CH 9

Theodore was so embarrassed by his son’s unusual behavior that he couldn’t even get angry and eventually left the dining room.

Graham sat down on the table. He dropped the knife, and his body began to shake just like the four-year-old child he really was.

“Phew, you’ll be alright now, Mom…”

“Graham, are you okay?”

She quickly gave Graham a hug.

His small hand wriggled, struggling to grasp Rachel’s dress.

“I’m fine. What about you, mom? Are you hurt? Oh…”

Rachel had a small scratch on her cheek. It was because the ornaments broke and hit her face when the silver cup was thrown.

Graham began to tear up.

“Oh no, you got hurt, Mom. You’re bleeding.”

“It’s all right. It doesn’t hurt at all. It’ll get better soon if I put saliva on it.”

“Mom, if you put saliva on a wound, you’ll get a bad disease. You taught me to apply medicine when I’m sick.”

Rachel smiled and nodded at the cute voice.

“Okay, I’ll treat it in the right way. Thank you for protecting me. You were just like a knight now, Graham.”

“Tell me if dad bothers you next time. I’ll protect you again.”

“Well, thank you, but don’t do this next time. I’m afraid you’ll be in danger.”

Perhaps, the unexpected refusal made Graham cry again. However, like the sweet child he was, instead of protesting, he nodded quietly.

“I’m sorry… I won’t… do that again next time. I’ll do my best, so don’t get hurt either, Mom.”

“Yeah, I’ll try as well. Promise.”

Their two pinkies of different sizes were intertwined.

Tears formed in Graham’s eyes.

“Dad is a bad guy. He used to upset you, but now he hurt you.”

“I know, right? Dad is a really bad guy. He upset me and Graham. I’ll scold him for you.”

“I wish I didn’t have a dad. I don’t want my mom to get hurt…”

Rachel’s heart was moved by his whispers as he dug into her arms.

‘I never had any plans of procrastinating, but I’ll have to hurry. Before Graham gets sadder.’

Before this child turns into a killer.

That afternoon, Sian came to the mansion. He still wore a black cape and covered his eyes with a blindfold.

At the same time, Verengela, who was passing through the hall, saw Sian and jumped.

“Countess, are you out of your mind? How dare you bring such a lowly thing into the mansion? No matter how much the times have changed, how can you act so classless?!”

Verengela would probably foam at the mouth if she discovered that the person she called lowly is the only Grand Duke of the empire.

Whether he was just normally calm or used to this kind of treatment, Sian showed no reaction to the jeer toward his supposed status. Instead, he just bowed politely to Verengela.

“I am Arias, the guild’s chief informant. I’m carrying out a request made by the Countess.”

“Countess, what kind of request could you have entrusted to this thing?”

Rachel sighed and approached Verengela, whispering in her ear.

“Tomorrow is the Prince’s birthday banquet. I ordered a precious gift for Theo.”

“What do you mean by precious?”

“A token of love is a very famous term in high society. He said he would get me an item that even the marquis can’t get.”

Verengela’s eyebrows went up at her exaggerated words.

‘Very famous in high society’ and ‘Even the marquis can’t get it’ were effective modifiers that added strength to her words.

Rachel had definitely convinced her.

“Tomorrow, Theodore will wear the token to the banquet. People will praise the Count and Countess Elosa for their good fortune. It will be the center of every conversation.”

“Hmm…not bad.”

Verengela nodded as if she could not help but say yes. She barely spared a glance at Sian in his ragged appearance before disappearing inside the mansion.

Rachel led Sian to the living room and politely greeted him.

“Greetings to Your Highness, the Grand Duke.”

“You don’t have to be polite since I’m here as Arias, the guild’s informant.”

“I shall follow your words.”

Rachel gestured towards a chair, but Sian raised his hand and declined.

“A guild informant dares not sit in the seat of a noble mansion.”

It was an unexpected remark. The Grand Duke was famous for being the most influential person after the emperor, but he used the word ‘dare’ for sitting in a mere Count’s mansion.

Rachel was surprised, but didn’t let it show. Instead, she was simply happy to see that her future in-law was being very professional.

“What brings you here today?”

“I’m here to deliver the results of your request.”

“Thank you. I’ve been waiting.”

Sian pulled out a flat box from the hem of his cape and held it out. Inside the box was a pair of cuff links with pink diamonds.

Rachel’s eyes grew bigger.

“Oh, my… so beautiful!”

“This diamond would be difficult for even higher ranked nobles to obtain. It means, ‘I will love you forever.’”

“It’s exactly the kind of item I had in mind! Thank you very much.”

“Will you be, okay?”

“What?”

The box closed with a thud.

As the beautiful jewel disappeared, Rachel looked up at Sian.

“I just said this gift means, ‘I will love you forever.’ You don’t love him, do you? If so, how can you give him this as a token of love?”

“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean anything to me, anyway. I just need to convince Theodore of my love.”

“Is there someone you love, Countess?”

“There is.”

Sian’s body stiffened for a moment at the lack of hesitation in her answer. Rachel didn’t notice it because it was such a subtle change, but Sian himself was clearly aware.

‘She’s in love with someone?’

He thought he had done his best to collect information about Rachel, but he didn’t know about this either.

‘Is it her son? Friend? Hidden family? Or is it someone else?’

Strangely, it had never occurred to him that Rachel could be having an affair like Theodore. If she was having an affair, too, he wouldn’t blame her for it.

‘Was she pretending to be stupid as a way of protecting that person?’

Sian agonized for a second before fishing for the answer.

“Is it your son?”

“That’s right.”

He asked just in case, but it really was her son.

Due to Theodore’s absence, her son must have been even more special to her. And so, she had to aim for perfection and competence for his sake.

Sian didn’t hesitate to disguise himself as a guild informant for the sake of his beloved adopted daughter.

He felt sympathy for Rachel, who seemed very capable.

“Wouldn’t your son be disappointed, then?”

Rachel put her finger on her chin and pondered for a moment.

If she gave Theodore a present and bought Graham nothing…

“He would be.”

‘Why did you give dad and not give me anything?’ Graham would say, almost in tears. There was something she had to look after in the morning and so she had to get him a different gift.

She nodded quickly.

“You’re right. I can’t just give a present to the person I hate without giving one to the person I treasure, even if it’s just to avoid suspicion. Thank you for bringing up such a good point.”

“It’s nothing. I shall accept your request again if you need me.”

“What are you talking about? I need to choose the present for the person I treasure myself.”

That was right.

Sian nodded and Rachel received the gift box with a clear face.

“Please calculate the cost and charge it. I’ll send it immediately.”

“Alright.”

“Well…?”

It was finally time to get the long-awaited evidence of an affair. Without it, Theodore’s gift would be pointless.

But Sian said something unexpected.

“I didn’t bring the evidence.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is as you heard. I didn’t bring it.”

“Uh…”

This was unexpected.

She was dazed as if she had been hit on the head with a sledgehammer.

“Why? Did you not find any evidence of an affair? Theodore hasn’t been cleared of the rebellion yet?”

“No, it’s clear that Count Elosa is not preparing for a rebellion. Thank you for your valuable information. I will reward you in the name of the Grand Duke of Dicarsinyak and the noble statesmen.”

Rachel was on edge when he mentioned compensation.

“When will I receive that reward?”

She didn’t want to be compensated before the divorce was finalized. It would be nice to get it after the divorce, but if not, it was better to not receive one at all.

She didn’t want to do anything to increase the wealth of Count Elosa.

Fortunately, Sian was a smart and wise man.

“I’ll control the timing at my discretion. Since you plan on getting a divorce, it’d be better to do it after that. If you gain more wealth before divorce, it’ll be troublesome to divide property or adjust your alimony.”

‘Thank goodness!’

Rachel smiled broadly at the agreeable answer for the first time in a while.

“I’d really appreciate that.”

“Let’s get back to the topic at hand. It’s not that I didn’t find evidence of an affair.”

“Then?”

“It’s because I wanted to deliver it somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else, where?”

It meant, ‘Let’s meet again.’

Which wasn’t a bad idea.

For Graham and Dolorosa to meet, Rachel needed to meet with Sian frequently. If the parents met often, they would eventually end up meeting!

“Did you know that there will be a birthday banquet for the Crown Prince at the palace tomorrow?”

“Of course, I know. It’s a banquet that my husband took the initiative of preparing.”

“Be sure to attend the banquet. From there, I will give you evidence of Count Theodore Elosa’s adultery.”

She was planning to attend the banquet, anyway. She nodded, thinking it was a good thing.

“Alright.”

“It will be conclusive evidence of an affair that can never be refuted.”

There was an irresistible force in the voice as he spoke. And although Rachel couldn’t see his eyes beneath the blindfold, she could tell they were shining brightly.