Chapter: 27
Too Much Karma for a Confession
A reply arrived the very next morning after she had sent her letter.
In fact, the mail had been delivered the moment she opened her eyes.
<Thank you for sending me a letter. From your Brandon Kaishner.>
Brandon’s handwriting was as gentle and elegant as his personality.
‘But… it’s a bit long.’
She had felt the weight of it the moment she received the package. At first, she even wondered if something else had been enclosed besides the letter. However, inside the envelope, there was only a letter. Six sheets of stationery, filled front and back.
It was an overwhelming volume, unlike Dorothy’s own letter, which had been just a single sheet.
‘Could something have happened in the capital?’
She quickly tore open the envelope and began to read. Contrary to her expectations, nothing particularly eventful seemed to have occurred.
The majority of the content was inquiring about Dorothy’s well-being. Was she doing well? Was she ill or unwell anywhere? Brandon seemed exceedingly curious about how she spent her daily life. He also asked about various trivial things.
<What kind of food do you enjoy? Or what colors do you like? Please be sure to tell me when you reply.>
She had only intended to send a simple greeting. Now, unexpectedly, she found herself compelled to send a reply. In the end, Dorothy composed a response to send to Brandon. She had to answer the questions he was curious about.
Filling about half a page, Dorothy sealed the envelope with sealing wax.
‘Would it be a bother if I replied too quickly?’
He seemed like a busy person, so replying too fast might annoy him. Above all, Dorothy didn’t want to intrude on his time.
‘I’ll ask Lady Rose to send it later.’
In the end, Dorothy kept the reply, meant to be sent later, stored away in her desk drawer.
After finishing the letter, Dorothy headed to Rose’s house.
Rose’s condition was relatively stable. However, that didn’t mean she was well enough to go out. Perhaps due to the incident last time, she was afraid to step outside.
“The Duchy’s garden has a greenhouse too?”
But there was a change. Rose had recently been describing the streets they had walked through before, or the ducal garden. Although she was afraid, it seemed her resolve to go outside remained.
“That boy Brandon likes flowers quite a bit, so he probably maintains the greenhouse too.”
As Rose continued speaking, she would steal glances out the window. Or she would stare at the front door with bitter, sorrowful eyes.
‘Lady Rose will find the courage someday.’
Just like she forced herself out last time. Given time, she would try to come out again.
‘But when she goes out again, I don’t want her to experience the same thing as last time.’
When Rose made the decision to leave the house, she would need even more courage than before. Having gone out with such difficulty, Dorothy couldn’t allow those piercing stares to target her again.
Dorothy couldn’t just wait indefinitely for Rose to get better.
‘This alone isn’t enough.’
She had to change people’s perception of Rose, at least within Salbrums. So that someday, when Rose stepped outside her house, no one would speak ill of her.
So, Dorothy took immediate action. She had to find the source of the negative rumors about Rose.
‘It’s strange. When I first met Lady Rose, it wasn’t this bad.’
The rumors surrounding her were mostly just speculation. That she never left her house, that she had a rough personality, that she might actually be a noble – they were all stories based on vague facts.
But the false rumor about her “broken engagement” was different. Such baseless gossip was usually impossible unless someone deliberately fabricated it.
Furthermore, in the beginning, the evaluation of Rose was closer to wariness. But now, it was closer to malice.
‘It must have been intentionally orchestrated.’
Dorothy was able to trace the source of the rumors without much difficulty. It was Lady Kedrid.
“An information guild?”
Hearing this from Mrs. Horton, Dorothy learned several facts.
“Yes, they say Lady Kedrid regularly exchanges information with the information guild.”
“The cost for that must be quite high. And to commission them for mere gossip or personal information…”
Information was money and power. The information guild was rarer and more expensive than even the mercenary guild.
“That’s why people think Lady Kedrid must be that wealthy,” Mrs. Horton clicked her tongue as she spoke.
“Who would want their secrets exposed? So they all grovel before Lady Kedrid.”
“That explains why even the merchants are helpless against her.”
The more closed a society, the harder it is to change prejudice or perception. It was especially fatal for merchants. They would stagger at even a small rumor of bad food or uncleanliness.
But… something still felt off.
Listening to the explanation, Dorothy tilted her head.
“But did she really commission the information guild?”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? If she had commissioned the information guild, they would have also discovered that Lady Rose is a member of the Kaishner family.”
They would have learned of her identity first, not the broken engagement.
“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
“The information she supposedly received from the guild was just the false rumor about Lady Rose’s broken engagement.”
“If the information guild really provided that, it’s the kind of baseless rumor that would warrant a lawsuit.”
“Given the circumstances, it’s clear Lady Kedrid doesn’t know Lady Rose is part of the Kaishner family.”
“Huh? Then, Miss, are you saying…?”
“The fact that Lady Kedrid interacts with the information guild is probably a lie.”
“Gasp!”
Shocked by the revelation, Mrs. Horton covered her mouth with her hand.
“If this is true, it’s an enormous scandal!”
The woman who had wielded influence over all of Salbrums, the one with all the connections, was actually a fraud.
“Oh my, just wait a moment. I need to catch my breath.”
After drinking a glass of water, Mrs. Horton spoke to Dorothy.
“But Miss, many of the stories Lady Kedrid brought were true, weren’t they?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, they were! Last time, she found out about Elemano from the tavern having an affair. No one else knew about that!”
Mrs. Horton explained passionately.
“Another time, she even revealed that Donton from the fruit and vegetable store had a secret marriage in the past!”
“Most of the information is biased towards gossip, isn’t it?”
“…Now that you mention it?”
“It also makes me wonder how an information guild with capabilities wouldn’t know Lady Rose’s identity.”
“It’s because Mr. Hill and I have been so careful about keeping quiet.”
Mrs. Horton said with a sad expression.
“Because we didn’t want to add to the rumors surrounding that poor young lady, who’s already been through so much. At such a pretty age… she’s had a hard time.”
“… .”
“Even if we can’t be of real help, we can at least keep our mouths shut.”
“I know. Like last time when my face was in the weekly newspaper, and you deliberately didn’t mention it.”
“Oh, you’re making me embarrassed. It’s just that both you and Lady Rose feel like my own daughters.”
Listening to Mrs. Horton, Dorothy fell into thought for a moment.
The more one worked in service, the more information one inevitably learned, whether they liked it or not. She was truly grateful to Mrs. Horton for her efforts to protect such secrets.
‘Could it be…?’
Dorothy, still touched by the sentiment, suddenly formed a hypothesis. Then she spoke.
“Mrs. Horton. I’m being chased by loan sharks because of a debt.”
“What?”
Hearing this, Mrs. Horton’s eyes widened.
“Should we run away right now? No, wait, how much do you owe? Oh dear, what do we do?!”
“…Could you please tell that rumor to Lady Kedrid’s servant?”
“…Pardon?”
“Pass it along with words like, ‘This is a secret just between us,’ or ‘Don’t ever tell anyone else.’ Of course, the debt part is a lie, so don’t worry.”
“It’s a lie? What a relief. But Miss, why are you asking me to do this?”
“To release some bait and verify something at the same time.”
“Yes?”
“Whether the information guild really exists.”
“Well, I’ll tell them what you asked. It’s not a difficult task.”
Mrs. Horton still looked unsure.
And a few days later.
Lady Kedrid brought new information, claiming she had commissioned the information guild once more.
‘Dorothy Vane is being chased by loan sharks.’
As expected, this rumor turned Salbrums upside down.
Lady Kedrid had taken the bait.
