Chapter 8

Attempts to steal information had occurred many times from foreign countries and rival companies, but none were as meticulous and exhausting as that man. 

What irritated him most was the shameless and blatant way he stole information, as if he had no intention of hiding it at all. 

The reason he acted this way was not just for the company’s growth, but also because of personal feelings—a provocation bordering on the private. 

For someone with such a bitter relationship with Carlisle, his approach to Yvonne was obvious.

“Security is airtight, right?”

“Of course, Sir. Aside from you, me, and the manager, even the executives of Rein Kleint can’t access it without approval.”

Henry answered with a strict expression to the question that didn’t even have a subject. 

He was referring to the automatic weapon Rein Kleint had poured two years of research and life into. It was a revolutionary weapon that had never been revealed in the capital, requiring the utmost security until its release.

Yvonne had never been there, and she was a woman ignorant of company affairs. So it was clear that trying to get information from Yvonne was only meant to irritate him.

Still, even knowing it was just to test him, it bothered him strangely.

After a moment of silence, Carlisle named the destination.

“We’re going to Bermingwell right now.”

The car started smoothly at his command and sped down the boulevard along the Side Rivers.

His gaze, staring at the blue river slowly swallowed by the twilight glow, turned fierce.

Far off, gray smoke rose from the head of a train departing Aerondo Central Station, attached to Federation Square.

* * *

Ethan locked eyes with Yvonne for a long moment before smiling.

“Ah, ah, now I can’t leave again.”

Ethan sat back down as if to spend more time, and Yvonne gestured to the maid.

When the maid brought a teapot of freshly brewed black tea, Yvonne herself poured it into Ethan’s empty cup.

Ethan watched the calm and elegant movements of the woman with a slightly unfamiliar feeling.

Lily of the Sellus family. An archetypal noble lady, yet she was not only testing him but proposing a business deal.

It was the first time since that man that he felt as if someone had struck him on the head.

They didn’t seem to resemble each other at all, but perhaps a couple is a couple.

Ethan, feeling as if he’d just learned the old cliché that married couples become alike, wrapped his hands around the teacup again.

“I heard you were just a greenhouse flower, a princess in a garden. I guess I was wrong. How much do you know? No, do you really know? Carlisle isn’t the kind of man to share information with his wife.”

He was a man hailed as a hero for boldly driving enemies to defeat during the civil war. But Ethan knew well the calculating and merciless side behind that.

The elegant high noble’s true face was actually quite ruthless.

Ethan himself acted ruthlessly without counting the cost, but Carlisle was even more calculating and cunning.

Such a man would never show his wife—especially one he was not close with—the information about the new weapon he’d been developing for two years.

With that in mind, he looked at her, and Yvonne answered as if she’d expected it.

“You’re right, Marquis. He never told me anything.”

“So you lied to me?”

His words were a little sharp.

“Of course not. I found out secretly.”

My goodness. 

Now he couldn’t help but be interested.

Ethan’s lips curled with faint excitement.

Meanwhile, Yvonne smiled calmly, a bit relieved to see the man finally show interest.

“Now are you willing to make a deal?”

“Let’s be specific. We already have some information about its performance. Have you seen the finished product?”

“No.”

Ethan’s mood almost deflated, but Yvonne met his gaze firmly.

“Instead, I’ve seen the design drawings.”

Ethan’s expression changed completely.

“Where are they?”

Yvonne, reading the greed in the handsome man’s face, pointed to her head with her index finger.

“They’re in my head. And I can reproduce them, of course.”

“…You memorized them?”

Ethan’s face, full of anticipation, wavered slightly.

Was that even possible?

You’d have to know the names of the parts and have a fair amount of knowledge about firearms to reproduce a blueprint after seeing it once.

It sounded like an absurd lie, but Yvonne’s face was full of confidence.

“It’s possible.”

Yvonne’s gaze shifted to the side of the fireplace. Following her eyes, Ethan saw nothing but ordinary art tools that painters might use.

What did those tools for drawing have to do with anything? As he followed that train of thought, he recalled a rumor that once circulated in Aerondo.

Oh. Now it made sense. Ethan crossed his arms.

“I almost made a mistake not knowing your deep knowledge of art, Lady Yvonne.”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

Yvonne answered modestly, and Ethan, staring at her for a while, smiled as he calculated fiercely in his mind.

“Of course you won’t show me right away.”

“I’ll show you after everything is finished.”

“Can you handle the consequences? If Carlisle finds out you gave them to me, he won’t let it go. He won’t show mercy just because you’re his ex-wife. Even the Sellus Earldom might not escape his wrath.”

Despite his words, there was no sign of fear on the woman’s face. Ethan, thinking maybe she was secretly hoping for something, shook his head.

“You must not believe me. That man has no feelings for things like that. He was born without compassion or consideration for weak women or children. He might retaliate against you without so much as a blink.”

“I know. If he does that much, I couldn’t ask for more.”

Ethan looked quietly at the woman, whose expression was resolute even at the suggestion her beloved family might be harmed, and took a deep breath.

“Fine. Then the deal is done.”

“…Really?”

Yvonne, though she’d expected it, was a bit surprised at how easily he agreed.

From what she’d learned, this man never got involved in things unless there was something to gain. He only believed information he confirmed with his own eyes, so deciding just based on her words seemed unexpected.

“I hate troublesome things, but this is interesting. I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow.”

Ethan rose lightly. As he went to the entrance and put on his hat, he suddenly asked,

“More importantly, are you alright now?”

“Yes. I’ve mostly recovered physically.”

“Not your body—your mind.”

Yvonne’s eyes, previously calm and detached, trembled.

“You lost a child. And because of the most outstanding husband in Aerondo.”

“……”

Yvonne, who was about to see him out, froze. Ethan, seeing her expression sink, gripped the doorknob.

“About the child… I’m sorry.”

* * *

After Ethan left and Yvonne closed the door, she slid down to the floor right there.

Her chest, which she’d struggled to keep steady, tightened and made it hard to breathe, as if the heaviness pressed down on her throat. As she gasped for breath, Jane rushed over from the kitchen, startled.

“Madam, are you alright? Is your stomach still hurting? We should go to the hospital…”

“No.”

Yvonne shook her head, grabbing Jane’s flustered hands.

“No? Your face is so pale, it looks like you’re going to faint. That’s why I said we should wait longer. The doctor said you should stay longer too…”

Jane’s expression was full of worry, asking if Yvonne would collapse again.

“How do I have the right…”

“What do you mean, the right? You’re still struggling.”

Jane’s voice was tinged with sadness, and tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing Jane crying, Yvonne lowered her head as her own eyes stung.

She tried to force her eyes to hold back the tears, but it was useless. Like a droplet bursting, tears ran down her dry cheeks, pooling briefly at her jaw before dropping away.

Her trembling fingertips slid gently over her flat stomach. Even as she traced it slowly, she realized she felt nothing, and finally she covered her face with both hands.

Tears seeped through her fingers and soon fell like rain.