Chapter 93
“Count Clue’s household refused payment! How can we hand over the dress when we haven’t been paid?”
“My daughter is the Countess of Clue! Why would the Clue household refuse to pay?”
“That’s not my concern! We were told the Countess’s mother took the item and demanded the money, but the answer we got was that the Clue family told us to collect payment from House Luper! It’s not just here—other shops said she took a bunch of items using the Countess’s name!”
The Baroness was being thrown out of a boutique just one block from the handkerchief shop Yulia had left earlier. From their shouting, it was obvious the Baroness had bought whatever she wanted using Yulia’s name again. Autumn was coming, and she had fussed endlessly about having no clothes for the season. Yulia had already gone with her and placed orders, but apparently that wasn’t enough.
Because of all the noise, someone from the bag shop next door came out and demanded to know when they would be paid for the purse they had delivered earlier.
When would she finally realize she can’t go through life getting everything she wants…
Yulia’s mother was being humiliated by the shopkeepers. She knew she should step in—but she lacked the strength, and hesitated.
Someone stepped forward before she could.
“How much does the Madam owe?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Is that gentleman going to pay instead?”
It was Cain. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his checkbook immediately. Yulia hurried forward and blocked him.
“Sir Cain, you don’t have to do that. She’s my mother.”
“I know. I’ve met her before. That’s why I’m stepping in—because she’s your mother.”
So he wasn’t just throwing money around like charity. Thinking back, he probably remembered her face from when he helped Yulia after she almost got hit by the carriage.
The Baroness, who didn’t even think to be suspicious of a stranger paying, had brightened—only to immediately eye Cain with curiosity when she saw he clearly knew Yulia. To Yulia, that was the real problem: this wasn’t random charity.
“No. I’ll pay it. How much does my mother owe?”
“It’s fine. I have plenty of money.”
“You should spend that money on something important.”
“Isn’t this an important moment?”
So he wanted to be friends… Watching Yulia refuse his money so firmly made Cain look almost heartbroken.
Yulia had sensed it back at the cotton farm—Cain definitely had feelings for her. Before she realized it, she could laugh comfortably with him. Now, knowing the truth, his easy smile felt heavier.
After instructing Lucy to check if there were debts anywhere else, Yulia handed the checks to the boutique and bag shop, pleading with them not to give out anything in her name anymore.
The Baroness complained, but Yulia didn’t respond. To be embarrassed like this not once, but twice—she just wanted her mother to leave. But Cain remained until Yulia ordered the Luper carriage to pick up the Baroness and send her home.
“Thank you for trying to help. But please don’t spend large sums of money like that without thinking.”
Unlike usual, Yulia spoke politely. Cain’s bright face dimmed. He stared at Yulia for a long moment, then spoke in a quiet voice.
“They say you can’t hide love or a sneeze. I didn’t plan to get caught… but whether you accept it or not, am I not allowed to like you on my own?”
“…What?”
“If you suddenly step back like that, of course it hurts me. I may be bold, but I still have feelings.”
Yulia knew he was straightforward, but she didn’t expect him to actually say he was hurt. Even if he hadn’t said it aloud, his eyes looked genuinely wounded. She suddenly felt sorry—because it didn’t seem like a light wound.
“Yes. I have feelings for you. But did I ever confess? Did I ask you for anything? Before you even hear me out, acting like you’re disgusted—do you hate me that much?”
If she had to answer whether she disliked him… no, Yulia didn’t dislike Cain. His honesty was a trait she actually admired in people. But that didn’t mean she could say she liked him. Her answer came out hesitant.
“…I don’t hate you.”
“I won’t stay in the Empire forever. Falling for someone takes a moment, but letting go takes time. Can’t you even give me that little time?”
A person who always smiled like sunlight now looked like an abandoned puppy, and Yulia’s chest tightened. He wasn’t asking for anything outrageous—not to date, not to chase her. Just to spend time together while he sorted out his feelings.
Was that really so difficult?
“I need my husband’s permission.”
“I understand feelings, but why does the Count have to approve who you spend time with? I still don’t get it.”
Cain was the only person who found Cayente’s restrictions strange. Yulia hesitated, but she had to give the same answer.
“Still… I’ll ask. Honestly, I’ve been struggling with preparations for the concert. If I ask for your help, my husband will probably allow it.”
When Cain sighed and said “Alright,” Yulia drew a firm line. No matter how good a person Cain was, she could not let him stand in front of Cayente.
Ian worked harder than anyone expected Cayente to assign him. Not only did he work hard—he worked fast. If only the Baroness hadn’t hovered over him constantly, he might have shown his abilities earlier. Henry’s comment—that Ian was as smart as Yulia—didn’t sound exaggerated.
“Most sailors are hired through manpower offices near the port. The ones who board regular trading ships are managed by the company, and with experience, some become captains.”
Maybe it was the Luper family’s social nature, but Ian got along with everyone—noble or commoner—and had a wide network. He even knew sailors and ship repairmen from cargo ships he’d boarded before. He had friends in the biggest Eastern Trading Company too.
“Sir? Are you listening?”
“I’m listening. Go on.”
“I wrote everything in my report. Big ships take time to build, so they say we should order one immediately—and in the meantime, buy a smaller one right away and start operations.”
Cayente sat at his office desk, hearing Ian’s report—but his mind was somewhere else entirely.
—Are you planning to make it so I can never meet anyone without your permission?
Last night, when Yulia said she wanted Cain’s help with the concert, he immediately said no. When she, nearly in tears, asked that question, he answered yes. Yulia slammed the study door so hard it almost came off its hinges, and wouldn’t open her bedroom door even when he knocked.
—Open the door.
—I refuse! I’m not in the mood! Missing one day won’t stop a baby from being conceived!
The irony—she had been the one insisting they could make a baby anytime, not only at night. But now she was using intimacy as leverage.
In the end, Cayente lost completely. He could have found the spare key, or simply broken the door, but he didn’t want to.
—Fine. Only for concert preparations. Nothing else. And only in public places.
It wasn’t some grand matter. He didn’t want to force her, to make her afraid again. When he finally heard her agree, the door opened just a crack. And by then his body was already heated, and he had given up on trying to use intimacy as revenge a long time ago.
“What should I do now, sir?”
“Start searching for ships we can buy immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
Somehow, without realizing it, he wasn’t just losing occasionally—he was losing openly, even with eyes wide open. But he didn’t want Yulia to fear him ever again.
And to prevent that, he needed to tell her: I no longer want your unhappiness.
He just couldn’t find the timing.
Maybe he really was falling in love. All day his mind was filled with her, yet he forced himself back to work. Thanks to Ian’s effort, the trade business was progressing smoothly. The only thing left was uncovering who had interfered with him and Yulia.
“It must be Abelle.”
Cain still bothered him, but once Abelle was exposed, and if Cain was involved, their relationship would fall apart on its own.
No matter how shameless Cain was, he wouldn’t dare appear before Yulia after that.
Cayente was thinking of calling Mark for a report when the clock struck noon—and Henry and Cain burst into the office without knocking.
“My lord!”
“Count Clue!”
There was no reason both men would appear at the same moment with identical faces—so Cayente waited for their next words.
“Wh—what did you just say?”
When the two men blurted out the news at once, Cayente’s mind split between emotion and reason. It was worse than when he had heard of the former Count’s death.
“Yulia’s carriage… what happened to it?”
