To My First Love, With Regret - 43

The Crown Princess, who had become a target for the enemy to eliminate, was killed, and the subsequent war had been ravaging the northern part of the country for over a year now.

Cliffhaven was situated at the southern tip. Thanks to this, the effects of the war were barely felt, save for the fact that young men had disappeared from the city due to conscription and rationing had begun.

However, recently, the military had begun to be stationed even in this land—the farthest rear and thus the safest spot in Mercia.

There were only army units near Cliffhaven. So, they had transformed the civilian airfield into an air force base and requisitioned the harbor to set up a temporary naval base.

An anti-aircraft artillery position was erected on this very cliff. As soon as Eve heard the news, she prepared air-raid shelters in the manor garden and basement and started conducting evacuation drills.

—Weeeiiing! Immediately evacuate to the nearest air-raid shelter!

Tony, who thought it was a game of war, started asking every day when the evacuation drill would be. A nine-year-old couldn’t understand the meaning.

The fact that an anti-aircraft position was established near the house meant that she could be killed by a bombing raid.

Frightened, Eve had even contacted an army officer she had known since childhood and asked,

—Does this mean Constanza’s air force planes or aircraft carriers could come all the way down to the southern coast?

—I doubt it. As far as I know, it’s just a routine reinforcement of troops.

But why deploy anti-aircraft guns, which were needed on the front line, in an area where there was no enemy? Even after getting a firm answer, she remained unconvinced.

—Surely, a war with Lavinia isn’t going to break out… is it?

There are no friendly neighboring countries in the world. Mercia had also fought a war with Lavinia, but that was ages ago, so she hadn’t even suspected it.

—That is absolutely not the case.

The officer had chuckled in disbelief the moment he heard Eve’s question, so she felt she could trust him.

For whatever reason, a military position had been established in a city without an air force or naval base. That meant accommodation for the soldiers was needed.

About two weeks ago, she heard from the hotel manager that Hotel La Mer, on the beachfront, had been requisitioned as officers’ quarters. The economy was already bad, and foreign tourists weren’t coming due to the war. She worried her beloved hotel might disappear. Eve had invited the highest commanders from each temporary base and proposed:

—The Kentrell Dukedom will offer rooms for the officers.

The commanders thanked her and left, and the officers were scheduled to move in as early as today. The butler had suggested it might be better to postpone it for a day since there was a joyous occasion in the household, but was this truly a joyous occasion?

—The staff has conducted a simple background check, and currently, there seem to be no problematic individuals.

—That’s a relief.

Truthfully, she never expected the military to send dangerous people to Kentrell Manor in the first place. After all, criminals would have been screened out during the officer selection phase, wouldn’t they?

—Would you like to check the officer list yourself?

Eve stood up from the vanity and shook her head. Looking at it wouldn’t reveal any names she knew. She only knew a few officers, and they were all from the army.

—I trust you.

Even if there were an officer she disliked, she couldn’t reject them. If you discriminate who you host, you inevitably invite bad talk even when doing a good deed.

That said, she was no longer foolish enough to blindly trust people.

—As instructed, the separation and security between the officers’ quarters and the rest of the manor will be strictly enforced. We have also prepared a guide to distribute to the incoming officers.

—Good. If the officers need anything, provide generous support within reason.

As soon as the maids opened the door and she stepped out, the thieves appeared from behind the corner. Eve averted her gaze from them and turned to the butler.

—I trust you will supervise things well without any hitches while I am away.

—Of course. Please forget about the officers moving in and enjoy your day with the distinguished guests.

At the meaningful well-wishing, Eve gazed steadily at the butler with an expression of interest.

The butler, who had served the Kentrell family since Eve was a child, had not participated in Robert Kallas’s seizure of the family, but he had been complacent. One could argue what a mere employee could do, but the butler’s salary, which was equivalent to a decent professor’s wage, included compensation for loyalty to the family.

Eve had replaced the butler who had switched allegiance while she was away the moment she regained power. Thus, the current butler, who did not wish the bride a ‘once-in-a-lifetime day’ even with the groom right there, was his successor and Eve’s person. The hint that even he now knew about the affair between the Dowager Duchess and the family doctor was intriguing.

Quick wits were an essential virtue for a butler, so he couldn’t help but notice.

Tony must not find out.

She was about to dismiss the butler and maids and confront Chantal, intending to give another warning, but Chantal dared to challenge Eve first.

—Eve, do you really have to let those horrible soldiers into my house? I desperately begged you to reconsider.

Chantal was against opening the manor to the military. Eve ignored her and pushed ahead. This wasn’t that leech’s house.

—You have to think about Tony. What if they have a bad influence on him?

—Don’t use the child as a shield when you’re the one with the complaint.

When Eve tried to walk past without listening, Chantal put the back of her hand to her forehead and moaned, like a noblewoman fainting in shock.

—Oh, ignorant soldiers who don’t know the beauty of flowers might trample my Lavinian-style garden.

And yet, she pretends to know the beauty of flowers. As if that were the standard that separated aristocrats from commoners, despite being an ignorant human herself.

—Chantal.

Eve never called that thief Dowager Duchess.

—I’ll teach you what noble conduct is. It is a noble’s duty to step forward and protect the country in times of difficulty. Since there is no adult male in Kentrell to wear a uniform right now, the family saves face by offering up our spare rooms to serve.

She wasn’t trying to persuade Chantal. After all, Eve now had the power to decide everything in this family alone. The balance of power between the ruler and the ruled had flipped the moment Robert Kallas, the leader of those thieves, died.

When that man was alive, Eve was nothing more than a perfect scarecrow. An expensive doll, occasionally taken out to show the world that the Kentrell Dukedom was still sound.

The scarecrow had to stand in the middle of the field and watch, as if it were a punishment, while flocks of birds, swarming like a plague, devoured the golden fields.

But when Kallas died suddenly, the hand that had arbitrarily controlled and manipulated the Kentrell assets vanished. His only son, Dr. Owen Kallas, was a mere puppet who only did what his father or lover told him, completely lacking ambition.

Chantal, who was just another puppet of Kallas, tried awkwardly to mimic the master. But Eve simply watched, trusting in Chantal’s ignorance—a woman who couldn’t properly understand even a newspaper, let alone a ledger.

Let her manage it to her heart’s content. Eve stepped back, and before long, Chantal started delegating authority back to Eve, piece by piece, until she ultimately handed over all economic control. In effect, she had put a dog collar on herself and handed the leash to her enemy.

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. The reward for the years of swallowing humiliation and clenching her teeth was exhilarating.

Now, Eve was slowly but surely tightening their leash by using the war as an excuse to put financial pressure on them. Chantal, who used to routinely threaten Eve by thrusting her past at her like a knife point below the throat, no longer dared to challenge her after her purse strings were placed in Eve’s hands. She must have realized that she couldn’t buy a single pair of gloves without Eve’s permission.

It had been three years since she had escaped the time when she lived oppressed like a prisoner in her own home and started chaining her enemies.

Therefore, her only purpose in lecturing on noble conduct was to deliver an insult disguised as sympathy and remind Chantal of her place.

—Poor Chantal, to have acted the gentlewoman for ten years and yet still not learned the art of giving. It seems the vulgar nature of a swindler, who only knows how to take, cannot be shed.

Chantal bristled and glared at her.

What are you going to do about it?

Eve merely found it amusing. The fact that Chantal didn’t even dare to complain about being insulted showed she knew her own position well.

The boss was dead, and Eve had driven out all the employees whom Chantal had won over. Now, the only authority that woman had left to suppress Eve was Tony, the Duke, and her ‘son.’

From that moment on, Chantal started using Tony to gain an advantage in her relationship with Eve.

Eve! If you make Mommy cry again, I won’t let you off easy!

I am your mother.

Eve had to suppress the rotting feeling in her gut alone whenever her son loved another woman, believing her to be his mother.

When Kallas was alive, Eve was practically a hostage, and she couldn’t even hold her child freely, much less reclaim him after he had been stolen by the demons.

So, when Kallas died, she had hoped she could reclaim Tony as well as the family assets, but they only grew further apart.

However, there was nothing she could do as long as Tony believed Chantal was his mother, and she shouldn’t even wish for him to realize she wasn’t.