Chapter 8
I had only stopped by the general store before heading to work, but when I arrived, Black Swan didn’t look like Black Swan anymore.
And the reason was right there.
“Miss, um… over there.”
Following Anna’s finger, I saw gold gleaming from the furniture. All the old desks and sofas had been moved outside, and even the light fixtures had been changed.
“What happened to the desk we used before?”
“The workers said they were going to take it away, so they put it outside.”
“And the sofa and bookshelf too?”
“Yes.”
I was furious. I could understand a parent’s desire to replace things with something better for their child, but Black Swan was my space.
Above all, all the furniture here had been used by my mother and me. It was the desk she used to sit at and work on, and the sofa where I used to nap when I was little.
[In the beautiful garden, pink petals flutter, my baby sleeps, the petal wind gently whispers.]
It was the place filled with memories of my mother singing lullabies while patting my chest in rhythm.
So, at the very least, they should have asked my opinion before changing anything.
I stepped outside to tell the workers to stop, but all the furniture that had been out there was already gone.
Panicking, I looked around, and that’s when I spotted a cart loaded with furniture moving away in the distance.
I quickly ran out and grabbed a rickshaw.
“Please, follow that cart!”
The carriage stopped in front of the Artenbach mansion.
Since I couldn’t go inside, I told the sweating rickshaw driver to take a break and waited anxiously in front of the main gate.
That desk belonged to my mother. I can’t lose it like this.
I straightened my clothes, clenched my fist, and was about to knock—when suddenly, people came pouring out of the mansion.
The maids stood in two neat lines on either side of the path, bowing deeply, and then a man who seemed to be the butler held the door open.
The distance between the gate and the mansion was about a hundred meters—just far enough that I could barely make out their figures.
I watched the mansion through the iron bars of the gate. Before long, someone emerged, and even from here, I could tell instantly—it was Duke Ascal Modesto Artenbach.
I shook the iron gate hard, hoping the rattling sound would reach him. But no one reacted.
If he’s leaving, he’ll have to come this way.
Fine. I’ll just wait. I’ll stay right here until he passes by.
As expected, the Duke began walking toward the gate. I stood squarely in the middle so he couldn’t miss me.
When he was about two-thirds of the way through the garden, the butler finally spotted me and whispered something to him.
Our eyes met—his golden eyes, sharp and cold.
“What brings you here?”
Finally, I was facing him. I lowered my hands from the bars and straightened my posture.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”
I lifted my skirt slightly and bowed politely. Even though it was a proper noble’s greeting, his gaze remained icy.
“I know this is not the proper way to request an audience, but something that belongs to me was brought here without permission, so I had no choice but to come.”
“…What do you mean?”
“It’s true that Black Swan looks more beautiful now thanks to your orders, but the furniture there holds our history—it’s precious to us.”
The Duke glanced at the butler beside him, who also seemed unaware of the situation.
“Just earlier, workers came to Black Swan and replaced the desks and cabinets, bringing the old furniture here.”
A servant came running from afar and whispered something into the butler’s ear.
“So please, return my furniture.”
This time, the butler leaned in close to the Duke and whispered softly enough that I couldn’t hear.
I waited quietly until their conversation ended. Soon, the Duke raised his hand and gestured toward the servant standing behind him.
“Do as the young lady wishes.”
The servant bowed deeply and disappeared. Then the Duke turned his gaze to me.
“Next time, I’d prefer you not visit like this.”
Through the massive iron gate, the Duke looked like someone who existed on a level far above my reach.
Unlike him, who was so wealthy he probably couldn’t even keep track of his riches, I lived week to week, scraping together just enough to survive.
“I’ll keep that in mind…”
My head bowed on its own. Along with the joy of reclaiming my mother’s furniture came a wave of humiliation.
Two carriages appeared in the distance—one gleaming gold, clearly meant for the Duke, and another loaded with furniture, which must have been coming for me.
The coachman asked where to deliver the furniture. I gave him the address of the Viscount Deli residence and told him I’d meet them there.
Meanwhile, the Duke, who had come out to the front, glanced at me sideways before stepping into his carriage.
I realized then that he was definitely not the kind of person I wanted to get close to.
“Take me to the Deli residence, please.”
The rickshaw driver answered with enthusiasm—no doubt encouraged by the heavy payment in his pocket.
“Was that the young lady from the office—or whatever it’s called?”
Inside the Artenbach carriage heading toward the government office, another man sat across from Ascal. It was his secretary, Rimon Tyrell.
“She’s Viscount Deli’s daughter, right? The one we saw at the gambling den last time.”
Ascal didn’t answer, just gave a slight nod.
“Are you really going to recruit the Viscount into the army? He used to be a knight of the Imperial Order, sure, but he’s too old now to handle field work.”
“No one can match his marksmanship.”
“Well, that’s true. He was the only one admitted into the Imperial Knights purely for his shooting skills.”
Rimon muttered to himself for a moment, then asked,
“Since blackmailing him with debt didn’t work, shouldn’t we come up with another plan?”
“He volunteered on his own.”
Ascal thought of the pink diamond.
“We’ll soon be able to establish a shooting division. Prepare for it.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
Rimon replied brightly. The command to begin preparations lifted a weight off his chest—especially since the Viscount had rejected enlistment so many times before.
After safely moving the furniture filled with Black Swan’s history to the Deli residence, I returned to the office—only to find Lublion Artenbach sitting on the sofa, without even a cushion or a cloth under him.
“You’re here?”
“When did you arrive?”
“Just now.”
The little boy stood up and greeted me cheerfully.
“You hadn’t eaten breakfast, so I went to the bakery with the lady outside.”
He grinned as he opened a paper bag filled with freshly baked bread and milk.
“But hey, kiddo.”
“Yes?”
“When you say ‘the lady outside,’ you mean Anna, right?”
“Yes.”
“You do know I’m a year younger than Anna, don’t you?”
“You’re younger than Anna?”
He looked genuinely shocked.
His expression shocked me right back.
“Do I… look that old to you?”
The boy stayed silent. That silence hit harder than any words.
“Wow, this bread looks delicious!”
He abruptly changed the subject, and I sighed deeply. He probably hadn’t meant anything by it—he was just a kid. Still… ugh.
“Come on, have some too! It’s really good.”
With his mouth stuffed full of bread, he handed me a piece. I poured milk into a cup and placed it in front of him.
Maybe it was because of how chaotic the morning had been, but the bread really was delicious—warm, comforting. It lifted my mood and brought back a little motivation.
Feeling oddly grateful, I reached over and patted Lublion’s head. His hair was soft—soft enough to make me smile.
“Auntie, I have a question.”
Lublion asked, sprawled on the sofa.
“What is it?”
“What does ‘grow bigger’ mean?”
“Huh? Grow bigger?”
He furrowed his little brow and touched his chin thoughtfully.
“When I was looking for someone who could be my mother, I thought I should know what kind of woman the Duke likes, right? So I asked him yesterday. He said she has to grow bigger.”
“He said that?”
“Yes. I didn’t know what to use as a standard, so I used you as one. He said she has to be bigger than you. But I don’t know what that means.”
“…I didn’t think he was that kind of person.”
Wow. You really can’t judge a book by its cover.
My gaze instinctively dropped downward. I wasn’t exactly… well-endowed, but still—how could he say that to a child?
“Fine. I’ll look for someone bigger than me then, right?”
“But I don’t know what’s supposed to be big.”
What a day. Seriously.
“I’ll just find someone who’s big in every way—height, heart, whatever.”
“Oh! That works!”
Lublion clapped his hands happily.
Watching him made my mood plummet again.
I was starting to seriously question whether the Duke knew how to be a father.
Later that day, Lublion came home after a normal day and sat on the sofa in Ascal’s office, where the Duke was going through documents.
“Your Grace, I asked the lady.”
“About what.”
“The ‘grow bigger’ thing you mentioned.”
“Ah.”
“But she didn’t look happy at all. She said, ‘I didn’t think you were that kind of person,’ and looked really disappointed.”
Ascal clicked his tongue. He thought back to The Director, who had come all the way to his mansion just to retrieve old furniture barely fit for firewood.
“She’s too frugal.”
“Frugal?”
“Yes. A woman who will become the Duchess should never calculate when it comes to luxury. A person who wears her dresses until the sleeves shorten or treasures old things for too long isn’t fit to be the lady of the Duke’s house.”
Lublion’s eyes widened in realization.
“How did you know her sleeves were short?”
“…Just happened to notice.”
“And how did you know she keeps old things for a long time?”
“There was a bit of an incident this morning.”
Lublion’s lips twitched playfully.
“You said she wasn’t your type, but you’ve already noticed all that, huh?”
“What are you implying.”
Even under Ascal’s sharp gaze, Lublion just grinned.
“Oh, nothing.”
