Chapter 221: Lonely People
Suddenly curious, I asked, “Are you really going on a date with Sir Kane Erez?”
For once, Carl showed a hint of displeasure. “No, I wouldn’t waste my time with someone from Erez family.”
“I’ll just extract some information and throw it away,” Carl said with a charming smile. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
A truly scary Carl.
Now, I was worried about Kane’s safety. “Carl, um, Sir. Kane Erez isn’t a bad person, so I hope it ends well if possible.”
“If that’s what you wish, I’ll try,” he replied.
I wasn’t sure if I could trust those words. I hope Kane was truly innocent. If not, Carl might end him.
“The Count and Countess Sterre invited us to a tea party tomorrow to thank us. Will that be okay?”
“This would be done before that.” Carl confidently said and went out on a date disguised as ‘Mia Yan’.
While Carl was out, I reviewed the information I had gathered. The charity we were observing mainly deals with adoption. They arranged for the adoption of orphaned children and sent them to wealthy families as adoptees.
This sounded really good on the surface.
However, the problem was that the adopted children were difficult to contact afterward. The reason given for the lack of contact was that ‘the children are busy adjusting to their new homes.’ This was exactly what was suspicious. Could the Marquis Erez or the Crown Prince be involved?
This tea party was a process to confirm that.
With these thoughts weighing on my mind, I went to bed early. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
The next morning, I ran into Carl in the hallway. Since I went to bed early yesterday, it was the first time I ran into Carl after he came back from his date.
“Carl, did you get any harvest?”
Hopefully, there was nothing, and Kane Erez was safe.
With a very displeased expression, Carl said, “You don’t need to worry, Miss. There was nothing.”
I beamed, “I see!”
“If you show your joy so blatantly, I might feel hurt…”
“Ah, sorry. Instead, let’s focus our investigation on the Marquis Erez a bit more this time. Leave Sir Kane alone. Hm?”
Carl grumbled, “You don’t have to do that like you are trying to comfort a child.”
“There was truly nothing going on with Sir Kane Erez, was there?”
“No, unfortunately, he was a boring man. I could see why he gets along well with His Highness.”
“You mean Sir Kane is a good man. That’s great.”
“Miss, you sometimes listen to me the way you want to listen.”
For once, Carl grumbled like Siigren. But I decided to take it positively, “Let’s forget about Sir Kane and move on to the next task. It’s time for you to become ‘Mia Yan’ again Carl.”
Carl looked at me with some dissatisfaction and then let out a short sigh. Then he took my hand, bent down, and lightly pressed his forehead to it. He had done this before, a gesture that seemed like a solemn vow of loyalty. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“As you command, Miss.”
“Don’t do this…” if Sigren saw it, he would definitely make a fuss again.
Carl just smiled gently, “It’s my way of expressing my affection, Miss.”
***
“It’s truly an honor to have someone like Lady Hailon take an interest in our gathering,” said Countess Ster with a gracious smile.
I returned the smile as sociably as I could.
We accepted the Countess’ invitation as planned.
Countess Sterre was the epitome of a kind and elegant noblewoman. She seemed so genuinely devoted to the charitable gathering that even I began to doubt myself for suspecting her.
I subtly sought support from Carl, “It’s also an honor for me to be able to participate in helping children. Isn’t that right, Lady Mia?”
“Of course, Lady Fiona,” Carl replied smoothly.
Huh? For some reason, Carl’s support was less enthusiastic than expected. I thought he would react more actively. I glanced at Carl.
He–well, she, at the moments–hesitated briefly, then raised her head with a dazzling smile. “But there’s something that attracts us even more,”
Huh? What was he talking about? That wasn’t part of our original plan.
I decided to stay quiet for the moment, not knowing the context of Carl’s sudden shift in conversation. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“As you know, we came from the North. Isn’t that right, Lady Fiona?”
“Yes, that’s right. We came from the North.”
What are you thinking, Carl?
“Because of that, we came to the capital with very high expectations. However, unexpectedly, it’s been full of boring things.” Carl feigned a yawn, like someone who was truly bored. “So, we’re looking for something more exciting. Of course, we believe that a distinguished noble like Countess Sterre could teach us about the latest and most entertaining trends in the capital.”
Why did the topic suddenly shift away from charity work?
Still, I decided to play along with Carl’s words. “That’s right, it’s really boring. I’m so tired of the same monotonous routine every day.”
Countess Sterre looked at me, “Oh my, but aren’t you a famous magician? Everyone praises you.”
I smiled back, trying to infuse my tone with as much intrigue as possible, “Precisely because of that, people like me need even more rest, Madam. Like a new and unusual hobby.”
‘Is this it, Carl?’ I sent a question look to Carl, who gave a faint smile and nodded.
Reassured by my words, Countess Sterre folded her eyes in a gentle smile. “Ah, I see. Well, that’s how people are.”
Now it was Carl’s turn. “Yes. That’s why we’re very interested in joining your club, Madam. We heard there are certainly fun things to do. And if you’re ever in trouble, we could offer some assistance as well.”
I quickly interjected, “Well, if it’s something novel and entertaining, we’d be happy to help. I’m incredibly bored right now.”
“I see, entertaining…”
It seemed that my words had hit the mark. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
After pondering for a moment, Countess Sterre stood up. “Well, then, let me show you lovely young ladies the latest trend in noble hobbies.”
***
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