âLeoneâ¦!â
âDirty hands, put them away.â
Leone, who leaped forward in an instant, stood up. The shadow of a man far greater than Count Bucket was cast, but she was not afraid. She was rather relieved.
Leoneâs big hand grabbed the Countâs arm. It came off easily as if a strong grip had never clung to her body.
âEh, whatâ¦!â
Leone, who dropped the Count, grabbed him by the collar and pressed him to the floor.
Coong.
There was a dull roar as the tall Count fell to the floor.
âCome on, you crazy- kek!â
âDare.â
She could feel Leoneâs rage in his thick neck full of veins and his gnashing teeth.
âEh, ha. Kuck!â
âYou dare.â
Even with just one hand strangling him, the Count remained motionless. He was cool inside, but then he wanted to kill him. She needed to come to her senses too. He might not be an assassin, but if he murdered the Count, nothing would be good for Leone.
âLeone, stop. Iâm ok, Iâm fine, huh?â
âEh-.â
âLeone!â
She tried to raise her voice, but Leone seemed to have lost his mind.
âSpirit⦠Leone, do you see me?â
âMonster- Beast-â
A low-pitched voice that trembled violently even though it had subsided infinitely. It was strange and unknowingly, she hugged Leone. Only then his body, which was full of strength, loosened a little.
âLeone. You canât kill, stop.â
ââ¦Trixie.â
As if he had finally come to her senses, Leone let go of the hand that was strangling the Count.
âWhat- Whoa! Cough, Coughh!â
The Count coughed through tears. Only then did Jamie come and take the Count.
âCo-, Count! Are you okay?â
âKeuk, kuk!â
Leone only let go of the Countâs head at her request, but was still threatening him.
âHuh. I wonât kill you.â
Leone said that, as usual, with an expressionless expression and a calm voice. He was kind, supportive, and very welcoming. As if he desperately missed her. A huge tidal wave rose in her heart as she looked at Leone.
* * *
âMiss Bella, what should we do?â
Leone, who seemed to have no intention of letting go of the Count, the Count who screamed with anger, fear and even shame on his face, Jamie who was bewildered, and she whose head was confused. It was veteran butler Todd who cleaned up the mess.
Todd urged her to explain in a calm voice.
âThis person is in my group. Donât worry, he is not a strange person.â
First of all, Leoneâs identity was guaranteed. Todd glanced at Leone out of the corner of his eye and nodded slowly. It was difficult to understand, but the will to understand was outstanding.
âFor now, call all the people in the mansion and intimidate the Count and all the escorts he brought. Please donât run amok.â
âYes. Leah, did you hear me? Run and tell the news.â
âYes, yesâ¦!â
âAndâ¦â
No matter how noble he was, he was guilty of suddenly breaking into someone elseâs villa and threatening guests, so the servants tied up the Count and Jamie tightly without hesitation. Leone was sitting next to here, keeping a watchful eye on her.
How to solve that?
The Count broke through the iron walls of Adler and found her. Knowing Adlerâs overly thorough temper, it was strange that the Count had so easily identified her. There was something missing. And she needed to find it out.
âWill you move aside for a moment?â
âMiss Bella. Something like that had never happened before. Really this is the first time. So dangerous.â
âOh, I was alone. But now that Leone is here, itâs okay.â
She demanded that the drawing room was left vacated. If she drew out a deeper story, information that workers should not know would arise. And if the fact that she knew a lot was discovered, she didnât know how that would flow into Adlerâs ears.
âButâ¦â
Todd looked at Leone and sighed. Considering that wide-open physique and the brute strength with which he pressed down the Count with one hand earlier, he would not be able to just say that he would stay here any longer.
âThen⦠Please call me if anything happens. I will put a guard right in front of you.â
âNo. Please move away so that you canât hear the conversation in the room. If I ever need help, Iâll call you. Really, itâs not dangerous because Leone is there. He should be able to come running right away.â
ââ¦All right.â
Todd just nodded and left the room. The room was empty and silence came.
She sat facing the bound Count and Jamie.
âHow did you find me?â
âAre you finally admitting that you are Trixie?â
âOkay, letâs say Iâm Trixie.â
It was better to admit it for the sake of solving the problem. Because they had to interrogate the Count. Besides, Leone also called her Trixie, and it was obvious that it would be funny and would not solve anything if she tried to negate it now.
âT, Trixie. You- cheeky.â
Jamie kicked her in the air, blushing. Since his body was tied up, even his feet seemed to struggle and show emotion. Even in the midst of this, he was still acting ignorantly. But Leone, sitting next to her, stretched out his long arm and grabbed Jamieâs leg with one hand.
âOh, Leone. not-â
Before she could say no, Leone squeezed Jamieâs leg mercilessly. The words were squeezed, thinking about Leoneâs grip, he thought that his bones might have cracked.
âAhh-!â
âI didnât kill him.â
Leone looked at her as if he hadnât done anything wrong and said that.
Well⦠it was only a leg⦠Itâs not a big deal to go wild. To be honest, it was cool.
âLooks like youâre mistaken for some great person. There are many people in the world who move when given money.â
Count Buckett looked at Jamie with disgust at his screams, then she continued her words.
âCount Burkett, are you having trouble with your brain?â
âWhat, what?!â
âThis is the private villa of âCount Adlerâ, who is protected by the imperial family. And I have been under Count Adlerâs care all the way to this villa. I donât think the janitors on the streets will be able to find me.â
Count Burkett was the type with needlessly high self-esteem. It was difficult for her to interrogate such a person. She was not a detective⦠how would she know? So she just would do whatever it takes, scratching the inside of Count Bucket.
âDid you think such a crude excuse would work? A Count whose head is slower than that of a commoner woman whom he ignores so much⦠You are amazing.â
âThis personâ¦!â
âNow you have come into this mansion on your own, and you have beaten me. To me, Adlerâs guest. Is this acceptable? If I hand you over to the guards, there will be a trial⦠There must be a very interesting article in the capitalâs newspaper. Count Burkett invaded the villa of Count Adler and assaulted his female guest.â
Judging by the stream of words flowing out, it seemed that she too had a fair amount of fever. After a while, Count Buckett heard her and burst into laughter out of nowhere. That line again?
âHa! Haha. Youâre a girl who doesnât know the world. Itâs very funny. Will you be on trial too? Werenât you trying to hide your identity?â
She also didnât make a fuss. She had no intention of holding a real trial anyway, so she threw out anything.
âIf I were to be the person the Count is looking for, Beatrice Giuseppe, and I were to be hiding my identity, if I had to reveal my identity and understand the true meaning of the matter, I would be happy to attend the trial.â
At her words, the Count showed a slight bewilderment.
âIf I donât disclose the matter properly, I think you will continue to threaten me like a rogue boat. I think itâs better than that life. Of course, Iâm not Beatrice, but Count Adlerâs guest named Bella. I think Beatrice will think the same way.â
âWhat? What, a rogue boat?â
âYou donât like it? Shall I make you a bully?â
âThis, this bitchâ¦! Like you, a mere commoner, me? I will hand you over to the guards and put you on trial.â
âNot as a commoner, but as Count Adlerâs guest, right? How bad is your head? You forgot what I just explained. This is dementia.â
âHow dare youâ¦! This insignificant bitch!â
âSince you inflicted violence on the guest of Count Adler, the best knight in the empire, the guards will make sure to take care of you. Even if you are the same Count, considering the popularity and reputation of Adler, who is protected by the imperial family, there is a difference in class⦠Tsk.â
When she deliberately clicked his tongue, the agitated Count spurred on and tried to get up. Of course, since he was tied up, he couldnât get up, and his body swayed in place like a tumbleweed before collapsing behind the sofa.
âPu-huh.â
She laughed out loud.
âHey, heyâ¦! Do you think someone like Count Adler can do anything to me?! Count Adler is nothing to me!â
âHeâ. It became clear. That person had a back stomach. There was only one person in the Empire who could treat Count Adler as nothing.
âGrand Duke Evans.â
The villain Grand Duke. A hundred-year-old serpent-like old man who seeks Leoneâs life, sends assassins, and seeks the imperial throne. Her fists tightened. Why was that Grand Duke looking for her like that? Could it be that she looked like Leoneâs aide? Already?!
âYou and the royal family, in front of himâ¦!â
Having said that much, it became clear. If it was said in the capital city, she didnât know if he knew that even Grand Duke Evans couldnât solve it.
He had served his purpose, so it was time to negotiate.
âItâs done. He said he borrowed 30,000 gold in my name. But what can I do? I have nothing to do with that man.â
âAccording to Imperial law, women are the property of her husband.â
âTherefore. Iâm not married to that person. Check out the temple. Because no priest will say that we are married.â
But her side had the winning card! Her marriage record, worth 20 million gold, was erasedâ¦! She wouldnât have thought of that.
âThere is no evidence, Count.â
She grinned.