Revenge of Reborn Villainess

Lady Leona, the Duchess of Klaus, was having dinner.

Yurie, with bandages still wrapped around her calves, skillfully rearranged the dishes to suit Kallian’s taste while observing her dining etiquette.

“Am I doing well with the tasks you assigned?”

“Of course, my lady.”

Yurie nodded with a somber expression.

In reality, her condition was not good.

The areas where she had rolled down the stairs still throbbed, and her scars that hadn’t still fully healed.

The troublesome Eshika threatened to cut off the jewels supplied from the main house.

With everything going wrong, Yurie became even more anxious.

‘There’s no choice but to handle this matter properly.’

Clink – clink

The sound of tableware colliding made Leona furrow her brows.

“Yurie?”

Momentarily lost in her thoughts, Yurie quickly bowed her head and promptly placed the tableware down.

And then it happened.

Bang!

The door swung open loudly, and with thudding steps, Kallian Klaus entered.

Leona wiped her mouth elegantly with a napkin, and Yurie, who had been staring at him for a moment, belatedly flinched and stepped backward.

Kallian’s eyebrows were frozen, and his complexion seemed somewhat pale.

Leona smiled brightly, seemingly oblivious, and asked.

“Even though I heard there was something you needed to attend to before having dinner, have you already finished your tasks, Duke?”

“Mother, there’s something I don’t understand.”

Kallian’s low voice contained a deep sense of confusion as he gazed at Leona’s violet eyes, which slightly trembled.

Leona looked unfazed and gently asked,

“Please sit. Duke.”

Kallian, however, did not look at Yurie nor made eye contact with her as he took his seat.

Clink –

As Leona poured water into her empty glass, Kallian’s eyebrows twitched again.

“Kallian, is everything alright? Is there something troubling you?”

“Eshika.”

Leona’s lips twitched slightly before gradually returning to normal.

“Did something unpleasant happen?”

“I checked the budget list going to Eshika.”

“Ah.”

Leona’s lips trembled ever so slightly, then gradually regained composure.

“Why did you suddenly become curious about that?”

“It is my duty as the master of the Klaus estate to ensure that the household budget is being used appropriately.”

“Oh, Kallian. You are indeed meticulous.”

Despite her son’s stern words, Leona praised him as if giving compliments.

“However, there was something I couldn’t understand. You’ve repeatedly mentioned that Eshika’s extravagance is burdensome for the family, but… over the three years she has been married, the budget used by the Duchess of the estate amounts to only 20,000 rings.”

The salary for a maid in the Duke’s estate was about 5,000 rings, and with experience, they could receive two or three times that.

A dress suitable for a noblewoman cost at least 20,000 rings, and if it was a bit more extravagant, it could reach 50,000 rings.

Even the dress Leona was wearing now would probably cost more than 50,000 rings.

However, the Duchess of the estate spent an amount equivalent to the value of a cheap dress in three years.

It was a nonsensical record that didn’t harmonize at all with the word “extravagance.”

Leona’s eyes wavered as she looked at Kallian.

“… So, Duke, did you come to question if your mother lied?”

The atmosphere at the dinner table froze in an instant.

“I didn’t come to question you, Mother. I just want to know the truth.”

“Truth, huh…”

Leona raised her glass with a cold gaze and took a sip. Then, she sighed softly before speaking.

“Eshika, raised as the daughter of the Bridgette household purchased with money, did not receive the traditional education that noble children like Kallian do. She was more interested in what she could gain than in the duties of a duchess.”

“….”

“To become someone from the Klaus ducal house, I had to eliminate Bridgette’s arrogance. So, I thought I had to treat that child more strictly, and my soft-hearted son might not understand his mother’s deep intentions.”

In response to Leona’s words, Kallian’s hand moved hesitantly.

“So, did you say that you lied to me?”

“Kallian.”

Leona said to him with an impatient gaze.

“Who do you think put you in the position of the duke?”

Kallian’s violet eyes shook slightly.

Leona seemed to be scolding herself rather than Kallian.

Whenever her son, who always believed in her like steel, showed a glimpse of doubt, it seemed to hurt her.

“This mother has lived her life thinking only of Kalian’s well-being, and that’s what she’s done,…… and so is the matter with Esika.”

“But still, you shouldn’t have lied to me.”

Kallian said firmly and decisively.

He had thought that Eshika, dressed as a maid and looking shameless, had always been wearing the same red dress, but he never imagined the reason behind it due to his mother’s words.