CHAPTER 53…………………………..
. A Bit Different
Why on earth is he acting like that?
The marquis, who had been glaring for a long time at the tea the maid had brought without any apparent reason, finally lifted the teacup to his lips.
“Ptooey!”
But the next moment, his face twisted into a scowl, and he spat the tea onto the spotless marble floor.
“This tea is awful.”
Ignoring Anze’s polite suggestion to wait in the drawing room since the duke was out, the marquis had gone straight to the duke’s office on his own accord. And once he found it, he made himself comfortable there and began behaving outrageously.
“So it’s true the duke isn’t here?”
“You came without an appointment, Your Excellency. I can’t disclose the duke’s whereabouts in detail.”
“How insolent! Useless people who don’t know their place and try to climb above themselves should have their ambitions crushed early. Seems the duke doesn’t understand that.”
“The duke is known to be a generous master.”
The marquis looked at Anze as though he were lying.
And, well, he wasn’t entirely wrong. The busy duke had no reason to entertain a marquis who barged in uninvited. Anyone could see which of them was being unreasonable.
Anze’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the marquis, whose hair and eye color matched his own.
He hadn’t revealed to Marquis Crow that he was his granddaughter — because he remembered the events of the novel. Even if he hadn’t, there was no way he could have endured that old man’s foul temper and lived with him.
“The duke handles all matters within the bounds of reason.”
“Then you mean I’m unreasonable… what!?”
The marquis’s clenched fist trembled.
“They say you can tell a lot from a little. You’re the duke’s aide, are you?”
“……”
“What does a woman who can’t even serve tea properly think she’s assisting with?”
Seriously? Does he think an aide’s job is serving tea?
Though inwardly incredulous, Anze composed her expression and walked to the table, moving the teacup aside.
“My apologies. I’ll have something else brought.”
“No, stay where you are.”
Leaning on his cane, the marquis stared fixedly at Anze.
“So, what exactly is your relationship with the duke?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t play dumb. You’re attending the imperial ball together — everyone knows what that implies….”
“That’s quite a leap, Your Excellency. If attending a ball together means that, then are Lady Hildegard and Count Martin also in that kind of relationship?”
Enraged, the marquis swung his cane threateningly.
Had Anze not stepped back quickly, she might have actually been struck.
“Watch your tongue! How dare you make such comparisons! My granddaughter only went with the duke because his escort request was delayed! And that’s your fault!”
My fault? Oh, that’s rich.
Anze felt anger bubble up inside her but kept her face serene. Showing any reaction was exactly what the marquis wanted.
“The ball season is the busiest time for our merchant guild, as you know, Your Excellency. Especially this year, since it’s the first since the war ended — the duke’s household had an unusually heavy workload. Between business preparations and other matters, it was hard to make arrangements in time. That’s why Lady Hildegard wasn’t contacted sooner. I doubt His Grace wanted to attend with his aide, either.”
She shrugged lightly and added:
“It couldn’t be helped. A bit more patience would have spared some trouble. Ah, that’s something I’d say to Lady Hildegard, not to you, of course — and it’s not even worth passing on.”
“Hah! ‘Other matters,’ you say… Does that include stealing the department store shares that Viscount Milton promised to sell to me?”
“Stealing? I think there’s been some misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding? It was theft! Shares that were supposed to come to me — the duke took them!”
Again, the marquis swung his cane.
How do the servants of this house even tolerate this man?
Anze tilted her head back to avoid the strike and smirked, mimicking the Duke of Syde’s signature smile.
I wonder if I did it right…
There was no mirror to check, but judging from the marquis’s trembling hand, it had the desired effect. A satisfied smile crept across Anze’s lips.
“Viscount Miller may be a businessman, but he’s timid and cautious. He’s always been more concerned with maintaining his father’s legacy than with pursuing bold ventures. So it struck me as odd — him suddenly investing in a gold mine? Mining is practically gambling.”
“What are you implying?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that Your Excellency accused the duke of stealing your assets.”
“Then you’re saying it isn’t true? Viscount Miller promised to sell me his shares — I even had witnesses!”
“I imagine those witnesses were all your own men, weren’t they? Not that I care to argue, but such testimony wouldn’t hold up legally.”
“……”
“In any case, during our inquiry into why Viscount Miller was trying to sell his department store shares, we uncovered quite a few interesting details.”
The marquis’s lips quivered in fury. He clearly wanted to bash Anze’s skull in but was barely holding himself back.
Anze quietly took a few steps back before continuing:
“The office that ran the gold mine investment ads — it belonged to the Crow Trading Company. The swindler who conned Viscount Miller and absconded with his money? He once worked under you, Your Excellency. There are plenty of signs that the Crow Company was involved in the scam. Of course, I’m sure you knew nothing about it. Perfectly understandable.”
Having delivered every word the marquis might have said, Anze nodded mildly.
“Y–You…!”
The marquis’s face turned bright red as he fumbled for a retort, but Anze went on.
“Unfortunately, the timid viscount never confronted you. Not that it would’ve mattered — by the time he realized it, the conman was gone, and circumstantial evidence alone wouldn’t have helped. A wise choice, really. Anyway—”
Anze smiled, curling her eyes slightly — this time imitating the duchess’s trademark mocking expression.
It worked. The marquis shot up from his chair in fury.
“Thanks to that, the furious viscount sold the remaining shares to us for far less than what he’d promised you. He’d grown quite fond of his department store, and clearly decided the duke was a better successor than you. So in a way, we owe it all to you, Your Excellency. The store’s been thriving ever since, and the duke had been planning to buy those shares anyway.”
Anze smiled sweetly and bowed her head in gratitude.
Looking down at that round, dark head, the marquis finally lost control and swung his cane high.
So what if he killed a mere servant? He felt like he’d die of frustration if he didn’t crush that insolent head—
Crack!
But it wasn’t Anze’s skull that broke — it was the marquis’s cane.
He frowned at the shattered pieces scattered across the floor — and then saw Duke Syde, who had appeared out of nowhere.
He had swung the cane himself, yet his arm throbbed as if it had been broken, while the duke stood completely unharmed.
Where had this man even come from? They said he wasn’t here!
“Are you so eager to die?”
Ignoring the marquis entirely, Duke Syde frowned down at Anze, checking her over with his eyes.
“I could’ve dodged it.”
“Sure you could have. If I hadn’t stepped in, your skull would be cracked open.”
“I really could have dodged it. But why are you here, anyway? I thought you were busy.”
“Because you couldn’t keep things quiet. The whole mansion’s been echoing with the marquis’s shouting.”
The marquis glared daggers at the duke’s back. So the man had been here all along — and chose to leave him to rage alone!
“Can I help it if the guest is loud?”
“Keeping things quiet is your job, isn’t it?”
Chastising her, the duke grabbed Anze by the elbow and led her straight out of the room. Their bickering voices faded down the corridor.
Left alone, the marquis felt cold sweat break out on his forehead — from pain. His arm was bent at an odd angle; perhaps the bone was broken.
But worse than the pain was the humiliation.
The duke hadn’t even acknowledged him — all his attention was on that aide. And they dare say there’s nothing between them?
“Ugh…”
He looked down at his hand, now empty without the cane. His arm burned with pain.
He’d swung the cane himself — yet the duke didn’t even have a scratch.
“Argh!”
Overwhelmed by agony, the marquis let out a groan and collapsed onto the sofa.
He wanted to at least pretend he was fine, but the pain was so sharp he couldn’t even scream. He just clenched his eyes shut, breathing raggedly.
Had the butler not happened to pass by and notice him, he might have passed out right there.
“Your Excellency! Are you all right?”
“Call for the carriage…”
This wasn’t retreating — no, it was merely preparing for the next round.
Just you wait.
Grinding his teeth, the marquis shut his eyes tight.
