CH 26

“Oh my, look over there.”

“What happened to the Fox mansion?”

The capital was crammed with mansions and people.

Therefore, the Fox mansion was also close to the main entrance of the boulevard. Passersby glanced past Sebastian.

The gatekeeper complained.

“Messy barbarian, your accent gives me goosebumps just by hearing it. Go back to your dukedom or something! Why do you come here and scam us!?”

“I’m not lying! I really do know the whereabouts of the person you’re looking for! It’s that woman named Lily!”

Sebastian’s journey was very rough.

Because of what he was wearing, it wasn’t easy to get a ride on the carriage.

Why on earth should he have to go through this! He managed to get on the train, but they told him to use the livestock compartment to clean up the pigs’ defecation!

But the look in his eyes was intense.

Now that he passed this difficulty, they will go to catch Lily.

He could even learn what mistake the woman had made and run away.

“Please, give me a chance to prove it! With everything I have, Lily, I know where that person is…. ……”

“This b*stard!”

The knight aimed his spear at Sebastian. The iron was shining and reflecting the cool sunshine.

“What’s all the noise? I can hear it all the way to the dining room!”

Lily’s husband, Count Fox, came across the yard.

“You’re too stupid to handle anything properly!”

His tantrum caused the knight to look perplexed.

“Not that, Count………”

Sebastian had a gut feeling at once that Count Fox was someone important.

He ran to the gate and knelt down.

“I know where Lily Hedwick is!”

It was the moment Blake had been waiting for.

Count Fox didn’t even know that he was about to stick his head in the wolf’s mouth. He just opened his eyes wide in delight.

“Eh, what? What?”

Sebastian couldn’t even enter the mansion.

He just knelt down on the hard road and did his best to look innocent.

“Lily Hedwick, that’s who.”

He began to explain to Count Fox.

It was from when Lily Hedwick came by dukedom…how gracefully she held the fork.

Also, what skills she used to seduce the people of Winter Castle.

He told him everything to prove his knowledge. He even described the way Lily walked.

“Yes! The woman you speak of must be Lily!”

Count Fox was happy and jumped with joy.

The tips of his shoes filled the well-spread lawn. Pebbles flew.

‘I should have known that that freaking woman had crawled to such a dirty place. No wonder I couldn’t find her until now!’

Count Fox remembered the humiliation of Lily’s disappearance.

It was the day a friend from his hometown won the bid for the regional railroad construction rights.

“How is your wife?”

His friend’s voice, laced with envy, seemed to be ringing in his ears as usual.

Count Fox received attention even though his friend was the one needed to be congratulated.

In fact, he attracted attention wherever he went. It had been since he had married Lily Hedwick.

When he went to parties, people came up to him with drinking cups. They wanted to know if his wife was okay, and they envied Fox.

“Your wife didn’t come with you?”

“Hahaha, no. After she’s married, Lily concentrated more on housework than socializing. Just small meetings with other women from time to time.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that. The Count is not hiding his wife in his home, is he?”

“I was joking. But I think I’d do that too if she’s my wife. She’s very pretty. Kkkk”

Count Fox enjoyed the envious gaze with all his might, although he sometimes got hit with the words. On the other hand, there were times when he was self-conscious.……….

There was a dinner party where the nobles discussed things a little more casually. 

“I’m surprised that Lady Hedwick would marry such a person. I mean…you know, right?”

“Of course, I don’t mean to imply that Count Fox is lacking! That person’s luck was certainly good.”

Could you have imagined that the Marquis of Hedwick (Lily’s father) was about to lose his position? Count Fox’s cousin helped him to keep his seat. Thanks to that, Count Fox could marry Lily.

How great that he had a cousin who was a politician.

Nut Count Fox was always uneasy. He was too stingy a man

There were days when he was endlessly on edge, in fear that Lily would ignore him.

Even limiting her activities to confine her in the mansion didn’t help the uneasy feeling.

And then he got a taste of it………….

It was the feeling of conquest he felt when he wielded violence against her on drunken days.

That was when he regained his peace of mind.

Lily was gone, and only the divorce paper she had left behind took her place.

“Bring her back from the duchy now!”

Count Fox shouted angrily to his knights.

How hard it must have been for him to endure the gaze of the nobles!

Even though he tried to keep quiet, rumors were circulating that Lily had left behind a divorce paper. 

‘Lily, it’s no use. It’s a scrap of paper that the council will never allow anyway. If you get caught this time, I’ll never let you go.’

It was a blessing. He was able to rectify the situation before the Marquis and Marquess of Hedwick noticed.

Count Fox was always looking out for the best interests of Lily’s parents.

‘I’m dying of embarrassment because of Lily.’

How could one bad wife bring so much shame to her husband?

After he caught Lily, he was going to invite an etiquette teacher with a heavy mouth and a harsh punishment. He would not leave her alone even after she was scolded.

‘I will make sure that you pay your fair share!’

“Yes, I will send someone to Duchy.”

“Make sure you instruct them to come back with Lily. This is her chance to get out of that dirty place!”

Sebastian knelt down and listened, then his expression gradually brightened.

‘It appears that the woman will finally leave the Winter Castle!’

The knights had moved on to carry out Count Fox’s orders, and the Count walked towards his mansion.

“Huh?”

Sebastian called hurriedly to the Count through the bars.

“Count!”

“What’s the matter?”

“I think you forgot my reward money. …….”

“What are you saying?”

“It’s written on the missing flyer. It did say that you would give me this much money.”

The reward was important to Sebastian.

When coming from the Duchy to the capital, he didn’t need any money.

This was because when he cried and lied to the Upus people, who did not know what was going on, they wrapped bread in paper for him.

However, for the first time in his life, he could not even beg in the capital.

He needed money for the train. He was sure he would starve to death in the capital.

He bowed to the Count, but the Count’s eyes were cold.

‘He’s a barbarian, why would I want to waste my fortune?’

So the Count said to the servant next to him.

“Get rid of him. If he wanders around again, teach him a lesson.”

“What? Count! Count!”

Count Fox no longer gave Sebastian any attention.

Sebastian was dragged away as he watched Count Fox disappear into the shade of the orange trees.

***

Count Fox thought to himself.

The barbarian Duke will return Lily to him immediately.

He didn’t know why the Duke didn’t kick her out right away when Lily visited him in the first place. One thing’s for sure, he was going to give her a hard time.

However, the Count’s plan was ruined from the start.

The person he sent was not even allowed to enter the Duke’s territory.

He was kicked out by the guards from the border.

“Stupid barbarian. It seems that they wouldn’t let you enter unless you have the document with your family’s seal on it.”

And for the second time, the knights were given ample proof, only to be rejected again.

The knights passed on the words of the Duke’s men. (Blake’s men)

“They said that orders have been given that no outsiders are to be allowed through. Even if the Emperor is present.”

“All the doors in all the areas have been closed because of any incident!”

“Hmm, how about sending a letter to the Duke?”

“It’s not a good way to communicate in a hurry. But it can’t be helped.”

And so the Count’s letter made its way to the Winter Castle.

When the letter found its way into Blake’s hands, he was sitting listlessly in his office.

“Hmmm.”

It wasn’t what he sometimes showed when he was with Lily.

His piercing eyes looked as terrified as a predator’s.

IIDexter watched the whole process anxiously.

The fireplace flicked on and off. Blake spoke as he roughly tore off the letter with his knife.

“I thought the Count would send his people five times, but he sent a letter after two rejections. The man has no patience, either.”

“….”

IIDexter was disturbed.

He had a look of, “This crazy boss bursts the case.”