Chapter 25

Cecilia hummed while changing to new earrings. Life was worth living these days. Elena was rigid. She would certainly come up with 2 million gold, thinking of Leana if nothing else.

She patted her cheeks.

“I used my head well this time. Thanks to that, I’m set for life, aren’t I?”

Since she herself had given birth to the pretty Elena, that girl should repay that debt.

Just as she was humming happily and about to open her cosmetics, someone came looking for her.

The people who would visit this house were either creditors, Baron Benjamin, or lastly…

“Hmm, is it Elena?”

Or it could be someone Elena sent. This admirable girl. She must have coaxed Maxim well to extract money. She jumped up from her seat and ran down the stairs.

She threw open the door with a bright face.

A very genteel-looking gentleman stood at the door.

“What brings you here?”

She asked, pretending not to know for now. No matter how she looked at it, he was someone Elena had sent. The gentleman removed his hat.

“Miss Elena sent me here. I’m called Marco. Just call me Marco.”

“Yes, Mr. Marco. Since Elena sent you, I understand what the problem is. Please come inside.”

She welcomed him with a bright smile. However, unlike her expression, his eyes were coldly sunken. A crazy woman who gambled away money from selling her daughter.

What such a woman should receive was not money but punishment.

He stepped inside the house.

She scraped together what little tea leaves she had to brew tea for him. Without Elena, the house was a complete mess. Food had run out long ago.

He stared at the teacup without touching it and got to the point. While doing so, he placed documents from his bag in front of her.

“Please look at this first.”

“For a problem that could be solved by just giving money, such complicated documents are necessary…”

She pressed her lips together and slowly read the documents. No matter how much of a mess she was, there had been a time when she was a young lady of a noble family. She realized that these documents weren’t simply about paying money. She slowly looked up at him.

“Mr. Marco, you’re saying you’ll sue me, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

He nodded.

“You violated medical law, and Miss Elena has reported you. The central court will judge you.”

Violation of medical law? Surely not.

She dropped the documents she was holding.

“W-wait a minute! There seems to be some misunderstanding…”

She shook her head. Her heart pounded. It was true that she had lived a life far from law-abiding. She looked around, but there was no one in this small house to help her. She gulped.

“I-I didn’t do such things. I just did what that doctor Derek told me to do! He said he’d give me money and save my daughter…!”

“You can say that in court, ma’am. The court will judge you.”

“Court! I’m someone who can live without law! Isn’t this really too much?”

The one going too far was Cecilia. He reorganized the documents and put them neatly in an envelope on the table.

“And the Derek you mentioned will also stand in the same courtroom. The lawsuit has already been submitted to the court, and violating medical law is treated as a serious crime, so you’ll be summoned soon.”

She trembled. This didn’t make sense. How could such a thing happen…

‘Elena!’

She smiled awkwardly.

“I-I need to meet Elena. That girl seems to have some serious misunderstanding. If I talk to her, this lawsuit will be withdrawn!”

She shouted in a shrill voice. He shook his head.

“From now on, the court will decide that.”

He raised his hand. A thin thread shot out from his hand and wrapped around her wrist.

“Ah!”

She struggled to remove it, but the solid magic wouldn’t break.

“You’ll be notified of the date first. After that, you’ll be summoned to court.”

She stared at him, terrified. She had only heard about it but never thought such a thing would happen to her wrist. This was a summoning magic issued by the court. The Adeloff imperial seal was stamped in blue on the inside of her wrist.

It was like a criminal’s brand.

She slumped to the floor, leaning against the wall. She stared at him with a face drained of saliva. What to do about this? She couldn’t waste her life locked up in prison like this.

She bit her lips repeatedly.

---

Finally, Elena’s first lesson began. She approached the class with a serious attitude. The professors Hazel brought were all renowned individuals, so there was much to learn.

Fortunately, she had a good memory and remembered most of what she had learned before. The class proceeded peacefully and smoothly.

“We’ll stop here for today.”

The liberal arts professor said with a bright smile. Hazel, who had been watching the class, asked him, “How was it?”

“She was truly excellent. I was actually worried, but she remembers most of the knowledge. Usually, young ladies don’t receive such in-depth classes. I had no idea the Joseph family’s education was at this level!”

She blushed at the praise being heaped in front of her face. The excellent one wasn’t her but her father. He had always taught her personally. Opening books and pointing out key points with a gentle voice.

[This is boring, Father. Let’s not do this and go to the market! Let’s go to the market and buy me candy this big.]

[If you read all of this, we’ll do that. This father promises. I’ll buy everything Elena likes. Come on, wouldn’t it be much more fun if Father reads it to you?]

All the elements that made up Elena came from her father. Whenever she felt that, her heart warmed.

“It seems we can finish the classes faster than expected. It’s truly an honor to teach you. You’ll probably be the debutante of the century!”

Her face reddened. Debutante of the century.

“You might even be chosen as this generation’s rose.”

“This generation’s rose? To that extent?”

Hazel asked back with a very delighted face. Each year, one person was chosen from among the young ladies who debuted in society – the most excellent and beautiful – and given the title of “rose.”

It originated from the fact that Adeloff’s national flower was the rose, and both Hazel in the past and Empress Riana had been chosen as roses.

And there was a superstition that most young ladies chosen as roses would rise to noble positions.

Despite being over age, Elena hadn’t been able to debut until now. Because she had no money. Moreover, debutante balls were too far from her daily life.

She had no time or money to waste in such places.

So she hadn’t even thought about it, but to hold one this way. This was like mercy Hazel was bestowing upon her.

With an overwhelming heart, she clasped her hands together.

Her heart was warmly colored.

---

When the liberal arts teacher left and there was a brief break.

She shyly presented to Hazel what she had been hiding. It was the payment she had promised her.

“My goodness, did you really embroider this rose yourself?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The bright red rose occupying one corner of the silk handkerchief caught the eye. It was too precious to use carelessly. She stroked the rose part with her hand.

From the color scheme to the thread placement, and even the design selection. It was too perfect. Moreover, the finishing touches worthy of the rose’s dignity. It was a high-quality handmade item with not a single thread sticking out.

Such things couldn’t be obtained even with money.

Below the rose, Hazel’s name was embroidered in beautiful cursive. This too must have been something she had designed and worked on entirely.

You could tell a person’s character by looking at how they embroidered.

“Remarkable in such a short time.”

“It’s nothing, ma’am. Considering what you’ve bestowed upon me… this is all I can do for you, so I’m only sorry it’s not enough.”

She blushed.

“What else have you made? You don’t need to be modest unnecessarily. I’ve never seen such well-done embroidery in my life.”

She cleared her throat and said, “Since Father passed away, I’ve made just about everything. From the nightgowns Leana wears…”

“So you mean you’ve made people’s clothes too?”

“Pardon? Yes.”

“How perfect.”

She smiled with a secretive plotting expression.