Chapter 4 – Strange Guests at the Funeral (3)
The moment Pezak straightened up after leaning into her, she immediately backed away. She wanted to wash her ears if she could.
“I like it a lot, how you look.”
It felt as though she were being doused with sewer water, his slurred words following her as she walked away, unimaginably disgusted. She couldn’t even think of a response.
Alicia hid behind the employees and simply blinked. She looked like she was about to cry. This time it wasn’t because of sadness, but because of anger.
“Alicia!”
Pezak called out to Alicia, who had been hiding behind her servants.
“Alicia! Alicia!”
“Please do not raise your voice.”
When the butler stepped in to warn him, Pezak stretched out his arm and pushed the butler on the shoulder.
“Get out of the way, who the hell are you to talk when you’re just a butler? Alicia!”
“…!”
It was like lightning chose to strike a perfectly blue sky. She was exhausted from grieving over her grandfather, but because a deplorable man was here, she couldn’t help but feel mad.
But as she was afraid of making a commotion at the funeral hall, which should be solemn, she took a deep breath and stepped forward.
“Looks like you finally want to greet us properly!”
No one else but them came to visit, but Alicia, who said nothing and beckoned the butler to step back, glanced at Pezak with contempt and immediately lowered her gaze.
“I can see your pretty face now.”
Pejak smiled slyly and pointed at the people behind him.
“Now, don’t you have to greet your great uncle? What kind of discourtesy would it be if only I were greeted by you. Greet him politely.”
As Alicia curtseyed again, it was clear that he only wanted to catch a glimpse of her breasts one more time.
“…”
Alicia struggled to lower her gaze, considering her options.
She wanted to say no right away, but if she did, she would be berated for ignoring the elderly and her relatives. Because it’s true that she had yet to say her greetings.
No matter how badly they behaved, she had to keep up appearances because they had a higher rank over her. That was the custom and etiquette required of her.
Any kind of disrespectful attitude could dishonor not only Alicia, but also her grandfather, who was her benefactor.
Besides, what day was it today?
There was no need to disgrace her grandfather’s name, who had already passed away on an already sad and grievous day.
“Greetings… Great Uncle.”
Alicia gave a curtsey towards her great uncle, Baronet Tomman.
“Oh, you have a very pretty figure. It must have been worthwhile that he nurtured you dearly.”
Baronet Tomman gloated contentedly, stroking his wrinkled chin.
“…”
Alicia’s expression hardened as she bit her lip in anger. She wanted to kick them out right away, but today was the last day of the funeral. Besides, they were relatives who came in black clothes, which meant they were at least conveying their condolences.
‘How can this be? What rudeness!’
She stood up straight, but her whole body was trembling. By this point, it seemed to be enough to understand why her grandfather despised them so much.
“It’s refreshing to see you again today.”
Baron Tomman murmured as he glanced over Alicia carefully.
“…”
In fact, it was the first time Alicia had met the Lawsons in person since her parents’ funeral.
Baron Leschel hated the Lawsons terribly while he was still alive, so he warned outsiders to stay away from the estate.
Because of the eccentricity and the vigilance of the vicious mage, they dared not step inside the territory, but as soon as Leschel was buried six feet under, they brazenly pushed their faces in.
And it wasn’t only the Lawson family who dared to come as soon as the funeral was over despite not having the gall to come while her grandfather was alive.
Men in black suits with briefcases on their sides chatted around the parlor with dry, businesslike faces.
“Really, I heard you weren’t engaged. Is there a reason?” Baron Tomman asked abruptly.
“What?”
“The reason you haven’t decided on a marriage partner yet. Is it because of physical problems or your health?”
“…”
Alicia was extremely healthy. Except that she became skinny during the past few days.
“You’re not supposed to be infertile, are you? You look healthy.”
Infertile? Her head throbbed when she heard the brazen words. The Lawsons were quick to give her a headache like no other.
Deciding that she would rather avoid them rather than have unwanted conversations with these terrible relatives, Alicia raised her trembling hands and pointed to the people in the parlor.
“Excuse me, Great Uncle, but who are these people?”
It was the last day of the funeral, so she was extremely tired. When Alicia placed a hand over her forehead because she felt nauseous, Baron Tomman responded by raising his gleaming brow as if her question was insignificant.
“They’re administrators dispatched from the court.”
“The court?”
“Yeah. Shouldn’t the will be enforced by the court?”
Baron Tomman, who briefly responded to Alicia, beckoned to Pezak.
“Is it starting soon?”
“Yes, Father. It won’t take long since the lawyer arrived at the front door in a carriage earlier.”
Baronet Tomman, who nodded his head and turned to Alicia, narrowed his eyes.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“Yes? What… what?”
Alicia licked her lips helplessly.
“It means that the lawyer has arrived to reveal the will. The funeral is over, so the inheritance remains as the final arrangement. I was going to call you earlier, but of all things, Viscount Brohum died this morning. That’s why we were late in coming here to take care of business.”
Counsel Lawyer.
Alicia thought of Mr. Hawthorne, who handled and represented Baron Pordbent in his legal affairs.
The day before her grandfather took his last breath on earth, she even remembered secretly calling him.
“I heard that Mr. Hawthorne is coming today.”
Alicia lowered her gaze and muttered softly as she traced her memory. Baronet Tomman had a faint smile on his wrinkled lips.
“Yes. It’s good that you know. Now, the inheritance proceedings will need to be handled properly to decide who will be the next owner of this Pordbent family. Those court administrators are here to see if the law is being fairly enforced. When it is finished, the result will be recorded in a document that will be sent to the royal palace. The record of nobility will then be updated.”
“Then there’s no going back forever,” Pezak laughed maniacally.
Standing next to Baronet Tomman, Pezak made a pleased expression as he shrugged his shoulders. He was staring intently at Alicia, his hungry snake-like eyes roving her figure in a creepy manner.
“By the way. What were we talking about earlier? Are you sure you don’t have a fiancé yet, Alicia?”
At his last words, Alicia quickly blinked. He said it in such a way that wasn’t befitting of the mournful mourning.
And they have been persistent about the issue of betrothal since before.
It was strange.
Talking about inheritance, suddenly talking about a fiancé.
It was not known what Uncle Pezak’s intentions were, but it was clear that it was a bad intention, judging by his sluggish tone, terrifying gaze, and his lecherous demeanor.
“…I guess it’s because I haven’t reached the age of adulthood yet.”
Alicia, who had been trying to figure out what to say in her head, barely answered.
Pezak let out a snort as if he knew it.
“Yes, but after this month, you’ll come of age. You’ll be an adult. Most women your age socialize before becoming an adult, get engaged, and then get married right after their coming of age. But you’ve never even attended any social events, have you?”
“I didn’t have a chance.”
Alicia murmured a little and shrugged her shoulders, her lower lip twitching.
“Actually, you’re even stuck in a remote village like this without a decent tutor. I can understand your situation to a certain extent. My uncle was too engrossed in researching magic, that’s why.”
Pezak slyly licked his lips and glanced at Alicia. Precisely, the exposed part of her breasts that were raised up in her black mourning clothes.
“You don’t know any men, so you must be innocent, hm?”
The softly whispered words in the low voice. His dark gaze slowly leered over Alicia’s body.
As the sticky gaze crawled into the two peaks of her chest, past her slender waist and flat abdomen, and towards the middle of her thighs. A chill ran down her spine.
“…”
Alicia, feeling the discomfort and awkwardness, tried to cover her body with her arms, a frown on her displeased face.
She looked desperately at her great uncle Tomman, silently asking for help, but she saw only another lustful gaze.
Alicia bit her lip.
Once again, she was acutely aware that Baronet Tomman was not a sensible old man, but an obscene and ruthless scoundrel.
“You’re going to come of age soon, and your situation seems to be getting dire, so I’d like to make a generous offer to you.”
“An offer?”
Alicia was startled, and so she answered reluctantly, but behind her hazy, dark eyes was a destructive future that she could already see so clearly.
“Yes. It’s a very generous offer. After your coming of age, you can live together with me.”
Live together?
What the hell was he talking about? When her grandfather’s will would get revealed and the inheritance was given, did that mean she’d be living in the same house with her uncle?
“T-together. Uncle….”
Alicia spoke in a trembling voice. A dark and ominous feeling covered her whole body like a heavy blanket.
“As of today my father, who is here, becomes head of the Pordbent family. He’s going to be Baron Pordbent. On the other hand, you won’t be inheriting anything, unfortunately. You don’t even have a dowry to give, so it’s hard to get married somewhere nice.”
Pezak smirked as he shot a gaze full of lustful imagination.
“Of course, you will never be able to get married. You don’t have a lot of money, let alone a penny. Besides, you’ve never even had a tutor, so you’re unsophisticated.”
“…”
Alicia was momentarily speechless.
She had nothing to say about her education. She learned to read and write while her parents were alive. However, after moving in with her grandfather, she received no further lessons.
During the period to cultivate the qualities and knowledge as a noble lady, no one taught her. She didn’t even have a maid to look after her.
Alicia had only been assigned a maid to take care of her daily chores.
“That’s why I’m saying this, because I’m kind and I have a weak heart, so it’s a pity to see you like this. So I want to live with you.”
“Wh-what?”
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