────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Chapter 40 – First Encounter (6)

“Damn it!”

Startled by the sudden curse, Leon looked back. Bang! Standing in front of the loudly closed door, Liam was breathing heavily. It was only an hour ago that he had left urgently.

“What is it?”

As Liam strode in, Leon got up from the sofa where he had been sitting. Liam waved his hand as he staggered inside.

“It was completely twisted.”

They returned to the sofa, and Liam buried himself in the seat next to Leon as he gritted his teeth. Showing his displeasure, he covered his face with both hands. From the moment he tried to kiss the back of the woman’s hand to greet her as usual, his mood plummeted to the floor. It was because Pharrell had drawn his sword as soon as he reached out to take the woman’s hand.

“Step back, Young Master Agramento.”

“If it’s cut off, you won’t be able to attach it, so take good care of it.”

Thinking of the woman pointing at his wrist and chuckling, his stomach churned. He had a hard time holding back the swearing as he recalled the day he tried to tear off her veil.

How could she take revenge like this? A nice shot by an arrogant, self-centered, nerve-racking, and capricious woman.

He had been in a bad mood whenever he’d been involved with her over the past few months, but today was the worst of all. From the very beginning, she had never moved his way, but seeing how she was completely out of his control made him feel a deep sense of defeat. Even if he tried to tie her up and make her give in, she kept running around…

“Haaa…”

When he let out a sigh that he couldn’t stifle, Leon discreetly shook his head.

“Didn’t you go see that woman?”

“…Attached to the emperor.”

“What?”

“She stuck with the emperor.”

It wasn’t good news for Liam. The information provided by that woman had never been wrong. Cesar will soon notice that, too. It wouldn’t be long before he’ll try to monopolize the woman. Neglecting her, threatening her, and then losing her to others. Something a fool would do.

When Cesar starts buying her information, he wouldn’t be able to touch her again. No, not really. She was already out of his reach.

‘Don’t tell me, that’s why he sent Pharrell Hesselia.’

“A prophet has appeared.”

He should’ve noticed since the time she asked him to make up such a rumor. He shouldn’t have followed the will of a woman who brought up his debt and made him nervous. At that time, the eldest son was still alive, so he had no choice but to listen to the woman. What if he somehow offended her and he couldn’t buy any more information? He had decided it wasn’t a loss he could afford.

He was too careless. He thought she was trying to make money by spreading rumors, but she was after the emperor. Liam struggled to catch his breath and ruffled his hair. Now that this had happened, he started to feel more sure. That woman used Liam to approach Cesar from the beginning.

When he wondered why him, the answer did not come out but now it was clear.

“Ha, then you can’t use it anymore.”

“You know what’s in that head? I can’t let her go that easily.”

“…But there is no way the new emperor will share the woman.”

“Even the emperor won’t be able to control her. She’s too capricious.”

Power, wealth, strength, none of them mattered. Without caring about all that, she just did as she pleased. Just because he’s the one she wants, Cesar will not be able to win her over.

Definitely.

“He won’t realize he’s swayed by that woman’s will.” Liam muttered without realizing it then stiffened for a moment. He was shocked by what he had just said. He had just put her ahead of Cesar, the one who swallowed the late Emperor.

“Ha?”

In the rules of the world in which he had lived, those who do not have power, wealth, or strength must be the weak. But he naturally assumed that she was at the top of the food chain. He wasn’t ignoring the power of information, but it really stood out when examined. Looking at her, not everyone seemed to be like that.

“Ha!” He couldn’t stand the laughter. This kind of thinking emerged from a sense of defeat, thinking that this was also something that woman wanted. A bubbling rage filled his stomach. In the meantime, there was no way to contain her. A fire was raging inside. In the end, Liam cursed once more and rubbed his face violently. Still, his anger didn’t go away, so he had to scream.

When it came to dealing with that woman, nothing went his way.

Really, not even a single thing.

‘Do you think I’ll stay quiet like this?’

‘Aren’t you supposed to pay for what I’ve suffered?’

A crackling, grinding sound escaped from Liam’s mouth opened to take a breath.

While Liam couldn’t suppress his heavy breathing, Evelyn was having teatime.

Pharrell was sent to a room prepared in advance, so she had time to rest by herself. The refreshment served at teatime was Liam’s face, so she felt good.

“He was arrogant, and he was ugly.”

Would he be running wild around the streets and screaming by now? Even without foresight, the scene was clearly visible in her mind.

It was truly a pleasure.

She wanted to give him a blow from the moment he tried to tear the veil as if it were anything. She had finally achieved what she wanted, so she felt full.

Evelyn hummed unconsciously for a while and emptied her teacup as her rest was over. She looked back on the past two weeks as she fiddled with her empty teacup.

It took two weeks for Cesar to reply. In the meantime, he must have researched the East. He must have verified that the information Evelyn gave him was true. Now that she passed the first hurdle safely, she had to move on to the next one but…

“It will depend on when Cesar calls me…”

Until then, she had to wait. It was bitter to think that Cesar was still in control of the relationship. For now, she could only hope that she had established a minimum amount of credit.

Evelyn sighed in frustration. She already had a lot of worries, but she had one more thing to add to the pile. The risk of showing her face increased as Pharrell became a permanent resident of her mansion. However, to control Liam and ensure her future safety, she had to keep Cesar’s people by her side.

‘Given that, how can I minimize the risk?’

“If I use an intrusion warning magic tool… it’ll be suspicious.”

The lie of being a prophet also put restrictions on Evelyn’s actions.

‘Right now, Utah and the others are guarding the bedroom door but…’

Evelyn planned to move them sooner or later to investigate things about her biological parents. With Cesar sending in additional knights, Evelyn was able to solve the problem of the security of the mansion. Now was the time to let Utah and the other knights out. But to shift the guard mission, she must leave behind at least three knights. If she divided the number that was around fifteen at the most, future investigations will be slowed down.

‘Will it be alright?’

If Pharrell looked over her bedroom when her security was poor, there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Evelyn was troubled all night long. And as soon as day broke, she reached a conclusion.

At noon that day, Evelyn’s knights, including Utah, set out for the Viscounty of Amoren.

It was the estate where the orphanage where Etrada and Cesar first met was located.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────