Chapter 32
Still Pretty, Still Pitiful
She grew up in a small southern village of Marlehein, and thanks to her mother working as a nanny for a noble family, she is well-versed in etiquette and highly educated.
She is taciturn and doesn't like to talk about herself.
That was all the information there was on Liana.
Moreover, all of that information either came from Liana Serpens herself or was rumor fabricated by someone.
No one who grew up with her, no one from the village she lived in, can be found.
Ecless's eyes narrowed as he listened to Bannon's report.
"The period when it's difficult to grasp her exact movements is roughly..."
"From about 7-8 years ago."
Bannon's words, as he continued his report, were cut off by Ecless.
"...That's correct."
The red lips of the Count curved upward in an arc.
Bannon fell silent before Ecless, who had easily predicted the content.
It seemed the Count had something he could guess.
Ecless pondered something for a moment, then opened his mouth again.
"...You know, have I ever told you about my first love?"
At Ecless's uncharacteristic sentimental question, his attendant Bannon blinked.
"I believe you said she was pretty... and pitiful."
Bannon recalled something Ecless had once said as a joke.
Only once, while drinking, he had casually mentioned his first love.
He had spoken so lightly that it was confusing whether it was real or a roundabout way of saying something else.
But in any case, it was rare for Ecless Vittel to reveal personal feelings, so he remembered the story accurately.
Ecless smiled, amused, after confirming Bannon's memory.
"Yes. That's right. A pretty and pitiful woman."
It seems that woman is still the same.
Still pretty, still pitiful.
"Good work. You may leave."
Ecless dismissed Bannon as if there was nothing more to hear.
Even after Bannon left, he spent a long time reading the documents about Liana.
'Yes... my eyes can't be wrong.'
A snicker escaped his red lips.
Ecless Vittel could confidently say that he had the best memory for people in the empire.
He could even recognize a passing imperial guard he had briefly seen years later at the border.
He remembered in detail things that others did not, and he clearly memorized their habits and characteristics.
That was Ecless Vittel's weapon.
He had recognized a Marquess who had disguised himself and entered a gambling den, and had made a deal in exchange for hiding his secret. He had also caught a servant from another merchant's guild who had infiltrated his guild as a junior worker and used him to his advantage.
'I thought maybe this time it was just a coincidence, but to think it's real...'
He stared intently at the document labeled 'Liana Serpens' and fell into thought.
He thought it was impossible for a dead person to be alive.
He thought it was just someone who looked similar, that he was projecting while thinking of her.
But his eyes were right.
Not even Shed could find out how Luise Ideana had changed her name to Liana Serpens and was still alive.
But he was certain.
His eyes were not mistaken.
Lost in thought, he slowly rolled a gold coin on the table and muttered.
"How should I play this to my advantage...?"
Unfortunately, he was a merchant.
Maximize profits with minimal cost.
Even his first love was no different from a coin to be held and played with.
Ecless leisurely cast his gaze out the window.
In the distance, Shed Lester could be seen with his knights.
It seemed this deal would be a big one.
***
"...A bet?"
Shed, who was reading a document, raised his eyes slightly to look at Ecless sitting across from him.
Ecless leisurely sipped his black tea and nodded.
"Yes. Paradel has been quite noisy lately, for the first time in a while, hasn't it?"
Ecless sat with his legs crossed, his lips curved into a gentle smile.
He was a man with keen ears, and he could quickly pick up on events happening in this mansion.
"Did you even pay attention to the maids' bets?"
"It depends on what the bet is about."
At that, Shed's eyes narrowed.
For Ecless to bother coming all the way here and bringing up the maids' stories, there must be something to it.
"...What kind of bet is it?"
Shed pretended to be nonchalant and turned his gaze back to the document.
"They've bet three months' salary on whether Liana Serpens will end up in Your Excellency's bed first, or leave the Lester household first."
At Ecless's words, the fingertips of Shed Lester, who had been turning the page of the document, stopped.
"Liana Serpens?"
At that name alone, his indifferent head lifted.
Ecless nodded, observing the Duke's reaction.
"It started with two maids, but others have joined in one by one, and the stakes seem to have grown."
At Ecless's words, Shed fiddled with the corner of the document and fell into thought for a moment.
Having been born a slave, Shed knew how important those seemingly meaningless gossip and bets were to the daily lives of the lower class.
Without such base entertainment, they would not be able to endure their routine lives and exhausting days.
It was annoying that they were making such vulgar bets about the Duke, but if he caught everyone who gossiped about their superiors, there would be no servants left.
Therefore, Shed was not going to react to every trivial and petty matter.
However.
"Why Liana Serpens of all people?"
The content of the bet was a bit concerning.
"You're not asking because you don't know, are you?"
Ecless asked back with a relaxed tone.
Shed's lips pressed into a firm line.
He knew it too. That Liana was ostracized among the Lester household's servants.
He wasn't so foolish as not to notice even that atmosphere.
And the cause was probably...
"Ecless. Does it seem like I'm showing favoritism to Liana Serpens?"
Shed asked, pondering the bet.
Then Ecless's eyes crinkled in a strange way.
"Are you seriously asking because you don't know?"
"...I don't think I've ever shown favoritism."
Shed rested his chin on his hand and answered seriously.
Ecless looked dumbfounded for a moment and couldn't continue speaking.
"You've never shown favoritism...?"
"Yes."
Ecless seemed unable to believe it, but Shed was firm.
Clearly, the relationship between Liana and Shed was never good.
Shed recalled the woman who always had a dark expression in front of him.
She cowered as if she were being punished just by being near him.
At times, she struggled to suppress her emotions with eyes that looked as if tears would spill out at any moment.
It was annoying how she desperately bit her red lips to endure.
Shed had never seen a smile spread across her lips.
In front of him, Liana Serpens did not smile.
The two were not in a relationship where they could smile at each other, nor were they in a relationship where they could reveal the tears hidden deep in their hearts.
He wanted to hold Liana, who was struggling to escape from his grasp, in his hands until she suffocated to death.
And yet, love?
Could such a sublime word be attached to this kind of relationship?
People carelessly skimmed over the superficial appearance of their relationship and attached names to it as they pleased.
But Ecless's thoughts seemed to be different.
"I recall Your Excellency personally bringing Liana."
Ecless pointed out Shed's unusual behavior, as he had never personally brought a maid before.
"I told you, she's not a woman, just a maid."
Shed ignored the annoying quibble and turned his eyes back to the document he was reading.
The reason he brought Liana was definitely not for the reasons others thought.
It had been 8 years. Years of hatred towards Ideana had accumulated.
But how could he just leave her behind?
"I've heard that you personally treated Liana's dog bite wound."
"There's a misunderstanding."
Shed's lips twisted as if he found it absurd.
He could say with certainty that Shed was rude, if not more so, and never treated Liana kindly.
Those who saw that and thought it was love must be out of their minds.
"It seems that even the head maid Caroline was kicked out because of that woman, wasn't she?"
"That was just punishment for Caroline's wrongdoing."
He had never allowed the head maid to lay a hand on her subordinates.
Even if it wasn't Liana but someone else that Caroline Caroline was slapping that day, he would have intervened.
Having been born a slave, he despised those who treated their subordinates carelessly.
At Shed's words, Ecless spun the gold coin he was holding on the table, as if he found it amusing.
"What about setting fire to the port and bringing her back from Brillon?"
The gold coin sparkled sharply at the tip of his finger and rotated steadily.
Shed frowned as if he was annoyed by his playfulness and raised his head.
"It was to catch a runaway."
It was the same as tracking down a criminal.
It was only natural to chase down a criminal who had committed a serious crime and fled, no matter what it took.
To Shed, Liana was such an existence.
If he let her go, it would be the same as letting her go free for the rest of her life, so he had no choice but to chase her desperately.
"That makes sense."
Ecless nodded after hearing Shed's words, then deftly snatched the gold coin that had been spinning on the table.
Shed was adamant that he did not love Liana at all.
Ecless picked up the teacup filled with crimson tea once again.
As far as he was concerned, it was a welcome thing.
'I've definitely shown as much courtesy as I could, Shed Lester.'
If you still insist on that, even after all this.
Ecless swallowed the warm, bittersweet tea.
There wouldn't be many opportunities to deal with the foolish Shed Lester, so as a merchant, he couldn't just let this golden opportunity pass.
Having finished his thoughts, Ecless quietly put down his teacup and gently curved his eyes.
"Then, Your Excellency, what do you think the outcome of the maids' bet will be?"
He subtly extended the hand holding the gold coin.
Heads or tails.
Which side would come up was in his hands.
