T K H C

🍁 Chapter 11

I couldn’t get the couple’s conversation out of my head. The way that the Duchess planned to steal from her own daughter was just too shameless.

These people were trash. What other word could I use to describe them?

I burst out into hysterical laughter.

This vast mansion was filled with ugly desires. The Imperial Palace, the Gratoni ducal mansion—it all made me sick.

I closed my mouth and vowed that I would never, ever let them take away what belonged to Carol.

I returned to the study and saw Carol, who was sleeping with her face buried in a book. I looked for Madame DeJoue.

“Did something happen?” asked Madame DeJoue. “Your face has turned white.”

I roughly rubbed my face with my hand.

“Oh my. Now your face is turning red. What happened?” Madame DeJoue held my hand to stop me from hurting myself.

I sighed.

Somehow, I had ended up wading in a swamp full of crocodiles. I felt sorry for the owner of this body, Sharon.

When I went back one day, would Sharon be able to handle all this? My conscience weighed on me.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t ignore this hellish situation now that I knew, not when I could change things for the better. It wasn’t that it was the ethical or morally correct thing to do, though it was. I was just motivated to act by the brightly smiling faces of Carol and Julien.

Really… I was weak when it came to kids.

“Madame DeJoue. I think we need to place someone to watch the Duchess. Will that be possible? I need to know every detail about her—who she meets, what she does, and even the names of her lovers.”

“Why so suddenly…”

“I found out something that I shouldn’t have.”

I smiled bitterly, and Madame DeJoue’s face hardened.

“…Madame DeJoue, are you on my side?”

From what I could see, she seemed ambivalent, and I couldn’t tell. Madame DeJoue’s expression was different from usual, and my reflection in her blue eyes was unrecognizable.

She definitely was not a normal person.

Her past was not revealed in the original novel, but she was truly extraordinary.

Madame DeJoue looked at me like she was looking deep past my skin, and she opened her lips.

“I was hired by your parents, and then by you, my lady. I would never do anything to harm you.”

Thank goodness.

It was a declaration that she wouldn’t betray me, the one who paid her.

“…I’m trying to change the situation regarding Carol and the crown prince. Neither the Duchess nor the Empress are proper parents. Of course, neither are the Duke nor the Emperor.”

Madame DeJoue listened to me silently.

“So I want to make things better for them. If I didn’t know… but I do know, don’t I? I can’t ignore them… They’re so beautiful when they smile.”

“My lady… You’re also beautiful when you smile. So much that I want to protect you.”

I laughed. “I hope you remember that in the future. In any case, according to my scenario, Carol and the crown prince will have a happy ending. I plan to take care of any obstacles in their way.”