Ch#100
Chapter 100"Madam Bohen may have been the trigger, but it was you, Count, who changed me. You believed my words, believed me."
In truth, she hadn't held high hopes.
She thought her life couldn't unravel so easily, and that Laslo must harbor feelings close to disgust or contempt toward her.
Yet he had believed Edel.
He probably had no idea what impact that had on her life.
"You gave me recognition and comfort I'd never heard in my lifetime. You gave me the strength to live on. My gratitude for everything you've bestowed upon me is sincere."
In the end, small dewdrops gathered at the corners of Edel's eyes.
Her softly curved, wet eyes smiling under the moonlight made her even more beautiful.
Laslo felt ashamed anew of his insignificant words, which his three-inch tongue had spun so carelessly.
Unable to bear looking longer at Edel, who shone like the moon goddess, he buried his face in his hands.
"I..."
I'm not that great a guy. I never said anything that grand. It was just rambling to get through the moment...
But he couldn't voice any of it.
To tell Edel—who had found meaning in those trivial words and strengthened her will to live—that there had been no grand intent would be too rude.
Instead, he brought up something else.
"To be honest... I thought you despised me. You hated me at first, didn't you?"
"Pardon? Me?"
"That time... when you nearly stumbled getting out of the carriage, remember?"
"Yes. You caught me then, so I barely avoided an unsightly fall."
"You... flinched in shock and pushed me away. Ah, I'm not blaming you. It makes sense to find it repulsive being touched by the man who made you a captive."
Laslo nodded as if he fully understood, but Edel shook her head as if wondering what he meant.
.
"Oh, misunderstanding! Back then, I just thought I'd committed a grave breach of etiquette and pulled back...!"
"Breach of etiquette? What breach did you commit?"
Edel was embarrassed to explain it herself. But she couldn't gloss over it either.
"Well... a woman pretending to be dizzy and falling into a man's arms is actually a very classic... seduction tactic."
"Is that so? But you weren't doing that. It seemed like you had a leg cramp."
"Yes, that's right. But I thought it was a situation where you might misunderstand, so I..."
Only then did Laslo's face gradually brighten.
"So... it wasn't because you hated me?"
"I was a bit scared, but I never thought I hated you."
"Not even once?"
"Not once. And the fear was only in the early days after arriving at the estate."
"Am I easy prey now?"
As a relaxed smile returned to Laslo's lips, Edel brazenly lifted her chin.
"I certainly know you're far more careless than expected."
Laslo burst into laughter at her response.
It was such a joyful laugh that the cold night air felt warm in an instant.
After laughing heartily for a while, Laslo gazed quietly at the dark garden again and spoke without turning his head.
"You might find me unreliable, but I hope you'll believe this. From now on, I'll protect you."
He could feel Edel's startled gaze on his skin.
"So..."
Laslo slowly turned to meet her eyes directly.
"Don't try to handle things alone like today ever again. Whether it hurts, it's tough, it's sad, or even if it's just something not going your way!"
He exhaled deeply and continued pleadingly.
"Give me a chance to protect you."
"Wh-what right do I have to..."
"You're the one who turned a blockheaded brute mercenary into Count Criserus. But I have nothing to show for it before you. How embarrassing."
Laslo, propping his chin and grumbling, was so cute he could pass for an eighteen-year-old boy rather than twenty-eight.
'I need to stop thinking he's cute.'
Edel unwittingly chuckled and nodded.
"In that case, I'll rely on you from now on."
At her words, Laslo's face relaxed completely.
He could hardly recall now what torment had filled his mind on the way to the garden.
The news of Angela's engagement came not long after.
Being the engagement of one of high society's renowned beauties, it was bound to be a topic, but in truth, it was more because her fiancé was someone previously unknown.
"Liandro Bilbro? Never heard of him."
"He's a distant relative of Marquis Winblair who came to the empire a few years ago for studies and has been staying at the marquis estate since."
"Not some nobody, is he?"
"Far from it! Turns out he's the heir to 'Til Armand' of the Pes Kingdom."
The surname 'Bilbro' was unfamiliar, but no noble was ignorant of 'Til Armand.'
Among famous shops making silverware, candelabras, silver religious items, or priestly goods, none didn't use Til Armand silver.
.
"That's an enormous fortune."
"Plus, it means he's a major power player in the Pes Kingdom. Better than marrying into their royal family, no?"
Those puzzled at first acknowledged Angela's engagement as a 'wise choice' upon learning Liandro's identity.
However, from Dimarcus's perspective, it was inevitably quite displeasing.
"So, that means House Bliss has sided with House Winblair?"
"Likely. Would they decide the marriage of their most spotlighted family member so carelessly?"
Talon Count, the emperor's attendant who always spoke correctly, didn't distort the facts despite sensing Dimarcus's discomfort. After all, Dimarcus wasn't asking out of ignorance.
After pondering silently for a while, Dimarcus asked Laslo standing beside him without turning.
"What's your take? Angela Bliss, who was desperate to seduce you not long ago, suddenly engages some unheard-of man."
Of course, Laslo had zero interest in whom Angela married.
But politically, it was undeniably unsettling.
"It's unexpected. I didn't think that woman would settle for marrying some rich man from a small kingdom."
"Not regretting it?"
"...You already know I avoided her, so why ask something like that?"
Dimarcus chuckled at his words. Laslo inwardly ground his teeth, convinced this man lived for teasing him.
"In any case, Count Bliss is sharp with calculations. For him, who stayed neutral until now, to suddenly switch sides means either that 'Liandro Bilbro' has more than we anticipated, or the conditions Marquis Winblair offered were extraordinary..."
"House Winblair, who showed no interest in House Bliss until now, has no reason to propose such groundbreaking terms suddenly. Right?"
"Precisely."
"Yes. That's exactly what's nagging at me."
Why now?
Investigations in various directions yielded no news of House Bliss gaining more cards.
House Bliss was unremarkable aside from originating from a foreign royal family and holding Angela Bliss.
-5-
Of course, it was a gain in terms of expanding influence, but from Isaac Winblair's viewpoint, one couldn't help questioning why it had to be House Bliss specifically.
Laslo, continuing his thoughts, added,
"If the deal between House Bliss and House Winblair isn't the whole story, then we need to investigate that man 'Liandro Bilbro' more thoroughly."
"Ah, I've looked into that a bit too. Though an unknown name, he has appeared in society before—just without much attention."
Since he hadn't been known as Til Armand's heir then.
"Apparently, he fell for Angela at a party about a year ago. After that, he showed up at every party she attended, but only watched from afar without approaching."
"A tale of pure, devoted love from a naive romantic? Stories of haughty, proud women like Angela Bliss falling for a pure man's one-sided devotion are quite common."
Talon Count interjected with a laugh.
"Yes, if that's it, I'd feel more at ease..."
Dimarcus smiled wryly but sighed.
"His recent behavior doesn't fit a naive type, though."
Liandro had been boastfully flaunting his fiancée to an almost ostentatious degree—curious why he'd stayed low-key before.
Human nature doesn't change so easily, so assuming Liandro was naive or innocent would be wrong.
.
