CHAPTER 60……………………………………
. Background Check
“What brings you here?”
Marquis Crow’s displeased eyes swept over Anje, skipping any sort of greeting.
“Have you been well, Your Excellency?”
“I heard Duke Syde had arrived, so I hurried in—but what are you doing here instead of attending to our guest?”
As expected, the greeting went ignored. Brushing past Anje’s polite tone, the marquis immediately began scolding Hildegard.
“Grandfather, my guest is Miss Anje. His Grace came to escort Miss Anje and Lady Mariana back. He’s in the greenhouse right now, chatting with Sir Davi.”
“Who did you say was invited? Wait—did you just say Davi?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And what’s he doing here?”
“His Majesty sent me some refreshments as a gift. Sir Davi delivered them personally.”
The marquis muttered a low curse, his expression souring.
The words were crude enough that Anje quietly turned her gaze aside, pretending not to hear.
Meanwhile, Hildegard and the marquis exchanged glances.
“What are you doing just standing there? Are you planning to dawdle while we have guests? Is that what your expensive etiquette lessons taught you?”
“You’re right, I’ve been away too long. I’ll return to the greenhouse then, Grandfather.”
The marquis clicked his tongue in irritation. As Hildegard turned to leave, he stopped Anje.
“You there!”
Anje hadn’t imagined “you there” meant her, so she kept walking—until the marquis barked loudly.
“How insolent! Ignoring an elder speaking to you!”
Only then did Anje stop and turn around.
“Yes, you. Come have some tea with me.”
Was this part of some plan between grandfather and granddaughter?
Anje glanced between the retreating Hildegard and the marquis, who was waiting expectantly. Eventually, she nodded.
Going back to the greenhouse would be just as uncomfortable, anyway.
“Follow me.”
Without waiting for her reply, the marquis strode ahead. He was treating her not like a guest, but like some servant.
After confirming that Anje was following, he opened the door to the parlor.
“Bring tea,” he ordered a passing servant, then took his seat on the sofa.
“Well? Are you planning to stand there and make me crane my neck?”
“Oh! Yes, of course.”
Anje sat down and looked around the room.
Though spacious, the parlor—like the rest of the mansion—was devoid of lavish decorations. The white walls were bare, without a single painting.
“I hear investing in paintings is all the rage these days. You’re not interested, Your Excellency?”
“Paintings don’t make money. They’re just a frivolous luxury.”
Once the servant had set down a tray of tea and biscuits, Anje looked back at him.
“So, was there something you wanted to discuss? Or are you just giving Lady Hildegard and His Grace some privacy? Though the greenhouse did seem rather… crowded.”
She turned toward the greenhouse with a serious expression.
“It was quite busy,” she added.
“That’s true, but—”
The marquis stopped himself before finishing the thought, realizing he’d nearly admitted his real motive.
He coughed awkwardly a few times, then narrowed his eyes at her.
“The Beaufort barony—were they originally from the Kingdom?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, black hair and black eyes are rare in the Empire. Most who have them came from the Kingdom, same as me.”
“My parents didn’t have black hair or eyes. My father had handsome blond hair and violet eyes.”
(Though after years of hardship, that golden hair had long lost its shine.)
She remembered her father’s face the morning of the carriage accident—lined and weary far beyond his years.
A faint sadness flickered across her expression.
The marquis curled his lips into a dry chuckle.
“Is that so? Then who do you take after, to end up so… impertinent?”
“I’m quite sure I don’t resemble my father or mother.”
Though she knew he wasn’t truly expecting an answer, Anje replied calmly.
“They were both rare beauties—and kindhearted people. I suppose I take after my grandfather.”
“Your grandfather?”
The marquis’s thick brows shot up.
Anje smiled, mischief in her eyes, and nodded.
“Yes. He was, as you guessed, from the Kingdom. His own grandfather came to the Empire, unable to endure poverty any longer, and made a living as a peddler. By chance, he found success in business and bought a title. It was illegal, of course, but I heard it was quite common in those days.”
“A remarkable grandfather indeed. Then how did such a man end up with a granddaughter working as someone else’s secretary?”
“Money, of course. My father married against his wishes, so he was disinherited. He wasn’t gifted in business like Grandfather, so he struggled quite a bit.”
“Hmm… I’d heard it was Baron Beaufort—so the title was inherited, then.”
“It’s from my mother’s side.”
The marquis frowned, scrutinizing her closely.
But what did he expect to discover now?
Anje lifted her teacup to conceal a faint, ironic smile.
Her story was a blend of truth and fiction anyway. Even if the marquis investigated her background, the duke and Elliot had already made sure he’d find only what they wanted him to.
“And your parents… they’re well?”
“Of course.”
Anje, who for now had to play the role of the baron’s cheerful, modest daughter, nodded.
“No illnesses?”
They were dead—so certainly not sick.
“No, they’re fine.”
“That’s good.”
“Thank you for your concern. But I should be heading back now.”
“Wait—no, stay a bit longer. The refreshments are rather poor, I’m afraid, but still…”
The marquis stumbled over his words, oddly flustered. But Anje only offered a polite bow and turned toward the door.
As she stepped outside, Duke Syde appeared, a frown deepening on his face.
“And where have you been wandering off to without a word?”
“Didn’t Lady Hildegard tell you?”
Anje looked around for the young lady, sounding genuinely wronged.
She’d stepped aside to give them privacy—was that such a crime? Where had Hildegard gone off to, anyway?
The duke’s frown darkened further.
“As if I could trust her word. I thought you might’ve gotten lost in this enormous house.”
Lost? At my age? And calling Lady Hildegard ‘her,’ as if she were a stranger—so you’re not planning to marry her after all?
Anje swallowed a sigh as the duke circled her, inspecting to make sure she was unharmed. Yet his eyes kept darting toward the marquis, glaring daggers his way.
The marquis, for his part, simply watched them in silence, lost in thought.
“And Lady Mariana?” Anje asked.
“Viscount Algernon came to fetch her. She’s already gone.”
“How heartless of her, leaving me alone in this dreadful mansion…”
No matter how much she fancied Algernon, abandoning her like this! Now she’d have to ride back alone in the carriage—with the duke.
As she muttered to herself, the duke looked at her with a complicated expression.
“Are you still unable to let go of that Algernon fellow?”
“…Huh?”
Anje blinked, caught off guard. Her, hung up on Algernon?
But the duke turned away, his expression stiff and irritated.
“If we want to be back in time for dinner, we’re already late. Let’s go.”
“Do we… really have to eat together again tonight? I, um, had quite a lot of dessert already.”
Her cautious tone earned her a sharp glare.
“So?”
“I mean—it only makes me more eager for dinner, of course.”
Anje answered with a trembling smile, swallowing back her despair.
