Mad Rosetta - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Rosetta Gone Mad

Chapter 24

Even Seedlings Require Careful Watering (7)

Fortunately, the child had not been wounded.

There seemed to be no resentment toward me in the child’s eyes.

As time passed and Marmint composed herself, she continued speaking in a resolute voice, her eyes wide open.

“But independence can wait. Please resolve the Research Lab first.”

“…Why?”

“You said it was the driving force. Once the transaction is completed successfully, promise you’ll help me leave the household then.”

This audacious little thing.

Sing marveled at how such an incorruptible child could exist, expressing admiration that the Empire itself desired such talent.

He found her spirit admirable—the desire to demonstrate results before receiving fair compensation.

Meanwhile, I suddenly felt like a contemptible person, exploiting a child’s precarious situation for a transaction. My mood soured considerably.

‘No, that’s just how the words came out. But what if she actually takes it as her driving force, and later asks me to help? What then?’

Struck by how naïve such thinking was—precisely the sort a child would have—I exhaled deeply.

“Sigh… Since we’re on the subject, listen here. You can’t just promise things and then fulfill them all willy-nilly. What if the other party refuses to honor their end of the bargain?”

“Were you planning not to keep it?”

“Ha! Duke Benatra does not make promises he cannot keep. Above all, you should know that transactions are not conducted through words alone.”

At Marmint’s urging to know what else, then, I retrieved a thick stack of documents and a quill pen from the bag Penny had left behind.

“Tell me, child. Have you ever signed a contract?”

“…Eh?”

“Scrutinize it thoroughly—ensure there are no poison clauses.”

Any transaction is ultimately proven by its documentation.

I spent considerable time explaining to the child—one who had never truly grasped reality—the intricate terrors lurking within a contract’s fine print.

By the end, exhausted and watching the little one carelessly attempt to affix their seal, I was forced to invest additional time in proper discipline.

“Very well, let us conclude the contract here. Soon, a letter will arrive from Benatra—be prepared for it.”

“What sort of letter, sir?”

“Did I not mention it? This was originally a task entrusted to the Doctor.”

“Yes, that’s right…?”

“Heh heh. Since the Doctor failed to properly fulfill his contractual obligations… suitable compensation must be rendered.”

There was no need for the child to know that this compensation would shake the household’s finances to their very foundation.

To Marmint, who waved her hand with a reluctant expression, I promised an entertaining spectacle would soon unfold, then returned to my Estate.

* * *

I encountered Marmint again four days later, in the Reception Room of my quarters.

“I sent a carriage for your convenience, hoping to ease your journey. I do hope you experienced no difficulties along the way.”

“Oh, difficulties? I am merely grateful for Duke Benatra’s thoughtfulness.”

Like father, like son, indeed.

I found myself amused watching Gaylord Beaumont respond with the same courtesy as his father, fidgeting nervously all the while.

There was a certain entertainment value in observing these people—utterly devoid of composure—seated in my Reception Room, their eyes fixed solely upon my expression.

Even Marmint appeared distinctly uncomfortable in this setting.

Compared to her usual appearance, she had dressed with considerable formality.

‘How quickly she arrived.’

The very day I had conducted business with Marmint.

Upon returning to the Manor, I immediately dispatched a letter to her household.

I expressed my condolences regarding the late Doctor’s passing and requested that the Beaumont Family visit the Benatra Estate at their earliest convenience to discuss the contract I had concluded with the Doctor—or so the letter stated.

I had even enclosed a copy of the contract document I had drafted with the Doctor, so the notice was sufficiently thorough.

As a result, five members of the Beaumont Family now sat before me.

“If I may be so bold, regarding the letter you sent us…”

“My, how impatient you are.”

“Ah, ha ha! Yes? I was too hasty, wasn’t I?”

I neither affirmed nor denied, simply sipping my tea instead, while Gaildo’s face flushed crimson with shame.

Watching her adoptive father rendered speechless before me, Marmint seemed to regard him with contempt—or perhaps bewilderment.

There now, child. The man who once looked down upon you is nothing more than this pitiful creature.

With that thought, I kept the Doctor’s Family seated before me while I prattled on about trivial matters at length, and only when I had exhausted my small talk did I finally broach the true subject.

“Ah, forgive me for speaking only of myself when you are all such busy people. The reason I invited the Doctor’s Family here today is precisely as stated in my letter.”

“….”

“It is truly sorrowful that he has already departed this world. Forgive me—even I find it difficult to broach such a subject.”

Someone swallowed audibly.

Gaildo’s wife, watching him anxiously, and his children, who sat quietly despite not yet fully grasping the situation, all made for an entertaining sight.

I found them all quite amusing to observe.

“As you’ve seen the documents, Gaildo, you should understand, but here….”

“….”

“According to this contract, should the contract be terminated or concluded due to the fault of party (B) within the designated period, party (B) must immediately pay party (A) a penalty equal to twice the contract deposit of fifty million shillings received from party (A).”

“….”

“I am party (A), and Dr. Drabe Beaumont is party (B).”

A total of one hundred million shillings!

I smiled broadly, and Gaildo’s Wife gazed at her husband urgently, as if urging him forward.

At this, Gaildo set down the documents he had been staring at intently, as if refusing to be swept up in my momentum, and spoke.

“We have something to say regarding that clause.”

His lips curved with a truly venomous smile.

“Do tell.”

“…How can you ask us to pay for a contract our father made? Moreover, you demand we honor a contract with someone already deceased. This is absurd, Lady.”

“…It is curious to hear such words from one who knows how the Doctor came to pass. I find myself at a loss for how to respond, Gaildo.”

“That, that is—”

“It was not an accident, was it?”

At my question, laden with sharp intent, Gaildo’s mouth sealed shut.

Most contracts drawn up in documents contain a clause that is always specified.

A provision stating that no compensation shall be claimed should unforeseen circumstances prevent contract fulfillment—such as disasters caused by acts of nature.

Though the true circumstances differed, the Doctor’s death as publicly known was unequivocally suicide, not an accident.

Therefore, Gaildo and the other heirs had no choice but to pay the penalty in order to inherit the deceased’s estate.

‘Here stands a grown man throwing a tantrum over something that will never come to pass.’

Whether he was lowering his pride or simply buying time to explore other options remained unclear.

Gaildo kept his head bowed in silence for a long while before finally speaking in a subdued voice.

“It is difficult to procure such a large sum immediately. If you would grant me some time….”

“I am well acquainted with the reputation of the Beaumont Family. Your words strain credibility.”

“No, truly! With so many dependents, we barely scrape by. A lady of your standing would not understand….”

At his repugnant excuses, I clicked my tongue in disdain.

‘And what of the clothes he wears? Did he pluck them from the earth?’

The expensive garments adorning their bodies protested loudly against claims of mere subsistence living.

In stark contrast, Marmint sat with her knees pressed tightly together, her appearance far more modest than that of her siblings.

Such blatant discrimination was almost unbearable to witness.

I felt genuinely nauseated.

【If he could only cure his addiction to business ventures, he might have achieved far greater prosperity. Yet not a trace of a patriarch’s dignity can be found in this man.】

Even Sing, lounging beside me with his legs crossed arrogantly, clicked his tongue in disapproval of Gaildo.

After conducting a thorough investigation into the Doctor’s household, I discovered that his family carried substantial debts.

Whenever wealth accumulated from the reputation built in academic circles, his son Gaildo squandered it all through failed business ventures.

It was easy to understand why Dr. Dravu Beaumont had been so obsessed with money.

‘And there are even gambling debts, I hear….’

Despite their outward appearance of wealth, all the properties Gaildo owned were mortgaged, and he clearly intended to use the Doctor’s inheritance to reduce these burdens.

I exhaled a long sigh, as though troubled but resigned to the situation.

“Since you’re in such distress… very well. I shall grant you some reprieve.”

“Th-thank you! But how much time…?”

“However, I must impose a condition of my own.”

With those words, I observed Marmint, whose expression screamed a desperate longing to flee this very instant.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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