Chapter 11

Elisabeth’s ‘I’ll cry if you say no’ face looked at Dylan with an aggressive gaze. Dylan’s face at that moment, which had been frowning, seemed as if his eyes were melting.

He could not look straight at Elisabeth’s face and turned his head.

“Elisabeth, my offer is still the same.”

“Dylan doesn’t want me to be his sister? Is that why you keep trying to drive me out?”

Elisabeth asked, slightly sullen.

Dylan raised his head, saying, ‘That’s…!’ and turned his gaze away when he saw Elisabeth’s very hurt face.

‘Oh, come on.’

Dylan was flustered. He didn’t know what to do because Elisabeth was sad.

Elisabeth wondered.

‘I thought you’d tell me to piss off straight like you did before?’

When emotional acting worked better than expected, Elisabeth decided to take a step further.

“I have explained enough before. The reason why you shouldn’t be here.”

“I like it here. Don’t kick me out. No matter how much you don’t like me…”

“What, what are you saying?”

Dylan put on a serious look. Elisabeth opened her eyes wide because he was almost furious.

“Dylan, I was hated back in my old house, and I’m an orphan when I go outside, so it’s dangerous everywhere. This is the safest place.”

“Eli…”

“I thought it would be great to have a loving brother because I was only hated in the old house.”

Dylan softly looked at Elisabeth with his mouth shut.

Brother, older brother.

What a really strange word. The moment he heard it, his heart turned soft.

“Do as you please.”

Dylan flipped around, not wanting her to see his heart softening.

“Dylan!”

As Elisabeth followed, Dylan turned his head slightly and looked at her.

“Don’t follow me.”

“Why!”

“I’m busy because I have to pick up all the paper butterflies you threw.”

“That’s for me to pick up.”

“It’s right for me to do it because I’m the one who brought it. Don’t come out and stay in the room.”

“But still…”

Dylan sighed and approached Elisabeth. Then he pressed down with his palm the head of the little girl who was looking up.

“Ouch.”

“Some nobles will visit the mansion soon. Stay in the room and behave so you won’t get noticed.”

“Yes…”

Elisabeth answered obediently. I heard from Marian and she knew.

The Count’s young lady, whose face is the same as the dead Princess Cabezo, had to hide.

“And the balcony…”

“I won’t go out because it’s dangerous!”

“You listen well.”

Dylan giggled.

‘Oh, he laughed!’

Elisabeth, who was surprised at the image, unconsciously smiled at Dylan. Then Dylan, who was smiling, suddenly turned into a strange face.

“I’m going out.”

Then he ran out of the room and left.

“What the. Is it that bad that I smile?”

Elisabet pouted her lips and glared at the closed door.

***

It was all because of money that the aristocrats who despised Count Daughtry began to look for him on their own feet.

The news that Marquis Dalton made a fortune after he invested in Count Daughtry’s business spread throughout the Empire.

Some say that even if you don’t invest, you will be able to make money once you share a conversation with Count Daughtry, who is a genius when it comes to money.

“Hmm, everybody knows that face.”

Elisabeth secretly looked out through a small window. Two aristocrats were walking with their sons in the garden.

Count Raizen, his son Thomas Raizen, Marquis Orell, and his son Tyce Orell.

Elisabeth searched her memories before her return.

‘The Count Raizen was a bat.’

He was famous for sticking here and there. In good terms, it is called the art of living. Thanks to that, Count Raizen has been able to expand his fortune.

The Marquis of Orell was the right-hand man of the Duke of Cabezo. And his son, Tyce Orell, and daughter, Dalina Orell, became the subordinates of Polia, just like their father.

‘Those were the faces I didn’t want to see again.’

I thought it was fortunate that I was hiding.

“You brought your children here who are the same age as Dylan to make friends with him for connections, right?”

As soon as he made his debut in high society, Dylan quickly became the center of the social world. Ability and good looks that remind you of your father, Victoire. Even if you don’t say a word, you’re overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

‘It’s strange that everyone doesn’t like it.’

Dylan didn’t really seem to like anyone. Maybe he didn’t like the excessive attention. Only Emilie, who neglected high society because she was distracted by her father’s favor, was not interested in Dylan.

Suddenly, a memory popped up before her return.

One day, Polia announced.

Dylan was Polia’s ‘favorite person’. When she mentioned Dylan Daughtry’s name, Emilie finally found out about him.

When events of the past came to mind, Elisabeth became anxious.

‘Then will I meet Polia again someday? No, I doubt it.’

In the end, she is a daughter who exists to offer her ‘blood’ anyway. Maybe in the future, she’ll be hidden inside the Daughtry mansion.

Then suddenly the curtains in front of me closed.

“Elisabeth. You shouldn’t let people discover you.”

It was Damon who closed the window curtains.

“Sorry.”

“I didn’t mean for you to apologize.”

Damon smiled affectionately.

“I understand because you’re very curious. But you have to be careful. Because if anyone sees you, they might get jealous.”

“What?”

Damon pressed Elisabeth’s cheek slightly. The chubby baby fat has gone in.

“This… is this a punishment?”

Elisabeth asked, puzzled.

“Punishment, you say? Haha…”

Damon laughed loudly. I’ve seen him smile a lot, but this is the first time I’ve heard him laugh this loud.

“Our youngest sister has a side that is not like a child who grew up to be precious.”

Damon casually referred to Elisabeth ‘our youngest sister.’ It wasn’t strange that he could boldly say these things easily. However, Elisabeth, who has lived only by taking responsibility as the eldest daughter, felt odd with the expression ‘our youngest sister’.

“Gentle and kind.”

“It’s not gentle and kind, it’s just foolish.”

Damon’s eyes widened at Elisabeth’s words.

“Why do you say that? It breaks my heart.”

Damon turned around and asked Marian without expression.

“Who said Elisabeth was a fool?”

“No! No, that’s not it…”

Elisabeth answered quickly instead of Marian.

‘It’s just because was a fool in my previous life.’

I couldn’t say that. It was because the sincerity in my heart was broken without realizing it.

Damon couldn’t shake off his worried face.

‘I’ said something useless.’

Instead of telling the truth, Elisabeth grinned.

“Damon, how wealthy is our house? I’m curious.”

It was a childish question.

‘Shame on me for asking this kind of question!’

Thanks to Elisabeth’s shame, Damon forgot his earlier worries and had a playful look.

“Call me *older brother and I’ll let you know.” (in korean its ‘orabeoni’.)

“Yes?”

Elisabeth startledly asked.

“You don’t like it?”

“That, that’s not it! I’m just embarrassed.”

Elisabeth’s round cheeks flushed. Damon smiled, not knowing what to do at the cuteness.

“Okay. Call me that when you feel comfortable.”

“Thank you, Damon.”

Damon was friendly, though too friendly.

‘You’re with Victoire who’s just trying to use me.’

He was warm and considerate enough to believe that this kindness was real.

‘It’s a good thing Dylan was behaving differently.’

Because of Dylan, I don’t think I’m really going to like this house. Should I thank him for that?

“How wealthy is our house?”

Damon, unaware of Elisabeth’s pace, embraced Elisabeth in a flash and sat her on the sofa. Then he sat himself beside Elisabeth.

“We just earn as much as others earn.”

“Gee, that’s not true. Young Master.”

Marian, who had remained still until now, booed.

“You’re still one of the five wealthiest men in the Empire. If you add hidden wealth, you’ll have more than the Duke of Cabezo, the number one family in the Empire.”

‘The number one family in the Empire? I don’t think so.’

Elisabeth laughed inwardly.

‘People think the Duke of Cabezo has a fortune, but it’s all rotten inside.’

The Duke of Cabezo had a lot of things. But it was piled up on top of a sand castle. No matter how high the foundation of the castle was, it was only for a moment then it’ll collapse. The Duke of Cabezo was on the verge of collapse.

No one has properly managed the vast wealth.  The only thing he could do was to block the bank from collapsing what our ancestors had built up with the background of the family.

Later, Emilie took charge of the family’s budget affairs and struggled to straighten out the mess. In the process, she kicked out officials who were involved with various corruption cases.

‘Because that person is a close friend of Polia’s, I was later humiliated.’

The Cabezo family had strangely large amounts of money leaking from the inside. And the place where the money flowed eventually leads to one. Before she died, Emilie was tracking the stream.

‘If I’d tracked it down a little bit more, I would have known who was stealing the money.’

Emilie died after failing to reveal the truth.

Anyway, if Emilie hadn’t fixed it at that time, the Duke’s finances would have been left alone as it crumbles to dust.

‘Now… I’ll tell him to take care of it.’

Elisabeth inflated her cheeks.

***

Three signatures have been signed into the contract.

“Then I’ll trust the Count.”

The Marquis of Orell reached out his hand. Victoire held their hands together.

“It’s because making money is what I do best.”

“Haha. Count Daughtry has no hesitation in his speech!”

Count Raizen pretended to give a hearty laugh. However, both eyes were constantly going back and forth between the Marquis and Victoire, who were constantly on the lookout.

“I heard that Sir Damon has great business skills because he resembles his father, he’s going to be big soon.”

The flattered Damon, who could see through Count Raizen, smiled kindly.

“Sir Dylan is very intelligent because he looks like the Count.”

Said the Marquis of Orell.

“He’s still lacking.”

“There’s already a lot of talk about him being the number one groom in society.”

“I’m curious about this. The youngest daughter of this great Count Daughtry and the sister of Sir Dylan.”

Count Raizen said. Victoire’s eyes grew sharp at that moment.