Chapter 26

Ethan silently watched as the woman who usually met his gaze confidently now tilted her head to the side. Because there was no light, Yvonne’s face was hard to see.

“Will you show me your face? I want to talk looking into your eyes.”

“……”

Ethan quietly stared at the woman who gave no answer.

It was strange for a woman indoors at night to come out wearing a hat, and her reluctance to show her face made Ethan suspect his intuition might be right.

“Do you know what time it is? It’s already past ten o’clo—hey…”

Suddenly, Ethan’s hand pulled the door Yvonne was holding open. She stumbled forward past the threshold, and Ethan grabbed her hand. At the same time, her sleeve slipped down to her wrist, and he quickly pulled it up.

“Hey, what are you doing…”

“……”

Yvonne, startled, followed Ethan’s gaze and froze. He was looking at the dark bruise left on the inside of her thin arm.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed in displeasure at the vivid blue bruise on her pale skin.

“Ha… What is this? Did someone hit you?”

“…It’s none of your business.”

She hurriedly tried to pull her sleeve down, but Ethan grabbed her other hand and pulled up that sleeve as well.

“Hey, Marquis.”

“What’s this you can’t talk about?”

Yvonne, troubled by Ethan’s insistence, made up an excuse.

“I got hurt when I fell.”

“Honest Yvonne, telling lies now. How could you get bruises like this just from falling?”

Ethan looked at Yvonne, who was obviously lying, with an unreadable expression. Her usual confidence was gone, and her eyes trembled with discomfort as she avoided his gaze.

‘There are old bruises on her body.’

That was something the doctor who examined Yvonne after her miscarriage had mentioned in passing.

Bruises on a noblewoman—did she have rough tastes?

He’d dismissed it as nothing, thinking she’d bumped into something when she collapsed from the miscarriage. Only now did he understand the meaning, and his eyes turned fierce.

“Was this Earl Sellus’s doing?”

Yvonne’s eyes widened as she hesitated to find an excuse.

* * *

Screech.

Ethan got out of the car, which had stopped a bit abruptly.

As soon as he was notified that someone had passed through the front gate, a well-dressed elderly gentleman came out among the staff on the porch and politely extended both hands.

“You’re here, Master.”

“Richard. Is there a guest?”

Ethan handed his jacket to the butler and asked. Richard, with a kindly expression, gestured inside.

“They’re waiting for you.”

“Alright.”

Ethan quickly climbed the stairs, passed through the hallway, and entered the drawing room, where a man in a fedora stood up and took off his hat.

Ethan signaled the butler, and Richard bowed, sending all the maids away before leaving himself.

“So, you got caught again.”

Ethan walked leisurely toward the spacious inner part of the drawing room.

Decorated according to his mother’s taste for luxury and expensive things, the room was filled with statues and artworks reminiscent of a museum. It was born not of keen taste, but of vanity. After passing through it, Ethan took two glasses hanging from the bar ceiling at the end, then grabbed a bottle of wine from the shelf and sat across from the man.

The bottle and glasses were set on a table made from stone found only in the Corke mines.

“I apologize. Your plan to strike during the day was brilliant, but Lord Carlisle showed up and shot our men.”

The guest was Wayne, chief manager of the mercenaries belonging to his company, Goldlight.

“He sensed our presence hiding in the woods and fired.”

“He’s always had animal-like instincts.”

Crazy bastard.

Ethan muttered, filling one glass with whiskey and handing it to Wayne, holding his own in one hand.

“So, did you get caught?”

“Luckily, we used your suggested method and escaped well. Two days later, Asnesh Kingdom men were caught, so they won’t know it was us.”

“Well, I think he knows.”

Recalling what Carlisle said at the club, Ethan now understood the reason for his confidence and put down his half-empty glass.

“He already found out. He asked about injuries, and I had nothing to say.”

Wayne’s face stiffened at Ethan’s suddenly cold gaze.

“This time, we’ll use even better men…”

“No. Enough. Stop sending people to him.”

“Huh? Are you saying you’ll pull out now?”

Wayne, surprised that Ethan, who had shown keen interest in Rein Kleint’s new weapons for over a year, was suddenly withdrawing, asked again.

“Considering the effort and money spent, isn’t it a waste to quit now?”

“No, I’m not giving up. I just want to try something a little sneakier.”

Ethan tossed a photo. The square photo slid across the table and stopped right in front of Wayne.

“Isn’t this Yvonne Polshared, wife of Duke Polshared?”

Wayne recognized the person in the photo, and Ethan nodded.

“To be precise, soon to be ex-wife. Investigate everything connected to Yvonne Sellus. Especially the Sellus Earldom’s family affairs.”

Wayne, recalling recent rumors that Ethan was dating Yvonne, looked puzzled.

Ethan was rumored to be a womanizer, but the women he met were always from families with useful business information. He thought Ethan’s approach to the Duchess was for similar reasons, so he wondered why Ethan wanted to dig into the Sellus family, not the Polshared family.

“Is this relevant to our work?”

“Of course.”

Cool red wine flowed between Ethan’s red lips.

“I think this will yield some unexpected results. More than I hoped.”

Ethan spoke meaningfully, his smile like a painting.

How should he use the truth that the noble Lily of Sellus was actually a woman abused by her parents? He was already excited at the prospect.

‘Pretend you don’t know.’

When he interrogated her about the bruises on her arm, her answer confirmed his suspicions.

As far as Ethan knew, Carlisle wasn’t the kind to lay a hand on a woman. So if there was a culprit, it was the Earl who visited Lisian House that night, and the Countess who brought deadly lilies for Yvonne.

It was nothing but *buse.

If this came to light, the repercussions would be huge. Before that, he could use this weakness to shake the Sellus Earldom. And he’d even come up with a brilliant plan by accident.

“Turning Carlisle Polshared into a piece of trash wouldn’t be so bad.”

* * *

Late at night, Yvonne left her house, pulling her hat down low and hurrying along with Jane.

“Miss, he’s not spreading strange rumors, is he?”

“He promised not to, so I have to trust him.”

Of all people, she hadn’t expected him to find out.

Yvonne recalled her meeting with Ethan four days ago and bit her lip. In the end, with nothing else to say, her vague answer seemed to have given him all the clues.

She hadn’t realized he was so sharp, but since they’d made a deal, he knew there was no profit in exposing it now.

Besides, that wasn’t the problem at the moment.

After passing Cadney Road and stopping at the main street, Yvonne caught a carriage and got off at Valley Lane. Unlike the bright lights across the river, this area was dark and mostly home to laborers who worked at dawn. Because it bordered the slums, shady men wandered by.

Passing a few late-night pubs, some drunken men whistled.

“Hey, Miss, how about a drink? Hic.”

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Ignoring the men’s advances, Yvonne skillfully avoided an empty bottle on the ground and entered the alley.

Soon, she reached a shabby building and touched the handle of a side door.

Creak—the door opened, and a young man with an agile body appeared. He yawned widely, as if just woken up, and blinked when he recognized Yvonne.

“Madam. You’re here at this hour?”

“Sorry. We have to hurry up the construction.”

Guided inside, Yvonne pulled up a chair she always used when visiting this place.

Under the dim lamp, the man’s sun-tanned skin and red hair were revealed.

He was Luca, a broker who was quite influential in the area. He’d connected Yvonne to the newspaper that published her divorce article and the construction company managing the building. He was the site manager.

In his late twenties, Luca was skilled and, most importantly, clean—never getting distracted or changing his mind. Yvonne had hired him a year ago for that reason.

“I know I shouldn’t rush you, Luca, but the situation is urgent. Can we move up the schedule?”