MDIHC 11

“There doesn’t seem to be a key in this key box that would fit that safe over there.”

I said to Madame Perede, pointing at the safe placed in one corner of the countess’s office.

“…That’s because it contains important items, so I keep the key separately.”

She replied with her head bowed, but she made no move to retrieve or hand over the key.

“If it’s that important, then as the Countess, shouldn’t I be the one managing it?”

I looked at her steadily as I spoke.

“…Yes. Of course.”

Madame Perede met my gaze, her lips trembling slightly as she answered.

“And about this ledger—why is it completely empty?”

I held up the file that had been blank for nearly two years. Though it was called a household ledger, this enormous mansion was practically run like a business, and the amounts involved were far from household-scale.

“That ledger was managed by the mistress of the Camellia estate, and since the former Countess passed away, there has been no one to maintain it.”
“Oh, I see. Then I’ll manage it from now on.”

I nodded as if I understood her explanation.

“If no one has managed it for two years, then no large expenditures would’ve been made, right? That means the estate’s assets should be about the same as two years ago.”
“Well… Basic upkeep of the mansion and wages for the staff would have taken some amount.”
“But there’s also the income from the estate and the salary of Sir Winchester, who is not only a knight commander of the royal guard but also the Crown Prince’s swordsmanship teacher. Shouldn’t that balance it out? According to you, there was no one managing the funds or spending them.”
“…”

Madame Perede pressed her lips tightly together and said nothing. From the fact that nothing had been recorded, I’d already suspected as much, but her silence made it even more obvious. This sly fox had taken advantage of the absence of a tiger to act like the queen of the forest—and she’d spent everything in it as if it were her own.

“I’m not sure about that part.”
“Why not? As the housekeeper, aren’t you supposed to know those details better than anyone?”
“I apologize for my shortcomings and for failing to fulfill my duties.”

Ah, a real fox. So that’s how you plan to slither out of it?

“Well~ people make mistakes, don’t they?”

I said with a bright smile. I wasn’t ready to let her off just yet.

“Daniel’s treatment doesn’t seem very good—why is that?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“She’s still a child. Why doesn’t she have a nanny?”
“That was the arrangement under the former Countess.”
“Then who raised her?”
“The maids took turns looking after the young miss.”

What, by not feeding her when they were busy and kicking her out of the room to clean?

“Her room doesn’t look like a child’s room, and why is she still wearing old, small clothes?”
“I tried my best within the budget set by the former Countess, but it was a bit tight…”

So you’re blaming the dead, huh? Since she can’t argue back.

Madame Perede’s cunning was transparent, and I couldn’t help but sneer.

“Then let’s increase the budget for Daniel. Drastically.”
“T-That would be difficult.”
“Why?”
“Because the former Countess…”
“She’s dead.”
“…”
“And I’m the living Countess now.”

I hadn’t accepted my marriage to Sir Winchester just by dazedly going along with it. Well, maybe 70% of it was like that, but the remaining 30% was a calculated decision.

“Get ready. I’m taking Daniel shopping.”

No matter how happy the ending was supposed to be, Daniel still had a long road of hardship ahead. How could an impatient Korean like me just wait around for that?

My daughter’s path of flowers would start now.

“Um…”

Daniel hesitantly opened her mouth, and I suddenly realized something.

“Oh, sorry. I was staring too hard, wasn’t I?”

I quickly turned my head away. Only then did the scenery flashing past the carriage window come into view.

“N-No, it’s not that…”
“Oh, really? Then I can keep looking?”

I turned back to look at her again, and as our eyes met, hers widened before her cheeks turned a deep red. It was adorable.

“…Yes.”

Daniel? If you hang your head like that, how am I supposed to see you?

“Did you want to say something?”

I tilted my head slightly to get a better look at her face. At that, Daniel raised her head a little.

“Where… are we going right now?”

Daniel asked, fidgeting nervously with her fingers. I guess I’d gotten her ready to go out without explaining anything.

“Well… we’re going to a few places—children’s clothing stores, shoe shops, furniture stores, and maybe a good restaurant? Oh! Are there any foods you can’t eat? Like allergies or something?”
“N-No, I don’t have any.”

She shook her head.

Tsk. So she’s not a picky eater, and yet she’s that skinny? At that age, kids should have chubby wrists, plump cheeks, and round bellies!

Alright! I’ll make sure she eats three delicious meals a day and tons of snacks. I’ll get her plump and healthy in no time.

“And in the end… we’ll go home, right?”
“Well…”

I hadn’t planned out a specific itinerary, but I was considering a stop at Pomots. I hadn’t properly introduced Daniel yet.

But taking her around shopping, trying on clothes, shoes, and furniture—it might wear her out. Maybe that could wait for another time.

“W-We’re not going home?”

Daniel’s face suddenly turned pale.

“You mean we might go… somewhere else?”

Startled by her reaction, I answered hastily.

“W-Wait—are we going to an orphanage?”
“Huh?”
“Or… a boarding school?”
“No—wait, Daniel. What are you talking about?”

I quickly cut her off. Why would she go to an orphanage when she has living parents? She’s not even old enough for school—what’s this about boarding school?

“The Countess said so before.”
“The Countess? You mean the late Countess Winchester?”

Daniel nodded.

“You called her Countess, not Grandma?”
“Yes. She told me to. If I called her Grandma, she’d get very angry. Said someone like me, with unknown origins, had no right to call her that…”

I was speechless. Was Daniel’s real name something like Gildong de Winchester? She couldn’t even call her grandmother “Grandma”?

And she died two years ago—Daniel was only four then. And she scolded a four-year-old for saying Grandma? That lady must’ve had a charming personality.

Oh wait—could it be…?

“Do you also call Sir Winchester ‘the Count’ or ‘Lord Winchester’ instead of Dad?”

Daniel shook her head.

Phew… At least it’s not that bad. That would’ve been a full-on disaster.

“I’ve never called him anything.”

…Huh?

“I’ve just never really had the chance to call him anything…”

It’s not a disaster—it’s soy milk powder. At least soybean powder is solid. This is just mush running everywhere.

“Hey, Daniel?”

I gently called her name, but she didn’t lift her head. Her lips just quivered as she held back tears.

“You’re not going to an orphanage or a boarding school. We’re going home at the end.”
“Really?”

Her clear eyes were still full of doubt.

“Yes. When I said we might go somewhere else, I didn’t mean those kinds of places. I meant I might introduce you to some really wonderful people.”
“Really…?”

Only then did she raise her head a little and look at me. I nodded with a smile.

“The servants said… that once the new Countess arrived, I’d be thrown out right away.”
“Who? Which servants said that?”
“I don’t know… There were a lot.”

Sigh… I need to track down every last one of those jerks.

“They said stepmothers hate children. That I’d be sent to an orphanage or a boarding school… The Countess before tried to do that too…”

Her voice trembled with the sadness of old wounds. To say such things to a four-year-old—what a monster that former Countess was. No wonder people have such bad impressions of stepmothers.

“Daniel.”

I spoke in the gentlest voice I could muster.

“I am your stepmother.”

At that word, Daniel flinched.

“But I really, really like you.”

How much more did I have to show her for her to believe me?

No—even if she never did, that was okay. I just wanted her teary face to smile.