Estella took a moment to consider the appropriate response. Estella spoke up, her voice bare of emotion.

“Your advice is kind.”

“We don’t want to make more unnecessary sacrifices.”

The butler replied, his voice gentle. Estella froze in place. She knew he was worried about her, but for some reason she was offended.

When the footsteps behind him stopped, Javier looked back. Estella met his eyes and asked.

“I suppose Duke Berta’s death was a necessary sacrifice?”

There was a moment of silence. The butler didn’t answer straight away, instead scanning the empty corridor. The second floor was off-limits to guests, lest their words leak out. With no ears to hear, they could be a little more honest with each other.

Javier let out a small but long sigh. The lines around his eyes crinkled with fatigue.

“Miss Margaret, do you know how long I have been working in this mansion?”

The question was unintentional – she already knew he was a long-serving employee, so why bother to mention it again, perhaps as a warning not to talk back, given his higher rank – but the butler’s next words were not what Estella expected.

“I have worked in this manor for 31 years. I was a wedding gift from the Marquis of Botry to the mistress, and even then, rumours of the Duke of Berta’s shamelessness ran rampant in society.”

Javier, the butler, had followed the former Duchess into the mansion. It was the first time she had heard of it.

Dolores’s story was unexpectedly intriguing from the outset. Although Mrs Gail had previously told her bits and pieces about the former Duchess, she hadn’t heard much about the marriage.

Estella could see why the butler had sided with Diego. His original master was the Marquis of Botry, and it was natural for him to be wary of the newcomer, Anna.

“She was a very unwilling betrothed, but family ties can sometimes make a spouse’s humanity a low priority. Of course, the former Marquis of Botry may have had some expectations that Duke Berta might have a change of heart after the marriage, but all things need insurance, and I was brought into the manor with her because I had known Dolores for so long.”

At a time of turbulence in the two families, Duke Berta’s long-serving butler left the manor due to old age. For the Marquis of Botry, who was worried about his daughter’s marriage, this was a golden opportunity.

Javier entered as Duchy of Berta by the order of the previous Marquis Boltry, without revealing his true origin. It was for the purpose of being close to Dolores and serving as her butler. This remained a secret between Dolores and Javier for a long time. After Dolores’ death, the person with whom he shared the secret was replaced by her son.

Javier closed and opened his eyes slowly. His voice was as deeply sunken as the years he spoke.

“Twenty years.”

He wasn’t referring to the time he’d spent in the mansion. It wasn’t hard for Estella to see that he was referring to the years that the former Duchess had endured. He spoke in a voice that was as grave as ever, but that made it all the more poignant.

“Twenty years is a sufficient time to slowly kill a person. I dare say there could be no more dreadful time than that.”

“I’m not trying to blame anyone for harming Duke Berta. I am equally complicit as I knew about it and did not intervene.”

Estella said, avoiding his gaze.

It was only right that the Duke of Berta should be punished for ruining the lives of Dolores and Diego. Estella admitted that she held herself to a very strange standard, but there was no need to feel guilty that she was not a perfect paragon of virtue. To be honest, she considered Berta’s death to be fittingly described as ‘a good riddance.’

But the case of innocent children was different.

“But to you, Cedric and Cecilia would also fall into the category of ‘necessary sacrifice,’ wouldn’t they?”

She didn’t mean to ask, but her voice came out sharper than she intended. She hadn’t been able to fully mask her physiological discomfort. Estella felt like she could finally explain why she had taken offence to the butler’s words. The way he justified his behaviour by saying he had no choice was repulsive.

The butler lowered his gaze. Then, in a guilt-avoiding tone, he said.

“There are things that must be done, even if they are not right.”

“There can’t be a cause in killing innocent children.”

Estella cut in. She was soon left speechless by Javier’s next question.

“Do you know what it’s like to live in a family where it’s expected to kill or be killed?”

She doesn’t know such things. She can’t even speculate. Estella wanted to ask if he, who claims to understand Diego’s heart, truly understand it. If he were to say that he did, it would be arrogant, and even though he hadbeen together with Diego, there is no need for her to feel guilty for not knowing what she doesn’t know.

But what the butler returned was a cool admission.

“I do not know.”

“…….”

“Even I, who have watched him all his life, dare not know how he feels, Miss Margaret.”

There was a lot of emotion in those words. Estella glanced over at the watery butler’s eyes. She spoke with a knowing look.

“His pitiful life is no excuse for murder.”

“…….”

“Killing a child who knows nothing just because he’s going to be a danger later. I’ll admit it’s an efficient way to live, and there’s no turning back, and he even has a pretty plausible motive, but so what? Does that make it okay that he stabbed someone to death?”

Diego is a murderer, that’s been a given from the start of the novel. It’s the only truth that hasn’t changed, even now that Estella has stirred the pot between the family.

Estella pitied Diego, but at the same time she was very aware of his true nature. Raised under the Duke of Berta, Diego had unfortunately become a man who could dispose of people out of necessity.

‘Unfortunately’ is merely an adverb. That word cannot erase any other possible narratives.

“Turning a blind eye to Duke Berta’s affairs doesn’t mean I agree with you, so don’t try to convince me with your efficiency.”

Javier gave her an unreadable look at that. He should have been offended by the lecturing tone, but he didn’t seem to take it too badly. Instead, he continued.

“Are you trying to save Master Cedric and Lady Cecilia?”

“……Yes.”

Estella hesitated for a moment before answering. It was a purpose she would soon convey to Diego. Javier bowed his head as he had heard the answer. Then he added a short word of encouragement.

“I’ll support you.”

He didn’t mean it sarcastically. Estella glanced at him, then brushed past him and headed for the office. The butler didn’t follow any further. She could hear his steps fading behind her.

Estella stood alone in the doorway. Diego would be waiting for her inside.

‘I wonder if I can do this.’

She wasn’t sure if she could make her point without trembling in his presence. The thought of being at the mercy of a murderer seemed ridiculous. Perhaps she would disappear from this mansion like mice and birds for being a hindrance.

But Estella decided to trust the ‘original’ that had led her so far. When Diego accepts the female lead’s offer, it’s not because he’s afraid of her threatening demands, but because he’s curious about the woman who dares to be so brazen in front of him. She hoped the same curiosity would be directed at her.

She pushed past her hesitation and gave a short knock.

“Come in.”

A deep voice said from inside. Estella cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.

“I heard you called.”

Diego was standing in front of the window, looking back at her. The backlight made it hard to make out his expression. Maybe it was the dryness of the air in his office, but Estella felt her mouth go dry. Walking over to the couch, he said.

“Sit down, I thought we might have something to talk about.”

Estella hesitantly took a seat across from him. Nervous, she didn’t dare bring up the subject. Thankfully, it was Diego who opened his mouth first.

“Miss Estella.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Are you afraid of me?”

When Estella remained silent, he straightened his posture and spoke in a firmer tone.

“I seem to recall that it was you who requested a conversation in the first place.”

“…”

“Tell me, Miss Margaret. What was your intention when you caught my eye.”

Estella took a short, deep breath. Fortunately, the voice that came out of her mouth wasn’t as ugly as she thought it would be.

“I just wanted to let you know that I am someone who might be of use to you, Duke.”

“Is there something you want from me?”

Diego sneered at her.

“My father is an incompetent gambler, my siblings can’t even get a decent meal, and my mother has been suffering from lethargy for years.”

Hearing her own misery in someone else’s words sounded a little foreign. Perhaps it was because she had experienced other families that were harmonious enough.

Diego’s response was even more irritating, as if he interpreted Estella’s bluntness as arrogance.

“How can I satisfy you by saving you from that that life? Are you coveting the position of the next duchess?”

Estella couldn’t help but be a little taken aback by the sudden mention of marriage. Was Diego actually programmed to sell his hand in marriage whenever the right person came along?

It wasn’t entirely unreasonable, as the heroine and her had exactly the same agenda. Of course, Estella didn’t want to be a duchess or anything.

Barely swallowing the laughter that threatened to burst out of her reflexes, Estella resumed her serious expression. The fists on her thighs tightened. Estella spoke with determination.

“Duke, there is only one thing I want.”

“Speak.”

At Diego’s urging, Estella took a deep breath. There was no turning back now. If her actions couldn’t be construed as anything other than suicidal, it wouldn’t hurt to pretend to be a little crazier. Estella said, forcing her voice.

“Don’t kill Cecilia and Cedric.”

And at the sight of Diego’s eerie glare at her, Estella realised, as if by premonition, that she had just walked right into the lion’s mouth. That she could no longer live apart from the story.

Estella closed her eyes tightly and prayed.

‘Please don’t let this be my last words.’

If there was some unknown force that had brought her into this novel, it should have granted her this much as a matter of conscience. In the corner of the impending conclusion, all she earnestly wished for was for Diego to run forward, hoping that the children and herself would have a place at the end of the story.

T/N: i’ve translated up to volume 2 of this novel. if you’d like to read it early, check out my patreon (the link on my profile)! thank you sm~ ?