I, Who Was Betrayed By The People I Loved Most - Chapter 18

Leticia’s letter—
I had expected it to be filled with words saying she missed me. That she still thought of me.
But what I found was something else entirely…

The Oxley Trading Company, which Leticia managed, dealt in countless luxury goods: rare vintage wines and spirits imported from abroad, fine fabrics for dresses and men’s suits, high-quality saddles, reins, and carriages, elegant tableware and silver items, exotic spices, gourmet ingredients—you name it, they had it.

Up until now, House Rubert had been purchasing all of it at family rates and on credit.
But with the divorce finalized, we were expected to pay full price—and pay immediately.

“…This is bad… I completely forgot. I took it all for granted…”

The invoice listed every item in clear detail. What stood out were the perfumes and cosmetics Camille had requested, the fine embroidered fabrics for her dresses, and the vintage wines I enjoyed.
Seeing the actual prices made me gasp.

“They were this expensive? I’ve been drinking this kind of wine every single day? I thought it was five gold coins a bottle, but it turns out it was twenty! And I drank a bottle a day… sometimes two or three…”

“You’ve been living way beyond your means!” Marie snapped. “Even just one bottle a day adds up to 7,300 gold coins a year. And that’s just for the wine. You could’ve been drinking something cheaper!”

Marie’s attitude had changed completely. Back when Leticia was still here, she had been polite and proper. Now she didn’t bother hiding her irritation, and her tone was harsh and direct.
She had been like this ever since Leticia left.

Along with the invoice, a letter was enclosed. It read:

Until now, we’ve provided goods at wholesale prices due to our family relationship. However, now that we are no longer family, that arrangement must come to an end.

…Unbelievable.

Only now was I realizing just how much I had taken for granted… how luxuriously I had been living without even noticing.

I called Emile, the head butler, and asked him to review the letter and compare it to the household ledger. He found that anything purchased specifically for Leticia’s own use had been excluded from the bill.

“As expected of the madam,” Emile said calmly. “She was always meticulous. I believe she made sure to leave out anything related to herself. Technically, she would’ve been well within her rights to charge for everything during her time as Duchess.”

“This is… the normal price? It was really this expensive…?”

For a moment, Emile gave a slight smirk—as if mocking me—and looked at me with eyes full of quiet judgment. I couldn’t help but snap back.

“I’m a nobleman! How would I be expected to know the standard prices of everyday goods?”

“You should have known,” Emile replied bluntly. “I tried to bring it to your attention many times, didn’t I? But you kept brushing me off—always too busy playing around to listen.”

With that, he turned on his heel. He had clearly prepared in advance.
“I’m leaving,” he said flatly. With nothing but a single trunk in hand, Emile left House Rubert.

One by one, all the capable staff—the butler, the head maid, and others—began to leave.
All that remained were servants who were practically useless. And hiring new ones… well, that was another problem entirely—