Chapter 12

Using urgent business as an excuse, Derek had the deputy head of the merchant company see the guest off, and then took out a cigar and put it between his lips.

A red flame flickered. The smoke he exhaled scattered quickly, but Ethan Estevan’s words still remained vividly in his mind.

〈I won’t be making advances toward another man’s lover, so you needn’t worry.〉

At first glance, it sounded as though he were agreeing with Derek’s words, but that was not the truth. This was an unmistakable provocation. It was no different from a declaration of war saying that Elisa might be Derek’s fiancée, but not his lover, and therefore he would continue making advances from now on as well.

That bastard, from who knows where, gets a title and then starts acting so arrogant.

The more Derek turned it over in his mind, the more irritated he became, and he frowned. It was then that the deputy head, who had gone out to see the guest off, returned.

“I’ve told you several times that when you smoke a cigar, you should open the window wide so the smell doesn’t seep into the documents.”

At the scolding that poured down on him the moment he saw his face, Derek let out a small laugh and stubbed out the cigar. Jace, the deputy head, who threw open the window, fanned the air with his hand, and worked hard to chase out the smell of cigar smoke, shot him a look.

“Did something unpleasant happen?”

“Do I look like it?”

“Yes. You look like if one person makes the wrong move, you’ll beat them to death.”

So he noticed. Letting out a dry laugh, Derek drank the now-cold tea.

“It’s because of Baron Estevan, isn’t it?”

Jace, who in the meantime had closed the window and even drawn the curtains, sat down across from him.

“You’re angry because the Baron rejected the business proposal, right?”

“No. I never thought from the beginning that that man would accept the business proposal.”

“Then why are you angry?”

At the question that came back, Derek silently set down the empty teacup. No matter how much one trusted someone, laying bare one’s inner thoughts exactly as they were was a foolish thing to do. There was a reason people said you could know ten fathoms of water, but not one fathom of a person’s heart.

“And he hasn’t rejected it yet. He took the business proposal, saying he’d examine it carefully.”

“What? Really? He seemed so uninterested the whole time I was explaining it that I naturally assumed he had rejected it. That’s a relief.”

Jace clapped his hands in delight, but Derek did not. That was because he knew why the man had openly rejected the business proposal only to suddenly change his mind.

Elisa Leslie. It was because of his own fiancée.

If Ethan had been the only one making advances toward her, Derek could have been firm, but the problem was that it was not only that.

Elisa also had feelings of interest toward him. The way her expressions and the look in her eyes changed from moment to moment whenever she saw Ethan was proof enough.

And the way Ethan looked at her was no ordinary matter either.

“It feels like there’s something between them……”

“Hm? What do you mean, something?”

“It’s nothing.”

Since it was the sort of story that would do no good if people gossiped about it, Derek waved it off roughly and rose to his feet. When Jace rose as well and asked whether he needed anything, Derek waved his hand dismissively.

After Jace bowed his head and left, leaving him alone once again, Derek took out a thick stack of papers from the desk drawer.

It was the investigation on Ethan Estevan. Because he had commissioned several information guilds, the stack of papers was thick, but the contents were similar. Even then, not a single one of them had any real substance.

“The information guilds are useless too.”

Well, still, they were not entirely useless, since he had at least learned that Elisa was going around digging into Ethan Estevan’s past.

Instead of directly telling Elisa that he was investigating Ethan, Derek had commissioned every guild in the capital to inform him if Elisa came to them.

It was an absurd request, but because it was the client’s wish, it was not confidential enough that it absolutely had to be kept hidden. Above all, since Derek had paid generously, most of the information guilds accepted his offer.

And today, he had heard that Elisa had come to an information guild and asked them to investigate Ethan Estevan.

Is what you want to know the same as what I want to know?

Tilting his lips, Derek flipped through the materials he had received from the information guild.

What he wanted to know was the relationship between Elisa Leslie and Ethan Estevan.

After seeing Elisa react far too sensitively toward Ethan at the victory banquet, Derek had become certain that there was something between the two of them and had begun digging into Ethan’s past.

But because he had not managed to uncover anything, he was frustrated. So he had arranged for the two of them to meet under the guise of chance, only for his curiosity to pile up even more rather than be relieved.

And on top of that, he had even been subjected to that laughable provocation.

As the memory of Ethan’s gaze—looking at him as if to say, ‘try it if you dare’—rose in his mind, Derek let out an irritated sigh and roughly brushed back his hair.

“Well, fine. I can find out slowly.”

After all, Elisa cannot abandon me. His eyes looking out the window were as dark as the world outside, filled with darkness.

* * *

Countess Leslie returned to the capital after about a month.

Originally she had only intended to stay for about two weeks, but because the old lady’s condition had been worse than expected, she had ended up staying longer.

Elisa, who had been waiting ever since she heard that her mother had arrived at the train station, stepped out of the mansion as the carriage passed through the main gate. Noah, prettily dressed up as well, was with her.

“You’re back, Mother.”

“My daughter, have you been well in the meantime?”

The Countess, warmly embracing her daughter whom she was seeing again after so long, also gently greeted Noah.

“And have you been well too, Noah?”

Noah hesitated and watched the Countess’s expression, then hid behind Elisa. The hand clutching at her skirt trembled slightly.

The Countess had never been cruel to him or struck him, yet for some reason Noah was afraid of her. The same was true of Earl Leslie.

It did not seem as simple as him being afraid of adults who were older, since he got along well with Aunt Tania.

Then what was the reason. Elisa was curious, but also troubled. Noah was already a fatherless child, and on top of that unable to speak, so he was already subjected to sharp looks from those around him. If he behaved like this as well, he was certain to be disliked even more.

“Noah. You should say, ‘Welcome back’.”

When Elisa nudged him forward, the child timidly stepped out. He bowed his head with a face full of fear, then hid behind Elisa again.

“My, how sweet. It seems Noah likes you the best in this house.”

Unlike Elisa, who felt awkward at this, the Countess turned away with a bright smile. Her mother’s indifferent attitude, as though she had expected nothing from the start, grated on Elisa’s nerves all the more.

* * *

Perhaps because rising early in the morning and diligently preparing had tired him out, Noah fell asleep not long afterward.

After taking the child to the bedroom, Elisa went to find her mother.

“Then handle this like this, and……”

The Countess, who had already finished arranging her luggage and was giving the butler various instructions, noticed her daughter and stopped talking.

“I’ll come back later.”

“No. It will be over soon, so wait just a moment.”

Elisa obediently sat on the sofa and waited as her mother told her to. Not long after, the butler withdrew, saying he would go prepare tea.

“How is Grandmother doing?”

Elisa asked the moment her mother sat down on the sofa. At the mention of the old lady, well past seventy years of age, a shadow fell over the Countess’s face.

“They say we can breathe a little easier, but given her age, it seems it will be difficult for her to recover completely.”

“Still, it’s a relief that her condition improved. Next time, I’ll go with you too, Mother. I want to see Grandmother again after so long.”

“Yes. At that time, Sir Grenville can come along as well, and we can introduce him to everyone.”

At the sudden mention of Derek Grenville, Elisa blinked her eyes wide.

“Why Sir Grenville?”

“Why else? Since you will soon be married, he should greet the relatives.”

Ah. With that short sigh, Elisa’s face darkened for an instant.

“As I’ve told you before, a man as capable and kind as Sir Grenville is quite rare. On top of that, he willingly accepted you even knowing all of your flaws.”

Moving to sit beside Elisa, the Countess took her daughter’s hand tightly and spoke gently, but firmly.

“So this time, stop having pointless thoughts and marry Sir Grenville. Not only I, but your grandmother as well says she wants to see her beloved granddaughter marry before she closes her eyes.”

Now that her mother was invoking her aged grandmother, all Elisa could do was nod.

Just then, the flow of conversation was interrupted as the butler brought in tea.

“Oh, right. Last time, the daughter of the Marchioness Briana, Miss Giselle Briana, held an exhibition, so I went.”

Wishing to escape the uncomfortable topic of marriage, Elisa did not miss the chance to change the subject.

“I heard about that. If I’d been in the capital, I would have gone, so it’s such a shame I couldn’t.”

Fortunately, the method worked well, and as they spoke about suitably ordinary matters, the somewhat stiff atmosphere eased.

“Aunt said there is a famous physician in the Kingdom of Tahal who is said to cure even mutes.”

Only then did Elisa cautiously reveal the first reason she had come to see her mother.

“So, I was thinking of going to the Kingdom of Tahal with Noah. It would be nice if we could bring the physician here, but since he is old and that would be difficult, I suppose I will have to go myself.”

“No.”

The Countess spoke firmly.

“The Kingdom of Tahal is so far away, and yet you say you’ll go there yourself. What nonsense you are speaking.”

“I know it will be a difficult journey. Even so, I have to go. Because it is for Noah, my son.”

“Why is Noah your son?”

The Countess widened her eyes as though the notion were absurd.

“That child is not your son. And he never will be. So you had better cast aside such thoughts as early as possible.”