TSBSFVW 74

Chapter 74

Five Pyramids. Driven Mad by Jealousy (3)

Ellie smelled of money.

The scones she made looked like gold bars.

Morris calculated that if he got hold of Ellie, he could do much more, and he spared no investment in her. It was the wisest choice he had ever made in his life.

Morris approached her like an older brother, like family.

It wasn’t hard to win over the heart of a lonely girl who had grown up without any family to care for her. Even if she tried to act tough, it was plain as day that she had a soft heart.

What Morris hadn’t expected was that he would genuinely start to find Ellie adorable.

Well, it wasn’t strange, since she really was cute.

Ellie was truly adorable.

She was fun to tease, her plump cheeks made you want to nibble them, and even her stubborn expressions, her pouty lips, and her rough words were endearing.

And on top of that, she wasn’t easy.

Just when you thought she might rely on you, she would always run far away.

No matter how busy he was, Morris always made time to go see Ellie. He always came back recharged, without feeling tired at all.

That was the strange part. Ellie wasn’t strange—Morris was. Only he didn’t realize it himself.

Wasn’t I supposed to think of her as a younger sister?

Since he had never had a younger sister, he couldn’t really compare. The little sister he once had had died of starvation not long after she was born, so he had never gotten the chance to dote on her.

But no matter how much a brother adored his sister, he wouldn’t truly hate the idea of her getting married. Overprotection was something else entirely.

It’s not an obsession that “my little sister must have the most perfect man beside her” or some protective instinct…

At this vague realization, sweat trickled down Morris’s back. Edmund’s mocking laughter kept echoing in his ears.

Damian only let go of Morris a week after Ellie had left. He had gotten tired of teasing Morris, who kept working calmly despite still having a fever.

He even took all the cooks from the villa with him. Damian announced that he would visit Rayad once more before winter ended.

As soon as Morris sent Damian off, he headed for Rayad.

They shouldn’t have started business yet, so she should have some time. I need to see Ellie and talk to her first.

He had already finished preparations for the new shop to coincide with Ellie’s arrival. Malina helped with the remodeling after closing the old business. The staff had already been selected, waiting only for Ellie’s approval. A week had passed, so by now they should be in the middle of training.

Leaving at night, Morris only managed to arrive after dawn.

The moment he arrived, he called in a guild healer to show his arm injury. Since the wound had festered, he got scolded at length for endangering himself.

“You need to rest! Hey, where are you going?”

“Alright, alright. Let’s talk after I get back. After.”

“Don’t come back, just drop dead, you bastard.”

The healer had quite a foul mouth.

Do I… like people with foul mouths?

Edmund, Ellie—every single one of them swore like sailors. Morris was slowly discovering tastes he hadn’t even known he had.

Though, it wasn’t exactly a good taste.

The shop was in a soft-opening phase, running morning hours. He saw Ellie standing behind the counter.

When she spotted Morris, her eyes went wide—then she immediately snapped her head away and ignored him. Even knowing she didn’t really mean to cut ties, his heart dropped.

“Ellie. A moment, please.”

“I’m busy.”

And just like that, he didn’t get a proper word with her for nearly a month.

Coming out of his recollection, Morris pushed himself up from where he had been sitting.

Though his realization had come late, he had no intention of giving up.

As long as Ellie didn’t hate him, he planned to cling to her stubbornly, showing his usefulness however he could.

Gambling everything to get what he wanted was something Morris often did. To make money, you had to spend money.

So, what is it I want?

Ellie’s husband’s place? Or to be her lover?

No. It was subtly different.

Morris wanted to be the most important person in Ellie’s life. The one at the very top of her priorities.

Ellie could have a husband, or even a lover—but Morris had to matter more than them. Of course, ideally, he’d be the only one.

But more importantly, he had to be the one who set Ellie free, who helped her fly higher.

It might not be the coolest or most refined approach, but in the end, life was about who laughed last.

And Morris’s specialty had always been endurance battles.

“She’ll have to trust me eventually.”

He still had a long way to go.

Trends spread like wildfire across a dry field.

“This morning, I had toasted nut campagne with butter and jam. It was so wonderfully nutty.”

“Oh, it’s delicious with bacon on top, too.”

“Oh my, that sounds too greasy.”

“Didn’t you used to grill steak in the morning?”

“It’s been ages since I started keeping breakfast light—just bread and fruit. For lunch, I have a simple sandwich…”

“Steak at dinner is enough to keep you full. Anyway, I never knew the owner of <Cookie Walking> also ran a bakery.”

“No wonder it’s famous…”

It hadn’t even been a month since the shop had officially opened. Yet it sounded like it had been around forever.

Seth Hastings ground his teeth.

That pig. That damned pig of a woman.

The chattering ladies shrank under his glare, then began whispering to each other.

“They say he got kicked out…”

“No, no. His Grace, the Duke of Hastings, couldn’t bring himself to throw out his own son. But apparently he did bring in a distant relative to the family…”

“Oh my, then the title of young duke—”

“Yes, it would go to him.”

He couldn’t hear their words clearly, but it wasn’t hard to guess the gist. Slamming his cup down with a crash, Seth stormed out in large strides.

Damn it, why do I have to live like this?!

He had made the right choice that day.

At dawn, after fleeing the scene of the fallen Prince Mark, Seth had gone straight to his father in Rayad and told him everything.

That Irene had gone mad and stabbed the prince to death, that the McClures were finished.

Seth had been certain his father would be pleased. He had believed that his father, too, hated Duke McClure.

But as soon as he finished, his father had asked only one thing:

“So… is the prince truly dead?”

“What? Well, I didn’t confirm it, but still, Irene—”

“I see. That’s enough. Go and rest.”

His father’s voice had never sounded so cold.

Uneasy, Seth chewed his nails, waiting for news that the prince had died or that Irene had been arrested.

But no matter how long he waited, nothing happened.

Word came that Prince Mark had returned to his country on urgent business, while Irene had grown weak and returned to Rayad. Rumors spread that since she was too frail to bear heirs, the engagement had been mutually dissolved.

Somehow, the events of that night had all been twisted to benefit Duke McClure.

Don’t tell me it was just a dream?

Impossible.

The drug had only been in Prince Mark’s cup. Seth had never touched anything harmful. His mind had been sharp—he clearly remembered Irene screaming and flailing like she had lost her mind.

But now McClure won’t even meet with me, and Father has brought in a replacement for me…

Seth was no longer the young duke.

At this rate, he would lose the Hastings name, fortune, and title. With Duke McClure as an enemy, he couldn’t live a normal life in Rayad either.

He had only one option left: marry some poor but tolerable-looking only daughter from a titled family. That way, he could leave Rayad under the pretext of managing her estate.

But rumors had already spread everywhere that Seth Hastings had been abandoned by his “generous” father.

Those who had always resented his arrogance beside the imperial prince eagerly spread the word. Now, no one even looked his way. Forget marriage—no one even wanted to exchange greetings.

What terrified him most was the vengeance of Duke McClure, who had once ground his teeth at him.

It was then that the new bakery opened.

When Seth went to buy a gift to win back his father’s favor, he immediately recognized Ellie behind the counter. She had slimmed down a bit, but she was still the pig.

If I hand that pig over, maybe I can at least win Irene’s favor…

And if he could win Irene’s favor, even Duke McClure would be easier to deal with.

“You pig, what are you doing he—urk?!”

“Lord Hastings, oh, is this the first time we’re meeting?”

“…Captain Cronin?”

A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped between Seth and Ellie. The hand Seth had stretched out toward Ellie’s wrist was instantly caught in Ban’s huge grip. Smiling pleasantly, Ban leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“Didn’t Duke McClure tell you anything?”

“…What?”

“You don’t actually think the Duke doesn’t know Ellie is running a shop right here in the middle of Rayad, do you?”

When Ban added, You can’t possibly be that stupid, Seth couldn’t say a word.

Though smiling kindly, Ban radiated a force Seth rarely encountered.

He hated men like that—tall, broad, handsome, rich, always looking down on him from above.

Why did Marquis Cronin’s third son know about the pig? Why was a knight captain acting as though he were protecting her?

And why, of all people, was Duke McClure letting that despised pig run rampant in the very heart of Rayad, practically his own front yard?

What the hell is going on, damn it?!

Why are you doing so well? You should have died in misery after being cast out like a beggar.

The next morning.

The garbage attacks began.