Alec, seeing his aunt approaching, couldn’t bring himself to look up.

“Alec, you have three weeks to complete the handover with Richard… After that, you will work as a servant of the Parlis family.”

“…”

“Now, Sister… I haven’t agreed to succeed you yet…”

“Brother, you might as well give up. Sister never changes her mind once it’s made up. She’s already spoken to Alec about this.”

Richard sighed at his younger brother’s smile.

“Alec… You will live in the servants’ quarters. You will eat and dress as they do. You will be paid for your work… Use that money to buy a bouquet of flowers every month. Offer them at Sophia’s grave… You are permitted to leave the estate only to buy flowers and visit the church… You are forbidden from going anywhere else.”

“…”

Alec, hearing from his aunt that he would have no freedom, was filled with anxiety about his future as a servant.

“Will I… be allowed to enter the main house…?”

“You are not permitted to enter the main house unless summoned by Richard… You will not attend any family gatherings or banquets… And from the day you become a servant, you will no longer address Richard as ‘Uncle.’ You will address him as ‘Master.’ You are no longer a part of the Parlis family…”

“Disowned…”

“D-disowned?! Sister, isn’t that going too far…?”

“Alec is our nephew…”

“Sophia, Alec’s wife, wasn’t free to do as she pleased… She was burdened with Alec’s work and couldn’t wear beautiful clothes or shoes… She was deprived of everything… Alec robbed her of her happiness as a woman…”

“…”

“…”

The two uncles remained silent, hearing their sister’s words.

Emily’s father, listening to Alec’s aunt speak about his daughter, Sophia, wept.

“Starting tomorrow, you will finish your remaining work… Until then, you are still the head of the Parlis family… Do you understand?”

“Yes… Aunt…”

Alec slumped his shoulders, unable to look at his aunt.

After looking at Alec, his aunt turned to Sophia’s father.

“Count Lemoir, I have something to discuss concerning Emily.”

“About my daughter…?”

Emily’s father’s hands grew sweaty as he nervously anticipated what she would say.

“There’s a marriage proposal for Emily.”

“A marriage proposal for Emily?!”

Emily’s father cried out in surprise. Alec, too, hadn’t expected his aunt to bring up a marriage proposal for Emily.

“For Emily…”

Alec felt a pang of complicated emotions. While he had told himself that Emily deserved someone better than him, he still cared for her, despite her selfish nature. He listened to his aunt with conflicted feelings.

“My daughter… isn’t in a position to accept a proposal… besides, she still has feelings for…”

“By ‘him,’ do you mean Alec? Or her former fiancé?”

“W-well… I’m also unsure whether my daughter is referring to the marquis or her former fiancé…”

“If you’ll pardon my candor, it seems Miss Emily is rather susceptible to romantic attachments.”

“Susceptible…!”

Emily’s father was speechless.

“Would you gentlemen excuse us for a moment? I need to speak with the Count privately.”

“Oh…”

“Alright… Alec, Doctor Alan, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

“…”

“Master Alec.”

“Yes…”

Alec was curious about Emily’s potential suitor, but he reminded himself that, as a commoner, it no longer concerned him. His aunt and Emily’s father were left alone in the room.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

“About… the marriage proposal for Emily that I heard about…”

“Yes. It seems he met Emily at a banquet… He approached me with the proposal after seeing her with Alec.”

“At a banquet?… Do you know his name?”

“Marquis Elve Garcia. He’s a merchant from a neighboring country. He’s married.”

“What?… D-did you say… married…?”

Emily’s father asked Alec’s aunt, wondering if he had misheard.

“I believe he’s in his forties. He has a legal wife and five concubines, and I hear they have three children between them. He met Emily at a banquet and proposed she become his concubine.”

Alec’s aunt smiled as she explained, leaving Emily’s father speechless.

“W-wait a moment. Are you suggesting my daughter… that Emily become one of several women… a concubine to a marquis from another country?!”

Emily’s father glared at Alec’s aunt and raised his voice.

“I’m sure you’re aware of the rumors circulating about Emily within noble society… You’re likely considering her future marriage prospects, but such rumors don’t disappear easily… The Parlis family is also dealing with rumors surrounding Alec… It’s affecting some of the relatives’ businesses. Several of them couldn’t even attend today’s meeting.”

“…”

“Marquis Garcia is a kind and gentle man who values his family. While there’s a significant age gap, I believe this is a good match for Emily.”

Alec’s aunt smiled. Emily’s father shook his head and stood up.

“I apologize, but consider this proposal withdrawn… Despite her shortcomings, my daughter is precious to us… We can’t send her to a man who already has a wife and children… Even if it seems impossible now… I’m sure a good match will come along for my daughter in a few years…”

“Is that so… It’s unfortunate, but I’ll withdraw the proposal for Emily… If you had accepted, I would have covered all the expenses, including the wedding… I had intended to cover all of Emily’s expenses, but…”

“!!”

“The Parlis family has covered the cost of all the gifts Alec gave Emily.”

“But those were gifts from the marquis…”

“Alec bears some responsibility as well. We had assumed the gifts would be minimal, but he bought her a countless number of things, so we had no choice but to ask you to cover the expenses.”

“…”

“The rugs, the curtains, the garden flowers, the trips… there are other expenses as well, but all of them were things Emily asked Alec to purchase for her… Including the cost of the portraits, the total amount owed by Emily is quite substantial.”

“W-wait a moment! The portraits shouldn’t be included…”

“Emily commissioned several portraits. Such commissions are not inexpensive.”

“…”

Emily’s father sat back down heavily, his head in his hands, his face pale.

“I’ve also heard that Count Lemoir has lost his position…”

“How did you know…?”

“It’s common knowledge among the nobility… And I know who spread the rumor…”

“W-who was it…?”

“Countess Colbert.”

“!!”

“Countess Colbert is quite well-connected within the social circles… I believe there was a young lady attending the academy… among the ladies at the tea party…”

“…”

Though Emily’s father had suspected as much, he couldn’t blame Paul’s mother for spreading the rumors. It was Emily’s fault.

“If you accept the marriage proposal for Emily, I will cover the wedding expenses… Don’t expect Alec to contribute. He has no money to spare.”

“…”

“Please discuss this with your family and give me your answer. Thank you for coming today… I’ll have a carriage prepared. I await for the good news.”

Emily’s father looked at the smiling aunt, troubled, as he prepared to return to his estate.