* * *

Because of her unannounced overnight stay, Rosemary got severely scolded by the Marquis. Consequently, she was confined to her room, prohibited from going out, and spent the entire day sobbing.

It was a good thing that Rosemary had made a precious friend, but if it led to her neglecting her main responsibilities, things would change.

To make matters worse, the Marquis found out that she had secretly sold the Rose Mansion, a gift for her birth, which upset him even more.

While Luna wasn’t at fault, since she was the cause, the Marquis and his wife thought they should meet her at least once.

Soon after, suddenly Carlton came to visit the Marquis.

“Marquis! I have something to tell you! Please help me!”

His cheeks were bright red as if he had been severely hit, his steps were limping, and his rolled up sleeve revealed a bruised arm.

The startled Marquis hastily examined Carlton’s condition.

“What in the world happened? Where did you get hurt like this!”

Although their interactions had been infrequent, the Marquis had a good impression of Carlton, having personally employed him to take care of Rosemary’s mansion.

Even when Rosemary threw tantrums and redid the garden for years, Carlton patiently made various suggestions for a more beautiful garden, which could only leave a good impression.

“The new owner did this to me…! She fired me because she didn’t like me!”

Was the new owner the young lady Luna Peils? Not only was Carlton fired, but William, the butler supporting him, frowned at the news that he was also beaten.

“I really can’t do anything by myself, so I came to seek your help! Please help me!”

Carlton’s plea seemed very pitiful, so the Marquis instructed to lead him to the reception room.

Although they only met Luna for a short time, the butler, knowing Luna was not such a person, felt uneasy as he escorted Carlton to the reception room.

“What’s going on?”

The previously quiet Marquis’s residence became noisy, prompting the Marchioness, who was enjoying tea on the terrace, to stick her head into the reception room.

The more people to hear his grievances, the better. Carlton showed his bruised arm and his red swollen cheeks.

“Oh my! What are these injuries!? What on earth happened…!”

As expected, the Marchioness pitied Carlton’s state. His cheeks were one thing, but his bruised arm looked quite serious.

Now that everyone on his side was gathered, Carlton did not hesitate to vent his grievances.

“Actually… the new owner of Rosemary’s mansion, young lady Luna Peils, did this to me. She even fired all the servants of the mansion.”

“All the servants were fired?”

The Marquis couldn’t believe Carlton’s words and asked for confirmation. To this, Carlton added how much he had accommodated Luna.

“Yes. I had warned the servants in advance because the mansion was different in scale from the previous one, and had reported everything to her because she hated not knowing things… yet, she accused me of deceiving her and did this to me.”

“Oh my, that’s unbelievable.”

The Marchioness covered her mouth with her hand, unable to hide her shock. It was truly unbelievable, thus hard to accept. The Marquis also couldn’t understand the situation from that alone.

“So just for that, she fired and beat you?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what happened. When I said I would formally protest against the unfair dismissal, she mocked me saying it would end with a fine due to our difference in status.”

Recollecting the incident seemed to distress Carlton, who buried his face in his hands. Based on his words alone, Luna seemed like a wicked woman unlike any other.

However, just believing his words because they knew him didn’t feel quite right.

The fact that she fired all the servants including the butler was questionable. Recruiting new servants and getting them accustomed to the household would take a lot of time. In other words, firing all the servants would only inconvenience the owner.

“Did young lady Peils cause those injuries too?”

“Yes… She slapped my face several times.”

Carlton answered, touching his red swollen cheeks in response to the Marquis’s question.

But what the Marquis had asked about were the injuries on his arm, not the cheek. The bruises left a clear impression of a hand, but it was clearly not of a female’s size.

“No, not the cheek, I mean the arm. It doesn’t seem like something an ordinary woman could do.”

Carlton hesitated for a moment, recalling that it was Antes who grabbed his arm.

He had rushed here without much thought, but now remembered that Antes was the child of the two.

But he couldn’t just omit the story about Antes. The injuries were a significant evidence of his grievances, and in fact, the injuries on his arm and the kicked parts were much more severe than the cheek.

It’ll be fine since he’s their child after all. Moreover, knowing that their son committed violence, feeling guilty, it was clear that they would help more aggressively.

“In fact, Antes inflicted the injury on my arm. While trying to avoid my master who was hitting my cheeks several times, suddenly he grabbed my arm.”

“Antes?”

“Antes?”

Suddenly? It seemed like Marquis and Marchioness were questioning the nonsense, as they didn’t even know that he was in the capital.

Carlton explained the situation in more detail, interpreting their reaction as disbelief that their son Antes could do such a thing.

“Yes. It seemed he was displeased. Since the two of them have a close relationship. At one point, he even kicked me.”

“Close…?”

Although it was news of a son they hadn’t seen in over ten years, it was hard to believe. No, the Marquis and Marchioness didn’t believe Carlton’s words.

“Did you mistake him for someone else?” the Marchioness asked, which made Carlton, who was denied the truth, very excited and refuted.

“No! How could I have mistaken him when we even lived together in the mansion? It was definitely Antes. Rosemary saw him too.”

With Rosemary’s name mentioned, the eyes of the Marquis and Marchioness  turned to the butler. Since he had gone to Rose Mansion to pick Rosemary up, it was a question of whether his words were true.

The very embarrassed butler swallowed dry saliva. If he answered too much, there was a risk of retaliation from Antes later. The butler answered with moderate haste.

“I didn’t see Antes when I visited the mansion, but… it’s true that young lady Peils and Antes are in a relationship.”

With the confirmed answer, silence fell in the reception room. The Marquis and Marchioness, frozen, couldn’t take their eyes off the butler.

They thought they would naturally know about the relationship since they went to the party together, but it seemed they didn’t know.

Anyway, Carlton, who gained credibility in his claim thanks to this, continued to vent his unfair treatment. Knowing that Antes was involved, they couldn’t just stand still.

“I ask the Marquis to give me strength! Otherwise, I will be really wronged and kicked out…! They even say that all the responsibility is mine and are demanding a penalty, but I really have no way to respond!”

Unfortunately, no one was listening to his words.

“Call Rosemary.”

“Understood.”

Upon the Marquis’s order, the butler left the reception room to bring Rosemary. In the meantime, Carlton appealed his grievance to the Marquis and Marchioness again.

“I understand. Since Antes is involved as you said, I’ll look into it and help. So don’t worry.”

But contrary to the promise to help, the tone was lukewarm. The Marquis and Marchioness had lost interest in Carlton’s case long ago.

It wasn’t surprising that Antes caused trouble anyway. It would be fine if they just called Royer to solve it well.

What bothered them more was something else. The love affair of that crazy son who turned everyone into enemies and cursed the world.

“…Did you call me?”

A while later, Rosemary appeared with a dull expression and swollen eyes. It was a face that said to get to the point as it was uncomfortable.

The very anxious Marchioness hastily inquired about the truth.

“Is it true that Antes is in the capital? It’s said he’s even in a relationship with young lady Peils, is that true?”

What are you asking? Rosemary, who thought that even her parents who don’t pay attention to rumors should know it as he bragged about it at the party, crossed her arms.

“Do you ask even though you know? Do you really need to confirm with me? If you really can’t believe it, ask him directly.”

Being under house arrest, she was sharp in her answer. Anyway, it was a correct answer, so the Marquis and Marchioness didn’t know how to accept the fact and remained silent for a while.

In the meantime, Rosemary discovered the unusual Carlton.

It looked like he was beaten badly, which wasn’t like him who always maintained a neat appearance.

“What’s going on here? What’s with that bruise?”

Carlton had been her servant for nearly twenty years. Despite some quirks last time, their relationship had always been amicable and he was quite objective and fair.

Therefore, thinking that she would take his side if she knew the situation, Carlton vented his grievances again. He thought for sure that she would take his side as he had only followed the given orders.

“What are you talking about? Favoritism? The owner returned, but there wasn’t even a greeting let alone a welcome, and you call that favoritism?”