Chapter 55
* * *
Kallion’s eyes darkened thoughtfully as he held the documents.
‘I loathe and hate you with everything I have.’
It didn’t seem as though Juliana had been lying when she said she hated him. The way she had glared at him then had said it all.
He couldn’t understand why that fact, which should have pleased him, kept troubling some corner of his heart.
He also wondered whether he had ever done anything to deserve being hated that much by her in the first place.
She had looked at him as though he were her mortal enemy.
Well, Baldomer and Heister had always been enemies, so it wouldn’t be strange if she carried wounds from the past similar to his own.
Hadn’t she said there was something she was looking for from him? He didn’t know what it was, but it was clearly something she could only obtain by marrying him.
Could Heister have ordered her to steal Baldomer’s secrets?
That seemed far too reckless for Heister, whose weakening ability had left them increasingly wary of Baldomer. If they were caught attempting something like that, they would have to be prepared for their entire house to be wiped out.
‘So just endure it until then. After that, we won’t have any reason to get on each other’s nerves anymore.’
Her final words bothered him the most.
As though once she obtained whatever it was, she would leave without a shred of regret…
Feeling inexplicably anxious, Kallion irritably swept back his hair.
His gaze fell on the information Layla had prepared about Lloyd.
The second son of Silverstel, Lloyd de Silverstel.
He had been intelligent from a young age and was naturally gifted with a powerful ability, but he had no interest in becoming head of the house and was known for his free-spirited nature.
He had recently been forced to take charge of a guild, but even that was merely a business he managed out of obligation. He was said to have almost no ambition or greed.
At present, Silverstel’s eldest son, Frederick de Silverstel, was considered the most likely successor to the position of head of the house.
But…
As someone born with a powerful ability himself, Kallion could tell instinctively.
Lloyd de Silverstel was hiding part of his power.
Probably because he had no desire to become head of the house.
If he revealed the full extent of his ability, there was no doubt that the current eldest son wouldn’t even compare.
And a man like that was interested in a married woman?
That part also seemed suspicious.
With his background and abilities, why would he deliberately pursue Juliana, a married woman?
There were too many things that didn’t make sense.
But if he made one assumption, everything fell into place.
The assumption that Juliana wasn’t the one Lloyd was after.
* * *
House Schultz’s banquet was fast approaching.
This time, Baldomer wasn’t hosting the banquet, so all I had to do was attend, but my personal maid Kate was as busy as ever.
“It’s such a good thing we prepared so many banquet dresses last time.”
With that, Kate excitedly pushed over a clothing rack hung with dress after dress.
“But I’m having trouble choosing. Every single one of them suits you so well, Madam.”
I smiled at Kate’s excited dilemma.
“Anything is fine with me, so don’t worry about it.”
Kate immediately turned toward me with a stern expression.
“If you say that, it takes all the fun out of it again. Instead, why don’t you try this dress and this one?”
I let out a small laugh at Kate’s enthusiasm.
“Alright, let’s do that.”
Kate smiled brightly at my answer, then suddenly tilted her head as she looked at me.
“Madam, are you feeling unwell?”
“Hm?”
“You look a little pale.”
I had certainly been overwhelmingly busy ever since the orphanage incident.
Along with managing the estate, I had personally supervised renovations here and there, and on top of that, I had been discussing the Bendel pine business separately with the Vas Guild.
I hadn’t been seriously injured during the orphanage incident, but I had been mentally exhausted.
Then I’d continued pushing myself without resting afterward, so perhaps my body was finally sending me a warning.
After asking my permission, Kate lightly placed a hand against my forehead and looked worried.
“You seem to have a bit of a fever too. I think we should call the family physician.”
At Kate’s worried words, I shook my head.
“I’m fine, so could you just bring me some medicine?”
I didn’t want to cause a commotion over something trivial.
Perhaps understanding what I meant, Kate reluctantly nodded.
“Alright. I’ll be right back.”
I watched Kate hurry away, looking quite serious.
I touched my forehead, but the fever still wasn’t high enough for me to clearly feel the heat.
I’ll probably be fine if I take some medicine and rest for a day.
Thinking that, I casually turned my gaze toward the window.
Layla, who had been organizing documents at the auxiliary desk, was silently watching me.
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