With silver hair and blue eyes, he wore glasses.
His intellectual appearance made him look like a scholar—befitting a member of the prestigious Skyler family, known for producing outstanding academics for generations.
“It’s been a while, Clen. I didn’t expect you to come out to greet me.”
“It’s your first visit in a while. It’s only proper that I greet you.”
I shrugged as I replied.
A faint smile formed on his lips.
“So, is the boy doing well?”
“His health is fine. But it’ll probably take some time for him to get along with others.”
Once we reached the reception room and were alone, he spoke.
“Clen, I think it’s about time you explained why you sent the last survivor of the Euclid family to mine.”
“…Did Lennox tell you?”
I was surprised. I hadn’t expected him to figure out Lennox’s identity so quickly.
At my question, Callisto shook his head.
“Lennox… doesn’t know he’s a Euclid. That’s why he revealed his real name.”