“Fersen!”

The Duke, opening the door to Fersen’s room, called out his son’s name and then shut his mouth.

“…!”

It wasn’t that he wanted to remain silent; he was rendered speechless by the unexpected sight before him.

“What on earth…!”

Broken bottles of liquor and glasses scattered around the room. Curtains and furniture ripped apart as if in a fit of rage. Among the chaos, there were bloodstains glaring brightly on the expensive carpet. And, amid all this, Fersen lay sprawled on the floor, seemingly heavily intoxicated.

The Duke, seeing his son in such a state for the first time, felt a vein pop on his forehead.

“What kind of state is this!”

He shouted, anger making it seem as though he might explode any second. Fersen, with swollen eyes, rubbed them groggily and opened them half-way.

“You worthless child!”

The Duke, in his anger, picked up a crystal decoration from a cabinet and threw it towards Fersen. The ornament shattered, making the already messy room even messier.

“…Ah, father?”

With his slurred speech due to heavy intoxication, a dark fury boiled up inside the Duke.

Fersen had been a diligent and faithful son. How did he fall so far so fast? If this continued, the esteemed Vincent family would soon surpass them. In fact, they were already behind due to their lack of ancestral power.

The Duke had disciplined him strictly from a young age, but what went wrong for him to end up like this? The anger within him festered.

“Get cold water!”

Upon the Duke’s command, a flustered servant rushed in with a jug of cold water. The Duke immediately splashed it onto Fersen’s face and began his tirade again.

“If you’re going to live like this, leave the family! Maybe it’s better to raise another heir!”

“…”

“Why was I cursed with such a foolish son like you!”

With anger reaching its peak, the Duke touched his forehead, considering that maybe it would be better to find another heir.

He was sure that the problem wasn’t on his side but his wife’s. Perhaps he needed a new wife.

As he entertained these thoughts, Fersen, who had been silent till now, began to tear up.

“Father… I really, really want to die.”

“What…!?”

The Duke, already at his boiling point, was dumbfounded hearing such words from his son. Before he could lash out, Fersen uttered a name.

“Luna…! Luna!”

Holding back his fury for a moment, the Duke wanted to hear the whole story.

“What happened? Speak!”

“Luna…! Luna said she would be in a relationship with him…!”

Disappointed by the reason, the Duke kicked Fersen’s side.

Thump!

With a forceful kick, Fersen, gasping for breath, clutched his waist in pain.

“So even after all this chaos, you still aren’t hurt enough? Lock him up so he can’t leave!”

After another kick, the Duke, seemingly not wanting to see his son’s pathetic state any longer, knocked over a decoration and stormed out of the room.

“Luna… Why, of all people, with that Antes guy…! I’m right beside you, so why…!”

Fersen seemed to be drunk, not even aware of what he was saying.

The butler, watching the incoherent Fersen with disdain, sighed deeply and shouted at the servants who were lingering outside the door.

“What are you doing!? Clean up quickly! And call the doctor!”

The servants moved swiftly, tidying up the room and tending to Fersen.

Meanwhile, the butler, with his cold face, called a servant who was gathering broken liquor bottles.

“You, discard that and call the lawyer.”

“Now? Or in the morning?”

“Call him now!”

With the Duke gone, it was now the butler’s turn to be upset. Without even asking, he showed anger, and the servant bowed his head and hurriedly left the room.

* * *

In the dead of night, due to the Duke’s call, the lawyer, Polkan, had a hunch that something big had happened.

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure. You’ll find out when you get there.”

Useless. It wouldn’t hurt to give a hint. Polkan glanced once at the servant, whose face was cold as stone.

Arriving quickly at the Duke’s office, Polkan, looking disturbed, saw the Duke drinking and gently nodded.

“There’s a family I’d like to put in their place.”

Without even looking at Polkan, the Duke continued:

“They’re getting too audacious and causing chaos, especially that foolish woman who’s lost her senses.”

“I will handle it.”

Without even knowing the full story, Polkan nodded obligingly. When the Duke said nothing more, he quietly left the office.

Outside, the butler waited, guiding Polkan to the reception room as usual.

There, Polkan, staring at the butler’s flushed face, which revealed the day’s events, mused:

“If the young master Fersen really imprisoned Baron Peils, this won’t be easy to resolve.”

“So, you’re saying you can’t handle it?”

“Not that, just that it may be a bit tricky. It won’t be easy to brazenly challenge them.”

“Isn’t it your job to handle it, whether it’s easy or hard? Please ensure that the Duke’s reputation doesn’t suffer any further. Handle this discreetly and promptly.”

As if testing Polkan’s abilities, the butler said with a sharp look. In response, Polkan nodded confidently.

“Of course. When have you ever seen me make a mistake? I’ll handle it, so don’t worry.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

The butler handed over a document detailing the events.

Polkan quickly reviewed it, stood up and then, as if recalling something, asked:

“By the way, should we kill the Baron and his daughter?”

“I don’t know about the Baron, but not the girl. If we do, who knows what young master Fersen might do?”

“What about crippling her?”

Recalling young master Fersen’s words about seeing a ‘very pretty and cute girl’, the butler shook his head.

“It might be best to disfigure her face. It seems young master Fersen likes her face. That would probably put him off her.”

“Ah, I know just the way for faces. Understood. After settling this matter and once things calm down, I’ll do it.”

That ended their conversation. The cold-faced butler handed over the documents and saw Polkan off.

From the carriage window, Polkan saw the shrinking form of the Duke’s mansion. He relaxed his confident expression and frowned.

‘This is entirely Fersen’s fault…’

What was so special about a mere girl that he had to do such foolish things and inconvenience people in the middle of the night?

That said, he didn’t plan on losing in court. There’s no evidence, so he just had to insist it never happened.

However, the thought of having to strategize against the declining noble family was annoying.

‘Maybe I should start by instilling fear.’

It had always been a useful strategy. There was a vast gap between their families, so intimidating them would make things easier. Such was the world.

Arriving at the mansion, Polkan quickly wrote a letter.

As long as there’s something to gain, it’s best not to give the opponent time to think. The faster the threat letter is sent, the more effective it is.

Thanks to that, Luna received a letter from Polkan even before she had a chance to seriously discuss the lawsuit.

The content was about daring to assault Fersen, the heir to the Duke’s family, quitting the job without properly finishing it, and finally tarnishing the honor of the Duke’s family with absurd misunderstandings.

There was no mention of Fersen’s imprisonment of the Baron, in case it might be used as evidence. “For a peaceful life, we expect genuine courtesy from the Baron Peils family. Rodrian Duke’s former attorney, Rose Polkan.”

After reading the entire letter, Luna tore it in half out of anger, and still not satisfied, she tore it again and threw it into the air.

The letter that Polkan had earnestly written from dawn was now in tatters and trampled upon.

“They’re all crazy. Sue them right away! Locking them up might bring them to their senses.”

“Oh, young lady…!?”

Emma and Laura, standing next to the agitated Luna, were very worried.

“It’s true that gathering evidence over time might be better, but given their clear wrongdoing, even if time is tight, it should be fine.”

Suing quickly could also prevent the other party from having time to think.

Upon hearing about evidence, Luna, after thinking for a moment, made an unexpected suggestion.

“What if… we get a direct confession from Fersen?”

“Yes? If that’s possible, it would be the best option…”

Is that even remotely plausible? Royer was taken aback by the unbelievable proposal.

But Luna thought differently. She knew Fersen very well.

Even if that meant acknowledging his inexplicable obsession.

“I’ll write the letter.”

“A letter… you mean?”

“Yes. I’ll ask him to clarify the events of that day, with the intention of reconciling and going back to how things were. I expect a detailed response. We’ll use that as evidence.”

Given his desperate pleas not to sever ties, he would likely spill everything if approached with a reconciliatory tone. Otherwise, Royer will handle it.

“So you’re suggesting a backstab?”

If possible, there’s no better evidence, Royer said, rejuvenated.

“The only problem is secretly delivering the letter.”

“That should be possible. I have connections within the Duke’s house. There might be some expenses, but secretly placing a letter in the young lord’s room is feasible. Getting a reply, however, will be difficult.”

Receiving a reply would risk revealing the identity of the letter’s deliverer.

Luna then made a suggestion.

“Why not receive the reply in court? I’ll write that in the letter. You can snatch it from him, right?”

Although the letter can only be checked on the day of the trial, having it would be a great help.

“Snatching it… Good idea. Even if it means getting hurt, I’ll make sure to grab it.”

Always compromising, Royer was now fired up to find the perfect strategy to win. Luna, too, was determined to sever ties with Fersen forever.

“Please crush him thoroughly. Ensure he never dares to approach our family again. I’ll reward you however you want.”

Luna spoke as if she’d give a gold mine. There was no bigger reward than a cooperative client.

Of course, that didn’t mean Royer didn’t want a reward. He voiced his lifelong wish.

“Yes, I understand. Then, as a reward, I ask that you continue to get along with Antes.”

While things were going well, the sudden mention of Antes was like a difficult request, and a deep wrinkle formed on Luna’s brow.