Chapter 26

Come to think of it, Yvon had a restless night. But it wasn’t unusual for Yvon to have disturbing dreams. If he were to dwell on dreams full of blood and corpses, he wouldn’t be able to live his daily life, so he didn’t pay much attention.

Iana’s new shop was in the center of Burgundy Street. The shop had previously been a successful dress shop, but the owner had bought a new building and happened to vacate it. Since Iana, drawing on Alis’s experience, was planning to start with a dress shop, it was the perfect place. However, since the interior had never been renovated since opening, it felt a bit old-fashioned, so Iana had ordered it to be remodeled.

Removing the suffocating lattice wood decorations and installing glass windows across the entire front was an expensive job. Glass was costly, and skilled workers were rare. The Remaxion Merchant Guild had full-time technicians on salary, so things were easy then, but now Iana had to find people herself.

A week after requesting workers from the guild, the ones who arrived did not impress Yvon. Scars on their faces were understandable, given the rough work, but their shifty eyes, the way they spat on the street, and their constant swearing were all unpleasant. Yvon didn’t have the time or money to judge people by such subjective standards, so he had little choice but to give them the job.

While the young lady was at the Imperial Palace meeting Prince Karl, Yvon went to Burgundy Street to check on the progress. He immediately frowned. The workers hadn’t done any work and were drinking in front of the shop since morning. Even as Yvon approached with a scowl, they didn’t look the least bit embarrassed.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Ah, come on, people gotta live, right? Isn’t this your young lady’s shop? If you’re nobles, you must have plenty of money. Isn’t the daily wage a bit too low?”

The biggest, roughest-looking man among them turned his head and spat phlegm as he spoke. He pointed at Yvon with his chin in a crooked posture.

“With that pretty face, I bet if you asked, the young lady would do anything for you, right? How about it? If you raise the pay a bit, we’ll give you a cut. Good for us, good for you. Right, fellas?”

“If you don’t want to work, get lost.”

Yvon’s face hardened as he spoke. The men, sprawled out drinking, dusted off their pants and stood up.

“Looks like talk isn’t working. Just like Young Master Odelli said, right?”

“Guys that look that pretty are always stubborn.”

With mocking words, the men burst out laughing and each picked up a piece of wood scattered nearby.

“Think about it before that pretty face gets scratched. We don’t care about loyalty or anything, just money. Young Master Odelli did ask us, but if you pay more, we’ll listen to you instead.”

Yvon gave a hollow laugh at their patronizing tone. He had suspected there was someone behind this, and now it was clear. The rough scene in the middle of Burgundy Street made people start to avoid the area, and some whispered that someone should call the constables. But no one actually moved. As soon as they heard the name Duke Shaude’s Young Master Odelli, they were afraid of possible retaliation.

Yvon knew without looking around that there was no one here who would help him. Only Lou at the mansion knew he was coming here today. Maybe the constables would arrive soon, but by then it would be too late.

Rationally, he knew it would be better to pretend to go along with them. Iana herself might even praise him for it. She would say fighting back against them was foolish.

The master he served was that kind of person—somewhat morally questionable, with a twisted conscience, but endlessly kind to her own people. That was why Yvon felt he had to be firm. To serve someone like her, he couldn’t give in to this sort of trash. He couldn’t allow these people to linger around her. Yvon silently drew a dagger from inside his coat.

“It’d be nice if you just went easy for once. Why do you always make us get physical? Tsk, tsk.”

“If that pretty face gets scarred, how sad would the young lady be? You don’t even know we’re making this offer for your sake! Take this!”

Before the words were even finished, a club swung toward him. Some even had swords. Someone screamed, people scattered, and chaos erupted in the area.

Yvon, with his soft brown hair and glasses, looked somewhat delicate, but he was much stronger than he appeared. Even with big men attacking with swords and clubs, he didn’t back down. His long arms and legs moved elegantly as he took them down one by one. People who had been running away stopped to watch in amazement.

After all the men were finally down, Yvon straightened his crooked glasses and spoke. Even after all that movement, his breathing was steady.

“If you don’t want to work, get lost. Don’t get in the way. I’ll be claiming damages from the guild, so just know that.”

After finishing his words, Yvon turned around. He couldn’t possibly greet the young lady looking like this, so he needed to go home, wash up, and change his clothes. Time was tight if he wanted to match the timing of Iana’s return from the Imperial Palace, so he hurried. Because of his rush, he failed to notice someone from the crowd—who had been watching the fight—approaching him.

A burning pain, as if he’d been scorched, shot through Yvon’s side.

“If you thought I’d just sit back and trust those guys, you were clearly mistaken. Think of this as the price for underestimating Odelli Shaude. For something like this, it’s rather trivial, don’t you think?”

Yvon felt Odelli twisting the sword. Gritting his teeth, Yvon turned to look back. But all he could see was Odelli’s back, cloaked in a robe. His side quickly grew damp. Yvon’s waist buckled. Through his blurring vision, he saw the constables finally rushing in from afar. It seemed that greeting the young lady in a clean state was out of the question today.

* * *

“He’s lost too much blood.”

The healer, who had barely finished treating him, wiped away sweat and spoke. The wound was so deep, it was necessary to check whether the organs had been damaged. A patient with such a severe injury, and not even from war! The healer shook his head and continued.

“It doesn’t seem the organs were harmed, but he’s lost so much blood that he’ll need to be careful for a while.”

“What do you think? At this level, it seems like someone really meant to kill him, doesn’t it?”

The healer, who had been distracted by the handsome face of the man lying down, shifted his gaze back to the wound at the young lady’s question. Despite careful treatment, blood still faintly seeped through the bandages.

“Even if he were avenging his father, no one could be so cruel and cowardly. Not only did he stab him from behind, but he also twisted the sword in the wound to make it hurt even more.”

“I see.”

Normally, noble ladies would tremble at the sight of a bleeding wound, wouldn’t they? Unlike other young ladies who would tear up, stammer, and sometimes faint, Lady Marseille ignored the maid’s attempts to stop her and insisted on watching the treatment.

At first, the healer had been uncomfortable with someone watching him work, but he felt relieved when Lady Marseille simply observed calmly without interfering. Eventually, she even rolled up her sleeves and helped wrap the patient’s bandages.

The sound of the young lady grinding her teeth was chilling. The healer, feeling a cold sweat break out again, handed a packet of medicine to the maid.

“For now, his fever will keep rising and falling. He should take one packet after every meal, but even during high fever, make sure he takes it. If his fever doesn’t go down after taking the medicine, call me.”

“Don’t go back, stay here. I’ll make sure you’re well compensated so your work won’t suffer.”

Lou’s troubled gaze lingered on Iana’s back for a moment, then dropped again. Not long ago, she had sold everything she could to raise business funds. Fortunately, the Grand Duke had helped, but he had said this would be the last time, so mistakes would not be tolerated. And now, she was even keeping the healer at the house. That would cost a fortune.

Of course, Lou was worried about the handsome aide, but that was one thing, and this was another. What would happen if the young lady truly fell out of favor with the Grand Duke? The problem was, unlike before, the young lady didn’t seem to care about such things at all. She used to at least mind the Grand Duke’s opinion, but now it felt as if she’d let go of everything. What on earth was she planning?

“Lou, stop glaring at the back of my head and show the healer to a suitable room.”

“Yes.”

Hearing Lou’s weak reply, Iana smiled faintly.

“After you show the healer to his room, drop all other chores and focus solely on caring for Yvon. Don’t worry about anything else, I’ll handle it all.”

This time, Lou’s answer came a bit late, sounding dissatisfied with Iana’s decision.

“Yes, My Lady.”

When Iana turned around at Lou’s delayed response, Lou, with a pout, spoke up.

“What do you mean by ‘I’ll handle it all’? My Lady, just to be sure, you’re not going to run around doing dangerous things by yourself, right? Without me or Yvon? Right?”

“Of course not. Surely you don’t think I’d go anywhere without you or Yvon.”

With a gentle smile, Iana’s words seemed to reassure Lou, who nodded.

“Please go rest in your room. I’ll just show the healer to his room and come right back.”

After the healer and Lou left, Iana, now alone, looked down at Yvon with a cold expression. It was hard to believe this was the same person who had just answered with a smiling face.

“Odelli Shaude…”

Lou was walking down the corridor after showing the healer to his room. Suddenly, she realized that since the accident, the young lady hadn’t nodded in agreement even once.

Raising her head, Lou gathered up her skirt and began to run down the long hallway. Arriving at Iana’s room, Lou didn’t even bother to knock and burst through the door. But the young lady, who had promised to stay there, was nowhere to be found. The sun was beginning to set. The empty room, now filled with the red glow of dusk, reminded Lou of the aide’s red blood from earlier, and she couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding.

‘What should I do!’

Lou was at a loss, stamping her feet in panic.

Iana, covered in an inconspicuous robe, crossed the garden and headed for the stables. Well-groomed horses were eating high-quality hay. Iana chose a gentle-looking brown mare, saddled her, and stood by her side for a moment. The horse was still eating.

‘Eat plenty.’

Stroking the mare’s back, Iana looked up at the sky for a moment.

As darkness fell on the once reddish sky, the servants moved about, lighting lamps throughout the mansion.

As Iana watched, hurried footsteps echoed in her ears.

“Iana Marseille.”

It was the Grand Duke. He had come out in just his shirt, without even a jacket, and sighed as soon as he saw Iana.

“I told you to always let people know where you’re going, didn’t I?”

“Ah!”

She had forgotten. Alis had always been alone her whole life, and there was never anyone who would worry about her or ask where she was going. Sometimes she felt lonely or isolated, but her naturally positive personality kept her from feeling truly sad. In fact, she had often thought that a life without being tied down to anyone was liberating.

The Grand Duke, frowning, continued.

“I heard what happened. Shall I help you? If Marseille moves, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

Iana’s eyes widened. No one had ever stepped up to worry about her before. If she had to name someone, Yvon was the only one. If it weren’t for his regular salary, she might even have considered him family. But the massive paycheck she sent Yvon every month always got in the way of such feelings.