Chapter 4 – Part 8

After a bit of falling out, the two met again in an empty common room.

“Lady Blora, have you really not heard anything from Lady Grit?”

As soon as the door closed, Iana turned quickly.

With a slight physical distance, Lynn raised her head, as if feeling discomfort from her.

“You don’t think the Lady Grit knows anything about the Marquis Grit affair and is hiding it?”

“Well, I don’t know that far.”

She couldn’t be sure, so her words at the end became a bit unclear.

“What about Lady Ruby?”

Lynn remembered Ruby describing the letters she’d exchanged with her after she’d gone to the summer villa.

“Not at all.”

Neither of them had any intention of informing Ruby about such news.

“I wonder if it’s true.”

“It’s true that the Marquis bought the mansion; I’ve seen it.”

Iana confirmed

“And is he really meeting another woman there?”

“I don’t know about that, because I’ve only seen the Marquis Grit.”

It was true. On the way back, by chance, Lord Grit and his secretary were coming out of the mansion and getting into a carriage.

Even with Iana’s explanation, Lynn’s expression did not relax.

“Let’s have tea separately after the party, and I’ll write you a letter.”

There were plenty of people who would think it odd if the two of them talked longer anyway.

Iana left the lounge first, leaving Lynn behind.

The first thing that came to Lynn’s mind when she was alone was Ruby in the villa.

***

“Ahhhhh!”

A scream like the sound of metal rang out, and the floor was now overflowing with blood.

Yet Eli, who was witnessing the situation, remained expressionless.

“Huh…… Marquis……. I’ve done wrong. Please have mercy…… mercy…….”

His graying hair was untangled, showing his age.

“There are always people who say such things at the end, in the midst of everything happening and victims emerging.”

“Please, have mercy…”

Bennette muttered like a deranged person.

“Harming someone requires being prepared for retaliation, right? Benette.”

“I was wrong… Have mercy…”

“More.”

At Eli’s command, Bennette’s eyes flickered as if he had regained consciousness.

“Lord! I was wrong! I won’t do it again! Please, just once! Gyaaah!”

Benette, who was confessing his mistakes reflexively and repenting, couldn’t overcome the pain and fainted. Eli, seeing this, turned away and left the basement.

Heading to the second floor, he wiped the blood-soaked handkerchief.

Leton, who was nearby, took the used handkerchief.

“Will you be sleeping here again today?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Then I’ll call the woman.”

Leton spoke as if it were routine.

“Yeah. Don’t let her come here at all.”

“Yes.”

After Leton closed the door and left, Eli picked up a leather box.

In the sturdy box lined with high-quality leather, Ruby’s picture was framed.

Unable to touch it for fear it might be erased, Eli stared at the picture for a while before closing the lid.

He felt a slight crumpling, as if the feeling of her getting more distant was preventing it.

Even though he knew the picture wouldn’t last long,.

With that thought in mind, he recalled the image of Ruby smiling faintly, engraved in his memory.

***

“Are you leaving now?”

Eli, who was descending to the first floor, halted at the muffled voice. Turning around, he saw a woman in a short slip that revealed her cleavage, wearing a thin robe, standing there.

It seemed to be the woman Leton had mentioned.

“Haven’t you left yet?”

It was the first time Eli had directly encountered her.

“I haven’t met anyone, how can I leave?”

Smiling playfully, the woman approached Eli.

“I heard you know well about the contract.”

The woman stood at a distance that was less than a foot away. Due to the proximity, if Eli lowered his gaze just a bit, her chest would be visible.

Approaching Eli and looking up at him seductively, she said, “I also have limitations on going outside and creating things. My imagination is lacking… Ah!”

Before her fingers could touch Eli’s body, he lightly brushed away her hand.

“Whether you go outside and talk about me, it doesn’t matter. Play around with the servants here if you want.”

The woman looked surprised at his words.

“But when you’re in this house under contract, you’d better do as you’re told and leave.”

“…”

“If you want to express yourself boldly, do it outside.”

There was no emotion in the eyes that met hers.

No, deep within the indifferent expression, there was a faint sense of discomfort. There was truly no hint of any s*xual implication.

“Now your useless imagination has found something to do. Do you need more?”

Rejecting her advances, Eli asked, watching her, who had stepped back as if the close proximity had become insignificant.

“If you act like this again next time, the contract will be terminated. I’m sure you know the consequences of breaking the contract.”

She shuddered at the thought of having to return several times the amount of money she had received so far, not to mention the stipulation that she would never be able to set foot in the capital again.

Of course, what worried her most was the fact that this contract might be transferred to someone else.

“I’ll be careful.”

As soon as she finished her thoughts, she lowered her head.

Hearing the woman’s satisfactory answer, Eli left the mansion.

“It’s like having a cake in front of you and not being able to eat it. It’s a huge hit if I just sleep with him once.”

Her reputation as his mistress in public was growing.

So it was only a matter of time before it became an actual relationship.

Moreover, in the eyes of a woman who usually enjoyed relationships with nobles, Marquis Grit was someone she found attractive beyond his title.

“I’ll just make money.”

However, she didn’t act cheaply towards someone who showed no hint of interest, and she wasn’t about to cling to someone who didn’t even have a speck of affection for her.

The money she was getting from him for playing along was enough to satisfy her anyway.

Lifting the curtain of the window, she watched the Marquis of Grit board the carriage.

She saw Grit’s secretary, who came to pick her up every time, looking at the window where she was. She casually waved her hand with a smile. His expression stiffened, and he followed Grit into the carriage.

“Cute.”

As the carriage carrying the Marquis of Grit departed, she also closed the curtain with a calm face.

As she moved away from the window, she heard the sound of another carriage departing belatedly outside the window.

* * *

“I’m sorry. It was my mistake.”

Leton bowed his head.

“If this happens again, do as per the contract.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

As Leton raised his head, Eli, with a nonchalant expression, was looking out the window.

“But does it have to come to this?”

Eli, the object of the accusation, glanced at Leton and looked away. It was clear he didn’t want to talk about it.

“I don’t understand why you have to go so far as to destroy your reputation.”

“If Mother was someone who would listen just because I scolded her or confined her, I wouldn’t go this far.”

In Eli’s remembered past, Marie hadn’t changed until the end. Clinging only to the memory of being right, he treated everyone else as if they were strange.

Although he respected and admired his mother, who had single-handedly rebuilt the family, it didn’t mean she was right about everything. Marie needed to realize that fact.

“Is Ruby doing well?”

It had been seven months since Ruby went to Devens. In other words, Eli hadn’t seen her for that long.

“Yes, she’s doing well.”

Leton handed over a letter he had prepared in advance. Eli had been receiving daily reports on Ruby through Baccara, whom he personally assigned to her.

The moments he began reading the letters containing reports about Ruby were the only times he smiled, even if it was just a faint one.

The content of Ruby’s life, as written in the letter, was always similar. It was an ordinary routine of eating breakfast, drinking tea, and taking a simple stroll. Eli was comforted by the fact that the content sounded like Ruby was living well.

“Oh, by the way, when is Mother’s Tea Party?”

Eli carefully asked as he took the letter.

“It’s in a week. It’s planned to be held in the garden.”

“It seems like it’s going to be a grand event.”

Mari’s residence in Grit Manor was considered too small to establish her authority. Since the party she hosted when Ruby was there was the only party he allowed,.

It was going to be a lavish affair, as if she didn’t want to give away her status as Lady Grit.

“Spread more rumors before that day. It would be better if everyone attending Mother’s Day knew.”

“Yes.”

For this moment, he deliberately prevented Marie from going anywhere, even cancelling all the parties she was invited to, and took measures to ensure that Marie couldn’t receive any letters.

“Invite that woman to the mansion on the evening of that event.”

“I understand.”

The carriage became quiet again, and Eli’s face returned to its expressionless state.