Obviously, It's My Child - Chapter 229
‘Since I made this decision, it’s only right that I handle it.’
She spoke as gently as she could.
“Count Brüning will withdraw the lawsuit.”
“Ah!”
The Marquis’ face brightened immediately.
“As expected, you took care of it, sister! After all, what does that man think he can do, suing our family?”
“Count Brüning is from a long-standing noble family too, Clothilde. The Empress hasn’t exactly been taking our side.”
Augusta spoke in a low voice.
The Marquis’ face twisted, but he still spoke confidently, a tone he hadn’t been able to use recently.
“But our family has you, sister.”
“…”
Augusta recalled the contents of the report sent by the Black Lotus.
Albert Brüning was quite a force.
Simply flattering him wouldn’t confirm his words as truth, so he had used three confessions.
[Count Brüning is a member of the same polo club as Hermann Ludendorff and is quite friendly with him. However, Hermann Ludendorff did not directly encourage him.]
Dozens of copies of letters written by Hermann had already made their way into the Empress’s hands.
The letters scattered vague and shallow information like feeding koi fish in a pond.
And Count Brüning, knowing that Ludendorff was behind him, foolishly took the bait.
Or perhaps it wasn’t so foolish after all.
Why would he pass up a chance to make a fortune and possibly control the Marquisate?
‘Should I hold Hermann responsible?’
Augusta thought about it for a day.
But she didn’t feel the need to go that far.
It was simply that Marquis Ludendorff had been foolish. If it hadn’t been Hermann, it would’ve happened sooner or later.
Unfortunately, the opponent was a noble, so they couldn’t crush him with power, and the lawsuit had just formally reached the court.
She felt surprisingly cold-hearted about it.
‘Ludendorff was a failure.’
What Augusta had hoped for was that Ludendorff would revive as a traditional Rommel noble and become one of the Empress’s key supporters.
But instead, he ended up proving that even among Rommel nobles, there were fools.
This was an irredeemable mistake on Augusta’s part.
Had it been anyone else, the Empress would have already taken severe action.
The only reason it hadn’t happened was simply because they had never assigned important business to the Rommel nobles.
They would never have entrusted the port expansion project to Ludendorff in the first place.
If it were an essential project, they would have removed the lord and placed someone capable before starting any work.
But despite this massive failure, the Empress had given Augusta one more chance.
Augusta could directly decide what to do with Ludendorff. The Empress’s envoys had sent all their reports to her.
Even though the Empress had given up, this was her way of repaying Augusta for her ‘heart’ for coming all this way to find Linus.
Of course, just because there was an opportunity didn’t mean it could be used freely. It wasn’t just the things the lord forbade, there were things that, even if possible, shouldn’t be done.
Moreover, Augusta felt that she was no longer the same person she used to be.
If it were her from fifteen years ago, she would have desperately tried to save her family and bring them under the Empress’s wing.
But now, her disappointment ran too deep.
What she longed for was the old times, not this place.
The Empress was right.
She could vividly recall memories that were more than 20 years old, almost 30, but the rooms of this house, despite the familiar furniture, no longer felt comfortable to her, like clothes that no longer fit.
It was time to throw them away.
“If I leave, nothing will happen. I’ve already taken care of the insurance money that Archduke Victoria and Duchy Klausener paid out first.”
“Oh, as expected, only you can handle this.”
“Eventually, the money will have to be paid. I’ve arranged with several traders to pay the debt first and requested that the rest be paid over a long period. I’ve told Horst and the estate manager about the details, so check with them.”
“Yes.”
The Marquis now had a relieved look on his face, his previously pale complexion returning to its usual lively color.
“Clothilde.”
Augusta called her brother’s name in a low voice.
She placed the small incense burner on the table, something she had been debating whether to put in her handbag.
“I’ll give you this.”
“Yes?”
“It’s nothing special. It’s a light, sleep-inducing scent that I use when I can’t sleep.”
Augusta said kindly.
“It has a wick inside, so just light it. You don’t look well.”
“Oh, thank you. Actually, I’ve been having trouble sleeping for a few days now. I’m embarrassed…. to trouble Sister with such things.”
The Marquis reddened and lowered his head. Augusta looked at him with a cold gaze.
* * *
When Augusta was leaving, Marchioness Ludendorff came out to say her goodbyes, and she noticed Horst standing blankly by the window.
“Horst, what’s wrong?”
“Ah.”
Horst turned his gaze. His face was pale and pained.
The Marchioness approached the window. Hermann and Cornelia were in the garden.
Hermann had just returned from an outing, wearing a thick cloak and a hat.
The two were talking about something. Cornelia blushed and lowered her head.
The Marchioness’ face turned bright red, but before she could speak, Horst spoke first.
“Please don’t say anything.”
“Horst.”
“Brother has always been kind to women. Even Mother sometimes received flowers. And Cornelia is a kind person.”
Horst spoke in a cracked voice.
The other half of his cracked voice whispered painful words, but they were words no one should hear.
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