As Lennox walked through the passage towards the Crimson palace, he stumbled upon a dead body thrown on the grass.
" what in the name of hell are you doing here??"
"Lennox!!!"
Everly, who was pretending to be a lifeless corpse for the last half an hour, instantly jumped by seeing Lennox's usual emotionless face.
And before she spout some useless shit, Lennox quickly demanded.
" answer my question first"
" ah, um. Brother Ba said that he has something to do in the palace, so Everly came with him to play together with Lennox. But there was someone scary in your room, so Everly just stayed here"
'Why are her words so cracked....?'
" *sigh, I won't bother to beat some sense in your head. Right now, I am going to meet with someone else who is also 'scary'. You can come with me, or wait in my room"
" if Everly go with Lennox, will you protect Everly?"
".... *a deeper sigh. yes, whatever "
" then, Everly will go with Lennox "
*****
" may I know for what do I own the pleasure for your highness's visit?"
" Are you questioning my intentions, consort Cha?"
Sensing the threat in Lennox's voice, consort Cha quickly explained herself: "Not at all, how dare I? This humble one only asked out of curiosity, never had any hidden meanings "
Lennox ignored her words, nonchalantly taking a sip of his tea.
' I can't even smell the tea fragrance anymore...'
For a while now, all that Lennox could smell was the overwhelming sweet scent of jasmine. Why? Because Everly had been sticking to Lennox for dear life, not letting go of his arm even for a second.
' the hell is she scared of?!! Wasn't She the one who turned the poor beasts to minced meat when we went hunting last tim- ugh, my arm is numb '
He can't shake her since Lennox was the one who brought her with him. All he could do at the moment was being satisfied with Everly unknowingly benefiting his seal and suppressing the overflowing malice emotions within him.
' I will just bear with it.....'
Lennox handed a cookie to Everly so she would loosen her grip on his shoulder. Before saying with his usual emotionless face.
" let's get down to business. The Empress will visit by the next month, make preparations for it"
Isabella Ve Gourchia, the Empress of Sitia, Lennox's birth mother and the fourth princess of Mojin kingdom. Her marriage with Jennings was decided by their parents from an early age, as a sign of the good relationship the two nations have. Since she had no potentials to inherit the throne, Isabella's marriage never was reconsidered, even after showing great talent in magic.
And just like that, Isabella was married off to a foreign Empire for the sake of politics. However, not long after giving birth to a cursed child, the Mojin royalty was caught in an incident that led to their deaths with the eldest daughter as the only survivor. Thus, Isabella returned to her home, taking the position of the royal mage.
" I understand, your highness. Is there anything I should keep in mind?"
"Yeah, make sure she doesn't meet this punk under any circumstances"
He pointed at Everly with his chin as he bit on a chocolate bar. Remembering the miscalculated move she took towards Everly, consort Cha smiled awkwardly as she said.
" I have heard that lady Everly is general Egerton's younger sister. I see no reason to be cautious about her"
" it's because she is dear to him, that I am being extra cautious. That woman is a crazy witch, if anything happens to this punk, then we can kiss our Empire goodbye "
As the two of them talked about other pplans and reports, Everly began losing the sense of her fingertips from the cold. What could she do? For some reason, Lennox has returned to be a wandering snowman. Although Everly wants to let go of this ice block, her fear towards consort Cha took the best of her.
" hm, what's wrong?"
Lennox turned to Everly who was pulling on his clothes since a while, and what she wanted was obviously written on her face.
" haa, fine let's get going "
Lennox sighed at Everlys' pleading face as he stood off the couch. Fixing his attire, Lennox said to consort Cha before exiting the Crimson palace:" last thing, about the eldest son of Esterházy Marquis, keep raising his reputation around the nobles' wives. Make it that all you say is the truth, though".
Roan Esterházy, the eldest son of Esterházy family and Annasophy's lover. Around a month ago, Annasophy made a deal with Lennox, in exchange for turning a blind eye on the dead man buried in their backyard, Lennox will help in convincing Jennings to agree to Annasophy and Roan's marriage. Thus, ever since then, Lennox has been decorating Roan and assigning him many tasks to make his reputation glow, so when the time comes, he will be the most suitable candidate.
Well, that's the plan....
But why would Lennox give a shit about such a trivial thing? Well, it wasn't the matter of a dead body in the backyard, but about the backyard itself. The number of people Lennox buried there was beyond counting, they were perfectly working as fertilizers for the grass there.
Although Annasophy does not know about all of that, if anyone was to randomly dig into the ground, they would stumble into a skeleton or a cursed item if they were unlucky.
" ah, finally out!"
Lennox watched the young girl enjoying her freedom for a while before breaking his silence: "by the way, Everly. What is your name?"
' if finding the answer by under-table methods doesn't work, then all I should do is bring the game on the table '
Everly blinked twice before answering in doubt:" Everly?"
" no, the other one"
" ooh, it's Maitea "
' it works!!!!! This dumb girl is digging her own grave!!'
As she aimlessly hopped around Lennox, Everly kept answering all of his questions.
" where did you live before meeting the old man?"
" in Sekka, behind a big mountain~"
" what is your master's name. I am sure he must be a renowned great teacher "
" Everly can't say his name, master said that only grand master can. But few uncles call him Riel, guess it's a nickname "
" I heard you have another brother, where is he?"
" brother Yo is a butterfly, he went to do his duty "
"....."
'WHAT IN THE HOLY FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?!!'
While Lennox was trying to analyze her words to something normal people can understand, Everly clung to him, begging with her shining emerald eyes.
"Lennox. Let's go play before brother Ba finishes his work"
' Ah, right. I promised to hang out with her '
" fine, go fetch a horse. I will change my clothes and meet you there"
Everlys' face instantly sparkled, she vigorously nodded her head before quickly jumping away towards the stables. It's been more than a week since the last time they fooled around.
Lennox watched as Everly reached to where the stables was supposed to be before turning his back and heading to his room. He unbuttoned his shirt while the umbrella butler brought a pair of white shirt and black leather trouser.
" are you going out with young lady Everly, my lord? "
" yeah, I promised to hang out with her. We will go to the forest, inform the old man half an hour after we leave "
The umbrella butler confirmed the command and assisted his liege in dressing. They did not say anything until Lennox started putting his gloves on.
" by the way. Do you know someone called Riel? apparently that's what people call Everly's master "
" oh. The chairman? yes, he used to be known for being too strict. I doubted that rumor because of how young and soft he looked like. But after seeing him beating his disciples, I thanked god for the first time in my life to have your grace as my teacher "
Lennox ignored the part where his servant bluntly insulted him and rised a brow as he wore a confused expression.
" you met him? "
" yes, at some celebrations or gatherings. He was Blood Prince's acquaintance, so I saw him frequently "
" Why didn't you tell me?? "
" you never asked "
Lennox opened and closed his mouth a few times. He looked at the umbrella butler who had an innocent face with disbelief.
Shianl has taken care of the umbrella butler ever since he was at the high of his knees (the adult Shianl of the past). Although he disliked having a small useless vampire following behind him, Shianl gradually became attached to him and took the little vampire under his wing.
However, Shianl has always been troubled by how innocent and white-hearted this kid's mentality was.
At the moment, he was gathering information about Everly and Bernard to decide whether they were considered as enemies or allies. But that maiden vampire looked like he was talking about his old friends in high school .
' this brat has no sense of danger at all. Even Everly is more caution '
Lennox rubbed his forehead until it turned red before saying with a sigh:" forget it. I will hear the details later ".
he said that before exiting his room and heading to the stables.