Theon barely opened his mouth, swallowing his dry saliva.
What did the crown prince’s reaction mean? He couldn’t help but be nervous.
“If I said something rude…”
“No, no.”
The crown prince interrupted Theon and shook his head lightly. Then he opened his mouth again.
“I like you. It’s refreshing to see a friendly and quick-witted young person. It’s also good that you’re not a very high-ranking aristocrat.”
The crown prince put down the documents he received from Theon on the table.
“It’s great that you understand my feelings so well like this.”
“Thank you for your favorable compliments.”
“Would I like and want to join hands with someone who doesn’t even know what sort of person I am?”
“That means….”
“I don’t want any other Marquis of Karsha. I like you just right. So do as you please – for I will keep my eyes closed to the house of Karsha.”
Theon had to try hard to hide his delight. He thought it’d be a difficult journey, but it wasn’t.
He didn’t expect to get permission so easily.
It had been worth it attending those useless gatherings and showing his face to please him every time.
Of course, Theon did not gain enough power to completely control the Marquise household as planned, but he did have enough to suppress the forces against him.
Unlike in the past, it was now okay to use human and material resources freely to find Leila.
Now it was the timing that mattered.
“Since you’re going to do it, clean up all of them at once. Do not leave unnecessary room for anything.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Your Grace.”
After that, the crown prince and Theon drank till late at night.
The next evening, Theon’s mood was as pleasant as it could be.
He realized the trafficking ring was not involved with Leila, and gained considerable protection from the crown prince for handing over information to him.
Since he knew where he could catch the tail of the root of the incident, he didn’t have to look into any more magic crystal balls.
All he had to do was wait for the description of the person who probably took Leila to arrive.
He finally had time after a long time. If it was like before, he would have gone to Leila right away.
But now Leila was no longer there.
“What are you doing?”
He had free time after a long time, had nothing to do, and while eating his meal, he called another person so as to not be lonely.
Lishipe, who was called over by Theon, seemed to be unhappy.
“Let’s have a meal together. It’s been a long while.”
“Is that what you mean? I thought you wanted to roll around with me after so many years.”
While complaining, Lishipe sat down in the chair. It was time to eat anyway.
“No way.”
“It is possible. The mistress is away, so it must be lonely, is it not?”
“Not really.”
“Since how many years have you been such an old man?”
Lishipe giggled, but he didn’t feel too bad.
The moment he’d been waiting for was coming closer and closer. He’d also found a clue to Leila.
In addition, He slept soundly after a long time, so his physical condition was pretty good.
He was so pleased that he heard the dirty sarcasm of his soon-to-be-parted wife from one ear and out the other.
“…….”
There was no conversation between the two even though the meal was in full swing.
Lishipe had long lost interest in Theon, and Theon had been like that from the beginning.
There could not have been any conversation between the two.
“It’s quiet.”
Theon stabbed his food with the fork for no reason.
He didn’t call Lishipe over for this. This was no different from eating alone.
‘What did we talk about when I was with Leila?’
Usually she asked questions and Theon answered them. In general, conversations about Theon’s work became the main topic.
“This time, a mining contract keeps going bad. Things are going pretty badly.”
Theon opened his mouth, recalling the memories of those times.
Lishipe stopped moving and turned her head towards Theon. She raised one eyebrow and frowned as if she were amazed.
“That fearless baron…”
“Hey, husband?”
Theon, who couldn’t see Lishipe’s expression because he was cutting up the food, looked up at Lishipe suspiciously when she interrupted his words.
“What are you talking about to me right now?”
“What do you mean? I’m talking about work, aren’t I?”
“So why are you doing that with me?”
Lishipe laughed as if it was ridiculous and threw the fork and knife she was holding onto the table.
“Do you want me to take over the role of the mistress who disappeared and listen to your complaints?”
Theon closed his mouth with a stiffened expression.
“I just lost my appetite.”
Rishfe, who stared at Theon’s face for a while, stormed out of the dining hall after kicking her seat.
Theon, left alone, stared down at the plate of food he had eaten.
What are you doing?’
Unconsciously, he was looking for Leila’s shadow.
The longing that had been buried amidst trying to find her in his busy schedule among other things burst open when he finally got time to relax.
As a result, he even committed something ridiculous.
Theon couldn’t resist his anger and pushed the dishes in front of him roughly to the floor.
The crack of the dishes rang through the dining hall.
“Leila…”
She always smiled and welcomed him. She always listened to him.
She gave him warmth and constantly whispered love to him.
She treated him as if he were the most precious treasure in the world.
Only she in the world cared for and loved him with all her heart.
Without any intentions, without any benefits, from the bottom of her heart.
He could now fully realize the things he’d taken as natural had disappeared.
After realizing it completely, regret poured in.
She should have been more, more completely – isolated.
Stop her from looking at other things entirely. So she wouldn’t even find a way to live without relying on him.
If he found her again, if he could get her again, he would do it. That was for certain.
“…….”
Theon staggered to his feet. He couldn’t control his anger.
As if responding to his anger, small flames flared up and dispersed around him.
That night, there was a fire in the small mansion where the Viscount Selton was recuperating and living with the maid named Marie.
As a result, The Viscount, who was being cared for by the maid, and Marie, the maid herself, died.
The ignition point of the fire was outside, but unfortunately, no culprit was found.
Theon had changed a little after having dinner with Lishipe that day.
He got angry at the minor mistakes of his subordinates, and was too sensitive and picky.
He slapped his servant’s cheek just because he decorated his food with cooked carrots, and severely punished those who worked in the kitchen.
The vassals of the Marquise wondered what had happened to their lord, but worked hard to please him.
“I looked into it, just like you said.”
A few more days later, when Theon’s mood hit the floor to the point where there was no place to go further down, his deputy officer held out a paper.
Who’d hired the mercenaries to guard Leila’s house.
“As you can see, the most prominent feature is the eyepatch on his left eye. The hair was dark brown, and the exposed eye was purple.”
“…….”
“He was often seen around her house and around the shopping district where she often went.”
It had been nearly four months now, so people’s memories must have been blurred, but the deputy accomplished his mission well.
Although it took some time.
“Ha?”
Theon burst out laughing with one corner of his mouth raised.
It was obviously him. He could recognize it even with such a poor picture, moreover, the color of his eyes was the same. The hair color could be hidden well enough with cheap herbs.
“As you can guess, I thought so too, but…….”
“But?”
“There’s a big difference in height. It is said that this man was nearly 2 meters tall.”
He didn’t take the word for it. Height is relative unless measured accurately.
If the other person is taller than yourself, it is easy to exaggerate their height.
However, even if you look at it like that, he could not be below 180 cm.
The deputy opened his mouth again, looking at Theon.
“And the Duke at that time had long enough hair to reach his shoulders, but this man has short hair.”
“So? What’s your conclusion?”
“It’s similar, but they’re different people…”
Theon stood up from his seat without listening to the deputy.
Then he immediately went to the butler and told him to notify Harsian of his visit.
Theon was sure. This is connected to Harsian’s family, the Duke of Serios.
Otherwise, there is no way that a man resembling Harsian would loiter around Leila.
‘That’s how you used the crystal ball.’
The wiretapping crystal ball that Harsian bought also added to his conviction.
The timing matched, and its size was small enough to fit in a woman’s palm.
Everything was right on the mark.
‘You dare to take what’s mine.’
Theon had suffered a sense of loss over the past few days.
His anger, which he could not control, is now directed at Harsian.
Harsian contacted the Marquis of Karsha the very next morning.
It was to inform he could visit during the day.
“Day. Day.”
He couldn’t even sleep. He couldn’t lie down with his eyes closed for a moment in the boiling anger and the rising cold.
But how could he wait until day?
He held on for dear life. While waiting, he couldn’t realize what was wrong with him.
If it was the usual Theon, he wouldn’t have met up with Harsian all of a sudden like this.
He would have prepared solid physical evidence so that Harsian would have no choice but to present Leila.
But he was in a hurry, and this urgency paralyzed his reason.
“Leila.”
Above all, his desire to get Leila blindfolded his eyes.
At last, nearing the appointed time, Theon set out to the Duke of Serios without hesitation.
It was raining that day. The weather was bad and thunder and lightning struck the ground through the rain.
Nevertheless, Theon urged the coachman to hurry.
When Theon arrived at the Duke’s estate, he sat in the drawing room, listening to the sound of rain hitting the window and hoped that Harsian would come as soon as possible.
And finally, the door of the drawing room opened.
“…….”
Harsian looked at Theon with a look that was not different from usual, as if he were laughing at his opponent.
He just stood with his arms folded without coming in, greeting, or asking for his business.
Theon only turned his head up and stared at Harsian.
This was the author behind it all. That white, squirming, girlish-faced man took what was his.
My resting place, my breath, my only savior, my only precious thing in the world.
The two looked at each other for a while – searching, hateful, and contemptuous.
Theon’s expression changed when the sky darkened by the rain was briefly brightened by lightning strikes.
His mouth opened unnaturally and drew a bizarre smile.
“That which belongs to me, where did you hide it?”
This is the end of Theon’s pov for now! We meet Leila again next chapter.
