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Episode 82: Pamela Caruso
“This is Laura, Your Majesty.”
“Come in.”
The office door opened and Laura entered.
She was absent today for a while after asking her fellow colleagues for understanding, saying, “I must go to the work that Her Majesty has ordered.”
I already knew what it was.
The identity of that document in her two hands.
“Can you find out about Madam Pamela?”
“
How much do you want to know?”
“Information about Pamela as an individual, and any information about the marquis family. Scratch it to the bottom.”
She did what I had ordered during Yuria’s birthday banquet.
‘It’s the first time I’ve entrusted Laura to do something like this
’
‘How meticulous have you been? Did you do enough to satisfy me?’
I was curious, and looked forward to it.
“Your Majesty, all of the ‘Marquis Pamela’ you spoke of.”
First of all, I was satisfied because the documents were very thick.
Because that meant being sincere.
Shwiiik—
I immediately opened the document and checked it.
<Pamela Caruso. 42 years old.
Her family ties are as follows. Her husband ‘Bereudihi Caruso’ and son ‘Kalen Caruso’.
Kalen had an older brother in the past, but he died at the age of 15 in a horse accident
>
‘Oh my God, you had a brother?’
I did wonder if there was a terrible reason for her great love for her son, her own reason to cling to Kalen.
This was information that was not in the original, and it was a fact that I did not know.
‘Laura did a good job.’
Laura gave an additional explanation as she watched me read.
“Your Majesty, after losing her son, Madam Pamela was said to have gone into seclusion for a while. She didn’t show up in society at all.”
“
Hmm.”
“It’s said she suffered a great shock.”
She was a woman who liked to show her face in the social world, but it must have been a shock to the extent that she abandoned it.
What could compare to the heart of a mother who preceded her son?
“After that, Madam Caruso urged her husband to give his title to their youngest, Marquis Kalen.”
Here, I could get two pieces of information

First, the husband, Bereudihi Caruso, was a person without ambition.
Second, the wife, Pamela, was the ‘ruler’ of the family.
‘You don’t usually pass on the title while you’re still alive.’
If the husband passed on his title, even though he was not of very old age, he could have been treated as living filth.
Despite that, the title was passed onto Kalen.
‘How much she wished for her son to do well.’
But that son had an affair with a married woman, and as if that wasn’t enough, he announced his marriage at someone else’s birthday party, right?!
He didn’t even notify her!
Thinking about it in this way made me feel sorry for Pamela.
‘Pamela’s upset

 Words can’t describe it.’
After immersing myself in her feelings for a while, I went on to read Pamela’s personal information all the way through.
Then my gaze stopped at one point.
<She has a history of applying for the position of ‘Godparent’.>
With tact, Laura opened her mouth.
“Your Majesty, it is said that Madam Pamela applied five times to the Empress to entrust her with the ‘Godparent’ position.”
“Five times
?”
‘This, it’s not just an obsession?’
I heard she used to frequently hang out with Deborah, like how all ‘success-obsessed’ wives flocked together?
Things worked out pretty well during that time.
I asked after thinking deeply.
“When you say ‘Godparent’ in Aktoum
 Is it a salon permit or a role that puts you in charge of social events?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Seryl, who was listening quietly, interrupted.
“Godparent is a position that can only be found in Aktoum! It is the most honorable position for a wife!”
(TL/N: It’s written as ‘대부’ in the raws, which usually means ‘godfather’. But further search suggests that it can also mean ‘godparent’. Hence, that’s what I’m going with.)
“
If you become a ‘godparent’, you can pass it on to your daughter.”
‘Oh my, it’s even hereditary?’
“Even if she kept getting rejected, she still applied for it five times.”
I smoothed the edge of the tea cup, guessing how desperate she must be.
On paper, and as far as I know, Pamela was a ‘Level 1.5’ figure all her life.
(TL/N: as I’ve said in an earlier chapter, just think of ‘level 1’ as ‘top/best’ and ‘level 1.5’ as ‘second-place’.)
The social world was like the workplace, your rank would never go up unless you did something significant.
‘It’s easy to fall, but it’s hard to go up.’
Going down was like skydiving, while going up was like climbing the Himalayan mountain.
According to the record, she made her debut at the age of 12; how would it feel to live in an ambiguous position as a ‘Level 1.5’ for nearly 30 years?
It must have been bad. She must have seen a lot of things that were angry, dirty, and disrespectful, and a lot of things she couldn’t unsee.
That’s why she wanted to be ‘The Godparent’.
If she became the godparent, she could become a ‘Level 1’ person in an instant.
Even though it was a position not found in Spinel, I was well aware of the social presence of a person with a ‘salon permit’.
‘A husband without ambition and a wife with a desire to succeed.’
‘It’s a similar situation with Deborah, isn’t it?’
However, among the data on Madam Pamela, there was a note that stood out at the end.
It was even written in bold.
<She was married to a baron, but divorced due to an affair.
Remarried to her current husband.>
“

?!”
Ah
 This was not to the degree of resemblance, but to a level that was almost like a mirror image.
* * *
Pamela was on the verge of turning herself inside out and black.
“You still haven’t heard from Marquis Kalen?!”
Within a few days, she suddenly lost a lot of weight and was very emaciated.
After Yuria’s birthday banquet—
Once Pamela returned home, she caught Kalen like a mouse.
“Kalen, are you crazy? You fell for an insidious snake-like woman! 
Why are you remarrying a woman who is a cheater, come to your senses!”
“Mother, you. You used to be on good terms with Deborah.”
“That

!”
We were close when we worked together in the social world.
It was no more.
“Listen to your mother, Kalen. She’s a dangerous woman, if you get close to such a woman, she’ll end up destroying you!”
“It’s my choice, Mother! Don’t treat me like a child.”
“
Kalen!”
“We can’t have a conversation.”
Since then, her son had not appeared in the residence of the Marquis of Caruso.
There wasn’t even any message from him.
At that time, the chief of staff, who had returned from running errands outside, bowed his head and said,
“Madam, Marquis Kalen is staying with Madam Deborah in her mansion.”
“Ha

!”
The corners of Pamela’s lips rose in exasperation. It felt like heat was boiling on her forehead.
It was not just a mansion, it was a ‘temporary residence’.
A privately owned mansion where she stayed in after being kicked out of the duchy for cheating.
Of course, the personal wealth Deborah had accumulated was also quite large, but it was not acceptable to have her precious son in such a disgraceful temporary residence.
“I have to go find him right now!”
It was when Pamela was about to give orders to get ready to go out.
The butler rushed up the stairs to find her.
“Madam, Marquis Kalen is back!”
“!?”
At the same time as he said it, Pamela frantically went down the stairs.
Finally, the son she had been waiting for has arrived!
Joy and resentment, hatred and hardship, all came rushing into her chest in a frenzy.
Indeed, on the first floor, Marquis Kalen was standing and looking up at Pamela.
“Kalen!”
It was then. A woman who had been invisible because of the angle, suddenly appeared, crossing arms with her son.
It was
 Deborah.
“

!”
Pamela was speechless for a while.
‘How dare you come here with my son?’
‘And linking arms affectionately, like you want to show me!’
After a moment of seething silence, Pamela called her name as if forced to vomit something disgusting.
“
Madam Deborah!”
Deborah was no longer a wife or anything, and she could feel Pamela’s purposeful intention of calling her that way.
But Deborah was calm. The expression on her face didn’t change even a single bit with that attack, and she smiled.
“You were right there, Madam Pamela.”
“What’s going on?”
Pamela was pretty much asking Deborah why she came there. Although she was restraining herself as much as possible, she could not hide her burning hostility.
Deborah replied with a bright smile.
“I’m here today to get permission to get married
!”
“!?”
Blood left Pamela’s face. She thought she wouldn’t feel good even if she went down right away and broke her neck.
‘Get permission to marry? When you’ve already talked about it at the birthday banquet?’
‘Are you making fun of me?’
Pamela spoke, barely holding back her anger.
“Then
 I hope Marquis Kalen is not here, Madame Deborah.”
“I’d be comfortable with that too.”
Then, Kalen intervened.
Inside his lovely blue eyes was contained deep affection for the madam.
“No, Mother. It’s permission to marry, so I
”
“Honey, I’m fine.”
Deborah stopped him with a sweet smile.
Kalen asked, blinking his angelic-looking eyes.
“Are you really okay? You don’t want me to be with you?”
“Yes. I am with your mother.”
Pamela looked at them in disgust, as if watching beasts tread, and then she turned around.
After a while—
Finally, Pamela and Deborah were left alone in the drawing room.
The blueberry rooibos tea placed between them was bright red and looked like thin blood.
Pamela coldly stared at the tea, then took a sip and said,
“Madam Deborah, I believe you can see how absurd this marriage is yourself.”
“Is that so?”
Pamela was very startled by her attitude of pretending not to know at all.
Deborah responded softly, looking at Pamela.
“Some people get married more than once, Madam Pamela.”
Pamela felt like someone was burning her heart. She really wanted to smack that face immediately.
But she knew that if she exploded in front of that master of the social world, she would only be pushed back.
So, she put up with it and said,
“Deborah
 Why are you marrying my son?”
Pamela already knew the answer. However, she was aiming for Deborah to spit it out through her own mouth.
Realizing that she was ruining the life of a young man with a bright future ahead, she hoped that she would feel even the slightest bit of guilt.
‘Please, I hope so.’
‘You’re using Kalen for your future!’
Was that all?
‘Are you going to use him as fuel for your desires?’
Poor Kalen would dedicate his status and youth to her, and would be burned like ashes.
Because that was the meaning of fuel, or otherwise known as ‘sacrificial lamb’.
Pamela was heartbroken, there was a stinging sensation in her chest. That was why she asked.
May Deborah feel at least one last remorse. So now she awaited her answer.
However
 Deborah was far less conscientious than Pamela had expected.
She smiled broadly and dared to say,
“Of course, it’s because I love him, isn’t it?”
Pamela completely exploded.
“Madam Deborah!”