Please, Andy. We had a nice little time together. We shared food and went to the bookstore together.
Andy waved his hand away in a panic as he sent a strong message with his eyes.
“I, I, I don’t know because I waited outside the whole time! I really didn’t see anything!”
Is this what it feels like to go back and forth between heaven and hell? Andy was desperately trying to avoid taking anyone’s side.
Thanks, Andy. I’ll take you off the list of suspects in the sandwich tampering case.
As she was making that resolution, the Countess threw her brooch on the sofa in annoyance.
“How can you brag about something like this when it’s so embarrassing! Really!”
“Madam, dinner is ready… … .”
Just then, Madame Laura approached cautiously. She continued speaking in a trembling voice as the Countess glared sharply at her.
“The master is waiting… … .”
“Tell him to eat a lot by himself!”
‘Uh… … Then what about my food?’
The Countess snapped at Hermia, who was sitting blankly, in a sharp voice.
“Anyway, what’s not to like is how the father and daughter are so alike! You should go up and reflect on yourself!”
“yes…….”
He even gave me a gift and then said something to reflect on. I was so sad, but it was okay because I felt refreshed for once.
I’m so glad I bought some snacks during the day. I should have eaten more instead.
Leaving her regrets behind, Hermia went back to her room and looked around to hide the remaining emergency fund again.
The pillow must be somewhere else since Andy saw it when he came out. Was under the bed too obvious? As I thought about it, the door flew open.
It seems like the people who live in this house are losing the awareness that they have to knock when they come to my room.
Andy closed the door and walked over, his gaze fixed on the wad of money in Hermia’s hand. Soon, a brazen voice came out of his open mouth.
“Did I help you again?”
“…huh?”
“It’s a brooch. You didn’t tell me that it was the one you chose.”
To exclude someone from the suspect list is to cancel it. That’s what happened. Andy was a very materialistic kid.
Hermia reluctantly handed Andy a bill, who naturally extended his hand.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“… … .”
But Andy didn’t leave and continued to stare at the money. Ominous feelings are never wrong. This time, Andy even crossed his arms and paced around the room.
“Now that I think about it, this doesn’t seem to add up.”
“what……?”
“That’s right. The mercenary just left his post for only two hours and got 1.3 million Personas, and I, who hid the book and lied, only got 300,000.”
Andy was making threats, even talking about fairness.
‘How did I end up in a situation where even a maid was extorting money?’
Hermia suppressed the rising anger and took out two more bills.
“Is this enough?”
“No matter what, you have to fill it up to 1 million!”
“… … .”
This time, she looked at Andy quietly. He had such a cold expression that she hesitated under pressure, but Andy didn’t seem to back down easily.
“Okay, okay. I’ll give in and give it 800,000… … .”
“Andy.”
“yes?”
Andy flinched as he took a step forward. Hermia opened her mouth with a small sigh.
“What do you think would happen if I went down now and told my mother the truth and told her that you and the mercenaries took all my money?”
“yes?”
Andy, whose face quickly turned pale, just smiled. Andy probably didn’t know he would turn out like this.
“I’ll probably just starve for a few more meals and get scolded, but you? Do you think Mother will let a maid who dares to steal money from someone she serves get away with it?”
There is no way Andy wouldn’t know the temperament of the Count and Countess, who would jump out of their sleep for money.
“You’ll be sent to prison for extortion. And if the other person is a noble, the punishment will be even more severe.”
“… … .”
Judging by the lack of response, it seems he agreed. Hermia whispered gently, stroking Andy’s head.
“So what I’m saying is that it would be to your advantage if you continued to side with me while earning a little pocket money. Right?”
“…I understand what you mean.”
Andy quickly changed his stance as soon as he realized that the tables had turned. Why do people act like fools when they listen to you obediently?
“By the way! I put the book safely inside the young lady’s pillow. Did I do a good job?”
“Okay. Good job. I’ll read it slowly and then take a bath. Can you tell Lucy when she gets home?”
“Don’t worry! I’ll be watching you and come running!”
Although it was semi-mandatory, it was a good thing to have a strong ally(?). Andy left with a lot of energy and a brave face.
“Whew. Nothing is easy.”
Hermia carefully opened the pillowcase and searched through the feather-filled interior to find the yellow book. She was tired from the day’s many events, but at the same time, she felt extremely satisfied.
‘You’ve worked hard, myself.’
She praised herself, crawled onto the bed, and opened the first page of ‘The Thief Youngae’. The moment had finally come to check the contents.
Before long, she began to become deeply engrossed in the book.
[Chapter 3. A Nightmare Nightmare with Stormy Weather
…Bell blinked repeatedly to check if what she was seeing was real.
I wiped the rainwater hitting my face with my sleeve several times, but I still couldn’t escape from this horrible nightmare.
“Mom, Dad… … .”
The small hand that was shaking the motionless parents was soon forcibly pulled up by someone.
“If you kill a child, you won’t be able to go to heaven no matter how much you repent. I’ll leave this child to you.”
Belle looked up at the man who had spoken those horrible words, and was struck with shock. The man who had killed her parents was none other than her uncle, Arno Vince.
“Uncle! Please save me! I was wrong!”
“Shut up. You have to die for the Vince family to be completely mine!”
Arno Vince coldly handed Belle over to the assassins and then took a pouch of gold coins out of his bosom and threw it at them.
“I’ll make sure to take care of it.”
“Don’t worry.”
Arno Vince, who had turned around coldly, got on his horse and swung the reins sharply. Belle watched his back as he gradually disappeared into the rain.
‘I won’t forgive you! I will definitely get revenge!’
An intense fire burned in her young violet eyes.
“Captain! Are you really going to kill this kid? Even though we’ll do anything for money, if you kill that kid, you’ll be out of luck for three years!”
“… cut off the hair and send it to Arno Vince, and send the child to the Graywood Orphanage. It’s a closed place, so there’s no need to worry about Arno Vince’s eyes.”
Men wearing black hoods pulled down to their heads were conversing in the pouring rain.
Belle desperately listened, but the pouring rain muffled the words and she couldn’t hear them clearly.
Soon, the man took a water bottle out of his bosom, poured white powder into it, and then strode toward Belle.
“Drink all of this. Then all your memories will disappear. It would be better for you to forget the pain of losing your parents right before your eyes.”
“Let go of it! I don’t like it!”
Belle struggled violently, but there was clearly a limit to how much the small girl could resist.
Belle cried out for her precious friends, forcing herself to swallow the water flowing down her throat.
“William! Jade! Help me… … !”
In the midst of her fading consciousness, she vaguely heard the sound of a whistle. The man who had been forcing her to drink water looked flustered and immediately put her on a horse and shouted, “What!”
With that, Belle lost consciousness.]
Thud. The book fell limply from my hands.
“what’s this……?”
As she was muttering absentmindedly, she suddenly remembered what Irene had said to her.
‘This seems like a true story written as if it were a novel.’
Is this really the true story? That none other than my father, Count Arnold Bahnsen, killed his half-brother and took over the family?
“That’s ridiculous.”
Hermia, who had been muttering in confusion, began to recall old memories. There was clearly a family tree that she had seen before…
[Lee Geun-Bansen (first head of the family, died of natural causes) – Peter Bahnsen (died in battle) – Jack Bahnsen (died in an accident) – Arnold Bahnsen (current head of the family)]
‘It was clearly written that the previous count lost his life in an accident… … ?’
Besides, as far as he knew, Count Arnold was not the kind of person who would plot such a thing.
Even though he was a patriarchal, closed-minded, vulgar person, he was still so timid that he always gave in to the countess’s nagging. She couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
If Arno Vince in the novel was portrayed as a fierce wolf, then the real Arnold Bahnsen would be nothing more than a field mouse gathering around the remains of a wild beast.
Her assessment of her biological father may have been harsh, but at least Hermia’s assessment of Arnold Bahnsen was only to that extent.
‘The thing is, my father doesn’t know how to ride a horse.’
I overheard my father say that he developed a fear of horses after being kicked by a horse’s hind leg when he was young.
My father, who never misses a men’s gathering, always makes excuses for being busy, and that’s the horse riding club!
“Who on earth wrote this?”
Hermia, barely able to pull herself together, picked up the book on the blanket again.
The author name listed below is ‘Joel’.
“Joel? That’s a man’s name. Joel… … . I have no idea who he is.”
No matter how much I thought about it, it was still dark. If at least the names of my children were listed in the genealogy, it wouldn’t be this frustrating, but my great-grandfather, who had been a commoner but had been granted the title of count for his achievements in war, only left the name of the head of the family.
Unfortunately, later generations also followed that shoddy tradition.
Lucy will be coming in soon, so it would be a good idea to finish reading the remaining content for now.
Hermia opened the page with eyes that seemed to burn the book.
“Chapter 4… … Belle Greywood.”
It was the last chapter of Volume 1, which skipped through time after Belle had grown up.