CH 77

Chapter 77: Idle talk – The Hand Reached Out to Albert 1

Albert saw the person he was looking for and tried to approach her quickly.

However, a person from the same group who saw this out of the corner of his eye quickly inserted himself between Albert and the person in question, blocking Albert’s sight.

Furthermore, because the other members start talking loudly, Albert’s voice does not reach her.

(She’s using her friends to make an excuse that she’s not ignoring  me. She’s a cowardly woman.)

The only thing that can be seen of the “cowardly woman”, Linea Elvasti, is a part of the back of a young man and her unappealing brown hair peeking out from behind him.

The young man hiding Linea is not the kind of person that Albert can directly speak to.

Duke Lars Svald.

He is one step above Albert, but he has already become the head of the Duke family. He is a royal, with even the right to succeed to the throne, and Albert cannot fight him.

He wondered how Linea managed to get in touch with such a person.

“How did she manage to ingratiate herself…”

When it comes to what Linea can do, that’s all I can think of. At least her appearance is still visible.

But why did Duke approach her, even though anyone should turn their face away just because she is the daughter of the infamous Count Elvasti?

“She did well.”

At that time, a familiar Baroness approached Albert.

Her husband is a friend of his father. It seems that she was invited to a palace party today. She’s a bit of a devil for young men, but Albert doesn’t disrespect her because she often gives her information.

“Perhaps Duke Svald liked her and prepared a background that she is not the daughter of a bad reputation, but rather a good one, in order to engage with her.”

“How did he get involved…”

The Baroness laughs at Albert, who seems to be about to click his tongue.

“Is it a woman’s weapon, or the money of her real father? I think it’s something like that, but the house has a deep relationship with the temple. I can’t believe that such a house would accept an unbecoming daughter. So, you see…”

The Baroness puts her hand to her ear with a mischievous face.

It must be to listen to the voices around.

Albert, who has already heard enough, naturally becomes an unpleasant expression.

Well, since the noble Count Radin took her in as a foster daughter, it might be true that she is a daughter with a beautiful heart, such a story can be heard.

Since Duke Svald is introducing his supporters, you can be sure that he intends to line his own pockets.

Besides, Duke Svald should have been avoiding Count Elvasti. Yet he is helping her, so it may be true that he (her father) was giving her the cold shoulder.

All of them are convenient for Linea.

“The Duke also has an eye for people. That’s why, you know, he wouldn’t go near your father.”

“… I don’t think he’s a particularly nasty person.”

Baroness chuckled at the reaction.

“He’s the kind of person who sticks his face everywhere where he smells money, even before he’s in danger of getting his neck turned by debts. He can’t be clean and pure, can he?”

“Excuse me. I think I’m a little drunk, so I’m gonna go get some air.”

Albert escaped from Baroness with a common excuse, due to his discomfort.

“She’s really rude.”

I don’t think my father is innocent. But he shouldn’t have done anything that would make him as unpopular as to be avoided by Duke.

“It’s all about money. Money is the problem. Originally, it was just that the location of the territory was bad.”

Albert’s father’s debts were initially for the reconstruction of a territory hit by a flood and for flood control.

That was the beginning of the fall.

Just around that time, the copper mine’s vein ran out.

They couldn’t find a new vein, they collected funds for that purpose, but the vein wasn’t found and they no longer had a way to collect more funds.

In any case, they have no choice but to focus on agriculture.

They asked for business expenses, but the industry was not so active. So they had to borrow from somewhere, but they had no one to borrow from because they had asked (borrowed) around everywhere for the vein.

So they had no choice but to rely on Count Elvasti.

In exchange, they accepted an engagement with Linea, his only daughter.

Just around that time, Albert had to accept because his charming fiance’s house, whom he believed he would marry someday, had fallen.

But he had a bad feeling from the beginning.

Because it was just after his engagement had failed, he suspected that Linea wanted to marry Albert and that the Michelia family’s Count Allerid’s house was destroyed by Count Elvasti for that purpose.

Michelia, whom he met again, confirmed that.

“My house was destroyed for Linea, who wanted to marry you,” Michelia said with tears, and Albert deeply sympathized with her and was sorry that she was no longer his fiancée.

The more he sees Michelia, the more he is attracted to her.

She is more polite and cute than the wicked Linea, and above all, she makes Albert feel calm.

But she has become a commoner.

Above all, it is impossible to marry Michelia unless he returns the debt from Count Elvasti.

Albert sighed when he left the party venue and descended to the garden.

Although Linea has become a daughter of another house, it is perfect to cancel the engagement, but his father insists on continuing the engagement for some reason.

Even if she is the daughter of another house, there is no change in the fact that Count Elvasti’s blood flows in her. For the sake of waiting for the repayment of the debt, the continuation of the engagement is absolutely necessary.

Anyway, he was told to get confirmation once, and he was forced to talk to Linea, but he was blocked by Duke Svald.

“What should I do? If she wasn’t there…”

It was when he muttered that.