Chapter 35:
Leon stared still at Janice.
Their body odor and the pitch of their voices were completely different.
Listening to the voice, the woman in front of me must be the woman we saw downtown.
Did they say the princess?
His eyes soon turned to her wrist.
âThereâs a pattern.â
âAhâ¦â¦â¦ I got it recently.â
Leon canât take his eyes off at Janiceâs words.
âBut you hurt your wristâ¦â¦?â
Janice tilted her head, looking at Leonâs wrist wrapped in bandages.
Blood was coming out.
Without realizing it, she reached out and grabbed Leonâs hand.
Tak.
ââ¦â¦Sorry. I donât like people touching my body.â
âIâm sorry.â
Janice wrapped her hands around her with a pang of pain.
I guess I was being rude.
She blushed with embarrassment.
But she couldnât see Leonâs expression. Because the mask was still covering his face.
âWhy are you wearing a mask?â
âIt is my duty, to answer thatâ¦â¦.â
Why, I feel pain in my chest every time I speak harshly.
Leon frowned.
As expected, she is an annoying woman.
âMay I take a look at your wrist for a momentâ¦â¦?â
He held Janiceâs arm simply to confirm.
Wouldnât there be a bit of color?
However, she also showed only a vague pattern and had no color.
ââ¦â¦Whatâs wrong with it?â
Janice asked Leon with a cringe.
He put her hand back in place.
âNothing. I wonder what the pattern looks like.â
Janice nodded softly at Leonâs words.
Patterns are a novelty to others.
Indeed, most people were not interested in their own patterns.
âWell, then, Iâll go ahead.â
âOh, yes⦠I must have interrupted you.â
Janice shivered in the cold.
Leon stared at her quietly and moved away.
âI think your clothes are wet, so youâd better go in quickly.â
He uttered one word and passed Janice.
Itâs like he doesnât really care about her.
Janice bit her lip at Leonâs attitude.
Why is it hurt?
As the cool breeze get in the wet dress, somehow her heart felt frozen.
* * *
Seriously! Why are you looking for me?
Iâm having a headache because of Delther and Janice who are stuck in the house.
Edgar was looking for me in the morning, so I went to the office without being able to do anything.
It was fortunate that I hadnât seen the faces of Delther and Janice since morning.
But that doesnât mean itâs good to see Edgarâs face.
âIâm not trying to talk about useless things again.â
I nervously kicked the door of the office.
Edgar sipped the tea calmly, even as I was huffing.
That attitude that I expected! I really donât like it!
Thatâs annoying!!
âCan you not call me in the morning? Why do we start our day by looking at each otherâs faces?â
Edgar didnât even respond to my words.
He just shook his head at me and asked me to come close.
âWhat is it this time?â
âLook at this.â
I read down Edgarâs papers. Why are there so many?
The white one is the paper, the black one is a letter.
Along with the provisions, information was written in a stream.
âI told you I wouldnât do it.â
I put the papers down on the desk and looked at Edgar.
I was about to die because he kept telling me to take over his business.
âLook, youâll need it.â
âThen why do I have to do this? I have no intention of doing the information business anyway.â
âI know. I donât even intend to give it to you. But you still have to pay for the meal, right?â
Oh, my.
Thatâs your purpose?
How old are you?
Well, how much money did you put in?
ââ¦..Jerkâ
I murmured softly. Thatâs right.
âI can hear you.â
Edgar put down his teacup and smiled with ease.
âIf I do what you tell me, will you do what I want?â
âIf you are good at work.â
What?
I never thought heâd listen to me.
Then Iâll change my mind a little.
âWell, letâs do the mining business.â
âI donât want to.â
What? You said youâd do it.
I put my hand on my waist and frowned at Edgar.
âWell, I wonât do it either. Was there anything that didnât go well because you did what I told you to do?â
Edgar laughed at my dignified appearance.
Donât you want me to talk again.
âOh, there is. Your marriage.â
Marriage talk?
What are you talking about? Thereâs still a little time left until I become an adult.
I crumpled the paper in my hand without realizing it.
âIâll take care of my marriage. Youâre not trying to be a father now, are you?â
Whatâs wrong with him?
Edgar is too clingy today.
I really donât think I can live properly.
Edgar rose from his seat at my words and came up to me.
He recited slowly, bowing his head and looking at me.
âOf course not. Unless youâre trying to do it with a weird guy. Iâm telling you to meet me on a business basis. Itâs over when both of you have patterns anyway.â
Is marriage that simple?
Youâre using me for work because I donât show any signs of having a pattern.
ââ¦â¦What if I say no?â
âWhy donât you try?â
Shaking.
My blood pressure went up. I bit my lips tightly and got my breath straight.
âAre you going to risk Leon again?â
âAnytime if your weakness is him.â
Oh, my.
Until the end. He was dirty and cheap.
You must be thinking of using me somehow until Leon passes.
Everyone in the house knows that I think Leon is special.
âJust in time, an investigation came out from the royal family. If you throw Leon, he would be a pretty good bait.â
ââ¦â¦Sneaky.â
âIâm sure they didnât know you were this kind of person.â
Edgar had nothing to say.
What can I say if I know everything.
âI got it. I got it. I got itâ¦â¦.â
I had no choice but to go to the position Edgar said.
Itâs a meeting on the premise of marriage.
I hated it terribly, but I couldnât.
I asked, half giving up.
âSo when is that?â
âToday.â
âWhat?â
Isnât that crazy?!
At the same time, the captain knocked on the door.
âWell, Count. The promised guest is here.â
âJust in time. Youâll have to go straight to the drawing-room.â
* * *
I came to the drawing room without a single defiance.
Perhaps because he was the son of a Duke, he was quite neat.
He looked at me quietly and took a sip of tea.
âIt would be nice if the two of us could have patterns togetherâ
Yeah, no doubt.
Donât you know that we are using each other because the pattern doesnât appear?
Are you stupid? or thoughtless?
I drank tea with a languid look on my face.
âIs that so? not me.â
Confused by my answer, he smiled awkwardly and continued to ask questions.
âI heard youâre going to inherit the information business. The place run by the Velois family is quite famous among the noblesâ
âReally? I didnât know. And I have one thing to correct.â
âYes, go ahead.â
Will I take over the information business? Besides, whatâs it got to do with you?
I frowned and soon rubbed my thumb and index finger lightly.
You like money, donât you? Me too.
âI have no intention of inheriting information business. Besides, my goal is to earn a lot of money and live happily ever afterâ
âOh, if itâs money.â
âNo, not your money, but mine.â
The only thing this guy had was the title of duke, honor. Thatâs why he wanted Veloisâs wealth.
That was the purpose of this marriage.
âSo donât dream in vain and go back. We wonât have the same pattern anyway.â
The family that Edgar asked me to meet was a very close family to the royal family.
What he wants is information that can catch the royal familyâs weakness. Nothing more, nothing less.
If youâre going to use me in the long term, you should at least say what you want.
It doesnât end well when it comes out like this.
Knock, knock, knock.
âIâll give you more tea.â
Huh?
Itâs not the voice of the Head staff.
I looked at Young-sik with a serious face and turned to the tea-pouring attendant.
âUhâ¦â¦â
Why is Leon pouring tea?
Whereâs the Head staffâ¦â¦?
I was afraid of Leonâs eyes as he poured tea for me, so I bowed my head without realizing it.
My face is going to get pierced.
âItâs a tea that calms you down. It smells good, so itâs good to open up to each other.â
âThe Velois familyâs attendance is excellent.â
The dukeâs son looked at Leon with a satisfied look.
âI couldnât see you since morning, so I looked for youâ¦â¦ You were here.â
âOhâ¦.did you?â
I felt cold sweat dripping down my back.
Why do I feel guilty?
âOh, my lady, Iâm sorry. I spilled the tea because I was not used to it.â
âItâs alright if I wipe itâ¦huk!â
Leon immediately raised my hand that splashed with tea and took it to his mouth.
Lick.
His eyes licking while the back of my hand were too suggestive.