12.

*Sigh*.

Hot water poured into the shower booth.

Under it, a breathtakingly handsome man stood, his eyes closed tightly as he let the water wash over his body.

Wide shoulders, a well-defined chest with firm muscles, a slim waist, and legs that extended gracefully.

He was the epitome of a perfectly sculpted physique brought to life.

However, an eerie detail was the color of the water flowing down his body.

At first, the water had been clear, but as it grazed the man’s body, it gradually took on a deep red hue.

And so, the water draining into the drain had turned into a vivid shade of crimson.

After a moment.

“…Huff.”

The man let out a long breath and opened his eyes.

After shutting off the water, he opened the shower booth door.

Thud.

A waft of steam escaped the shower booth.

As the man walked out with his bare body, a waiting attendant secretary politely handed him a towel.

Drying himself roughly with the towel, he put on a shower robe that the attendant handed him.

Then he snapped his fingers.

The attendant quickly handed the man a whiskey glass with ice.

Turning the whiskey glass playfully, the man savored its aroma before finally taking a sip of the whiskey.

‘Right now… it seems you’re in quite a good mood.’

Meanwhile, the attending secretary who had been closely observing the man’s expression noticed that he wasn’t feeling too bad.

With that realization, he gathered the courage to speak to his master first.

The news he was about to convey probably wasn’t something that would make the man overly delighted.

“Marquis Offenheir.”

Opening his mouth cautiously, the secretary turned his reddened eyes toward him.

“What is it?”

“A report has come in from Rose Cros Boarding School.”

“A report? About what?”

“That… Elze seems to have…”

Elze.

Lately, he seemed to hear that name quite often, he suddenly thought.

“It’s said that Elze has apparently stolen the letter that Victor was keeping, the one from Count Craig.”

Perhaps even Dante, the man, didn’t seem to have a much different opinion about her.

“Elze again?”

Judging by his narrow eyes as he asked that, it seemed so.

The secretary nodded his head and continued,

“However, there’s no evidence or witnesses that Elze took the letter.”

For a moment, a hint of irritation crossed Dante’s handsome face.

“Is that so?”

In an impatient gesture, Dante shook the whiskey glass.

His fingertips are as white and delicate as marble.

However, the attending secretary found those pristine hands somewhat unfamiliar.

Sadly, he had already seen those beautiful hands stained with blood too many times.

“Then why do they suspect Elze as the culprit?”

“There’s no real evidence, they just seemed to have suspicions.”

The secretary added cautiously,

“Perhaps it’s due to the things Elze has been involved in so far.”

“Hmm.”

“Apparently, things got quite chaotic at the boarding school after Victor directly confronted Elze, accusing her of theft.”

For a moment, a faint flicker of his eyebrow was followed by his stern expression.

“Victor confronted Elze… accusing her of theft?”

“That’s what happened.”

In an instant, as if everything in the world suddenly became boring, his expression turned cold.

“How dare he accuse Elze?”

Of course, Dante didn’t feel uncomfortable due to a deep love for Elze or a desire to protect her, nor was he displeased because he thought he needed to establish his authority as a lover.

However, the reason Victor’s actions bothered him was…

‘After all, Elze is… nominally my lover.’

It was due to Dante’s authority.

The fact that Victor accused Elze without any evidence or witnesses was undermining Dante’s authority.

Dante Desaby Offenheir.

That name held an unrivaled position within Rose Cross Boarding School, at the very least.

No one should challenge Dante’s authority.

However…

“A mere caretaker…”

Dante muttered in a chilly tone.

“How dare he question my lover about theft?”

His grip tightened around the whiskey glass, his hand tensing up.

The bones on the back of his hand stood out stark white.

“Please calm down, my Lord.”

The attending secretary hurriedly interjected.

“You must know that it’s not yet time to deal with Victor, my Lord.”

“…”

But Dante still didn’t respond.

And the ominous silence meant something to the attending secretary.

It indicated that Dante was on the verge of exploding at any moment.

“We should take care of the entire nest of these rats.”

The secretary urgently tried to persuade Dante.

“Trying to catch just one rat in the heat of the moment won’t be of much use. What’s the point?”

“…”

“To completely crush these rats, didn’t you set a trap and wait for a long time?”

The attending secretary looked at Dante with an anxious expression.

A long silence followed.

“…Haa.”

A long sigh escaped.

The bloodshot eyes, which had been intensely focused, slowly softened.

And then.

“I know, I understand.”

Dante retorted irritably.

“But still, that idiot Victor’s stupidity is infuriating.”

“Lord Marquis.”

“Even the bait that was given to me explicitly to use has been lost. And to think he would try to pin it on Elze.”

The letter from Count Craig, which Dante had entrusted to Victor.

The letter itself was a bait meant to expose the connections to Victor and his lackeys.

But instead of drawing out the lackeys through the bait, they ended up losing the bait itself.

Moreover, using the bait as an excuse to challenge Dante’s authority.

Dante muttered to himself in a voice full of frustration.

“Hah, with an empty head, you probably thought you could raise a rebellion against me.”

Crash!

The sharp sound of a glass and a tray colliding echoed loudly.

It was because Dante had put down the whiskey glass with force.

“Make sure no one can lay a finger on that bastard.”

Then he gave a chilling command.

“After everything is done, I’ll personally tear him apart.”

“I will carry out your orders, Lord Marquis.”

As Dante briskly left the bathroom, the secretary behind him lowered his head deeply, his expression troubled.

* * *

After that.

For the next few days, I lived quietly.

It seems Victor was quite upset about the blow he received from me this time.

I could still see the burning resentment in him.

But well, I wasn’t really bothered by such a reaction since I had expected it from the beginning.

Honestly, I don’t really care whether Victor likes me or not from the start.

The only one who was bothering me was Lucian.

‘…Lucian, lately your attitude seems to have become quite humble.’

He eats well, sleeps well.

There seemed to be some change in his mood, as he was quite cooperative.

Oh, by the way, I don’t mind Lucian’s meals anymore.

[Now you don’t have to taste the food.]

It was because Lucian said so.

Honestly, I wondered what was going on, but well, what can you do?

If he didn’t show hostility towards me, I would have been satisfied with that.

‘For the time being, let’s focus on helping Lucian recover from his injuries.’

Separate from that, there were also personal matters I needed to attend to.

The most urgent task was undoubtedly meeting the male protagonist, Benedict.

However, in order to meet Benedict…

‘I’ll have to go outside.’

Since there seemed to be limitations to accessibility, I planned to tackle what I could do right away.

And the timing was just right.

Tick, tock, tick…

The sound of the clock’s hands turning echoed clearly in the quiet room.

I glanced at the wall clock out of the corner of my eye to check the time.

‘Three in the afternoon.’

It was the time when students had their break.

… And it was also the time when the discreet task of “keeping a certain student away” was maximized at the Rose Cross Boarding School.

‘Alright.’

I got up from my seat.

As I walked down the long staircase, I could see the elegant living room in the distance.

Sunlight poured in through the spacious windows, framed in gold, dazzling my eyes.

A sophisticated tea table, comfortable chairs, colorful tea treats, and fragrant tea.

A graceful melody flowed from the phonograph, and students gathered in groups of threes and fives, sharing conversations.

Occasionally, bursts of laughter added to the perfectly peaceful scene.

Amidst this, the students who spotted me turned their surprised faces towards me.

“Excuse me, isnt she Lady Elze?”

“Something must be up. It’s the first time she’s shown up during tea time…”

Whispers spread like ripples.

Well, it was quite surprising.

Up until now, the original Elze had only squandered her lover’s wealth and indulged in extravagant luxuries.

As a guardian, she neglected her responsibilities.

In other words, it meant that Elze had never shown any interest in the students before.

And that was the case for me as well.

‘Where could she be?’

I shifted my gaze away from the students and looked around.

Tea time at three in the afternoon.

In the boarding school, students who listened attentively during class were rewarded with tea time.

However, there would undoubtedly be someone for whom this time wasn’t a reward.

As evidence, within the warm atmosphere of tea time, there was one woman who didn’t blend into the scene.

Crouched on the sofa corner, her body tucked in, a young lady continuously checked her surroundings, unable to rest.

‘Found her.’

Simultaneously, my lips curved into an elegant smile.

‘The person I must absolutely win over to my side.’

That woman’s name was Brigitte Martin.

And the nickname given to her by the readers of the original work was the “Emotional Trash Bin of Rose Cross.”