BOPE 34

Chapter 34 …

Even after kicking out that gigolo-looking bastard, Donghee’s anger hadn’t subsided.

What infuriated her the most wasn’t him. It was her—Chloe Grace’s foolishness, blindly giving everything to a man who so obviously deceived her. If Chloe were in front of her now, she would’ve smacked her upside the head.

“So stupid,” Donghee muttered, her voice sharp with barely restrained emotion.

“I’m sorry, my lady!”

Anna, who had been standing nervously by Chloe’s side, flinched and quickly bowed, her voice full of panic.

Donghee, lost in her own storm of feelings, had forgotten someone else was even in the room. Startled by the sudden interruption, she snapped back to reality.

Seeing Anna’s frightened expression, Donghee’s boiling anger quickly began to cool. No matter how furious she was, she hadn’t meant to take it out on someone innocent.

“Anna, I wasn’t angry at you. You don’t need to apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Looking at Anna, Donghee couldn’t help but be reminded of herself—nervously glancing at her manager during part-time jobs, constantly worried about being fired. Her tone softened deliberately, hoping to put Anna at ease.

But Anna, overwhelmed by the emotional whiplash from the volatile lord, stood frozen, unsure how to respond.

Say something and risk offending her. Stay silent and risk seeming insolent.

Donghee let out a bitter laugh. “I was yelling at my past self, the idiot me.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

Even though it wasn’t her fault, Anna instinctively bowed again, murmuring another apology.

Donghee sighed. Despite everything having changed, Anna still looked stiff and nervous in Chloe’s presence. It wasn’t hard to imagine how Chloe had treated her before.

Donghee silently vowed to treat her better.

“Anna. When Ray visited before, did Erma always come with him?”

Donghee made a conscious effort to keep her voice gentle. Though her words were calm, her pacing betrayed the turmoil inside her. If she didn’t find a way to release this energy, she’d probably end up strangling herself with the curtain out of sheer frustration.

Anna watched her lady’s restless steps with concern before answering, her tone more relaxed than before.

“Yes. Lady Erma always accompanied Lord Ray. While the two of you had tea or meals, she would either wait in the next room or join you.”

“Fucking hell.”

“Pardon?”

Anna’s eyes widened at the unfiltered curse.

Donghee frantically waved her hands, realizing she’d startled the girl again.

Too many things to think about. Too much to handle. Exhaustion came crashing in.

But no matter how irritated she felt, she couldn’t mistreat someone who had suffered because of her. Even if Chloe Grace and Donghee were practically different people now, it didn’t matter.

To Anna, she was just a moody noblewoman—difficult and unpredictable.

“No, I mean…” Donghee thumped her chest with her fist in frustration, searching for the right words.

A knock echoed from the door.

“Come in.”

The knock was firm and heavy. Donghee knew immediately who it was.

Sure enough, Delma stepped inside.

The moment she saw her, Donghee felt a twinge of resentment. Surely Delma had known everything. If so, why hadn’t she tried harder to stop her?

“Why didn’t you stop me? You even knew I was giving that bastard money.”

Instead of answering, Delma furrowed her brow, pouting with clear frustration.

“I did try. Many times. I begged you, but you only got angrier.”

There was genuine hurt in Delma’s voice.

Donghee was speechless.

“Many times? Wait… don’t tell me I already gave him money?”

“Don’t you remember? Lord Ray kept asking for business funds, and you gave it to him over and over again.”

“Over and over—? Oh my God. I was a complete sucker! Do you know how much I gave him?”

“The treasurer would know. He always looked heartbroken afterward. Every time Lord Ray left with money, he’d fall ill for at least two days.”

Just the memory made Delma’s neck flush red with anger.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!”

Donghee clawed at her head, overwhelmed by the embarrassment—even if it technically wasn’t her own actions.

Anna winced as she watched Donghee’s hair become a tangled mess, but Donghee couldn’t stop. The only person she could blame now was herself.

At this rate, she’d go bald before the night was over.

Later, Donghee stood in the office-slash-bedroom of Scrooge, the treasurer.

The room was larger than she’d imagined, though everything inside looked hopelessly old. The sun-bleached curtains barely hinted at their original color. One wall was completely lined with bookshelves, packed tightly with ledgers and records.

Each book was bound in aging leather, the older ones paler in tone. Even at a glance, there had to be a thousand volumes—at least thirty per shelf.

“Wow… are these all financial records?”

Donghee’s eyes went wide.

“Yes, these are all the records kept since the founding of the Grace family,” Scrooge replied.

“How many of these are yours?”

“Two volumes a year. This year marks my thirtieth.”

“You’ve been treasurer for fifteen years?”

“Yes. I inherited the position from my father when you were four years old, my lady.”

His father?

Donghee looked around the room, suddenly feeling a strange sense of weight.

She had eaten here, slept here, completed quests here—but never once truly believed this world was real. It always felt like something temporary. Like it would disappear as suddenly as it had appeared.

But seeing centuries of records—all meticulously kept—shook her to her core.

The Scrooge family had served the Graces for generations.

She grew quiet, sobered by the thought.

Meanwhile, Scrooge bustled around the room, unable to sit still as he tidied in a panic.

“If you were coming, you could’ve sent word in advance! You’ve thrown my whole day into chaos.”

Still grumbling, he stacked papers neatly and gathered trash from the floor.

It only took a few passes before the room looked immaculate.

“I came to find out exactly how much money I gave to Ray.”

Scrooge froze mid-motion.

He slowly lowered himself into his chair, staring at her like she’d grown a second head. The Chloe Grace who now sat across from him looked like a stranger.

“Suddenly?”

“Yes. I need to see exactly how stupid I was.”

“Oh, thank the gods!” Scrooge exclaimed, eyes shining with joy.

Donghee blinked, confused by his sudden outburst.

“What the hell?”

“I’ve been praying for this day! For you to finally see what you’ve done!”

He was dead serious.

“Well, congrats. Your prayers worked. Now show me the ledger.”

“Of course! Everything’s been recorded in detail.”

Too much detail, Donghee thought with a sour face, watching him pull a thick ledger from the shelf.

Still, when she saw the contents, her jaw dropped in awe.

“Whoa…”

Forget the stupidity she was about to uncover—this was art. Each page perfectly organized, not a single line out of place. And in a world without spreadsheets?

Scrooge clearly had a gift.

But as Donghee flipped through the ledger, the reason behind the territory’s poverty jumped out at her like a slap to the face.

Chloe Grace.

That reckless, lovesick fool who had sold off the last of her parents’ heirlooms to lavish gifts on Ray. Who summoned merchants to the castle to buy presents for a man while her people starved.

If that wasn’t madness, what was?

“How long was I with him again?”

Donghee’s voice shook with a rage that slowly began to simmer again.

“Your engagement was formalized a year ago, but you were following Lord Ray around for two years prior.”

“Following him.”

“Yes. You were… very devoted. And when he finally accepted the engagement…”

“I gave him the last villa.”

Donghee glared at the ledger like she wanted to burn it.

“I opposed it, of course,” Scrooge added. “Though I doubt you remember.”

Back then, Chloe had been utterly blind. She went around saying Ray was her entire reason for existing.

Scrooge let out a long sigh, remembering.

“I was crazier than I thought.”