'It was a good thing I didn't tell Odette what she had done.'
Mrs. Becker breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the news of the resurrection.
If she had told the Count everything two years ago, she would have been caught in the middle and only caused trouble for herself.
'Now, whatever harm the Count suffers is none of my concern.'
Of course, it would be difficult for the Count to die right away. The Count had to die after her child became the successor to this family.
Now, Mrs. Becker did not want the Count's love. She only wanted the position the Count would give her. A position that would protect her son and herself.
She realized how insignificant a man's sincerity is.
'I'm still angry that my son's status and mine depend on that guy, but... I can bear it.'
She has already endured it for a long time.
Even though she was ignored by the lower class of the household every day, and lived like a rat in the attic, Mrs. Becker endured it all, even though she begged Fernand, who came to kill her after barely recovering from giving birth, to spare her life.
Hasn't she been enduring this until now for the day when the Count will recognize her child as his own son, for the day when he will be designated as his successor?
Mrs. Becker, who had barely made it to the sunless attic, dragged her legs and hugged the child in the sack.
"Our son, how did you do so well on your own? Our son, you are so talented."
Abu-bu. The smiling child slapped her cheek with a slap-slap sound.
"Our angel. How lovely you are."
Mrs. Becker felt touched. This was her first and last child, so lovely and fragile. She would not mind putting him in her eyes.
Mrs. Becker held the warm child close and spoke with eerie certainty.
"That bastard Fernand will definitely cause another bigger accident than this. I will definitely make you the successor to the Albrecht family. My dear son."
***
Count Albrecht was the first to stop the distribution of the drug 'Morel'.
But things were not easily resolved. One of the noble victims, who had been complaining of stomach pain. The Count wanted to claim that Morel was not the cause of the nobleman's death and that his death was merely a coincidence, but he had no way of proving it.
Because... no one knew how that weed worked.
According to the description in the Pokedex, the herb was a simple weed that could cause severe stomach pain.
But the problem was that a single pill called Morel contained a delicate blend of countless medicinal herbs.
How the unidentified weed would work when combined with other herbs was completely unknown.
"If it had exploded from medicine that poor people take a lot, we could have used threats or persuasion to somehow resolve it. Why did it have to explode from Morel?'
What he thought was a move to revive the Albrecht family had this kind of result.
The Count looked bitterly at the letter from the palace.
The content was long, the writing was ornate, and the style was formal, but the gist was as follows.
"How on earth do you manage your drugs so that weeds can get in? I will temporarily suspend the production and distribution of all drugs from Albrecht Pharmaceuticals."
From the perspective of the Count, who had already expanded his business to the extent possible, even a brief interruption in the flow of funds would have been fatal.
Besides, will the 'temporary suspension' that the palace talks about really end up being temporary?
Among the drugs that Albrecht monopolized, there were many important drugs whose production could not be stopped even for a moment. A representative example was a runaway delayer.
In the absence of the Albrecht Pharmaceutical Company, they will take away the manufacturing secrets that they had monopolized and release them under the pretext that they cannot create an emergency situation.
If that happens, things will get out of control. How quickly will other pharmaceutical companies catch up with Albrecht Pharmaceuticals?
Once a pharmaceutical company is suspended, there is a high probability that it will close its doors forever.
Even if distribution is allowed again, it will be after the monopoly that the pharmaceutical company had is completely taken away...
It's no different from starting from a single pharmaceutical company. And it already has the stigma of killing people.
The Count had no choice but to realize it once again.
'In the end, I guess I'll have to monopolize the Purifiers to recover these.'
"What do you think, Rolf?"
"My Lord, the only way to survive is to adopt Lady Charlotte as soon as possible."
There was a hint of arrogance in Rolf's voice, suggesting that his judgment was correct.
"...Phew."
"For now, it's important to overcome the crisis. If you can increase your negotiating power with the bereaved family, wouldn't it be better to adopt even if you're a little hesitant?"
It was the Albrecht family that his father had worked hard to take away and that he had worked hard to cultivate. It seemed as if the fruits of that labor would be shattered at any moment.
'I can't even say I'll put it on hold.'
The nobles were already treating the Count like a swindler simply because Odette was staying in the cathedral and not communicating much with Albrecht.
Charlotte is pushed by Odette, but she is still a Class A Purifier. She probably won't openly fight with Count Albrecht.
"But I am reluctant to suggest that we bring Paula in. It seems clear that she has other ulterior motives for coming to this mansion."
The Count still felt uncomfortable with Charlotte's care for Paula.
It was hard to completely shake off the suspicions that Sasha might be returning to the mansion, or that Odette and Charlotte were working together.
"I have thought about that, Count. How about this?"
"..."
"That... is to officially register an illegitimate child into the Count's family. In Barceha, isn't it the rule that all inheritance and titles go to sons? A daughter can only inherit if there are no sons."
The Count burst into laughter at Rolf's suggestion.
'If that happens, how much trouble will Fernand cause?'
Although he thought it was fortunate that he had an illegitimate child, Fernand would never sit still the moment he officially registered the child as his child.
If he were not going to abandon Fernand, he couldn't even dream of formally registering his illegitimate child.
'But Fernand still comes first. That's not right.'
The Count shook his head. Adopting Charlotte was already complicated enough, and he didn't want to make the family even more complicated.
"I'll think about that later. For now, prepare the necessary documents for Charlotte's adoption."
It would have been better if he had accepted Charlotte's offer when she first made it.
It's not even a month since he came out in a high-profile position, but it's ridiculous that he's being courted.
The Count looked weary and lost in thought. His expression was more miserable than ever.
***
Madame Sarah's clothing store had grown in size beyond comparison.
The dress, shoes, and ribbons that Odette wore. All of these were sold for high prices after Odette's death sold for even higher prices.
Thanks to this, Madame Sarah had amassed a fortune and was now running a high-end boutique rather than a clothing store.
Madame Sarah, who even aristocrats line up to see now, boldly closed her business during peak customer hours.
'Mother, Miss Odette needs a place to hide from people's eyes.'
Just those words from Lize.
Thanks to that, Odette was now sitting in the reception room on the third floor, the most secret place in the boutique.
She was wearing a mint-colored satin one-piece dress with a ribbon on the back.
"That's unexpected. I never thought you'd ask to see me."
A woman was kneeling in front of her.
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