The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 157

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Tesagh, left behind at the pawnshop, gazed at the carriage.

What could Elisha be talking about with Ailren in there?

He didn’t think it would be anything related to Eivor.

If so.

‘…Personal matters.’

Tesagh rubbed his face dry and deliberately turned his gaze away.

The nonsense about “destined partners” from that romance-obsessed mage echoed in his ears, but it would be better to focus on something else.

For instance, the gift Elisha had left behind.

“Duke, have you ever gone alone to that old room we looked at together yesterday?”

“No.”

“Then wouldn’t it be nice if you went there alone at least once?”

Before entering the magic circle at the Duke’s residence, Elisha had said that.

Though he didn’t know why, Tesagh had followed her words.

When he entered the room, he saw something on the desk that hadn’t been there the day before.

I was worried when you said you didn’t like sweet things, but I made them as less sweet as possible!

It’s a housewarming gift, please share it with everyone!

Opening the case decorated with dried flowers, he found cookies inside.

The raspberry-scented cookies had strange shapes. They weren’t made with experienced hands.

Looking at the jagged cookies, Tesagh smiled.

‘A housewarming gift, she says.’

And he closed the lid.

Ordering that preservation magic be cast on them first when taken to the Magic Tower, Tesagh thought.

Share them, my foot.

How could he possibly eat these?

“Duke.”

Just as he was about to take out Elisha’s note from his pocket, she opened the door and entered.

Quickly switching to a pose with his chin resting on his hand, Tesagh replied.

“Why did it take so long?”

That wasn’t what he had intended to say.

Tesagh fell into self-loathing, including the fact that he had changed his posture.

Why on earth am I asking this? What answer am I expecting?

“I had something to discuss with Count Ailren. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it took so long.”

Of course she wouldn’t know. It hadn’t taken long in the first place.

But to make Elisha apologize with such meaningless nonsense.

“Don’t apologize, it’s not something to apologize for.”

“No, but I did leave when there was a customer here. Anyway, I have something to tell you…”

Because the topic had shifted, he couldn’t properly explain either.

Criticizing his own terrible way of speaking, Tesagh thought he should probably save his words today.

“What is it?”

“Ah, before that. Did you go to the old room?”

“Yes.”

“It’s nothing special, but I put some thought into finding the right timing to secretly leave it there. Did you try them? How were they?”

“…I haven’t eaten them yet.”

“Ah…”

At his words that came after internal conflict, Elisha gave an awkward smile.

“They did look a bit odd, didn’t they?”

“No.”

“Even I thought they looked a bit ugly, since it was my first time making them.”

It was even her first time making cookies?

Tesagh answered urgently.

“They weren’t ugly at all. They were tree-shaped, weren’t they? The craftsmanship was excellent.”

“Well, um, they were star-shaped.”

“…”

“Still, please at least try the taste later.”

If there was a god of eloquence, they must surely hate me, Tesagh thought, enduring the urge to bite his tongue.

Indeed, he should save his words today. That would be better.

“Um, this is also a different topic. Is there any way to contact Duke directly?”

Tesagh still hadn’t mentioned that he had unilaterally heard her stories through the business card and dagger magical tools.

Strangely, the magical tools that ended up in Elisha’s hands broke quickly and became useless, and more importantly, wasn’t it an invasion of privacy?

Of course, even excluding that, there was a way to contact him directly. A personal pager.

But.

‘Did Ailren ask about this?’

Tesagh wondered if Ailren had asked about it in the carriage.

Couldn’t he just send a telegram through the safe house line he had already told that guy about?

Since it would be obvious that he’d refuse if asked directly, he must have asked Elisha instead. Planning to use her goodwill.

Tesagh, who had reflexively started to furrow his brow but forced himself to relax, pretended to be calm and answered.

“There’s nothing other than the existing methods.”

“Really? I was wondering what to do when there’s something urgent to discuss with Duke, like when I was summoned to the Imperial Palace.”

Wait, is this really about Ailren?

Could it be?

“It’s a bit awkward having to contact you through William every time. We’ve known each other for quite a while now… Anyway, I understand.”

“No. I’ll tell you.”

“Hm? Didn’t you just say there wasn’t any? If it’s inconvenient, I understand. You can’t just give out Duke’s contact information carelessly.”

“I said no. It’s not inconvenient at all. It’s just, well. …I simply forgot.”

“…You forgot…?”

This isn’t just the god of eloquence hating me. This is curse-level.

Tesagh wrote down the direct telegram line and pager information for Elisha while squeezing his eyes shut.

Elisha, who had been looking at him with puzzlement, cleared her throat.

“Actually, ahem, this is the main point.”

Elisha doesn’t usually hesitate like this when speaking.

Tesagh, who had been waiting tensely, raised one eyebrow at the words that followed.

“Did you see the article? About Duke’s love affair rumors and such.”

The tension left his body.

Tesagh nodded somewhat helplessly.

“I saw it.”

Elisha’s head tilted as she looked at Tesagh.

“Don’t you have any particular thoughts about it?”

“It’s just a gossip article from yellow journalism anyway, and Milton handled the follow-up articles. He may not look reliable, but Milton does his job well.”

“I heard the rumors are quite widespread among the nobles too.”

“There have always been many rumors about me.”

“…The rumors about Duke are one thing, but there are also rumors about ‘Eloise,’ aren’t there?”

Tesagh paused and looked at Elisha.

‘Could it be that Elisha is…’

Is she worried that he irresponsibly ignored everything after borrowing Viscount Devin’s identity?

Come to think of it, Elisha had once said that her attitude was somewhat cold and high-handed.

Tesagh, recalling how Elisha treated her people warmly, hesitated a bit before speaking.

“You don’t need to worry about it. I’ll take responsibility and protect that name.”

The rumors would die down soon anyway.

There was also no possibility that the Devin Marquis family, who owned that name, would make a fuss for no reason.

There was the reason of being a faithful retainer, but they had also agreed to drastically adjust the tax rates.

After all, isn’t taxes what vassals fear most?

According to the Border Guard, the Devin Marquis family’s reaction had been very favorable, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

…He thought about explaining in detail, but thinking of his poor choice of words that only led to misunderstandings today, Tesagh closed his mouth there.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

Only after leaving the pawnshop and arriving at the safe house did Tesagh recall that Elisha’s expression had been subtle at the word ‘protect.’

Was the word ‘protect’ insufficient?

‘What kind of person does Elisha think I am?’

Does she still only see me as a duke with a fierce personality and sharp tongue?

It would be nice if there was a way to indirectly find out what Elisha thinks…

“Ah.”

Tesagh, who had been running his fingers through his hair, stopped.

A method came to mind.

“That would… be possible.”

He didn’t notice Milton passing by, who saw his expression and thought ‘Who is he planning to catch and torment now…!’ and flinched.

*

…You are invited to the ‘Snowflake’ launch party…

Sitting in the carriage, I turned the paper around.

‘This must be that jewelry brand party William mentioned.’

This morning, there was a letter stuck in the pawnshop door, and it turned out to be a party invitation.

The date was tonight, and the invited person was just me alone.

It was a rather rude invitation with such short notice and no inviter listed.

Normally I wouldn’t have attended, but?

‘It’s a jewelry brand. I should go and take a look.’

Given the field, I couldn’t ignore it.

As an appraiser, I need to know trends well to reflect them in appraisals, don’t I?

‘Well, there are other reasons too.’

So I was in a carriage heading to the party venue as soon as I finished the pawnshop’s business.

As I quietly looked out the window, last night’s conversation suddenly came to mind.

“You don’t need to worry about it. I’ll take responsibility and protect that name.”

‘His attitude was a bit different from usual, and his expression became very dark when he said that.’

Come to think of it, Tesagh had said something similar at Delphia Manor too.

There was only one conclusion I could draw.

‘Does he dislike the situation where Countess Devin is being carelessly talked about?’

Is Eloise Devin an important person to Tesagh?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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