Chapter 45
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Sponsored chapter by LC (4/5) ❤️
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A moment later, a new scream erupted from the Duke of Karnus's lair.
"Kaaak!"
A passing maid's eyes widened as she saw the man thrown into the foyer. The servants and butler, Hardy, who had heard the commotion and rushed out, stared at Khaled in disbelief.
"What the hell......."
The Duchess, Laura, who had walked out with a frown, looked at the beaten man with suspicion in her eyes.
"Don't be so crude."
Khaled ran a hand through his hair irritatedly. Laura quickly scrubbed her face and looked away.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Khaled gave a wry smile. It had been a long time since he'd slithered up from Booker's Saloon, the gentlemen's playground of debauchery, and the fallen man had been Laura's watchdog, following him for days.
"If you're going to scheme, you should have been a little more focused. This isn't the kind of thing you do so sloppily."
Khaled said, taking a step closer to Laura.
"Why do you keep bothering me?"
Laura didn't flinch in the slightest at the stern face that loomed over her. She narrowed her eyes in a venomous glare.
"If you'd behaved yourself in the first place, I wouldn't have to do this to you. You're getting all worked up, and I can tell you've got a sting in your tail. Why, have you been sleeping with that sloppy Sandalwood again?"
"...."
"This is why I can't leave you alone, you act like you're desperate to prove all that filthy blood running through your veins."
Laura jabbed her index finger into his chest and pushed him away. Khaled, who stood motionless, laughed.
"That's right. It's like I can't fool my own blood, and that clumsy Sandalwood has a thing for me."
"Are you now......!"
His smile was enough to make Laura spin around. The same grin that had forced her to squeeze her tiny head into her hands was now hanging from the corners of his mouth.
"I've told you, I'm doing this for mother's sake. If you keep provoking me like this, there's no reason for me to put up with it, is there?"
Mimicking his mother's temper, Khaled gently pulled her pointed hand away. Laura had already paled when she realized exactly what he meant. Her hands clenched into fists and she shivered. Khaled smiled at her and walked past her. A sharp shout echoed in the foyer as he entered the study.
"Put that away....... Put that away! What are you doing? Put that away now!"
Khaled chuckled lightly. This was a funny house.
***
After her meeting with Khaled, Aubrey's day became a little more hectic. As soon as she finished breakfast, she locked herself in the library and went back through the books she'd been reading, and after lunch, she started writing. When she got bored, she went out into the garden and chatted with Boris, and then she came back in and wrote. In between, she checked to see if there was any mail for her.
And three days later. The long-awaited mail from the Count of Lavonne arrived. Inside the envelope was a two-page contract and a short note. The contract was written in neat, clean handwriting. Aubrey tried to picture him.
He sat alone in his spacious, cool study, writing the contract in silence, a lit cigar between his pursed lips. He would run his fingers through his hair from time to time, then refocus and finish the contract.
Then, an unspoken weight settled over her. She had indeed signed a contract. With that big businessman. Aubrey took several deep breaths before she wrote her name at the bottom. Then she straightened and put her arms on the desk, just like the man in her imagination.
With her lips pressed together, she wrote her name at the bottom of the contract she had read several times and signed it. She hesitated for a moment, looking at her shaky signature. She wondered if he'd use it to get her into trouble again.
"Whatever."
It was all a moot point now. What mattered was that she had a contract with him. The fact that she was looking for a way to live.
After mailing the contract, Aubrey headed straight for Barbara's room. She was getting ready to go out, and two of the maids were there, fixing her hair and clothes.
"What is it, Aubrey?"
Barbara smiled at Aubrey in the large mirror. Aubrey couldn't tear her eyes away from her face for a moment. Her curly brown hair was luscious, and her tiny face was a flower among them. The thought of Jeffrik fooling around when he had such a pretty, good woman at home made her stomach churn again.
"Aubrey?"
The moment she'd learned of Jeffrik’s affair, Aubrey had felt contempt for him and guilt for Barbara. Guilt that stemmed from the fact that Barbara didn't know anything and she had kept her mouth shut. But there was nothing she could do about it. Aubrey shook her head briefly to dismiss the thought, then looked at her with a smile.
"I have something to tell you, Auntie."
Then Barbara dismissed her maids. Aubrey stepped over to the small stool where the maid had stepped down. Barbara kept her posture straight, even in the backless chair. A sweet smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Aubrey looked at the spring-like woman and spoke with difficulty.
"Do you remember what I told you before, about wanting to study?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Well, after hearing auntie's words, I was going to put off studying too, but....... Luckily, I'm back working on Count Lavonne's screenplay again."
Aubrey said, adding a little falsehood to what had happened at the ship's ball. She had asked him first, and he'd thought it was a good idea and accepted. Bewilderment flashed across Barbara's otherwise benevolent face, and as her expression changed, so did Aubrey's voice.
"So, you know...... I'd rather work than get married."
Barbara, who had been listening for a while, tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"I hear what you're saying. But, Aubrey, there's already someone who wants to marry you, so why don't you get married and then get a job, and it's not as if Lord Hamburg wouldn't understand that."
"I sent the Count the contract."
Aubrey said it in a rush, as if she were going to throw up. Needless to say, Barbara's face went white.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you beforehand, but I thought you might object if I did......."
Suddenly, Barbara began to press her cheeks together, as if trying to regain her composure.
"And I'm not ready to get married yet......."
She tried to tell her that the idea of marriage was out of the question, but she couldn't help but look at her contemplative face. She didn't want to make it harder for her.
"I'd like to put it off," she finally said.
It's not a bad idea, Aubrey thought. The job would be done before then, and then she could collect her writing fee and leave. Barbara thought for a moment. Aubrey hoped she'd listen to her, that this would be the end of the matter, that she wouldn't have to make Jeffrik’s affair his weakness to blackmail.
"Okay. Here's the deal."
Barbara’s voice sounded strangely resolute.
"Do whatever you want to do. You'll learn something along the way. And let's take our time thinking about marriage. There's nothing to rush into."
"...."
"Is that okay with you, Aubrey?"
"...yes."
Since then, Barbara had been asking how the screenplay was coming along, what kind of story she was going to write, and so on. Aubrey answered in a slightly embarrassed tone, but also reiterated her determination. She had to finish it as soon as possible, and then she had to get out of here.
***
Same time. Emily sat up in bed, listening to the maid's report. Aubrey Sandalwood had been rehired to work on a screenplay with Count Lavonne.
"Are you sure?"
Emily asked.
"Of course, my lady. I heard it right."
"Are you sure? If you're lying, I'll have you thrown out of here."
"How could I lie to you, Miss, it's true."
The broken screenplay was resumed, and Aubrey Sandalwood was rehired. As Emily pondered that fact, she remembered the ladies’ voice. Aubrey Sandalwood, with her demure demeanor and her red, naughty heart.
It didn't make sense from the start. What could the Count of Lavonne possibly want with her, Emily had thought, but to make a little connection with her family, a temporary fiancée.
But this time, the story was different. What could the Count of Lavonne possibly be missing that would cause him to seek Aubrey out again? There was only one conclusion in Emily's mind. Aubrey didn't want to marry a fat man, and she knew she had to stay alive by borrowing money from Khaled Karnus, with whom she was somehow connected.
As for Nicholas, a man with a fortune and a title that was not yet his would not be much of a match. The Count of Lavonne, on the other hand, with the vast sums of money he had made from his own enterprises, was beyond comparison. Aubrey Sandalwood would have thrown herself at him with these calculations. She might have rushed in naked and taken the job.
"You've got a way with words."
Emily, who had been standing blankly, stormed up the stairs and headed for the door. She opened it just in time to see the door flung open. No, I'm only going to hurt my hand if I grab her hair like this,she thought, and went back to her room.
After sitting on the bed for a while, Emily remembered the trick and smiled faintly. She didn’t know what the Count of Lavonne was up to with that penniless slut, but it was time to give Aubrey Sandalwood a dose of reality.
***
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