Home/My Youngest Keeps Bringing Me Male Leads/ch 70

Chapter 70

In truth, she hadn't told Alfred the details.

She'd done so because she didn't want him to get caught up in complicated matters.

On the other hand, she thought that no one knew more about her father's affairs than Alfred.

Agnes hesitated for a moment.

She found it difficult to decide how much she should share.

While she was hesitating, Alfred nodded heavily.

"Rather than a close relationship, I remember that he took a liking to the master. He wanted to be close to him."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know the reason, but I believe it was on the recommendation of a man named Stefan Ritter."

"Either way, it means they had a connection. Did you ever meet him in person?"

"No. But I remember the master always looked pleased when he returned from seeing him."

"Then why did the younger brother, the current Count of Waldemar, inherit the title?"

"My lady."

Seeing the deep concern rise on the face of the middle-aged man, who was politely folding his hands, Agnes realized she'd revealed too much.

"Why are you curious about that?"

Agnes sighed.

She could tell Rupert everything, but she didn't know why it was so hard to speak to Alfred.

The father and son standing side by side had little in common except for their tall stature.

Alfred had a gentler impression, while Rupert had sharper features and a more chiseled face.

Alfred had never married.

Perhaps the woman who was Rupert's mother had been his first and last love.

When she left him with only a child, how must Alfred have felt?

Especially when he had to spend his life watching Rupert, who surely resembled her.

'I don't want to hurt him unnecessarily...'

If he heard that his father's downfall might have been Waldemar's scheme, Alfred would be deeply shocked.

Her father was the master Alfred had served all his life, and a friend.

'Even if Alfred is hurt, he has no one to confide in.'

Having spent his life with Laverose, Alfred must have felt many things through all the turmoil.

Yet he always stood by her family with a calm expression.

In that regard, he was truly like Rupert.

So Agnes decided not to tell him this time either.

"I'll tell you when things are somewhat resolved."

"My lady."

"There are suddenly many guests, and there's a lot to attend to with the territory. Rupert is helping me, so it's fine."

A hint of disappointment crossed Alfred's face for a moment, but Agnes pretended not to notice.

Soon, Alfred began to share what he knew.

"I don't know the details, but I heard the elder brother of the Count of Waldemar committed a grave error. Because of that, he was completely pushed out of the succession, and the current Count, who was second in line, inherited the title."

"How grave of an error?"

"I don't know that either, but I remember the master saying, 'He's not that kind of person.' He was very regretful, but it was said to be an irreversible matter."

"Not that kind of person..."

"In any case, before that, he helped the Waldemar family a great deal, but afterward, he began visiting the Count of Laenheim's household more frequently."

"Was he keeping his distance, or was he pushed out?"

"I can't say for certain."

She wished she could hear her father's story.

For that, she had no choice but to wait for Silmare to return.

In any case, she could see that what Cesenor had told her was quite significant.

She thought she should discuss it with Cesenor again.

When she stepped outside, as if he'd been waiting, the door opened and Cesenor appeared.

He must have woken early, looking neat in his usual dark shirt and trousers.

"You told me to come early yesterday, so I hurried back, but you weren't here. You were late because you went to buy something delicious, right?"

"I'm sorry. Were you waiting?"

"Yes. I thought you'd be back soon, but you didn't return until late at night."

"I had something to investigate all night."

Agnes looked tired, so it was clearly no lie, and Cesenor readily nodded.

"Did you find anything?"

He led her into his room.

As Agnes hesitated at the door for a moment, Cesenor brushed it off lightly and, as the door closed, blocked out the noise.

It was unpleasant to have anyone eavesdropping on whatever happened inside.

"It's almost time for breakfast—are you sure you're okay?"

"Are you saying that because the conversation might be long?"

"Yes, a little."

"I'll try to keep it short."

Sitting across from each other on the cozy sofa, Agnes told Cesenor what she'd found out, including what she'd heard from Alfred.

"As it happens, Ascer came by yesterday."

She'd actually visited frequently, but she didn't mention that.

"Really? I wish I'd seen her."

"She came on business and left quickly. Since there are limits to what we can find here, I asked Ascer for help."

In other words, he'd use his authority as the Marquis of Celesta to help.

"Thank you, Marquis."

"It's nothing. I didn't meet the Count of Waldemar often, but he's quite an unpleasant person, so this works out well."

"Is that so?"

"He's in league with a rather troublesome man."

Could the Count of Waldemar be up to something in the capital as well?

Agnes's expression naturally grew serious.

"What's going on?"

"It's a political matter, but in any case, he's doing things I don't like. And it's not just me—it concerns the safety of this empire."

Agnes nodded silently.

If she could use this incident to trip up the Count of Waldemar, she might be able to delay what Cesenor was concerned about.

That would also help Cesenor.

She'd worried that he was going out of his way to help her with trivial matters, but she felt a little less burdened.

Cesenor elegantly crossed his long legs and looked out the window.

"He's clearly a troublesome man. According to my investigation at the time, the former Count of Waldemar had three sons—the eldest was gentle-natured, the second was cunning, and the third was weak."

"The second inherited the title."

"Yes. And the eldest is no longer alive."

"Pardon?"

"So I asked Ascer to look into how he died."

Saying this, Cesenor curled the corners of his lips and examined Agnes.

"Of course, my guess is..."

"You think the Count of Waldemar is behind everything."

"Yes. If I were an opportunist like the Count of Waldemar and coveted the title my brother was to inherit, I would have done the same. I'd kill my brother, eliminate anyone who got in the way, and someone like a viscount would be just a nuisance."

The analogy was rather blunt, and she might have been shocked, but Agnes listened surprisingly calmly.

"But what I don't understand is why they helped us. If they wanted to ruin our family, they shouldn't have hired me as a governess—they should have just left us alone."

That was likely what confused her.

In her world, the Waldemar family had been the generous benefactor.

"Agnes."

Without any honorific, Cesenor leaned forward and whispered to her.

Her green eyes, meeting his, had hardened.

Piercing through them, Cesenor curled his lips.

"Don't try to guess the intentions of a villain. If our suspicions are true, he's nothing more than someone you should take revenge on."

Looking into her clear eyes, which were completely focused on him, Cesenor felt a strange sensation, as if he were her mentor.

Her innocent, fragile, young world, untouchable by anyone.

He was the only one who could break it and engrave the elegant yet ruthless grammar of nobility in its place.

"So don't consider his circumstances."

She would become the head of the Laverose family.

No matter how weak the house, she had to be a wall that protected the lives and property of those living on her land.

Just as Cesenor was the lord who ruled and protected the Celesta territory, she was the master of this land.

A ruler sometimes had to cut away someone they cherished, more brutally than anyone.

Even if that someone was their beloved family, or their own disciple.

"Whether it was a simple whim or an elaborate scheme, never try to sympathize. Even if it means cutting off the breath of the children you taught."

At those words, Agnes's eyes, which had been shaking violently, finally settled into stillness.

In that time, she must have thought of Leonard and Cedric.

He didn't know how she'd taken it, but Agnes slowly nodded.

And instead of her usual kind, gentle smile, she only slightly curled the corners of her lips.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Marquis."

"What do you plan to do next?"

"I wonder."

Above all, the smile she'd shown him then somehow resembled his own.

A smile that hid dark intentions and only displayed meaningless hypocrisy.

Even without explaining what she understood, she grasped and accepted everything through the atmosphere alone—that was noble-like.

"You know."

Revenge against Waldemar.

She would pay them back in kind.

Even without saying it, he could guess, and Cesenor smiled silently in return.

A world of their own, where no one else could enter.

She had decided, and he, the master of the Celestial Tower and a marquis of the empire, would help—so it would be so.

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