Misfortune 111

Chapter 111

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***

Watching Alex spout nothing but spiteful words, Lena felt a strange pity for the woman destined to be his wife.

'Come to think of it, who was his partner again?'

Something about a young lady from a noble house. Nebel, was it?

She didn’t know the family, but why did it feel like she had heard of them somewhere...

"Ah, but speaking of that..."

While Lena was caught up in a strange sense of déjà vu, Alex unexpectedly lowered his voice and spoke up.

"I saw the Colonel earlier when I came in. Are you doing business with Barthez too?"

The sudden mention of Roan made Lena's ears perk up instantly.

"Looks like it."

Alex, who had been watching her reaction, rolled his eyes blatantly.

"Let me give you some special advice: you'd be better off not associating with that lowlife. You won't get anything good out of dealing with him."

Lena's face stiffened slightly at the sudden, vicious remark.

But she quickly changed her expression and adopted an innocent tone.

"It seems you had some trouble with Colonel Barthez."

"Well, to put it mildly, it's endless. Josephine—ah, I mean, my fiancée—got tangled up with that bastard and suffered every hardship imaginable."

"Hardships?"

Seeing Lena's reaction, Alex seemed to perk up and started talking nonstop.

"That bastard can't shake his lowly nature and has this slave girl hanging around him. But the two of them were so disgustingly nasty, deliberately trying to ruin my fiancée's reputation, only to get their asses kicked later, you know?"

"Oh."

Lena gave a flat response. She finally recalled where she'd heard the name Josephine.

The woman who'd fallen head over heels for Roan, chased after him, and ended up humiliated.

One of the rumors casually dropped by a member skilled in gathering information mentioned her name, saying she had an impressive older brother.

Lena's gaze, having roughly grasped the situation, sank into a chill so deep it couldn't have been colder.

But Alex, oblivious, raised his voice like a fish in water.

"They should have kicked him out of the Navy—no, out of Brunois—back then. Because timid Josephine let it slide, he's been walking around with his head held high all this time, not even knowing shame."

"...."

"How ridiculous it is that everyone worships him as a hero just because he looks flashy on the outside. This is exactly why you shouldn't even speak to lowly scum from the start."

Alex spat out his words, grinding them between his teeth as if he’d spit in someone’s face if they were standing before him.

"I see."

Lena replied curtly. A forced smile still lingered at the corners of her mouth, but it held not a shred of warmth.

"Thank you for the advice. But I don't think I can cut ties with Colonel Barthez."

"No, I'm saying this for your own good, you understand?"

"Yes. I understand what you mean, but..."

Lena narrowed her eyes slightly and gave a faint smile.

"Because Colonel Barthez is my brother."

"…What?"

Alex asked back, his face frozen in shock. It was the most endearing expression Lena had seen from him so far.

"You must be too busy running around to have heard the news yet. The touching story of Colonel Barthez reuniting with his younger sister, whom he was separated from as a child, is all over Blois right now."

"That... what...?"

Alex stammered, unable to hide his bewilderment.

But Lena didn't wait for him to gather his wits.

"Anyway, I've heard you out. I'll take it into consideration for future work. Now, please head back carefully for today."

Lena finished her words cleanly and rose from her seat. She opened the door and called out to her subordinates.

"Since Alex is leaving, let's see him out."

"Wait, just a moment!"

Alex, who had been staring blankly at her in a daze, belatedly scrambled over. He nearly tripped and fell awkwardly, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.

His mind still couldn't process what the hell was going on. But one thing was certain.

He had thoroughly pissed off the Golden Wheel’s branch manager.

Which meant the deal with Golden Wheel might just fall through. Alex couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Hold on, let's talk first. We need to clear up this misunderstanding!"

It was absurd that he was yelling when he should have been on his knees begging.

Feeling her intuition had been right once more, Lena gave a faint smile.

"What misunderstanding? You said it yourself."

Alex’s face drained completely at this unassailable rebuke.

Truth be told, the Deville family had been struggling financially lately. Admiral Lasser had abruptly announced he was seeking new investment opportunities, drastically cutting support to existing noble houses.

Even so, their situation was still better than that of the Count of Nebel, who could no longer arrange marriages through Josephine.

Ultimately, the Count of Deville had no choice but to foist Josephine, with her hefty dowry, onto Alex. This came with the plausible justification that the two families should join forces to seek a new future.

Baron Deville, who had to accept a woman destined for a convent as his daughter-in-law, couldn't hide his displeasure but ultimately accepted the match. It happened to be a time when his business was expanding rapidly, and he was desperate for every penny.

The one silver lining was that he had secured a deal with Golden Wheel just before the crisis hit. It was a stroke of luck that he could still maintain the illusion of solid financial backing at that point.

The marriage proposal from Viscount Nubel could be seen as a kind of investment, aiming to share in that opportunity.

Fortunately, the position as Golden Wheel's sole trading channel proved, as expected, their only lifeline. They could leverage that name to extract investment funds from the capital's nobility. Some had even paid for goods in advance.

But now, for the deal with the Golden Wheel to fall through? It was an absolute catastrophe, something that should never have happened, even if the heavens split apart.

"I... I misspoke. It's all my fault, so please...!"

Alex, who had been shouting, now began begging her outright.

His sudden change in attitude was almost laughable, but not a trace of amusement flickered in Lena's eyes.

"What mistake? Didn't I thank you for your advice?"

She replied innocently, as if completely baffled by what he was saying, then signaled to her subordinates.

"Then please convey my regards to the Baron. I'll also review our deal and get back to you."

"B-Boss. No, Boss. Please, just listen to me. Okay?"

Now he desperately clung to her, even using formal speech.

But Lena, as if annoyed, pulled away without another word.

Alex tried to grab her, but he couldn't move anymore. Before he knew it, burly men were holding him down.

"What, what the hell! Can't you let go? Let go! I said let go!"

He flailed his arms, struggling desperately, but he was no match for several men alone.

Lena watched Alex being dragged away with a cold gaze, then turned away without a second thought.

***

Ever since her request to be released was denied, Delnia had been subjected to a strange barrage of gifts.

A coral comb adorned with black pearls, a jewel box inlaid with sapphires and rubies set into a large bird's egg, and even a fan crafted from the colorful feathers of a bird whose original form was unimaginable.

Rare items she had never seen in her life piled up in her room day after day.

One day, utterly overwhelmed by the sheer volume, Delnia finally asked Lena, who mainly brought these items, if she could stop.

"Huh? Why?"

As if struck by a bolt from the blue, Lena gasped and immediately launched into a flurry of protest.

"Where else in the world would we find such a grateful customer? You don't seem to realize, but opportunities like this don't come every day. You gotta milk it for all it's worth while you can!"

Delnia was momentarily speechless, staring into Lena's calculating eyes, which were clearly set on stripping her brother bare.

Perhaps realizing her own defense was too extreme, Lena quickly changed the subject.

"But what are all these? They're so pretty."

Lena fussed excitedly, eyeing the lace spread across Delnia's lap.

"Are you knitting these for yourself? It seems like too much for that."

Despite the obvious ploy to change the subject, Delnia let it slide.

"They're not for me."

"Huh? Then...?"

"For delivery to the costume shop."

Delnia answered without hesitation.

It wasn't just Roan who changed after that day. Delnia changed too.

She still hadn't come up with a proper way to escape him. But there was no guarantee it would stay that way forever.

To seize the opportunity that would come someday, she had to prepare thoroughly in advance.