MHOW 24

Chapter 24

“Khhng.”
After a long moment, it seemed the crying had stopped as Herina’s body trembled slightly.

• Rumble

When Herina flinched, Ares couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“Would you like a handkerchief?”

Herina seemed as if she hadn’t heard anything, but Ares could feel her stiffened body entirely.
“I’m not hungry. Look somewhere else.”

As she tried to turn away after pulling her face off his chest, Ares laughed. He thought her tear-stained face was rather cute.
“No, you’re wrong. You must be hungry. Your stomach just made a sound.”

When Ares teased her, Herina shook off his arm and stood up.
“No! That’s not me! It’s not my sound!”

Her swollen eyes made her shout loudly, and the tears that had been held back finally streamed down. Ares laughed at the sight and took out a handkerchief from his chest pocket.
“It’s my sound. I’m the one who’s hungry. Even if I get scolded, I want to eat first. What do you think?”

Herina, her face still full of lingering laughter, watched Ares take out a handkerchief to wipe her face. She realized this was where she had to stop wavering. A person this kind would naturally make her waver, and what she would receive in return wasn’t just affection but the kindness mixed into his touch.

“Herina, the peaches you like…”
“It’s about the railway project. The empire solicited proposals.”

This was already the fourth time. Ares had spoken casually, but Herina cut him off with a professional topic.
“Was my joke too much?”

By now, Ares couldn’t help but notice. She was deliberately avoiding conversation with him. Yet, even when asked cautiously, Herina just shook her head as if nothing was wrong.
“What joke? Who has time to joke? I trust myself and I trust you, who worked alone yesterday, but I don’t trust time. We need to check until the end whether the policies we’re about to announce are correct, given the situation changed overnight.”

Herina held a fork in her right hand, stabbing at the salad, while scanning documents with her left. Ares just watched until the attendant who had handed her the papers left the room.
“We agreed to review this permit request again. Has the inspection report come in? I don’t think I’ve seen it.”

Herina’s face, completely devoid of any private emotion, made Ares feel a mix of respect and odd discomfort.
“At least, it’s not so busy that I need to hold onto documents while eating.”

Herina’s eyes flicked up briefly as she scanned the documents. Ares was distracted by the main dish in front of her, untouched.
“If it’s too bothersome, I can help.”

Herina looked at him silently and pushed her main dish toward him.
“You need to eat properly to recover. Have some meat too.”

When Ares cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and offered it back, Herina looked at it and stood up.
“Herina!”
“Don’t worry. This is enough for me. I’m eating so our schedule isn’t disrupted. After I finish, I’ll go upstairs. I’ll review the documents I missed yesterday in the study.”

Watching his wife leave with the documents in the same calm expression and tone as always, Ares felt an inexplicable discomfort. He was especially bothered that her untouched steak was cooling.
“Just the schedule…”

He thought the supposedly busy schedule had become an excuse again. Every time there was an issue between them, it seemed to be the most convenient excuse. After all, they met through work.

“There’s still no response from Harvinent?”

Gale asked, moving a piece on the board. A servant, who looked like a runner, bowed and replied,
“Yes! Y-yes! I delivered it carefully and monitored all the mail for weeks, but there was nothing!”

Having finished his report, Gale stared at the empty chessboard with an indifferent face. Unlike his expressionless face, his fidgeting hands betrayed his complicated thoughts.
“After taking the money, you didn’t even do one thing properly? You couldn’t even deliver a single invitation?”

Unable to contain his anger, Gale shouted. His only remaining loyal subordinate drew a knife at the servant.
“I-I… I can still do it! My daughter is close to that Duchess!”

At the man’s desperate shout, Gale stood up.
“If it’s that important, you should’ve said it from the beginning. Only then could I trust you.”

Blood began to seep near the servant’s neck from the blade held close. Trembling, the man finally spoke.
“On the wedding day… His Highness the Prince purchased a mansion in the capital. It’s less than an hour’s carriage ride from the Duke’s mansion.”

Gale waved his hand with a smile. Then the waiting men grabbed the man and beat him indiscriminately.
“Ugh! Ahh!”

Gale crouched in front of the trembling man.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Fearing another beating, the man shot up, bowing his head to the floor.
“Do you know the biggest problem with uneducated people?”

Gale dropped chess pieces one by one onto the man writhing in pain.
“They have no control over their tongues. You asked me to tell you something, and now you’re complaining?”

Like swatting a minor insect, Gale tapped the man’s head.
“As you told me, you’ll talk to others too, won’t you? Even your daughter would casually spill information.”

Gale tapped the man’s cheek with a satisfied smile.
“You mentioned it first, so use it. The maid close to the Duchess.”

Gale took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands as if touching something dirty, then tossed it over the man’s head. As a noble to his core, his attitude toward inferiors was utterly cold.
“Prove the value. Whether through the maid close to the Duchess or by your own effort. You must earn the money you were paid.”

Dropping a pouch full of gold coins before the man, he reached out trembling, picking up the scattered coins.
“I wonder what His Highness the Prince wants to know?”

Gale smirked and wiped the blood off his shoe.
“The Duke’s family is pro-Imperial, right? I heard they’ve been close with the Prince since childhood.”

The man guarding behind added, and Gale turned back with a smile still on his face.
“That’s the funny part. If nothing seems odd, why would a friend bother to get a house nearby? And do you think the second prince considers Harvinent just a friend?”

Gale chuckled.
“That woman… She made the cautious Harvinent hold such a wedding. She’s the key! The one who could bring down Harvinent in one move!”

He shouted with certainty. She was already a tempting woman. He had thought her family unremarkable, but the more he looked, the more she seemed perfect to sit beside him, suitable for the lady of Marquis Hermann’s house.
“She’s not just some foolish girl…”

Having a woman of such standing by his side would bring immense advantage. He already salivated at the thought.

But unfortunately, once again, he was blind to the fact that, this time too, his greed had taken over without a solid plan.