Obviously, It's My Child - Chapter 163
The next morning, Martha was startled when she opened the curtains of the bedroom window.
“Oh my, Master, what happened to your face?”
“Huh, my face? Why?”
Claire mumbled groggily, her eyes swollen as if they were coated with glue.
“Your eyes are incredibly puffy.”
“It must be from the fatigue.”
“That makes sense. Then you should sleep some more.”
“Umm…”
While she was tempted to lie back down, she needed to check on several things. Claire got up eventually.
“Martha, did you hear about what happened last night?”
“Oh, I heard about the person who fell into the sea? You did a good thing. You must have been quite startled.”
“Yes.”
From Martha’s comments, it seemed the secret about the drowned person being Prince Linus was being well kept.
It wasn’t surprising, given that Maximilian wouldn’t let such a detail slip. After all, there were few who would recognize Prince Linus’s face.
Unlike Erich, who had been constantly in the capital, Prince Linus was hidden away in the palace when he was young and had been living in Duchy Ernst’s estate since he was fifteen.
After quickly washing her face and leaving the still-sleeping Elliott in Martha’s care, Claire stepped outside.
There was a letter from Archduke Victoria.
“Hmm. It seems the Archduke plans to stay at the Ludendorff manor. Perhaps she took a liking to Hermann.”
“Understood. I’ll only prepare meals for you and the young master for now.”
“Thank you.”
She needed to visit the manor too, but that would wait. Today was for resting.
“Has the patient woke up?”
“Not yet, but his condition is stable.”
Maximilian replied.
“Then you should rest too, Maximilian. I’m up now.”
“Lady Claire.”
“Ah, no need to say you’re alright. I’m going to sprawl out in the mansion today, so I really am fine. I’ll wake you up too when the patient wakes up. Is that okay?”
“Understood.”
Maximilian bowed his head slightly and strode off to his assigned room.
True to her words, Claire spent a couple of hours lounging on the terrace facing the sea, simply listening to the sound of the waves.
A guest visited just then. He was an elderly gentleman with silver hair, wearing a monocle and leaning on a cane.
“He didn’t give his name….”
The maid spoke cautiously.
Though Claire had planned to avoid visitors today, given the circumstances, she had to go to the parlor.
She immediately recognized the guest’s identity.
“Old Count Krozik, isn’t it? I didn’t expect to see you here. It’s a pleasure.”
“Thank you for seeing me despite the sudden visit without a prior appointment, and for not introducing myself.”
Old Count Krozik said, taking off his hat and bowing deeply. He was extremely polite.
“Baron Delford.”
It was like a vassal addressing his lord.
Claire could only offer a bittersweet smile.
Given that the old Count had monopolized the diamond trade, he must have realized from the time he saw the contract that the finances of the Krozik family would be dependent on her.
He had decided to align with her despite knowing this.
“I felt I must greet you in person upon hearing you were in Ludendorff.”
“There’s no need for formalities. Our relationship is based on mutual interests. Since I’ve already exchanged greetings with your son in the capital, the old Count wouldn’t need to have made a special visit.”
“Please, feel free to speak informally.”
“I couldn’t possibly do that. Not to someone who isn’t my vassal. Please, raise your head, old Count.”
“Just call me Ralph.”
She could do that much. Claire said with a forced smile.
“Sir Ralph.”
Finally, the old Count raised his head.
If this had been a few months earlier, Claire would have firmly rejected the old Count’s attitude.
She couldn’t take in someone she couldn’t be responsible for. More so, she struggled with the very notion of ‘taking in’ a person.
She didn’t deny the existence of power dynamics, but a true hierarchical relationship was different from a master-servant relationship.
Now, however, she needed every bit of power she could gather.
She was not a calculator of odds, nor was her life a game of chess.
All she could do was try to expand her circle of allies and reduce her list of adversaries.
If County Krozik where to entrust not just their diamond business but the fate of their entire family to her, Claire could not be more grateful.
In an era where even long-established servant-master relationships were slowly moving away, securing the full allegiance of a new noble house was not easy.
With an old noble family like County Krozik, it would significantly elevate the standing of Barony Delford.
Aware of this, the old Count had addressed her not as the Duchess, but Baron.
It was natural for a Count to respect a Duchess, and by their relationship, he couldn’t express his intentions clearly.
‘I had no idea it would be such a big deal when I tried to secure Sir Johann’s loyalty.’
However, setting aside all those thoughts, Claire spoke with calmness.
“I wondered who Sir Johann took after to be such a handsome man, but it seems he strongly resembles you, old Count.”
“Thank you for your kind words. I always worry that my unworthy grandson might be causing trouble for someone of your importance.”
“Trouble? On the contrary, Krozik and Klausener have become closer, and I hear Sir Johann is working hard to assist you, old Count.”
“That boy would fit perfectly seated behind a jewel counter.”
At the old Count’s blunt assessment, Claire laughed. She had, in fact, thought the same on occasion.
“There’s no greater talent than the ability to attract people’s hearts, is there?”
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