Chapter 6
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 6
I immediately went back to groveling.
“Grandfather, once I’ve repaid my debt to Uncle Lilius, I will live as quietly as a mouse! I’ll look after the servants of Randelleur Castle and live with the grace and dignity befitting a minor member of this house!”
This castle was huge, but it was so old that the drafts were terrible! It cost a fortune just to buy firewood!
“I’ll never cause trouble again, so please… please lift this indefinite confinement!”
Silence followed. No answer came back.
I peeked up cautiously, and my eyes met the Grand Duke’s. He was leaning back against his chair, glaring down at me.
“Lilius.”
“Yes, Father…!”
Beside me, I saw Lilius turn deathly pale. However, Grand Duke Frezier’s expression didn’t soften in the slightest.
“Did I not leave the internal affairs regarding the children to you and your wife?”
“Yes, Father… That is correct…”
Lilius answered, trembling.
As the youngest son of Grand Duke Frezier, he had inherited the title of Viscount. He and his wife were in charge of half the internal management of the Grand Ducal House. Being in charge of even half the affairs of the Frezier family—a house said to be as wealthy as the Imperial Family—was equivalent to baking bread with grains of solid gold every single day.
Wait, if that’s the case, why is he cornering Lilius like this? Did Lilius do something wrong?
My question was answered almost immediately.
“Tulia Frezier was ordered into confinement over three years ago. Why is a one-month sentence still ongoing?”
“T-That is…”
“And as an ‘indefinite’ confinement, no less?”
What?
I stared at Lilius in disbelief at Grand Duke Asis Frezier’s words.
It was true. Tulia had been sentenced to confinement three years ago after causing a major incident. And from that day on, the confinement had never been lifted. Because of that, the already impoverished Tulia had become even more subservient to and dependent on Lilius.
And all of it was because of Lilius’s lies?
But Lilius was too busy breaking into a cold sweat, his face ashen, to even look at me.
“Have you two been skimming Tulia Frezier’s budget?”
“T-There must have been some mistake!”
“A mistake?”
“Yes, Father!”
“Then why does Tulia Frezier believe this warehouse is Randelleur Castle?”
This time, I could only blink in a daze.
This place wasn't a castle? It was just a warehouse?
Lilius’s mouth clamped shut. No one in the room dared to even breathe.
Even so, the fact that they used such a massive building as a mere warehouse made me realize that the rumors of the Frezier family’s wealth rivaling the Imperial Family weren't exaggerations.
But why would a high-ranking man like the Grand Duke quietly eat a meal in a warehouse without saying a word?
“Your wife told me that even after the confinement ended, Tulia Frezier threw a fit, crying and screaming that she would stay in this warehouse out of spite.”
“…”
“She said the girl would foam at the mouth whenever you tried to bring her back to the main castle.”
Ah. So that’s the excuse they used.
Lilius was now drenched in a cold sweat.
“There must have been a misunderstanding, Father. Neither I nor my wife have ever told Tulia that this place was Randelleur Castle.”
Lilius looked at me with a pale face and forced a smile.
“Tulia, why did you have such a misunderstanding, hmm? What wicked person deceived you? Tell me at once. Your uncle will give them a piece of his mind!”
“You promise?”
When I asked back with a bright face, Lilius answered, looking slightly flustered.
“O-Of course.”
You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for those words.
I immediately looked up at Grand Duke Asis.
His gaze was still terrifying enough to make my heart shrink, but I was too cold and too hungry to let an opportunity like this slip away.
Grand Duke Frezier hated family members snitching on each other.
However, I instinctively sensed that this moment was the one and only chance I would ever get to tattle to the Grand Duke.
Fine.
Let’s do it.
I bit the inside of my cheek hard. Feeling the metallic taste of blood, I opened my mouth.
“Why are you staring at me with those wide eyes, you little beggar?”
“…!”
“It’s a fact that your father abandoned you.”
“…”
“What are you so upset about that you had to cause a scene at the banquet?”
“…”
“That’s why Grandfather put you under indefinite confinement.”
The gaze of Grand Duke Asis Frezier, which had been glaring at me menacingly, began to flicker with an unreadable light.
That was it. Those were the verbal abuses I had heard from Tedric just this morning.
“Everyone knows you were born because your mother had an affair. It makes no sense for a girl like you to be ranked above me in the first place—”
Clatter!
The loud sound of a chair falling over came from behind me. I turned around.
Tedric Frezier’s face was turning red and then pale in rapid succession.
When our eyes met, I stuck my tongue out at him spitefully. Finally losing his reason, Tedric pointed a finger at me.
“Y-You…!”
“Tedric Frezier!”
It was a roar so powerful it felt like the very space around us was collapsing.
I merely flinched and pressed myself against the floor, but Tedric Frezier’s legs gave out entirely, and he collapsed into a heap.
Grand Duke Asis Frezier, who had stood up at some point, was glaring at Tedric with a terrifying aura.
“G-Grandfather…”
“There is no need to even interrogate you to see if those words are true.”
“I-It’s not like that…!”
Grand Duke Asis strode forward and reached for Tedric’s neck.
In an instant, the small pendant hanging around Tedric’s neck was snatched away.
“F-Father!” Lilius cried out in horror.
The ‘Lineage Pendant.’
Just as organizations have uniforms to foster a sense of belonging, prestigious noble families often have jewelry they share. The direct descendants of the Frezier family receive an expensive and beautiful pendant upon reaching their sixteenth birthday and completing their debutante.
To have that symbol of being a direct descendant of the Grand Ducal House taken away meant…
“I shall revoke the authority of the direct line granted to you for the time being.”
The Grand Duke warned him with a gaze so cold it was bone-chilling.
“Do you understand?”
Tedric couldn't even answer properly; he just trembled and managed a weak nod.
The declaration of revoking his authority as a direct descendant seemed to fall into a similar category as a confinement order, as the servants promptly escorted Tedric out.
Lilius, looking incredibly worried about his son who was practically being dragged away, made a clumsy excuse and hurried out of the room as well.
Sensing the mood, I quickly bowed to Grand Duke Asis and began to make my escape.
I felt like I might faint if the Grand Duke called me back to start a one-on-one interrogation, but fortunately, that didn't happen.
Too much had happened. I had achieved my primary goal, but I was exhausted. I wanted to rest.
As soon as I returned to my bedroom and buried myself under the covers, I fell straight into a deep sleep.
Fortunately, no one bothered or woke me.
* * *
The next day.
Are they not even giving me breakfast now?
Unlike the day before, seeing the empty table made my fighting spirit surge.
Now that my measly budget would be normalized, why should I be afraid or care about what the butler and maids thought?
However, as I threw open the bedroom door with gusto, I nearly had a heart attack.
An unexpected figure was standing there, perfectly composed.
“Lady Tulia. Are you awake?”
“Luc?”
The middle-aged man called Luc stared at me and asked back.
“You know my name?”
“Of course.”
If you play The Milk Bread hundreds of times, you memorize it automatically. The name of Luc Kelposher, the direct aide to Grand Duke Asis Frezier.
In his early to mid-fifties. Rumored to have been a legendary beauty in his youth. Thanks to that, he still exuded a dignified, noble aura. A brilliant strategist. Basically, a cold personality.
He was loyal only to Grand Duke Asis Frezier.
And the most important point.
In the world of ‘The Milk Bread,’ he’s the easiest person for Tulia to win over!