Chapter 20 – The Duchess’s Fury and the Mysterious Visitor
“I still can’t believe it. I don’t even know what I just saw.”
Inside the quiet office, after Annelia had left, Wendel spoke in a slightly shaken voice.
Sharon Abner was staring blankly at the papers the child had left behind.
Magical theory was already a nightmare of a subject—
Just memorizing the formulas and symbols was difficult enough.
And since the symbols changed depending on how the formulas were expanded,
It was one of the hardest disciplines to learn or teach.
A small, disbelieving laugh escaped Sharon’s lips.
Wendel was right—this made no sense.
“Even Isabel… wasn’t this extraordinary.”
Her daughter, Isabel, had always loved magical theory.
She’d learned the basic symbols early and picked up complex patterns like they were nothing.
Whenever Sharon had asked how she managed to understand things she’d never been taught, Isabel would just smile and say—
“I just see it. It’s easy.”
Now, staring at the closed door Annelia had just walked through, Sharon thought,
Does that little one… Do you see it too?
Just like Isabel had been born with a sharp, gifted mind—
Perhaps Annelia shared that same natural talent.
For a long while, Sharon didn’t look away from the door.
Then, finally, she stood up and headed toward the reception room—
where Camilla Coel was waiting.
This had all happened thirty minutes before that confrontation.
***
The Confrontation
What in the world just happened?
Camilla blinked rapidly, her face pale.
Across from her, Sharon Abner’s gaze was sharp enough to cut glass.
“The heir of House Abner will come from House Coel, you say?”
Camilla had been caught red-handed—
mocking Sharon in her own mansion’s sitting room.
Her secret plan to push her daughter Ruby as the future Abner successor had been exposed completely.
Now there was no way to deny she had overstepped.
“S-sister, it’s not what you think—”
“On my way here,” Sharon interrupted coldly,
“I also heard something ridiculous.
That your daughter struck the girl I’ve taken in—and her maid.”
“That’s not true!”
Ruby jumped in, her face twisting with outrage.
“It’s true! She—she’s lying, Duchess! That commoner was rude to me first! I was so upset—”
But Sharon only stared down at her with an unreadable expression.
Camilla quickly stepped between them.
“Sister, our Ruby would never act that way! She only wanted to correct a servant’s wrongdoing—”
“Correct?” Sharon’s voice turned icy.
“Who are you to speak of correcting anyone’s sins?”
Camilla fell silent instantly.
“I’ve let you do as you pleased until now,” Sharon continued.
“Because I considered you a benefactor. But now, you seem to think you can climb onto my head.”
“Sister, please—I never meant—”
“Silence.”
Camilla’s lips snapped shut.
“I never permitted you to call me sister,” Sharon said flatly.
“Nor did I give you permission to speak.”
Camilla’s face turned chalk white.
“So you think I’m some lonely old woman with no blood to inherit my house?”
Camilla stammered in panic.
“S-sister—no, Your Grace! It was just a foolish slip of the tongue!
I only worry for the future of House Abner—”
“Be grateful your tongue is still attached,” Sharon said, her voice cold as steel.
“Now leave my house.”
And with that, she turned her back without hesitation.
“Our contract,” she added over her shoulder, “is hereby null and void.
If you seek to hold me accountable, I will do the same.”
Camilla froze.
“…For what?”
“For the crime,” Sharon said sharply, “of insulting the ducal house.”
***
Panic
Moments later, Lady Camilla Coel stormed through the Abner gardens, biting her nails.
“Mother, can’t we slow down? My legs hurt…” Ruby whined behind her, but Camilla ignored her completely.
She climbed into the carriage and snapped, “Where’s my husband?”
A servant blinked in confusion.
“The marquis, my lady? He’s in his study at the townhouse.”
“Take me there. Now.”
Her hands trembled as she stared out the window.
Sharon’s final words rang in her ears like a curse.
***
She had even dropped to her knees at the end, grabbing Sharon’s sleeve in desperation.
“P-please! At least tell me why you’re breaking the contract! Just that, I beg you!”
Sharon had only replied calmly,
“Because I plan to halt mining operations for a while.”
“What?!”
Camilla had been speechless.
Yes, profits had dropped due to contamination.
but she was still the one buying up the Abner mana stones—
and paying handsomely for them.
Even a short mining shutdown would cause massive losses.
But to stop mining altogether?
Before Camilla could process it, Sharon had added—
“After that, we’ll be reinvestigating the contaminated vein.”
“Re-reinvestigating the contamination?!”
That was something that hadn’t happened in ten years—
and something that absolutely shouldn’t happen.
“W-why now?”
“I simply thought it was time,” Sharon said.
“But the Abners don’t even have the technology to conduct—”
Camilla stopped herself just in time.
Because that was the whole point.
The Coels had been the ones handling the previous “investigation.”
They were the ones who had forged the reports—
and used that false contamination to keep the Abners’ profits in their grasp.
Now that the Duchess wanted a new inspection, everything was in danger.
“If you think I owe you an explanation,” Sharon had said coldly,
“You’re mistaken. Leave my house.”
And so, she’d been thrown out.
***
Outside, pacing the garden path, Camilla chewed her lip till it bled.
Who was in charge of the Abner Refinery again?
Some greedy old man—easy to bribe, as she recalled.
Maybe I can buy him off again… but how?
If Sharon’s investigation uncovered the truth—
that the contamination reports were fake—
It would all be over.
Camilla’s stomach twisted with dread.
Something in Abner had changed.
The Duchess must have gained a new source of confidence.
Then I’ll need to act fast, Camilla thought grimly.
***
One Week Later
“It’s ruined,” I muttered.
Slumping down, I dropped my notebook onto the floor.
The pages were covered in messy lines and scribbled formulas—half-finished magic circles and refining symbols.
I totally bragged for nothing.
I’d said the refining formula was easy and that I could complete it quickly.
But now I was stuck, staring at the middle section that made no sense.
If I keep going like this, the whole formula will collapse.
It was true that refining formulas weren’t that complicated.
and small changes could lead to big improvements.
But that’s not the problem.
In my past life, I had done everything alone, so no one ever questioned my methods.
But now… it was different.
Once a refining formula was completed,
a special solution had to be created based on it—
the liquid used to process the raw stones at the refinery.
“I can handle the formula itself,” I said aloud.
“But making the actual solution… that’s impossible.”
I glanced at my reflection in the full-length mirror.
A small girl with messy hair and a loose nightgown stared back.
If I make the solution myself, people will think I’m a dark magician—no doubt about it!
I bit my lip, trying to think.
Then suddenly, noise came from outside the window.
“Huh?”
I climbed up onto the bed and peeked out.
In front of the main building, someone was arguing loudly with the guards.
“I just need a moment! Just a moment, I said!!”
“Sir, please! You must have an appointment to meet Her Grace!”
“There’s no time for that! Don’t you know who I am?!”
“I’m sorry, even a baron can’t—”
“I’m not a baron, I’m a viscount! And if my sister dies because of your rules, it’s on you! You hear me?!”
The guards struggled to hold back the furious man.
He had messy brown curls, sharp features, glasses sliding down his nose—
and an air of barely restrained panic.
Then, as he flailed, a thick bundle of parchment slipped from his hands and fell to the ground.
I blinked—then my eyes widened in shock.
Because on those papers, I caught a glimpse of a familiar word:
“Lides Mana Mine – Contamination Report.”
