"Uncle?"
Ran snorted and asked. Her desk was full of papers.
"Yes. And a borrowed card letter."
After putting down the borrowing card letter, Eustaf took half the stack of papers and moved them onto his desk. It is not difficult to put another desk in the study, but Eustaf was helping like a secretary.
Ran checked his borrowed card letter and exhaled her nostrils. It wasn't a lady's behavior at all.
"It's cool."
Ran said so and put the borrowed card letter in the drawer.
"But I can't believe I'm seeing him. What else is he going to talk about?"
Ran sighed and glanced at it, saying, "That's the reason I passed this onto you in the first place."
"I'm sorry."
"No, I can't help it. I have no choice but to meet him."
What is he trying to say?
'I'm sure you're right to say it.'
Ran told the servant to escort her uncle to the back room. It was a room with good eavesdropping, which I showed Ross before. Ran got up from her seat.
'It's a relief that the corset here isn't in full swing.'
It was fortunate that she wore a corset, not any corset, but a corset's ancestor. If it was really tight with a corset ·····.
The ideal waist size of the 18th century is 43 to 46 centimeters.
'It's tight right now, but it's scary just thinking about it....You will never be able to sit down and see the documents for a long time.'
That's a relief for sure.
Thinking so, Ran quickly went into the room. Baron Lindbergh, who had been here in advance, was standing with a nervous face.
"Uncle, I'm sorry I'm late. I have a lot of work to do."
"Eustaf is back."
It was the main point without greeted. Ran answered while sitting down.
"Yes, he came back from an early graduation."
"Did you know?"
"No, I'm surprised, too."
Baron Lindbergh's face was filled with joy. He quickly sat face to face and spoke seriously.
"You have to be careful."
"What do you mean?"
"Of course, Eustaf. He's aiming for your spot. He's going to be a Patriarch."
"In two years', time, the Patriarch position will belong to Eustaf anyway."
The baron snorted at the words.
"And then what? Do you think your neck will be okay?"
"...."
Ran couldn't answer. That's something you can't guarantee. The baron was even more excited by Ran's silence.
"And isn't he already pretending to be a sadist, huh?"
"Because he's going to be the patriarch."
"You're getting rid of him? You collapsed recently because you weren't feeling well. Do you really think you collapsed because you weren't feeling well? At a young age like you?"
He poured out poisonous words.
"And he's giving you medicine, right? Do you know about the therapist? Your mother asked the therapist to give her a headache pill, but it didn't heal at all. Do you know that the therapist was brought by his ex-wife?"
Ran didn't answer.
'I didn't know!'
Come to think of it, the parts that are not set will account for the remaining 90%, but they are somehow filled up.
It was not strange that something she didn't know happened when she thought of it.
Baron Lindbergh was elated when he saw her not answering, but he hid his feelings and said, "But I think of you as my real niece. Ran Romia De Lazia. Think about who you really are."
"Thank you for your advice, uncle. And it's up to me to choose who's on my side."
With a grin, as Ran spoke, Baron Lindbergh glared at her with frightening eyes. However, Ran's eyes did not budge like the shade of a tree on the surface.
"Okay, if you think so."
He rose from his seat and left the room without saying hello. It was an arrogant behavior. As soon as the baron came out, Ran spread.
'I'm tired. I'm tired of fighting with an old man!'
Plus, with the ugly, fat guy!
But if it didn't go out for a long time, you'd be curious about what Eustaf and Ross were listening outside, so I was wondering if I should go out - but the door opened and Eustaf came in.
A silver platter was in his hand, and on top of it was a cold iced tea that seemed to go away from the heat.
Lazia, which has ice walls, used to use ice in summer because it was not that difficult to get ice even in summer.
Ran's eyes sparkled like a puppy found a bone with meat on it.
Eustaf held out a tray, and Ran raised her glass and began to gulp down without hesitation.
Sweet and cold, cold tea with expensive sugar generously goes down the esophagus.
After emptying it all at once, Ran breathed out a long breath.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Eustaf put the tray down on the table and asked.
"But can you just drink it like that?"
"Huh?"
It wasn't like a lady to drink at once, was it?
"What if It's poisoned?"
At Eustaf's words, Ran opened her eyes wide. She looked down at the empty glass floor and saw Eustaf again.
"Did you...?"
Maybe that's why you put a lot of sugar!
"No."
"Then what?"
It's done.
Eustaf's expression became strange. Of course, most of his expressions look like he's grinding everything into the mask, but Ran could still tell.
"Why?"
"You don't believe me."
"Huh? No, I believe you."
"You don't think I'm going to kill you."
Omg.
Ran swallowed her saliva and murmured, "Umm, no, it's-."
Eustaf continued,
"And yet, you're not wary of me."
Eustaf tilted his head.
I'd rather say, 'He's not gonna kill me. We're close now.' If you believe everything you give with the same thought, you can understand that.
On the contrary, even if you are wary of all your actions, saying, 'He will kill me someday,' it is understandable.
But it's strange that she's not wary of him, saying, 'He might kill me someday.'
"I don't know what you're thinking."
Looking at Ran with blue eyes, Ran had no choice but to stutter out the story.
"I think Eustaf can kill me after you become a patriarch."
Looking at it, Eustaf kept clenching his head as if to keep talking.
"So, I'm thinking I should try hard not to-"
The "public disturbance" spouted the last word.
"Even if you do, I don't think it can be helped."
Cold.
Cold silence pressed down on the room. It was a coldness as if it were climbing up on a piece of flesh.
Ran shrugged and looked at Eustaf. He didn't flinch, surprised, or get annoyed.
Nevertheless, the air is clearly cold.
'How is the male lead?'
Ran swallowed her saliva, thinking desperately about something else. When Ran sang a birthday song about five times in her head, Eustaf asked.
"How come?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you think there's nothing you can do about it?"
"Huh...?"
Eustaf took a step toward her. She didn't have to raise her head much when he was far away, but she had to lift her head back because he was this close.
Feeling a little pressure, Ran stepped back to the back of the chair, but the back only made her sit upright.
"How come?"
"That's ·····."
"Pity? Guilt? Desperation?"
Eustaf's hand brushed her cheek down her neck. He gently grabbed her neck as if he could break her white and thin neck.
Gulp.
Her carotid artery quickly began to run.
"If either of the three answers, I don't think I'll like it."
Eustaf looked at her face reflected in the deep green that seemed to reflect the floor.
Ran lightly suffered from lip pain and asked.
"Eustaf..."
"Yes"
"Don't you hate me?"
"Well, I don't know."
Eustaf let go of his hand with an ambiguous answer. Ran breathed out a long breath. Eustaf stretched his legs out in the chair where the baron sat.
Ran put her elbow on the table and touch her neck with the back of her hand.
"Eus."
"Yes, Noonim."
The answer is polite, as always.
Ran thought so and laughed lightly.
"Actually, I feel a little guilty."
Eustaf's forehead was slightly wrinkled.
"It's true that I gave you a hard time."
"Right."
But she didn't bother him enough to die. Of course, the story is different if he is responsible for the bullying of his stepmother, but Eustaf did not think Ran should be responsible for it.
"And that's a little funny, but I think if Eustaf have to kill me, there would be plenty of reason."
"It's a twisted type of trust."
"Is that so?"
Ran stretched out her back and leaned against the chair and said,
"But if you think it's going to work out without killing me, tell me. I'll pack up and leave right away. And I won't show up here again."
"Really."
Eustaf bit lightly on his lips and spit it out.
"You don't know."
Huh? No, Why? What else?
Seeing Ran embarrassed, Eustaf didn't say nothing. Rarely, he sighed and said,
"Uncle seems quite well versed in the operatic affairs in Duchy's situation."
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Ran caught up with the story and nodded.
"He knows about my health - it must be quite a mess."
The health condition of the Patriarch is confidential. If you look at the history books, the king is dead, but how can his aides hide it and say something?
But my uncle knew it very well. That means there's someone nearby who's delivering it.
"How's the therapist?"
In Eustaf's words, Ran recalled her uncle's remarks earlier. Ran looked at him with an awkward face.
"Do you think he did?"
"It doesn't matter what I think. But it's true that there's such a thing, and it's not just one or two."
Ran nodded.
"You'd better find him and kick him out."
I know it's a job to investigate. When Ran sighed, Eustaf nodded and said.
"Let's put more pressure on him."
"Our uncle?"
"Yes"
Eustaf crossed his legs and patted his toes lightly.
'Such a long legs.'
Ran asked, blankly thinking about it.
"How?"
"Let's pressure them openly."
"Just like that? Openly!?'"
"Yes"
"Will he come out?"
"Because it's pressure."
"Because you pressed him so hard?"
"I want him to jump out."
"I see"
Like the fleas that pop out when you put a stray cat in the water. It is certainly possible to handle it quickly.
Not to mention the danger of hiding deeper. Ran nodded.
"Then let's do it."
*******
Baron Lindbergh gritted his teeth.
'How dare you be so mean! '
Lazia was his name and lineage. Mod Uras De Lazia.
That was his original name. When I left the Duchess of Lazia, I couldn't use the castle of Lazia, so I became a Modus.
The fact that he gave his second son a baron-title to him itself was a sign of his father's affection, but he was more anxious.
"Lazia's bloodless whore's daughter!"
Bam!
He kicked the table.
The tradition and fame were all his own. ·····
The more I thought about it, the more my heart ached. My father loved and cared for me more than my brother. If he could, he would have given himself the title of Duke of Lazia.
The Duke of Lazia.
The name alone could attract a lot of attention from the social world. Everyone wanted to be invited to the Sky mansion, the duke of Lazia.
The beautiful ivory-colored house created by the wizard was also his own house.
The building made of layers of white marble like alabaster in a mountain range where it was unlikely to be able to raise a building was fantastic.
When I closed my eyes, I could vividly see the sky mansion, which shines as if it were made of pearls and silver under the morning sun or evening play.
Even now, I have a clear memory of playing in the public garden as a child. They are invitations that have been accumulated during the social season, and they even ask you to invite them to the house party.
It was a truly glorious time.
'How did that girl get a ring of blue flame?'
He couldn't join himself.
I didn't even dare to intervene. He saw the Patriarch dealing with the ring. Legend is not a lie.
To the point where I wanted to swallow the ring if I could, Mod wanted and hated it at the same time. Regent, regent was enough.
I wish I could taste the sweetness again.
"Hurry up."
Baron Lindbergh murmured. Eustaf was playing around the house.
These days, it is said that it has become more frequent to interrogate his servants and find out who came from them, saying that he will pick out spies.
'I really need to come up with a solution before my line breaks.'
Baron Lindbergh suffered from dry lips.
But they're still young.
Only 17 and 19.
He couldn't have been a match for himself. What's the amount of money you've spent all over the mansion?
The therapist, who asked Ran to be drugged, was actually a baron's nodule. He is a therapist of Eustaf's biological mother, so he deliberately recruited him.
It was to make sure that Ran and Eustaf were separated. Suddenly, he remembered that Ran was quickly revamping the duke. The courage of a young man.
'Quick action is supposed to instigate anxiety.'
Mod thought so and waved the bell to call the servant.
"Tell Robbie to come."
Calling his son, he groped for a clear-cut plan. I just moved up what I was going to do. There are not only those who offer loyalty to the duke.
The execution of an accountant may have cheered some, but some have feared that their necks might be cut off. It's harder to find someone who doesn't splatter in muddy water.
Mod intended to use it.
After a while, his son Robbie come in.
Having been forced to return from the capital due to the death of his uncle, he was in a state of discontent.
What are you going to do in the middle of the season?
This year, I was going to win a lot of money at the "Berton" (the most popular horse racing competition in the Empire, where only three-year-old horses appear).
Baron Lindbergh married unusually faster than his brother, so Robbie was 23 years old.
"I heard you called, didn't you?"
Mod looked at his son with a proud face as he greeted him.
"Yes, I called you because I wanted to tell you something."
"What's going on?"
"Remember Ran?"
Robbie quickly remembered his cousin. He remembered more clearly because she was a beauty that was rare even in society.
"Sure"
"What do you think of her as your wife?"
The brown eyes of Robbie glistened.
"Did she come in for a marriage?"
He also knew that she was going to leave. In such a situation, it was a reasonable choice to marry herself, the duke's step.
"The next Duke of Lazia will be you."
Mod said so and patted his son on the shoulder.
"But as always, women can't think rationally."
After saying so, Mod smiled insidiously.