Chapter 65
Tania Leslie’s reason for coming all the way here was clear—
She wanted to persuade Elisa to return to the Leslie estate.
And once she had her back, she’d no doubt try to marry her off to Sir Derek Grenville.
The motive was too obvious.
That was exactly why Elisa didn’t want to meet her. But she couldn’t simply send her aunt away after she’d come all this distance.
Besides, running away wouldn’t solve anything.
It would be better to take this chance to clearly state her resolve once more.
So Elisa decided to meet Tania Leslie.
Ethan had wanted to go with her, but Elisa firmly refused.
This was her family matter, and she wanted to handle it herself.
She promised that if she needed help, she would ask—so Ethan, though reluctant, backed down.
There was no one Elisa found more difficult to face than her aunt, Tania Leslie—
not even her father, Count Adolph Leslie.
Simply sitting across from her made Elisa’s nerves stand on edge.
And having to listen to unpleasant words only made her heart pound harder.
Before entering the drawing room, Elisa had taken several deep breaths.
She had expected her aunt to start scolding her the moment their eyes met—
as she always did.
But strangely, Tania said nothing, quietly sipping her tea until her cup was half-empty.
That silence only made Elisa more anxious.
No matter how much tea she drank, her dry throat wouldn’t ease.
Should I be the one to speak first?
But what would she even say?
If she said the wrong thing, her aunt would surely seize on it.
“The drawing room is quite refined,”
Tania suddenly remarked, breaking the tense silence.
“Even your choice of teacups isn’t bad.”
The comment came out of nowhere, leaving Elisa startled.
Still, she kept her composure and looked at her aunt.
“Even a lowly creature can learn manners after a few years in the royal court, they say—
and that seems about right.”
The lowly creature was clearly Ethan.
And the royal court referred to the Leslie estate.
Realizing her meaning instantly, Elisa bit down hard on her lip.
Anger welled up from deep within her chest.
“Sir Ethan Estevan is the man I love—and the father of my child.
He’s also the hero who led the Allied Nations to victory.
So please don’t speak of him in that way.”
Elisa spoke each word deliberately, holding her fury in check.
“I thought you’d mellowed out after having a child,” Tania said coolly, “
but I see you were just hiding your claws. Because of the child, no doubt.”
“I’d prefer if you got straight to the reason you came to see me, Aunt.”
Elisa no longer wanted to waste time.
Tania let out a short laugh and set her cup down with a faint clink.
Her gaze on her niece was as cold as steel.
“You already know why I’m here.”
“…Father sent you, didn’t he?”
“No,” Tania replied. “Your father didn’t say a word to me.
It was your mother who stopped me in tears, begging for help.”
Elisa’s mother, Countess Leslie, feared her sister-in-law Tania even more than Elisa did.
If her mother had clung to her in tears, that meant she’d been deeply hurt.
Elisa’s chest tightened at the memory of her mother sobbing uncontrollably the day she left the estate.
“I couldn’t just sit by after hearing her,” Tania continued.
“So I came on my own. There’s much we need to discuss.”
That Tania had come of her own accord surprised Elisa—
but it didn’t change anything.
“No matter what you say, I won’t return until Father acknowledges our relationship.”
At Elisa’s firm words, the shadows deepened beneath Tania’s eyes.
“Then you should know this, child—if you continue like this,
the Leslie family could very well collapse.”
“…Collapse?”
Elisa had heard the gossip—
that marrying Ethan would stain the family registry and draw scorn from society.
But she had never heard anything about the family collapsing.
She couldn’t see how that would even be possible.
When Elisa looked at her, confused, Tania sighed.
“So he really hasn’t told you anything.
Your father’s pride has always kept him from speaking of such matters—
especially to his own family.”
“What do you mean?” Elisa asked, her voice tightening.
“You know your father has recently expanded his business, don’t you?”
Elisa nodded.
“Well, most of the investors in that expansion were people Derek Grenville brought in.”
The words were calm, but their weight hit Elisa like a blow.
“In other words,” Tania went on, “if you refuse to marry Derek Grenville,
Those investors will pull their funds.
The business will collapse before it even begins,
and the entire financial loss will fall on the Leslie estate.
Your father could even end up in prison.”
Elisa sat frozen, staring down at her cup as though she’d been struck.
She’d known her father and Derek spoke often about business—
but she hadn’t realized they were so deeply entangled.
“After you broke off the engagement and left the estate,
The investors began to withdraw one by one.
Thankfully, only a few so far—
but if more pull out, the entire venture will crumble.”
The more she heard, the more her head spun.
Her hands clenched tightly, knuckles whitening.
“If it were only bankruptcy, it wouldn’t be so bad,” Tania said evenly.
“But your father might end up in a cell.”
Her tone was calm—too calm for such a devastating warning.
Meanwhile, Elisa’s face had gone pale as paper.
Her trembling hands could barely hold her cup.
“Why… Why didn’t Father tell me any of this?” she whispered.
“Because your father, Adolph Leslie, has his pride,”
Tania replied, as if explaining something obvious.
“He believes this business has nothing to do with your marriage.
He doesn’t want people saying he sold off his daughter for profit.”
Tania clicked her tongue, displeased.
Everyone else saw the truth, yet her foolish brother still clung to his pride.
“Even if the business fails and the estate goes under,
your father will blame himself, not you.”
“…So you mean you think differently, Aunt?”
“Of course I do.”
Tania’s answer was sharp, decisive.
“It’s not entirely your fault,
but you do bear some responsibility.
If you hadn’t agreed to an engagement with Derek Grenville in the first place,
none of this would have happened.”
If that’s the case, Elisa thought bitterly, then the one truly at fault is Father.
If he hadn’t sent Ethan to war with those absurd conditions—
if he had only acknowledged Noah—
then she never would have been pushed into that engagement.
It was unfair, but she couldn’t deny that she had brought Derek Grenville into their lives.
“I know you did it for Noah,” Tania said softly after a pause.
“A mother will do anything to stay by her child’s side.
That, I understand.”
Her voice had lost its edge for a moment.
Looking at her pale niece, she felt a flicker of pity.
She, too, was a woman—a mother who had lost her husband and son.
She knew how deep that pain went.
But she couldn’t take Elisa’s side.
Not when the future of the Leslie family hung in the balance.
Among nobles, it wasn’t uncommon for daughters to marry for the family’s sake.
From that perspective, Elisa’s actions were reckless and selfish.
Now was not the time for sympathy.
Now was the time for discipline.
Swallowing back the faint trace of compassion that had risen with her tea,
Tania Leslie spoke firmly.
“Still,” she said,
“you must take responsibility for what you’ve done—
to the very end.”
