INSDL| Chapter 3

Episode 3

Then suddenly, Lana had a thought.

“Wait… why was my sister-in-law looking for me?”

If the always-graceful, cheerful Sophia was that flustered, it had to be something serious.

Did she find out about the wine I replaced with water in the library cabinet?

Or that time I roasted a rabbit in the backyard with the only servants who still liked me—and used the antique family dagger to cut it up?

There were too many possibilities. She sighed.

Reluctantly, Lana stepped out from behind the column and trudged toward the main hall.

“Lana!”

“My lady!”

Both Sophia and the head maid shouted at once the moment they saw her. Lana winced and rubbed her ear.

“Do you two want to burst my eardrum?”

“You have no idea what’s going on right now!”

Sophia came running over, her pretty face twisted in worry, and started smacking Lana’s back.

“Ow—why do people with skinny arms always hit so hard?” she hissed between breaths.

“Your brother’s waiting. Come on!”

“My… brother? Why?”

Lana’s face froze for a second before she forced a cheerful smile again. Sophia didn’t notice—she was already pushing her gently up the stairs.

“You’ll find out when you see him! Oh, I can’t believe it’s already time for this. I feel so emotional!”

“Yeah, emotional… probably because you keep tickling my back, sister-in-law.”

Sophia giggled. Lana turned her head and smiled too—until Sophia gasped.

“Oh my, you’re out here already?”

Count Jake Burndale, Lana’s older brother, was standing in the hallway outside his study. His golden-brown hair and green eyes mirrored hers perfectly.

The moment Lana saw him, she erased the smile from her face, folded her hands, and bowed politely.

Jake, however, didn’t even glance at her. He walked straight to Sophia and grabbed her arm.

“I told you the stairs were dangerous.”

Sophia spun around and fell right into his arms, laughing as if he’d just told her a joke.

“Oh, then how should I get around, darling? Float around like a butterfly?”

Her smile was so bright and innocent that both siblings smiled despite themselves. Then, realizing it, they glanced at each other—and immediately looked away.

“Oh, look at you two,” Sophia said teasingly. “How do you ever have a proper conversation like this? Jake, you’re the one who was so desperate to see her, and now look at you!”

Jake cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Ahem. Yes, well, that’s what I was about to discuss.”

“Should I leave you two alone then?”

Instantly, both siblings blurted out—

“No!”

“No, ma’am!”

Sophia laughed again. The two of them, reacting in perfect sync, looked like mirror images.

“Alright then, let’s all go inside. Oh—my legs are starting to ache.”

“See? I told you not to climb the stairs.”

Before she could protest, Jake swept her up effortlessly in his arms. She didn’t even flinch—just wrapped her arms around his neck like she was used to it—and threw Lana a playful wink.

“He must really have something urgent to tell you. He’s been asking for you all afternoon.”

“…I’m sorry for making him wait,” Lana murmured, head bowed as they headed to his study.

Jake only gave a gruff little cough, clearly not satisfied.

When they reached the study, he gently placed Sophia in the softest armchair, then sat across from Lana.

“Should I have the maid bring tea—”

Sophia started to rise, but Jake shook his head.

“No need. This won’t take long.”

“Oh… I see.”

Sophia glanced at Lana awkwardly. It wasn’t proper to host a guest, even family, without tea—but Lana didn’t react.

She was used to being ignored like this.

Jake frowned, running a hand through his hair before speaking bluntly.

“You need to get married.”

“…Sorry, what?”

Lana blinked, stunned. Jake sighed, leaning back in his chair and tugging his cravat loose.

“During the debutante ball, there were a few families who showed interest in you. As you know, the Burndale estate isn’t doing well. You carry our bloodline, so it’s time you take responsibility.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed.

So… some families ‘showed interest’?

He means there are actual marriage proposals?

Her stomach turned.

So I’m being auctioned off to the highest bidder, basically.

Sophia gave her a gentle, sympathetic look and reached out to hold her hand.

“It’s normal, dear. I started looking for a match around your age too. That’s when I met your brother.”

Sophia and Jake had been a political marriage—but by some miracle, they’d fallen in love at first sight. Now, they were so affectionate it made everyone else uncomfortable.

“We’ll find someone good for you, alright?”

Sophia patted her hand kindly.

Lana forced a small smile, though her throat felt tight.

Being born a noble meant you didn’t get to choose your future.

Still…

Her mind drifted to her first love, someone she’d known only briefly years ago.

“With you, I think I could have a happy family too.”

The faint memory made her smile fade away.

When she looked up, Jake was gazing fondly at his wife—until he noticed his sister watching. Their eyes met, and his expression instantly hardened.

The disgust and contempt on his face hit her like a slap.

Her heart went cold.

She lowered her head, saying nothing.

A few days later, the Lorvant Duchy.

Cullen sat leaning back in his chair, glasses perched on his nose, flipping through a stack of papers.

“Harry. Is it done?”

His aide looked up from his desk, exhausted, ink smudged on his cheek.

“Huh? Done? What’s done?”

“The background check.”

Cullen spun a pen between his fingers, smiling lazily. Harry just stared at him, horrified.

“My lord, have you forgotten that you told me to redo the entire budget plan two days ago? You seriously don’t remember?”

Cullen clicked his tongue.

“Harry, I’m twenty-three. Just because I’m incredibly mature and devastatingly charming doesn’t mean I have memory problems.”

“Exactly! If you were in your right mind, you wouldn’t dump more work on someone already drowning in numbers! A kind-hearted person—a real human—wouldn’t!”

Cullen glanced up from behind his glasses.

“You don’t need to explain, I already know you didn’t do it.”

“Not didn’t—couldn’t! There’s a difference!”

Harry groaned, opened a drawer, and slammed a thick folder onto Cullen’s desk.

“Here. The background check. Not perfect, but I pulled together what I could.”

“Not perfect?”

Cullen frowned and started flipping through it.

Harry looked like he wanted to cry.

Meanwhile, Cullen’s expression slowly shifted from curiosity to amusement.

“Well, well. So this is the idiot who dumped his entire fortune into the Green Mountain mines.”

“Everyone knew those mines were drying up! The guy must’ve been living under a rock.”

“The old count really left his son with a mess. Poor fool.”

Harry shrugged.

“At this rate, they’ll be begging the palace to take back their title within a year. Society will hear about it soon.”

Cullen flipped through faster.

“No fertile land, weak trade routes… oh, and their merchant guild’s collapsing too.”

“They used to run a successful trading company, but ever since the Empress’s relatives started a new one, they’ve been losing business.”

“Tch. That’s just bad luck.”

“It’s happened so often, I’d call it fate.”

Harry sighed. A decade ago, the Burndales had been among the richest in the Empire. How quickly they’d fallen.

“So it’s just the count, his wife, and a younger sister. Oh—his wife’s expecting, by the way.”

“All the more reason the count must be stressed.”

Cullen didn’t respond, just kept turning the pages, faster and faster—until finally, snap, he closed the file with a satisfied tap.

Harry blinked. His boss actually looked… pleased?

“Uh… my lord? Why exactly did you order me to investigate the Burndales?”