Calling it cruelty would be an exaggeration—the way she bullied her was downright childish. Rejecting the tea she served a few times? That was nothing.
There were people who adopted orphans just to use them as servants. Others sold people off to old men in exchange for money.
And some did both.
If one had to define true evil, those people were a hundred times worse.
‘Besides, after changing the way I brew tea to match the young lady’s complaints, my skills improved quickly.’
In other words, Julieta’s nitpicking hadn’t been baseless at all.
If she had truly only wanted to make Janette miserable, she could have made up absurd reasons to torment her.
‘It actually helped me.’
Janette was not someone who felt ashamed when her shortcomings were pointed out.
If she lacked something, then she could simply learn and correct it.
In that sense, Julieta’s constant fault-finding had become a valuable lesson for her.
No matter how she thought about it, the young lady didn’t seem nearly as vicious as the rumors claimed.
As Janette smiled faintly to herself, the request she had entrusted to Theo suddenly came to mind.
‘By now, the advance payment should have arrived at the baron’s estate.’
The request she had given Theo concerned Simon.
She had asked him to recover the money from that gambling addict by a “perfectly reasonable” method.
Janette looked up at the pitch-black night sky, her eyes sparkling like stars.
After Janette left for Ludwig—
the Graham barony was thrown into complete chaos.
“Where the hell did that girl disappear to?!”
“To run away after all we’ve done to raise her—how ungrateful can she be?!”
There were still six months left before Janette came of age. They had already promised Count Berdin that they would hand her over the moment she became an adult!
“We need to send people out to find her. She can’t have gotten far yet.”
“You’re right. Damn it. We’re already desperate for every last coin as it is…!”
The atmosphere was tense, everyone ready to send out a search party immediately.
Only Simon was panicking internally.
‘This is bad…!’
The employment advance hadn’t arrived yet. And that wasn’t all.
Once his parents heard that Janette had become a maid in Ludwig, they would obviously demand the advance payment right away.
At the very least, he had to hide the existence of that money for a month. If only for the sake of protecting his precious fortune!
As Simon nervously shuffled in place, he recalled the advice Janette had given him.
“If my parents ask where I went, tell them you sent me to a convent.”
“What? A convent?”
“Yes. If you say you caught me trying to run away and sent me there, they’ll feel reassured. There’s no place harder to escape from than a convent.”
At the time, he had wondered whether she was being overly cautious.
But now, it seemed like the perfect solution.
Simon grabbed hold of his agitated parents and recited the exact story Janette had prepared for him.
His parents were furious at the part about Janette trying to flee, but the moment he mentioned sending her to a convent, they sighed in relief.
“Good. Very well done.”
“So which convent did you send her to?”
“Ah, well…”
Simon’s eyes darted around frantically—
then suddenly widened at the sound of the doorbell ringing outside.
“I-I’ll get it! I’ll answer it!”
For the past few days, every time he heard the bell, he had rushed out like one of Pavlov’s dogs.
If his parents happened to greet the person delivering the advance payment, it would be a disaster.
And finally—
“Are you the guardian of Miss Janette Graham?”
“...Yes! Yes! That’s me! I’m her guardian!”
At last, his waiting bore fruit.
Simon’s eyes gleamed with greed.
That very evening,
Simon immediately headed out, clutching a money pouch containing the enormous sum of thirty million Eckels.
‘How long has it been since I last played?!’
Until now, he hadn’t been able to gamble because he had no money. If only there had been somewhere willing to lend him some.
Unfortunately, rumors had spread everywhere:
“Don’t lend money to Simon.”
Because of that, nobody would lend to him anymore.
Brimming with excitement, Simon headed straight for his favorite gambling den.
“Oh? Young master, what brings you here? You brought money this time, right?”
“Of course! I brought plenty, so take me to one of the high-stakes tables.”
At Simon’s confident declaration, the employee let out an impressed whistle.
“Oh! Then I’ve got the perfect opponent for you. There’s a big spender who’s been showing up around here lately. The guy throws money around like it’s nothing. Interested?”
“Good. Take me there immediately.”
Watching Simon’s eyes gleam with manic excitement, the owner clicked his tongue inwardly.
He’s going to lose everything again today.
And sure enough, several hours later—
“U-URAAAGH!”
Simon screamed as he tumbled across an alleyway.
A huge, muscular man towering over him sneered mockingly.
“If you don’t have money, you shouldn’t come sniffing around places like this.”
“Y-you scammer! You’re a scammer, aren’t you?! How could you take all that money—?!”
“Maybe I’m not a scammer. Maybe you’re just an idiot.”
Crack.
The giant flexed his knuckles, and Simon instantly clamped his mouth shut in terror.
After ridiculing the pathetic man to his heart’s content, the thug crooked a finger toward the lackeys standing behind him.
“Boys. Teach him a lesson. If someone loses a game and then tries to act tough because he can’t pay up, he ought to learn what happens.”
“Yes, boss.”
As the men slowly approached, Simon trembled violently.
“D-don’t come near me! Stay away! P-please spare me!”
“Gyaaaagh!”
The pitiful screams echoed loudly through the dark alleyway.