The Engagement of the Baron of Flowers and the Withered Tree Lady. - Chapter 61
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- Chapter 61 - Julia and the cunning (self-proclaimed) butler
The Engagement of the Baron of Flowers and the Withered Tree Lady.
Chapter 61 Julia and the cunning (self-proclaimed) butler
“Does Mr. Hyde’s son’s family live in the capital?”
“Yes. So, I meet them quite often. I apologize to my wife for that.”
Mr. Hyde’s wife is a former viscount’s daughter, so there seem to be various issues when encountering acquaintances in the capital.
There’s a concern that if it’s known they’ve been together since their school days, there might be resentment from her previous fiancé or her fallen former family.
“Her ex-fiancé, due to that incident, had his unpleasant personality exposed to the public. Apparently, he struggled to find a new fiancée, and he still holds a grudge against my wife. My son actually overheard him complaining at some party.”
Hearing this, Julia was astonished.
‘Being dumped by her ex-fiancé is his own fault. After all, he was openly cheating himself. And accusations of emotional and power harassment… Even if her fiancé had feelings for someone else, he shouldn’t complain. Besides, she initiated the engagement cancellation due to his own faults. Complaining about this after decades, how pathetic and persistent can one be?’ Julia thought.
Julia thought that the wife’s brother was quite something. Certainly, it’s understandable that the father faced difficulties with alimony, but if the brother had the skills, he wouldn’t have lost his government position, and he wouldn’t have been divorced.
The proof is that none of his sisters were disowned by their in-laws. They must have been valuable women.
Anyway, the reason why Mr. Hyde’s sons resent him is that he seems to be enjoying his work so much, and moreover, in his own way.
Upon hearing this, Julia was dumbfounded. She knew quite well from Romand and Robert how much Hyde had struggled.
Well, it’s not surprising. The former heads of the family from two generations were not only useless but also caused nothing but trouble.
Therefore, it’s not hard to imagine that Hyde, rather than assisting the former head’s wives, practically took on the role of the head of the family until Romand took over.
She had heard that Hyde had negotiated and purchased the current residence in this capital. The Plant family, originally not that wealthy, didn’t own townhouses or the like.
When Romand and the others went to the capital for their studies, Hyde, who accompanied them, immediately bought this property that caught his eye.
However, the repair and maintenance of the mansion and garden were done later, after becoming a royal florist. This was because there was an increased demand for fresh flowers in the capital, and a business base in the capital became necessary.
Even though this mansion is slightly away from the city center, Julia, who was inexperienced in worldly matters, was impressed that Hyde could acquire such a property in the capital with such land and buildings.
“I heard that you purchased this despite still having debts. It was a bold decision, wasn’t it? Nowadays, the price of land has risen considerably, and it’s not easy to own a mansion in the capital.”
“Thank you for your kind words. I’m grateful for the praise. However, even I feel a bit embarrassed boasting about it. I never thought I was capable of such a cunning business.”
“Cunning?”
With a saintly and gentle smile, Hyde said this, leaving Julia bewildered.
“Actually, this place was a problematic property with no buyers. So when I asked if they wanted to sell it, they signed the contract on the spot. However, to avoid it being treated as a gift, which I wanted to avoid, I paid the amount equivalent to that year’s taxes, and they were very grateful.”
Hearing this, Julia murmured to herself, slightly moved.
“Could it be that this was contaminated land?”
“Exactly.”
“But contaminated land, even polluted with fake fertilizers, can be purified by owners of the ‘Green Thumb’ or ‘Green Spirit Users,’ right?”
“Yes. However, at the time of purchasing this land, that fact was not yet widely known.”
Upon hearing Hyde speak about it with a calm demeanor, Julia became a bit scared. Certainly, purifying the land incurs costs, but after purification, it can be bought and sold at a regular price, yielding some profit.
“If the landowner had been a decent person, we wouldn’t have resorted to such deceitful tricks. We would have informed them of the facts and given up on the purchase. However, the original owner had quite a few issues. In other words, as long as it didn’t violate the law and wasn’t exposed, they believed they could do anything. Many people wished for that man’s death, so if I had helped him come back to life, my life would have been in danger.”
Julia’s eyes widened.
“You knew about the original owner of this land from the beginning?”
“Yes. We were classmates at the academy. Well, we never really interacted, so he probably didn’t know about me. However, since he was quite famous, I was well aware of him. He was enjoying himself under the backing of the Marquis’s family, manipulating things to get rid of what he didn’t like, forcing obedience, and toying with young ladies.”
“How awful…”
“And even after graduating and inheriting the title of Marquis, he never changed his attitude at all. As a result, the family gradually declined. However, instead of reflecting on his actions, he continued to wreak havoc in the shadows, causing suffering even to the residents and servants. Because of that, a villager who lost their child spread that fake fertilizer here for revenge.
Actually, this place was once known as the Rose Garden, excluding the Woodcliff Earl’s mansion, of course… And the Marquis’s family, under the pretext of appreciating flowers, gathered people here to engage in illegal activities. In other words, it was a hidden meeting place for the nobility, involving gambling, illegal negotiations, secret rendezvous, and such.”
“There must have been people who genuinely came to appreciate the roses, right? It wasn’t always exposed, I suppose.”
“Illegal activities were conducted in the basement, so it went unnoticed.”
Thinking about the basement, Julia envisioned it as a place originally designed for such activities, but now used as a storage area for vegetables and bulbs. The disparity between these images made Julia grimace.
“But since all the roses in the rose garden withered, it became unusable as a meeting place, right?”
“Yes, exactly. Due to the loss of income, the maintenance fees and taxes for this place became a burden, and the Marquis wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.”
“But even if you got it practically for free, back then, you hadn’t seen a way to repay the debt yet, right? What about the subsequent taxes?”
In response to Julia’s question, Hyde once again smiled slyly, but she had already become cautious and was not deceived by this smile. Her anticipation proved correct.
“As a countermeasure for the damages caused by that fraud incident, a law was enacted that exempted contaminated land from taxes. A friend working in the royal castle informed me about it, so that wasn’t a problem. Since Lord Romand can purify it immediately, this land was left untouched until it was really needed, and during that time, it was tax-free.
But I didn’t expect it to be purified so quickly. It’s a delightful miscalculation. Lord Romand is truly a wonderful person.”
When Hyde said the last words, his genuinely happy expression was evident.
“Hyde, when you mentioned not wanting to deny your life until then and not resigning as a butler, that was a lie, wasn’t it? You didn’t want to burden young Lord Romand and Mr. Robert with heavy responsibilities, and at the same time, you saw hope in their talents, didn’t you? You probably thought they could rebuild the Plant Baron family. Your sons envy their father because they see you working passionately every day with hope, don’t they?”
“Yes, probably.”
Surprised by Julia’s words, Hyde nodded sincerely.