Elias returned to the Thorpe mansion trembling with shame after receiving disgrace from Fresa.
The escort knight of the Grand Duke of Granadine also kept watch on Elias, even monitoring whether he would truly leave Paro village.
What on earth is going on?
He was so angry that he could hardly contain himself, but since the Grand Duke was standing firmly, he couldn’t even speak his mind to Fresa.
“Damn it!”
Since returning from Paro village, Elias had become even more irritable.
“Brother, instead of asking Fresa for help, why not try to persuade Alicia? Honestly, that’s probably better! Even if Fresa refuses to help, I won’t be hurt on my pride, right?”
“Please shut up, Amy.”
Amy, who was speaking uselessly beside him, only provoked Elias’s anger unnecessarily.
Jerome stood a little apart, pretending to be indifferent, with an expression that said he already expected this.
Among the three siblings, Jerome was the one who met Fresa the most after she returned alive.
He was the only one who truly felt that Fresa had changed from before.
‘Presumably, she wouldn’t help us.’
So, what should he do?
If they fail to pay the scheduled amount at the bank, the Thorpe mansion will be auctioned off in two weeks.
If Jerome hadn’t sold the Winter’s Blade, perhaps they could have bought some time.
But that was already water under the bridge. If Elias learned this fact, Jerome would be driven out before the mansion was even auctioned.
‘Damn it, what do I do?’
Jerome bit his nails and desperately tried to rack his brain for a solution, even as his mind went in circles.
At that moment, Alicia appeared.
Guided by the butler, Alicia arrived at Elias’s office, smiling softly as usual.
“Elias. I came to talk about something. Just the two of us.”
Noticing her, Jerome and Amy exchanged glances and quickly left the office, bowing politely.
Elias massaged his aching head and let out a sigh.
“Has the Count Guilespie changed his mind?”
Alicia, dressed in a pure white dress that revealed her figure, sat down on the sofa naturally and shook her head.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then why did you come?”
When Elias responded somewhat nervously, Alicia smiled faintly.
She then lightly tapped the teacup left by someone who had been drinking, with her fingertips, and said,
“It seems Fresa refused to accept help. Isn’t that right?”
“…”
“I have a good idea. I couldn’t change Rowan’s mind, but I have a perfect way to change Fresa’s.”
Elias finally fixed his gaze on Alicia.
“What kind of plan?”
“Is there still a maid named Loren who was close to Fresa and is still working at the mansion?”
Elias recalled the name he had forgotten.
It seemed there was indeed a servant with that name.
“Probably. But why…?”
“Use her. If she refuses to help, you must force her to do so.”
Alicia raised her lips again into a gentle smile.
If Rowan doesn’t give up on Fresa, then simply making her realize that Fresa is still insignificant might do the trick.
Rowan would only be briefly interested because Fresa supposedly died and came back to life.
Right now, though she was loudly boasting about her business and life in a small village, Fresa, who belonged to the Thorpe mansion, wouldn’t be able to act arrogantly.
Rowan often looked down on Fresa’s submissive demeanor; he found it pathetic.
Whenever he saw that, even the little remaining sympathy would vanish, he’d grumble.
‘So, I need to nip this in the bud before the business gets any bigger.’
Alicia’s plan was to use the servant Loren to threaten Fresa, then extort money to revive the Thorpe mansion.
The cost to reclaim the mansion wouldn’t be trivial.
No matter how much Fresa had earned so far, it wouldn’t be easy to pay back.
‘The Grand Duke of Granadine is a variable, but he probably doesn’t care much for Fresa.’
Most likely, the Grand Duke would naturally distance himself if Fresa fell from grace.
He didn’t even know why the empire’s Grand Duke became Fresa’s fiancé in the first place, but it was probably just a passing phase.
Alicia kept her true intentions tightly concealed and smiled at Elias.
“Certainly, Fresa will accept. She was very close to Loren, after all.”
After a moment’s contemplation, Elias nodded and accepted Alicia’s proposal.
“Sounds like a good plan. Thank you, Alicia.”
“You’re welcome. We’re practically family. I just want to help in any way I can.”
Alicia said this with a gentle, beautiful smile.
Elias briefly glanced at her face, then finally exchanged a small smile.
~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~
After shopping for Fresa and Lycaon’s clothes at the boutique, and buying gifts for Jed and Isaac, evening had fallen.
The two stopped by a dessert cafe one last time.
They ascended to the second floor of the softly glowing sunset-lit cafe, looking out through the open window at the bustling street below.
Fresa was so absorbed in admiring the scenery that she didn’t even eat the sweet macarons and cakes.
“Resa.”
Lycaon cut a small piece of cake and held it near Fresa’s mouth.
She, resting her chin on her hand, stared blankly for a moment before finally turning to look at Lycaon.
A little flustered, she hurriedly picked up her fork.
“Oh, I’ll eat that.”
Since it was still early evening, the cafe was quite busy, and her actions made it seem like they were lovers, which was a bit embarrassing.
‘Lycaon is really thoughtless.’
She thought he was a kind person, but to try feeding her cake himself, even in such a public place…
Lycaon held the fork with the cake on it in the air for a moment, then lowered it and asked,
“What were you looking at so intently?”
“The empire is new to me. The scenery is fascinating. Everyone seems to be having fun…”
Fresa mumbled around the fluffy cake with white cream on top.
Lycaon chuckled softly and reached out to gently wipe her mouth.
“Places where people live are all similar. You’ve gone through a tough time since you arrived, yet you’re talking like that.”
Only then did Fresa realize that she had smeared cream on herself and was eating messily.
“I’m not a child, I can wipe myself if you just tell me. But it’s nice to see. It’s proof that His Majesty the Emperor is governing properly.”
Fresa responded somewhat irritably, glancing out the window.
Lycaon looked at her with a complicated expression.
“Well, that might be true from the outside.”
“In reality, everyone inside is a mess. The Thorpe family was like that too.”
Fresa understood immediately what Lycaon was about to say.
Even if the outside looks peaceful and beautiful, the inside can be rotten to the core.
At the same time, she found herself somewhat puzzled.
‘I’ve heard that Lycaon’s older brother is the current emperor. Could there be some disagreement between them?’
Lycaon didn’t talk about his brother much, so she wasn’t sure if they had a good or bad relationship.
But it probably wasn’t worse than the siblings of the Thorpe family.
Fresa even wondered if she had picked up that impression somewhere.
Lycaon stared at Fresa silently, without replying.
It seemed difficult to speak in a crowded place, or perhaps it was a story he didn’t want to tell her.
Either way, she didn’t want to press him.
She looked down at the nearly untouched cake and macarons, then spoke first.
“I suppose I should head back soon. Jed might not have taught Caid well. I need to check the inventory and sales before closing the apothecary.”
“The boss is indeed busy.”
Lycaon finally replied with a playful tone, then stood up, carrying a paper bag filled with what they had bought today.
His somewhat childish appearance, along with her acting as his caretaker, made Fresa quietly chuckle.
“What if someone recognizes Lycaon like this? It’s awkward for the Grand Duke to look like a mere servant.”
“I don’t really care.”
But wasn’t he the one who had pulled his cloak deep over his shoulders?
Fresa watched Lycaon, wrapped in a dark cloak and with his hat pulled low, then turned to walk toward the stairs.
Just then, several elegantly dressed young ladies appeared coming from the opposite direction.
She moved slightly to the side to let them pass comfortably.
Lycaon also stood behind her, waiting for the others to go by.
After they all had passed, Fresa stepped down the stairs, and at that moment, one of the passersby looked back.
Unintentionally, Fresa caught her gaze.
She was a woman with bright blonde hair flowing down to her waist and striking violet eyes.
Her appearance was so remarkable that the words “beautiful” seemed natural.
She briefly looked at Fresa, then shifted her gaze toward Lycaon.
“…Countess Granadine?”
Her voice was gentle, warm, yet noble.
Fresa, without thinking, thought her voice was lovely, then realized that the person she was calling was Lycaon.
Lycaon was already looking back at the woman.
~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
