The Mistress Runs Away

Benedict smiled as he went through the massive amount of paperwork, page by page.

“Then I will proceed as I have stated.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you very much.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Benedict Sussex was an old gentleman with gray hair and soft wrinkles around his eyes. He was also a close aide to the Duke, along with Jenok.

Rowena knew that he was mainly in charge of accounting. As if to demonstrate his role, he went through the records carefully and diligently, not skipping a single number.

“If you have any other concerns or doubts, please feel free to ask.”

“Nope, nothing at the moment, I think. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Rowena smiled lightly as she bowed her head in response to the polite words.

“Thank you for taking care of me despite your busy schedule.”

“Miss Philone is very important to the Duke, so please don’t say that.”

Benedict, who had organized the remaining documents for the last time, was the first to leave his seat. Rowena stood at the same time, while showing a small smile she offered to see him off.

“Please, you don’t have to. I’ll feel bad if you had to see me all the way off.”

“Not at all.”

Perhaps because Melissa and Joanne were younger than her, she didn’t mind it; however, it was uncomfortable to be treated this politely by someone older. Moreover, the person in front of her was a nobleman.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Benedict, smiling, gently offered.

“If you don’t mind, would you walk around the corridor together?”

The size of the castle was so enormous that even a half-day tour was not enough.

The result of hundreds of years of repairs and expansions.

Rowena had never looked around the castle before, other than the main hall, her bedroom, and Damian’s bedroom. Five years ago, when she was a mistress, she had spent most of her time in the capital townhouse. Even when she returned to the castle, she couldn’t roam around because of the Marquis of Essex’s whims.

Rowena thought that a lot had changed since then.

Now there was no Marquis who frantically lashed out at her if she did anything even slightly inappropriate, and the servants who only greeted her sometimes or pretended not to see her, now acted with the utmost politeness.

She knew the reason behind it. She wasn’t a fool. It was because of the duke’s attitude towards her for the past month.

The situation was unlike the past. At that time, the duke only sought her out when he had something to do with her, yet didn’t show her the slightest bit of concern, except for occasional moments of kindness. However, now he was sparing quite a bit of attention for her.

The phrase “the weaker you are by nature, the more brutal you are to other weak people, and the weaker you are to the strong” came to her mind.

The thought was short-lived as Benedict stopped as he led Rowena across the first-floor courtyard and into the corridor.