“Don’t touch me! I’m pregnant! It’s definitely a boy!”
The Countess, who was momentarily stunned by Mrs. Becker's shocking remark, barely managed to scream with a pale face.
“Stop talking nonsense!”
“Call a doctor. I'm indeed pregnant. It’s been two months! The Count has been with me all night without resting, without any dates, and I'm still not pregnant?”
“That’s a lie!”
The Countess retorted reflexively. But her eyes were already lost in thought.
“I’m sure I'm pregnant. I started having morning sickness a few days ago!”
At Mrs. Becker's words, the strength in the Countess's hands suddenly disappeared.
Not only her hands, but her entire body seemed to lose its strength all at once, like a marionette with its strings cut off.
“Oh my, that’s really vulgar. How can you grab someone’s hair?”
Then Mrs. Becker fixed her hair and her clothes. At the woman who had completely lost her mind, Mrs. Becker snorted.
“It’s not a single body, so you shouldn’t touch it, right?”
Then she drove the wedge in with an arrogant voice.
The Countess smiled faintly and looked at Mrs. Becker's hand.
“The ring, give me back that ring...”
The Countess's voice trembled as she spoke her last words. She did not know why she was so obsessed with her wedding ring.
It could be just an obsession with not wanting to have anything taken away from that woman anymore.
“Ha, really. Who wants that?”
Mrs. Becker took the ring off her ring finger.
“You take it. This ring.”
Then she threw it down on the dirty floor of the dock with a loud thud. The ring hit the floor and rolled away.
The Countess, who had bent down to pick up the ring, felt a moment of emptiness and burst into laughter.
How could my husband have done this to me, just to give me something like a wedding ring that means nothing to him?
What if I find the wedding ring? The Count has another woman sitting next to him.
“A ruined baby.”
Tears fell to the floor.
The ridiculous sight of being betrayed by one's son, one's husband, and one's only maid.
The reporters who had brought her here by themselves were excitedly taking pictures of her miserable appearance.
And then, while the reporters were momentarily distracted by Mrs. Becker's pregnancy, the Count managed to get into the carriage.
He gave orders to the footmen waiting outside the carriage.
“Put Sasha back in the monastery. Make sure she is locked up so perfectly that she never leaves the monastery again.”
The footmen looked at the Count in surprise at his crude and vulgar tone as if he had taken off his mask.
"...Yes?"
“Tell the reporters that Sasha has completely lost her mind. She came to the port with delusions and caused a ruckus, so I had no choice but to take action.”
“Will the reporters really believe that...?”
The footman asked back in a trembling tone. Although he sometimes showed a strict and cold appearance, the footmen considered it as the fault of the person who made the Count angry. Why would their master, who was a man of character, be angry?
“Just repeat until they believe it. If it doesn’t work, buy it with money.”
But now that he knew the context of the affair, the Count was secretly disappointed.
But in the end, a footman has no choice but to follow the Count's orders.
The footmen dragged the Countess, who had once been their lady, into a carriage and locked her up. All the while, the Countess just stared helplessly into space.
But as the Count's carriage pulled out of the harbor, she pressed her face against the bars and cursed the carriage loudly.
"You're a human being in a lifetime!
“Madam, please be quiet-”
Then she cried all the way to the monastery.
'Father will definitely... kill mother.'
Paula, who had been watching all this, bit her fingernails.
Gisela was right. Even if she came to the port, there was nothing she could do.
Paula had neither the strength to defeat the footmen, nor the money or power to bring her mother back nor the justification to protect her.
'If I want to save my mother, I must do as Gisela says.'
The method Gisela suggested was as follows:
“Get your grandfather involved to get your mother to divorce the Count. Then, file a lawsuit for alimony and bankrupt the Count.”
It wouldn't be difficult to get her mother to divorce the Count.
Once a noblewoman is officially declared insane and confined to a monastery, she cannot exercise any authority without her husband. However, there was one exception.
'If a noble lady declares her intention to divorce her husband, and her father consents to it.'
There is a legal mechanism to protect the lady in case she is harmed.
After all, Count Albrecht was not the only husband in Imperial history who tried to accuse his wife of being crazy.
Shylock probably learned of the Countess's departure for the convent through this incident.
“Promise me one thing. No matter what happens, don’t make my daughter a divorcee or a madwoman and throw her in a convent. Treat my daughter as your rightful, legal wife. Then I won’t suddenly withdraw this investment.”
He was a man who would gladly agree to his daughter's divorce, as he had once received such a promise from the Count.
The problem is finding a lawyer to represent her in the lawsuit.
Gisela said that Viscount Kwendell would be happy to represent her in the case, but... it was not as easy as it sounds.
It's hard not to say something when you're representing someone in a marriage dissolution proceeding. You'll be making unwarranted inferences about Viscount Kwendell's personal relationship, and you'll be asked to do something that will tarnish the House of Kwendell's reputation.
The Countess, who was momentarily stunned by Mrs. Becker's shocking remark, barely managed to scream with a pale face.
“Stop talking nonsense!”
“Call a doctor. I'm indeed pregnant. It’s been two months! The Count has been with me all night without resting, without any dates, and I'm still not pregnant?”
“That’s a lie!”
The Countess retorted reflexively. But her eyes were already lost in thought.
“I’m sure I'm pregnant. I started having morning sickness a few days ago!”
At Mrs. Becker's words, the strength in the Countess's hands suddenly disappeared.
Not only her hands, but her entire body seemed to lose its strength all at once, like a marionette with its strings cut off.
“Oh my, that’s really vulgar. How can you grab someone’s hair?”
Then Mrs. Becker fixed her hair and her clothes. At the woman who had completely lost her mind, Mrs. Becker snorted.
“It’s not a single body, so you shouldn’t touch it, right?”
Then she drove the wedge in with an arrogant voice.
The Countess smiled faintly and looked at Mrs. Becker's hand.
“The ring, give me back that ring...”
The Countess's voice trembled as she spoke her last words. She did not know why she was so obsessed with her wedding ring.
It could be just an obsession with not wanting to have anything taken away from that woman anymore.
“Ha, really. Who wants that?”
Mrs. Becker took the ring off her ring finger.
“You take it. This ring.”
Then she threw it down on the dirty floor of the dock with a loud thud. The ring hit the floor and rolled away.
The Countess, who had bent down to pick up the ring, felt a moment of emptiness and burst into laughter.
How could my husband have done this to me, just to give me something like a wedding ring that means nothing to him?
What if I find the wedding ring? The Count has another woman sitting next to him.
“A ruined baby.”
Tears fell to the floor.
The ridiculous sight of being betrayed by one's son, one's husband, and one's only maid.
The reporters who had brought her here by themselves were excitedly taking pictures of her miserable appearance.
And then, while the reporters were momentarily distracted by Mrs. Becker's pregnancy, the Count managed to get into the carriage.
He gave orders to the footmen waiting outside the carriage.
“Put Sasha back in the monastery. Make sure she is locked up so perfectly that she never leaves the monastery again.”
The footmen looked at the Count in surprise at his crude and vulgar tone as if he had taken off his mask.
"...Yes?"
“Tell the reporters that Sasha has completely lost her mind. She came to the port with delusions and caused a ruckus, so I had no choice but to take action.”
“Will the reporters really believe that...?”
The footman asked back in a trembling tone. Although he sometimes showed a strict and cold appearance, the footmen considered it as the fault of the person who made the Count angry. Why would their master, who was a man of character, be angry?
“Just repeat until they believe it. If it doesn’t work, buy it with money.”
But now that he knew the context of the affair, the Count was secretly disappointed.
But in the end, a footman has no choice but to follow the Count's orders.
The footmen dragged the Countess, who had once been their lady, into a carriage and locked her up. All the while, the Countess just stared helplessly into space.
But as the Count's carriage pulled out of the harbor, she pressed her face against the bars and cursed the carriage loudly.
"You're a human being in a lifetime!
“Madam, please be quiet-”
“Vanessa, your father sold you for debt because you're such a horrible human being, and let's see how well a child born to an adulteress turns out!”
***
'Father will definitely... kill mother.'
Paula, who had been watching all this, bit her fingernails.
Gisela was right. Even if she came to the port, there was nothing she could do.
Paula had neither the strength to defeat the footmen, nor the money or power to bring her mother back nor the justification to protect her.
'If I want to save my mother, I must do as Gisela says.'
The method Gisela suggested was as follows:
“Get your grandfather involved to get your mother to divorce the Count. Then, file a lawsuit for alimony and bankrupt the Count.”
It wouldn't be difficult to get her mother to divorce the Count.
Once a noblewoman is officially declared insane and confined to a monastery, she cannot exercise any authority without her husband. However, there was one exception.
'If a noble lady declares her intention to divorce her husband, and her father consents to it.'
There is a legal mechanism to protect the lady in case she is harmed.
After all, Count Albrecht was not the only husband in Imperial history who tried to accuse his wife of being crazy.
Shylock probably learned of the Countess's departure for the convent through this incident.
“Promise me one thing. No matter what happens, don’t make my daughter a divorcee or a madwoman and throw her in a convent. Treat my daughter as your rightful, legal wife. Then I won’t suddenly withdraw this investment.”
He was a man who would gladly agree to his daughter's divorce, as he had once received such a promise from the Count.
The problem is finding a lawyer to represent her in the lawsuit.
Gisela said that Viscount Kwendell would be happy to represent her in the case, but... it was not as easy as it sounds.
It's hard not to say something when you're representing someone in a marriage dissolution proceeding. You'll be making unwarranted inferences about Viscount Kwendell's personal relationship, and you'll be asked to do something that will tarnish the House of Kwendell's reputation.
'I never thought I'd be saying something like this to a guy I wanted to look good at.'
Although it was shameful, Paula gritted her teeth as she thought of her poor mother's face.
Then Paula asked passersby for directions and mustered up the courage to head to Kwendell's townhouse in the capital.
Paula didn't know.
'Full House.'
A signal that Odette once sent to Damien.
That signal was the signal that he had succeeded in persuading the real Count Kwendell.
No matter how much wealth and glory you have accumulated over a long time, it will not last a month in a casino.
The real Gustav Kwendell, who had fallen into enormous debt to Wolfgang Casino and lost all his lands and mansions, attempted suicide inside the casino.
Goetz, who had been waiting for him to be pushed to the limit, immediately persuaded him. If the real Kwendell died, things would get more complicated.
What could be easier than persuading someone who wants to die because of debt?
He willingly allowed a 'mysterious person' to exercise all of Kwendell's powers on his behalf for four months, even handing over his seal and identification card.
During that time, he also willingly accepted Goetz's surveillance in the closed VIP room of the casino.
The reason Gustav Kwendell was initially selected was that his network was extremely limited. He was the only member of a family of writers, so he had no family or relatives, and only a few close acquaintances.
The long-time employees who knew him had already been fired by the 'real Kwendell' a long time ago.
In that townhouse, the fake Kwendell was waiting for Paula, with his newly hired servants, who knew nothing about it.
***
The sound of the Countess cursing faded away along with the sound of the carriage.
After Mrs. Becker and the reporters who were left alone in the port had all left, and the port had become quiet, Ferdinand decided to disembark.
“Odette, father said earlier that he would stop by the villa first and then come back. So let’s go separately.”
“Yes, brother.”
Despite the gentle answer, Ferdinand frowned. It was because of the presence of Karl, who had come and stood next to Odette.
Because of the Count's wariness, Karl was forced to spend the entire voyage chained to a small cell.
Yet Karl didn't look tired at all.
“Hey, slave. Do you really have to be so attached to Odette?”
Karl simply moved his stiff neck from side to side, making a cracking sound as if he couldn't hear Ferdinand's words.
Even though he was chained up, Ferdinand felt threatened somehow. He felt small and insignificant.
'It's annoying. What makes that little guy feel so big?'
Ferdinand reflexively turned his gaze away from the unpleasant thing and turned it to Odette. Odette, wearing the light blue lace dress he had recommended.
Then, Karl's red eyes, which had been ignoring Ferdinand the whole time, turned straight to Ferdinand.
“Stand close to me, Odette, and do not be a slave.”
It was at this moment that Ferdinand roughly grabbed Odette's arm and tried to pull her towards him.
With a snap, Ferdinand's arm was grabbed with great force and snapped backward.
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