TDS 09

Chapter 09

“What’s with that kid?”

“I know, right? Who is that? Maybe a child from some noble family.”

I wondered if the Crown Prince Elliot, who was praised as the empire’s idol in the original story, looked like that.
I was also curious if my cousin Oscar, who had the male-lead bonus, looked like that too.

Abbot and I tilted our heads in confusion at the same time, then turned away.

We didn’t have time to waste like this.

Because of the kid who suddenly appeared, we had lost sight of the shop workers.
Now who should we ask?

I was thinking about that while walking a few steps.

“Huh?”

Someone peeked from behind the corner of the building and our eyes met.
It was one of the workers from earlier.

“You’re still here?”

I ran quickly toward him.
Abbot noticed him late and followed behind me.

The worker finally waved to us, telling us to come behind the building where there were fewer people.
When we stood face to face, he whispered quietly.

“Are you really curious why Marquis Shablin hit Sir Joseph Colson?”

“Yes! Tell me!”

What luck!

Just a while ago the worker ignored me, so I wondered why he suddenly changed his mind.

“You’ll keep it a secret that I told you, right?”

“Of course! I swear on the honor of the Shablin Ducal family!”

Even though the amount of honor I’m allowed to use from that family is probably worth less than a grain of rice… but anyway.

“Then I’ll trust you and tell you. Besides, many people at our shop saw it yesterday.”

“Okay!”

“Anyway, yesterday was really strange. Sir Joseph Colson kept picking a fight with Marquis Shablin. It was almost like he took the wrong medicine. I mean, why would he provoke that crazy man if he didn’t want to get beaten—. Ah, sorry.”

“It’s okay. Keep going.”

I quickly encouraged him and started learning the full story of what happened last night.

My eyes shined as I listened carefully, determined not to miss a single word.

Later

“Honestly, it looked like Sir Joseph Colson wanted to die. Instead of paying the money he owes our shop, he just kept causing trouble. Sigh.”

After returning to the mansion, I kept thinking about what the club worker told me.

He owes money?

Not a single part of that information was useless. It was an amazing clue.

Good thing I went there.

Actually, I didn’t expect to find such big information. I just went hoping to grab any clue I could.

But just like Dad said, that guy really did something that deserved a beating.
He said things to my father that would make anyone angry.

Honestly, it was surprising.

Even though he deserved to be hit, he was beaten so badly that now people just think Dad was acting like a crazy troublemaker again.

I kept remembering what the worker said.

“He didn’t even say ‘Do you want to get hit?’ first. He smashed his wine glass and immediately threw a punch. He beat him so fiercely that our business was ruined for the rest of the night. It’s lucky only his front teeth were broken.”

This smells suspicious.

I sniffed the air quietly as if I could really smell something.

The man who got beaten definitely had some kind of hidden plan.

Why else would someone pick a fight with a known troublemaker unless they wanted to get beaten?

Huge medical bills!

Debt at the social club!

I left my room.
I felt like I needed to investigate Joseph Colson more.

If he approached my father on purpose, I needed proof.

Only then could I calm Grandpa’s anger, even a little.

Meanwhile

“So… that man left the mansion?”

“Yes, Duke. He completely moved out. You can relax now.”

Nocturn answered calmly to the question from Duke Shurman.

The duke, already 52 years old and looking tired, seemed even more sharp and tense lately.
He frowned from a strong headache and lay back down on the bed.

“Did he leave quietly on his own… or was he kicked out?”

“He left while humming happily, wearing vacation clothes.”

“Instead of reflecting on his actions, he’s still doing whatever he wants.”

Shurman let out a painful sigh.

Until five years ago, Leonardo had been a perfect heir — good enough to stand proudly even in the imperial palace.

He was the duke’s pride.
A son too precious to describe.

The duke desperately wished Leo would come back to his senses and return to his old intelligent and serious self.

If that could happen, I might even sell my soul to the devil…

But when he remembered how badly Leo had changed, his heart felt like it was breaking.

Would Leo ever return to how he used to be?

When Leo first started acting like this, the duke was furious because he couldn’t understand him.

There was nothing he could do except be angry.

He couldn’t bring his dead daughter-in-law back to life.

And even if she returned somehow, reconciliation would be impossible.

Because after a certain incident, her family — the Chartier Ducal House — had become worse than enemies with them.
Even now, the Chartier family openly said the Shablin family was the one they hated the most.

I don’t even want to think about that incident.

About a year after constantly arguing with Leo, Shurman became too tired to even get angry anymore.

Instead, he sent many famous teachers and doctors to fix Leo’s behavior.

But Leo chased them all away.

He threatened dozens of times to remove Leo as heir.

Leo just laughed at him.

Five years.

The duke had waited long enough and endured enough.

If Leo kept acting like this, Shurman felt like he wouldn’t be able to rest in peace even after death.

Meanwhile, Nocturn remembered something Erusha told him.

“Nocturn… please keep it secret what my daddy said about Grandpa. Maybe my daddy will change and reflect someday!”

Why did little Erusha say that to him?

Had she suddenly started feeling worried about the future?

Maybe she realized that even if her father was a useless troublemaker, she still needed him to survive.

Well, she was five years old now.

Still… what could a tiny child and that crazy troublemaker actually do?

Of course, Nocturn could keep Erusha’s request and not tell the duke what Leonardo said.

But…

Should he?

Nocturn sighed deeply and looked just as worried as the duke.

“Unfortunately, the marquis didn’t show any signs of reflecting. In fact, he was cursing.”

“….”

“The things he said were so disrespectful that I can’t even repeat them to Your Grace.”

The words came from Nocturn’s mouth — mostly true, but with a bit of malice added.

Heh heh.

Ha ha ha!

Behind Nocturn’s calm expression, it felt as if a black devil was spreading its wings and laughing.

Next Morning

From early morning, the atmosphere in the Shablin mansion felt like a funeral.

“His Grace is going out to apologize again today.”

“The marquis beat someone again, so the duke has to go explain the family’s position. Sob…”

The servants secretly wiped their tears.

How many times had this shameful trip happened already?

It hurt too much to even count.

Step… step…

The duke slowly walked toward the carriage.

For nobles, honor meant everything.

And Shurman cared about honor more than anyone.

So he treated the victims very generously.

If his family caused harm, he believed paying more than enough compensation was the only way to protect the family’s honor.

Like a monthly routine, he visited the people his son beat up, apologized personally, and paid large amounts of money:

• medical bills

• emotional damage compensation

• time lost during treatment

• and more

This time he planned to visit the Colson Count family himself to give a sincere apology.

The duke’s sharp eyes shined coldly.

They already want to cancel our business contract… but what can I do?

I’ll just get humiliated again in high society.

The emperor will mock me again.

I’ll feel ashamed and cry alone again.

My political enemies will laugh again.

Again, again, again!

“Damn that bastard Leonardo!”

The furious duke suddenly threw his cane to the ground.