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Chapter : 27
“Maybe. But because of security reasons, they might not let us see it.”
Anna said this gently, worried Lucy would feel disappointed. But Lucy didn’t look sad at all.
“It’s okay, we’ll just ask the marquis if we can later. But do you really think he would say no if you wanted to see it, my lady?”
“Hmm, yeah. We’ll see.”
Anna just smiled and put a snack in Lucy’s mouth. Lucy ate it happily and started telling Anna everything that happened at the Evercline mansion while she was gone.
The workers standing by the wall watched Anna and Lucy talking and laughing. Then, they secretly exchanged glances with each other.
“The Count of Evercline is missing? What do you mean?”
Edward threw down the papers he was reading, annoyed. Julie hurriedly gathered the scattered papers on the desk. Her neat, pale gold hair sparkled in the sunlight as she leaned over. Edward’s eyes looked sharp and dangerous.
“…I kept checking for days, but still, nobody is there…”
Julie straightened up after organizing the documents and met Edward’s eyes. For a moment, she looked dazed.
“…Do you like me that much?”
Edward gave a crooked smile. Julie, staring at his handsome face, quickly changed her expression.
“It—it’s not like that.”
Julie’s eyes wandered around the office. Edward glanced at the bundle of papers she was holding tightly, then frowned. Those papers were meant for the Countess of Haimel, Julie’s real boss, and were secret reports.
Edward tapped his finger on the desk, annoyed.
“It already bothers me that my mother is interested in the Evercline Count’s whereabouts… And you haven’t found the estate manager either?”
His green eyes looked dangerous under his furrowed brow. Julie shrank back.
“I was only given the order recently. If you give me a little more time…”
“Since when did you start talking back to me, Julie?”
He frowned. Even then, he looked like a beautiful boy from a painting, and Julie forgot his scolding and just stared at him.
‘How can someone be so beautiful…’
Suddenly, Edward’s mouth twisted coldly as he asked,
“Is your husband doing well?”
“!”
Julie suddenly felt all the blood leave her body. She accidentally crumpled the papers in her arms. Edward raised an eyebrow, amused.
“Oh, right. You said you were scared of him. I guess I wasn’t thoughtful.”
“…No, sir.”
Julie clenched her jaw and looked down, hiding her fist. She couldn’t understand how he could talk about that person so casually.
“I just heard something. I heard he regrets it a lot. So, do you plan to give him another chance?”
Edward spoke carelessly, like shooing away a fly. His words had no feeling, and Julie’s heart broke again.
She mumbled,
“You promised never to mention me and him together again…”
Even though her voice was filled with sadness, Edward was cold.
“I did say that. But he seems to regret it a lot.”
He looked down and stared at her.
“And thinking back… I think you listened to me better when he was around.”
“!”
Julie’s face turned pale. She hugged the documents tightly, almost crushing them. Edward was pointing out how she wasn’t working hard on finding the Evercline Count and the estate manager.
“I—I’ll look into it again.”
Julie finally gave in, just like always in their relationship. But that didn’t make her feel any less sad.
Edward crossed his hands and nodded slightly at Julie’s crumpled face.
“That’s right. You know I trust and rely on you, Julie.”
His gentle tone melted away all of Julie’s sadness, even though she hated herself for it. Sometimes, people have parts of themselves they can’t control.
Even though Edward forced her to marry a cruel man and enjoyed seeing her suffer, whenever she faced him, her heart would beat fast.
“…Yes. Edward.”
Her answer was soft and obedient. Edward looked satisfied. He leaned back in his chair and asked,
“What’s the news about Marquis Marcus?”
“He still doesn’t go out much. He only visits Marcus Castle now and then and sometimes stays in the guest room at the palace.”
“So he’s not completely hiding, is he?”
“No. Sometimes he secretly meets nobles who support him.”
“Is it true that he’s also looking for Anna?”
Edward’s face turned dark.
“In the beginning, he often visited the Evercline mansion. But recently, he stopped going.”
“Did Henry give him the same excuse…”
Edward scowled, disgusted at even mentioning Marquis Marcus. Julie swallowed and spoke carefully.
“But I heard he’s still meeting that famous actress everyone talks about.”
“Ha, I knew it.”
Edward brushed his curly hair back and snorted. Anna always saw Marcus as someone amazing, but as a man, Edward thought he understood Marcus’s real nature better.
‘Who cares where he’s been sleeping around?’
High-ranking nobles often had secret lovers. Marcus was no different, and now that he had suddenly become a noble heir, everyone was watching him.
‘He only promised to marry Anna when he was a commoner.’
Now, with wealth and honor, he seemed cold to Anna and kept meeting the actress rumored to be his mistress.
Julie looked at him carefully and asked,
“How about… trying again?”
“That’s the problem.”
Edward frowned. Marcus was so suspicious, Julie failed every time she tried to plant someone close to him.
“Don’t go for his close people. Try to target Marcus Castle itself.”
Julie nodded, writing down his words, but she felt heavy-hearted. Edward glanced at the clock above the fireplace.
“Anyway, I’ve been gone too long. Mother might get suspicious, so I should go.”
He waved his hand carelessly, and Julie bowed, then turned to leave. She saw her golden hair in the corner of her eye and bit her lip. She paused, straightened her back, and left his study.
Edward was left alone, fingers interlocked, lost in thought.
‘How many months has it been since I saw Anna…’
He snapped his fingers loudly in the quiet room.
‘Every time I visited the Evercline mansion, I was turned away at the door.’
He remembered the cold face of the butler, and snapped his fingers again.
‘At first, I thought Henry was hiding Anna, but maybe not…’
Every time he visited, he was told his letters were delivered to Anna, so maybe Henry was just loyal as always.
‘Is she really sick?’
Henry said Anna was very sick and her doctor was blocking visitors.
‘That can’t be.’
Edward knew Anna well. Even if she was sick, she would at least send thanks to someone who visited and explain why she couldn’t meet.
‘She’s probably not at the mansion. Damn, if only Lisa was still there…’
After Lisa was kicked out, all of Edward’s people at Evercline were fired by Henry. He never thought he’d miss them now.
But thinking about the past was useless. Edward forced himself to focus.
‘They must be hiding Anna for a bad reason—could it be a kidnapping?’
The thought made his blood boil, and he stood up, pacing his study.
‘I suspect Nomen… but that side is busy trying to win favor with the finance minister.’
His mother, the Countess of Haimel, was close to the finance minister’s wife, as Julie’s report said. But all nobles knew Marquis Nomen was desperately fighting against Marcus’s power.
Edward sat back slowly.
‘Almost no one knows yet, but Nomen’s money from the desert trade has been cut off.’
