Even the Devil Regrets it - Chapter 75

Felix’s eyes were so full of menace that Martin instinctively took a step back.

“I asked where you’ve been. When your master asks a question, you should answer, shouldn’t you, butler?”

“Why… why are you saying this, sir?”

A terrible feeling crept over Martin.

They had worked together for a long time. Not once had they ever spoken in such a hostile way.

When had things started to go wrong?

Most likely, it began when they failed to stage the Marquess Everett’s death as an accident.

“Why am I saying this? Do you really think that is something you should be asking me right now?”

Felix threw something onto the floor near Martin’s feet.

“What is this…”

Martin picked it up and examined it. His breath caught in his throat.

It was a fake ledger. The one he had thrown together in a hurry to get the Lambertia Formosa flowers. He had crafted it carelessly, hoping it would be convincing enough.

How did he get this?

Martin’s eyes trembled with panic.

He had put the fake ledger back exactly where the original one had been. He had been sure that unless someone checked every detail carefully, they would not know it was fake.

But this meant Felix had checked the contents. He knew the truth. He knew what Martin had done.

The moment Martin realized this, a chill ran down his spine.

“I have no idea what this is,” he said, shaking his head.

Felix’s footsteps grew louder as he walked closer. Martin kept stepping back until his body pressed against the wall. His face turned pale.

“You don’t know anything?”

Felix laughed as if he had heard something ridiculous. His eyes turned sharp.

“You did a good job smuggling your wife and son out without telling me.”

Martin had worked through many different channels to send his family away. He had been so careful that no one in the Everett estate would know.

He had always handled the dirtiest work behind the scenes. He believed he understood the workings of House Everett better than anyone.

That was why he had been so sure he could keep it hidden. Now that it had been discovered, he felt like his whole world was collapsing.

“Please, Young Master Felix. My wife and son have done nothing wrong.”

Martin fell to his knees and clasped his hands together.

He had endured every kind of filth to protect them. Now, everything he had tried to shield was in Felix’s grasp.

“They’ve done nothing wrong? Just being related to you is enough to be guilty. Don’t you think so?”

“Please, sir…”

Before Martin could finish, Felix kicked him hard in the face.

Because he had already been kneeling, Martin couldn’t defend himself. He collapsed, crashing into nearby furniture with a loud thud.

His cheek was swollen. Blood trickled from his mouth. Still, he struggled to lift himself, crawling as he begged again.

“Please, just spare my family. They don’t know anything. I swear.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Felix gave a small nod.

At that moment, several men stepped out from the shadows. They were loyal to House Everett and followed Baron Karl Woodward.

Without hesitation, they grabbed Martin and pinned him down roughly.

“Find out who he gave the information to. Use any method you need.”

“Yes, Young Master. As you command.”

They dragged Martin away like he was nothing more than an animal.

Martin knew better than anyone what kind of torture they would use. Driven by fear, he screamed with everything he had.

“Young Master Felix, I’ll tell you everything. Please, just let my family go.”

Before he could say another word, someone struck him hard on the back of the head with the handle of a sword.

His body collapsed, unconscious, and they dragged him across the carpet. The dull sound of his body scraping against the floor echoed through the hallway.

“So he dares to betray the family. Once you get the information, kill him.”

Felix gritted his teeth as he gave the order to Baron Woodward.

“What should we do with his family?” the baron asked.

Without a moment of thought, Felix replied.

“What else is there to do? Kill them with him.”

Leaving behind a single loose end is foolish.

Felix spoke coldly, and Baron Woodward nodded in agreement.

“That is a wise decision. I will carry out your order.”

None of them realized the truth.

No matter how much they tortured Martin, they would not get the information they wanted.

They had no idea that the one quietly pressuring the court to bring down House Everett was the Empire’s one and only Grand Duke’s household.

Aileen had moved all her belongings into Count Barnett’s estate.

The Countess, who had always disliked her, was furious. She looked as if she would devour Aileen at any moment, but Aileen did not even blink.

“Mother, I’ve told you many times not to raise your voice. It’s not good for the baby. Is it your age? You really don’t seem to understand simple instructions.”

Aileen carefully chose words that no noble lady would ever use. Her tone made the Countess’s blood pressure spike.

“What did you just say? Are you talking to me right now?”

“If you would just lower your voice, I wouldn’t have to say things like this. I thought you were an incredibly refined and elegant noblewoman, but it seems I was wrong.”

Countess Barnett was left speechless. Her mouth hung open in shock from the insult she had never imagined hearing.

She had grown up in a prestigious noble family. Even when punishing Juliana, she had always used someone else’s hands instead of her own and never felt any guilt for it.

She had lived the typical life of a noblewoman, always speaking indirectly when placing blame, and never dirtying her own hands when causing harm. She had never encountered someone like Aileen before.

Her hands grew cold and started to tremble from the fury building inside her, but the truth was, she had no idea how to deal with someone like Aileen.

Aileen was carrying the Barnett family’s child. She couldn’t just strike her.

“Bring Tristan here at once. You, go to the kitchen and bring cold water. Why are you just standing there? Move!”

The Countess, feeling like her insides were burning, decided it was better to call her son than to keep dealing with Aileen, who seemed to have lost all sense of propriety.

The servants, who had been watching the tense standoff in silence, quickly moved to carry out her orders.

Aileen, still seated comfortably in her chair and calmly picking grapes, smiled as soon as the servants left the room and she found herself alone with the Countess.

Her lips curled slightly, and she let out a quiet chuckle.

The sound of that laugh sent a chill down the Countess’s spine. Her face twisted with unease.

She was planning to yell at Tristan the moment he arrived and demand that he throw Aileen out. But before that could happen, Aileen did something shocking.

She grabbed her own hair and started shaking her head violently.

“Mother, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

She screamed, tearing at her hair until it became a mess.

The Countess stood frozen in disbelief, unable to process what she was seeing.

“Even if you hate me, please don’t hurt the baby.”

Aileen shouted in a frenzied tone, as if responding to someone who wasn’t even there.

Then she grabbed the necklace around her neck and yanked it off. Pearls scattered across the floor with a sharp, rattling sound.

In the process, red scratch marks appeared on her neck from her fingernails.

The Countess flinched. This woman was out of her mind. And not just a little.

Out of habit, she looked around, expecting a servant to step in and intervene, but the room was too quiet.

That was when she remembered. She had sent all the servants out herself.

The realization sent a chill crawling down her spine.

“What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? How could you do something like this if you’re in your right mind?”

“No, please. Please, not the baby.”

Aileen ripped the front of her dress and dropped to her knees, cradling her stomach.

Countess Barnett had not laid a single finger on her. And yet Aileen was acting like a woman in the middle of a violent breakdown.

It was infuriating to watch.

“Stop this madness at once.”

Just then, the door burst open.

“You’re the one who needs to stop. How could you treat a pregnant woman like this?”

Tristan rushed to Aileen’s side, glaring at the Countess.

“Is that how you speak to your own mother? What do you mean, how could I treat her like this? She’s doing this madness all on her own.”

Aileen began to sob, her shoulders shaking. Tristan turned to her and gently tried to comfort her.

“Are you alright?”

Then he saw her torn dress, the scratch marks, her disheveled hair, and her tear-streaked face. A deep frown crossed his expression.

“I’m fine, but the baby… I’m worried about the baby.”

Aileen looked up at him with a pitiful expression as she clutched her belly.

The Countess stared at Aileen’s tear-soaked face, boiling with rage. She had never been this angry in her life.

“You insane woman, how dare you pull something like this…”

“Mother, that’s enough.”

The Countess stared at her son in disbelief, stunned by the cold contempt in his eyes.

It hurt more than she expected that he wouldn’t even hear her side and took Aileen’s instead.

“I’m truly disappointed in you, Mother.”

Tristan said this quietly as he helped Aileen to her feet.

Those words pierced the Countess like a dagger.

“I’m disappointed in you. Do you think I raised you with so much care just so you could marry a woman like her?”

Her voice rose sharply. Tristan winced at the tone.

“Trying to control me in everything… is that what you call raising me with care? I’m sick of it, Mother. I’ve had enough.”

Countess Barnett, who had lived her whole life for her one and only son, was struck speechless.

“You… how could you say something like that?”

The rift between mother and son had grown too wide to mend.

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