Chapter 38
Kallion, who could be called the master of Baldomer. Or Kallion’s father, who was still the current head of the house in name. And perhaps the head of the vassal house Jared belonged to.
She couldn’t jump to the conclusion that Kallion himself was behind it.
No matter how much she hated him, she didn’t want to believe that the father of her child was that much of a piece of trash.
It could have been a betrayal by one of the vassal houses, or there might have been some other secret she knew nothing about.
To meet Denion again, she needed to get closer to that secret. If only to protect Denion.
For now, she had warned Jared in advance, so if he noticed anything suspicious, he would contact her.
But she couldn’t rely on Jared alone.
Too many things had already changed from the past, so there was no guarantee that whoever had been behind it would contact Jared again just as they had before.
That was why she had to establish herself as the lady of Baldomer as soon as possible, so she could gain access to more information.
While Juliana made that resolution, Kallion was staring intently at her profile reflected in the carriage window.
What were the chances of someone surviving completely unharmed in the middle of a fire that large? Realistically speaking, the odds were absurd.
What if, just as Layla had said, she possessed an ability?
That too was absurdly unlikely. No, if anything, it was even less likely than the former.
The abilities of the Five Great Houses manifested only in men. In the two thousand years since abilities first appeared, there had never been a single recorded female ability user.
On top of that, the current head of Heister possessed such a weak ability that he could barely do more than play with a little flame.
Heister’s ability was said to control fire, but while it could strengthen flames, it couldn’t control or extinguish them. The same was true of the abilities of the other houses.
According to the reports, the orphanage fire had been far too large for ordinary manpower to handle.
If she possessed an ability strong enough not only to survive such a fire unharmed, but also to protect the child with her so thoroughly that the girl hadn’t suffered even the slightest injury…
Then it meant she might possess the strongest ability of any Heister ability user in history.
Kallion’s violet eyes darkened as his thoughts deepened.
Impossible.
Kallion looked through the window at the enormous Baldomer estate drawing nearer.
‘And it must never be possible.’
* * *
It had already been three days since we returned from the orphanage.
During that time, I had been going back and forth to the Vas Guild constantly.
It was to discuss purchasing Bendel pine bark.
Of course, Vas didn’t readily understand my proposal, but for now, we had decided to invest part of the allowance assigned to me for maintaining my dignity.
I had also mentioned in advance that Jared might contact them.
In the meantime, the way the servants looked at me had changed considerably as well. More precisely, it had changed after word of the orphanage fire began spreading among the people of the territory.
Of course, many still remained wary of me, but fortunately, I adapted quickly to the role of lady of Baldomer.
I couldn’t deny that my experience running House Silverstel had been a great help.
Thanks to that, preparations for the approaching banquet also proceeded smoothly, and the head butler, who had been working himself to the bone in the absence of a lady of the house, gradually began looking more cheerful.
“The garden and greenhouse you mentioned will also undergo extensive renovations this time.”
“Please make sure all the work is finished before the banquet.”
“Of course, Madam. Ah, and the new winter uniforms you ordered for the maids and servants have also arrived.”
Since I’d managed to reduce the banquet budget more than expected, I allocated the remaining funds to improving the servants’ welfare.
“Come to think of it, we still have some money left even after all this. Since we’re at it, why don’t we thoroughly organize the unused rooms in the estate?”
At the head butler’s suggestion, I thought for a moment before nodding.
“We might not have enough budget to redo all of them, so I’ll select a few rooms and give you a list.”
“Yes, Madam. I’ll do everything I can to help.”
I smiled at the head butler’s enthusiasm.
Using the excuse of organizing the rooms, perhaps I could uncover some of the secrets of Baldomer that I suspected were hidden here.
The person who had once ordered Jared to kill Denion and me.
Whether that person truly was Kallion, the master of Baldomer and the father of my child.
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