43.
I finally frowned. Kano didn’t seem to care. Even when I told him to go away when I was talking to Erika, he just smiled and said, “Just a moment” and followed me until I left the study.
It was annoying, but with someone like Kano, who was smooth in everything, ignoring him was the answer. Whenever Kano subtly approached me, Glenn would naturally pull him away.
Of course, Kano, with a face like a steel plate, didn’t even bat an eye when Glenn got angry. Instead, he would stiffen his expression and say solemnly, “It’s a McFoy family secret, so back off, McFoy’s lapdog,” which only raised Glenn’s blood pressure.
‘Anyway, what a cheeky guy.’
Then Kano came back, seemingly undeterred once again.
“Lord.”
The lack of respect added to the agreement I made with this guy was a source of constant irritation. He kept bothering me, and now he felt like a really annoying uncle or cousin-in-law. He was also that kind of presence.
“Argh, just go away!”
“Nope.”
In the end, unable to bear it, I pushed his chin and snapped at him. But he rejected me outright with a cheerful voice.
I finally stopped and turned to look at his persistent face.
“Now you look at me.”
Kano grinned, squinting his eyes. I narrowed my eyes and looked at him. It wasn’t the first time he had followed me around all day.
“When Mofoc and I were engaged, about a week or so, it was like this.”
When I asked what the problem was back then, he said there was something to discuss at the top level and asked me to ignore it for a while.
It was annoying, but if I forcibly got rid of Kano now, he would probably go straight to Norma and cause a scene.
“What a fool. He picked the wrong target to rein in. How ridiculous would it be if Diazi knew? He’s always obedient to everyone.”
As my thoughts went there, I let out a little sigh.
“Don’t linger in someone else’s house with guests; if you’re so free, go out and try to gather more information. If you find any weaknesses in Mofoc and Landry, report them.”
“Report?”
Whether he heard what I said earlier or not, Kano responded as if only to the word ‘reward.’
“Yeah. So stop hanging around here and go dig into Mofoc and Landry.”
“I could do that here too.”
With his arms folded, Kano said mischievously. His attitude felt like a new kind of rascal, so I quickly turned around and started walking again.
“What do I get if I find their weaknesses?”
Kano stood next to me and asked.
“Well, you could get back the land given as an engagement gift to Mofoc. You have a lot of things you want, right? Pick one from those.”
I murmured something safe.
“Hmm. I guess I have a lot I want.”
Kano, who had suddenly started walking alongside me, matched his pace and murmured lazily.
I felt him staring fixedly at my profile, so I looked straight ahead. Giving any kind of bait to Kano was out of the question.
The moment Kano started walking alongside the lady, Glenn’s blood pressure shot up. I wanted to grab the neck of the nonchalant foreigner and throw him out the window, but the escorts had to walk five steps away while moving.
Kano, neither a knight nor a subject of the empire, had no such constraints. He was just someone who came to McFoy through a personal agreement with the lady, not a McFoy person.
Glenn’s anger was palpable even without turning back. Kano was always like this. He acted openly flirtatious.
Of course, all this was within the tolerable range because Kano was so playful by nature, and because he played such pranks on those who approached him with affection. If he pretended to be joking, I could ignore it without realizing it.
It was the same this time.
“It’s up to you to talk when you find it first. I think Erika might find it first.”
“Well, who knows. This might be a chance for you and me to compare who has better information.”
“Oh, really? Then don’t we have time to waste? Let’s go now and follow the orders.”
Kano frowned discontentedly at the urging.
“Stop treating me like an underling. Even though you’re the boss in the agreement, we’re partners after all. Don’t give orders one by one.”
Kano didn’t like being treated as an underling, especially by noble figures. He always wanted to stand on equal footing with me.
“So stop targeting Norma Diazi. He’s a guest of McFoy. Are you a gangster?”
Ah, I was right about being a gangster. I realized after I said it.
“I’ve already decided that way. I have no intention of changing my plans,” I said firmly, looking into Kano’s eyes.
My life plan wasn’t anything special. But one thing was certain: there could be no mistakes.
After roughly establishing the placeholder Husband, I would raise Archie well and hand over the position of the Lord of the House when the time was right. Meanwhile, I also had to deal with Nyx.
So, things like happiness, love, and freedom were all luxuries to me.
‘I shouldn’t be like that.’
I knew I was living a tiring life. But thinking of it as the burden I had to bear as the only survivor, it actually comforted me. It was a contradiction, finding solace in self-flagellation, but that’s how it was.
So, at least I hoped Archie wouldn’t have to experience such things. It all started with overprotection.
Of course, that didn’t mean I would live and die like this. After handing over the position of the Lord of the House to Archie, I calculated that spending the rest of my life enjoying leisure in Katam, a southern resort city, would be sufficient.
Therefore—
‘I’m not that kind of person.’
I am the head of a noble family in the imperial aristocracy. The almost extinct Lord of McFoy. Aysa McFoy has no time for talk of happiness, love, or freedom.
Kano knows this well.
‘Knowing it yet still doing this every time is very irritating. After being quiet for a while,’ I thought.
He seemed to want to do things like burning love that others do. But such things were a different world to me.
“…,”
Kano didn’t respond. I looked at him expressionlessly for a moment, then turned back and continued walking. Fortunately, he didn’t bother following me anymore.
Glenn followed behind the Lord of the House. As they passed the end of the corridor and turned the corner, Glenn glanced back at where Kano had been.
Until the Lord of the House’s procession disappeared from the corridor, Kano had been watching only her.
* * *
Erika Seymour once again couldn’t leave work on time.
The usual tasks of trailing Mofoc and Landry were compounded by the search for a new husband for the Lord of the House.
“Darn it. What’s going on?” Erika muttered, burying her head in a stack of documents.
Her mistress didn’t want a mere show of force but the destruction of the two men. For a perfect revenge, a high level of strategy was required. And for high-level strategy, information was necessary.
“There must be something,” Erika muttered, glaring at the disheveled stack of papers.
Philip Mofoc had sent his resignation himself. The Mofoc family was deeply rooted. A commoner like Landry couldn’t just stamp the seal of such a family on her own. So, the resignation was Philip’s decision, regardless.
Then why did Philip choose to resign? Was it really because of his love for Petra?
“That’s not it. There must be another reason. Something… very shady.”
Philip might be an idiot, but he was inherently a selfish aristocrat. He wasn’t even brave enough to gamble his life for a love-crazed endeavor.
Since the scheme came from Petra, it was natural to assume that she had either blackmailed or persuaded Philip.
“If I find out how she threatened him, this fight will become ridiculously easy.”
“If Philip is so afraid as to gamble, he’ll soon equate the loss of family ties and honor with death,” as Lady Petra thought. If she had blackmailed Philip with those, the answer was surprisingly simple.
“An alliance.”
Breaking the alliance could result in Philip being expelled from the family or, at worst, losing his life.
Erika smiled wickedly. With a light heart, she began to investigate whether there was anything Philip had done to breach the alliance that Petra would know about.
The first thing she suspected was Petra’s pregnancy.
However, Petra had never met with any doctor or midwife. The servants attached to Mofoc all just shook their heads. Even after searching through all the illegal midwives not reported to the Empire, she couldn’t find an answer.
“What if it’s not that?”
Next clause. Next clause.
Erika’s expression grew darker.
There was no change in Petra Landry’s behavior. Sending money to the only family member she contacted once a month, attending regular gatherings, and performing on the outdoor stage of the Imperial Theater every week. Everything was the same as before.
The same went for Philip Mofoc. No new acquaintances, no recent secret meetings. Nothing.
No matter how Erika tried to piece together the fragmented information, she couldn’t pinpoint the reason why the two suddenly went mad and gambled.
“What if the request for break-up really was an act of love gone mad?”
If that were the case, there was no choice but to use the family’s power to force them. But if they were forced, they might attract sympathy or sow seeds of doubt about the rumors surrounding the Lord of the House for no reason.
“It’s hard to step on them properly like this…”
It was when Erika was looking down at the documents with a dark expression.
“Oh, but still, I vote for Mr. Kano!”
The chatter of maids who had come to diligently clean the manor at dawn could be heard.
