~•|•~
Dante cleared his throat briefly. His gaze settled on the deer's antlers, and he was silent for a moment. The man glanced at Grummond from the corner of his eye. "Actually, I have other business at Beetheaven."
"Huh?" Grummond flinched for a moment. "What business?"
Dante turned back to the man and stepped closer to Grummond's desk. "The Fleet Admiral granted me two weeks of break, and as my father, he asked me to join the social season at Beetheaven. In short, my father has personally asked Her Majesty the Queen to find me a mate for this social season.
"Huh? What?" Grummond was so shocked that he was unlikely to write a letter of recommendation for Dante as a teacher at the military academy. He glances in the other direction. "Social season," he muttered. Grummond looked again at the handsome, well-established man. "Did you just talk about yourself?"
Dante glanced back and gave Grummond another strange look. "There are only us in this room. That can't be you, General?"
Grummond cleared his throat briefly. "By the way, my daughter, Lycėthya, is 21 years old now. Are you..."
"With all due respect," Dante bowed his head solemnly, "I decline, General."
Grummond paused, his words hanging in his throat. He squinted sharply at Dante. "Is this an insult, Capt?"
"No, General." Dante looked straight at the man. "I have no interest in your daughter."
"But you've never met Lycėthya!" Grummond pointed at Dante in anger.
"That's true," Dante replied in a calm tone. "But I have no intention of marrying your daughter. I'm so sorry."
BRAK!
Grummond pounded the table in annoyance. "You bastard!" He looked at Dante with hostility. "You're just like your father!"
Dante flashed a faint smile. Despite this, the general didn't really hate him. Grummond was just angry because he had rejected his daughter without thinking. "We're father and son," Dante said.
"Yes! And it stinks having to deal with similar people twice!" Grummond snorted harshly afterward. He turned away from Dante and lit the cigarette he had taken from the small box on the other side of the table. The smoke from the tobacco billowed into the room, and Dante just watched him in silence. He turned his head with an exasperated expression. "Fine! You'll teach at the academy until your break is up. Twice a week."
Dante nodded obediently. "As you wish, General."
"I'll make a letter of recommendation and send it to your manor," Grummond said as he puffed cigarette smoke into the air.
"Alright."
Grummond glanced at him. He raised one eyebrow, put out the cigarette in the ashtray, and stood up. "So you don't have any schedule after this?"
"Yes, no."
Grummond smirked. He got up from his chair. "You have a lot of luck, Capt."
"I've heard it many times. Even so, I feel it's not luck, but much effort," Dante said almost tonelessly.
"Ha!" Grummond rolled his eyes. He walked over to Dante. "Come with me to watch the horse race! I'm going to ask you for some betting advice. How about it?"
"That sounds great." Dante nodded slowly. He let his neck be cradled by Grummond. Now the man looked more like his father. To be more precise, Grummond would have been his godfather even if it had not been approved by the Marquess and His Majesty the King.
"You're such a cheat to use this uniform on break!" Grummond pulled on Dante's naval uniform with a sneering look. "So I have no authority to punish you even if you're late and keep a general like me waiting for two hours!"
Dante laughed low. "It's not cheating. I'm just being a little clever," he said, stepping out of the room along with Grummond.
~•|•~
Inez and Anne arrived at the mansion just as the sun was beginning to set. The women had walked from Beetheaven's shopping center to the mansion because they could not find a coachman and carriage for a fair price. Well, this is Beetheaven, the center of the kingdom. So everything is expensive.
"Eh?" Inez squinted as she saw a familiar man coming out of the mansion's main door with a limp step. She turned to Anne, who didn't seem to have noticed. "Anne," she called.
"Yes, Lady?" Anne replied spontaneously and gave the girl her attention.
Inez pointed towards the main door of the mansion. "Isn't that the last coachman we have?" she asked.
"Which one, Lady?" Anne looked in the direction Inez was pointing. She squinted as well to make her vision clear. "Ah, yes, that's Sir Hides," she said. She frowned in confusion. "Why is that?"
Inez watched the movements of Hides, who stopped in front of the mansion door. The old man seemed to look at the evening sky and the bag he was holding, then let out a long sigh and put the bag into his clothes pocket again. Sensing something was wrong, Inez immediately quickened her pace.
"Uh, Lady?" Anne stared in surprise at Inez, who had already taken the first step, far ahead of her. She immediately chased after Inez.
"Hides!" called Inez loudly as she almost lost the man who was about to turn away from the Buford Mansion area.
The old man stopped his steps and turned around. He looked a little surprised, but he quickly fixed his expression. He raised the beret hat he used to wear to protect his face from the sunburn. "Greetings to the Lady of Buford. Why are you pursuing me, My Lady? Is there anything you need?" he asked in a friendly, elderly voice.
Inez caught her breath for a moment. She observed Hides' face, which she rarely saw directly as the man always sat in front of the carriage. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going home, Lady." Hides nodded slowly. He glanced to Inez's right side as Anne arrived breathless.
"No." Inez shook her head softly. She squinted suspiciously. "What happened to you?" she asked.
Hides looked directly at the girl and was stunned for a moment. He smiled faintly then. "Forgive me, My Lady. Please direct your curiosity to the count," he said while nodded briefly at Inez and Anne as he lifted his beret. "I take my leave. Thank you very much," he added, then turned and left in a hurry.
"Wait!" Inez stopped him, but Hides didn't stop like before. He turned to Anne, who was swallowing heavily. "What is going on? Do you know?"
"Huh?" Anne turned to Inez, then shook her head awkwardly. "Looks like the count is already home," she said when she saw a black car parked in the mansion's side garage.
"Well." Inez looked up at the open window on the second floor. She let out an exasperated sigh, then turned around and stepped quickly into the mansion.
~•|•~
"Anthony! Anthony!" Inez knocked roughly on her brother's office door. She knew he was inside.
Brak, brak, brak!
"Anthony! Open the door!" Inez exclaimed, losing her patience.
Klek!
The door opened from the inside, and it was Anthony himself. He looked rumpled, with his tie almost undone. His face showed the exhaustion of insomnia and overwork.
"Come in," Anthony said, leaving Inez.
The girl pushed the door wider and slipped inside.
Meanwhile, Anne waited at the door, wringing her hands. She felt deja vu now.
"What happened to Hides?" Inez asked to the point.
"Hides?" Anthony glanced back. He sighed softly afterward and stepped over to his work chair, then sat there. "I fired him."
"Huh? Why?" Inez protested somewhat.
"Why?" Anthony asked back. He looked lazily at his little sister. "Of course, to cut costs that aren't really necessary anymore. How rich do you think Buford is now that I'm not getting any investors?"
Inez furrowed her brows, and she was at a loss for words for a moment. She closed her eyes, then looked straight at Anthony after sighing heavily. "How much does he get paid?"
"...twenty-five sena," Anthony replied after a moment of silence.
"Twenty-five sena?" repeated Inez felt very surprise.
Anthony nodded slowly. He broke his gaze from Inez. "For forty days of work," he added.
"ANTHONY CAL BUFORD!" Inez's anger peaked. She could not understand why her brother was paying a low salary to the coachman. The salary given was not even enough to buy a kilo of eggs in the suburbs.
"Don't raise your voice at me, Inez," Anthony said coldly. "If you have contributed nothing to Buford and are still dating His Highness, don't be angry with me. You don't deserve that!" he pointed up.
Inez clenched her fists and stared at Anthony with suppressed anger. Her lips were trembling from it. "Don't you have any savings?"
Anthony glanced at her. He chuckled wryly then. "I'd rather use it to support my family than add to someone else's expenses."
"Anthony! Is that what mom and dad taught you?" Inez strode angrily towards the man. She stood before him.
"Inez," Anthony called with his eyes closed. "I apologize. The failure was my fault. But I'm trying to fix it. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep what we had. I'm sorry that I was the one who lost Buford's glory and honor. I'm so sorry, Inez. But I..." Anthony paused his words. He opened his eyes and looked at Inez with reddened eyes. "I have to be cold and hard for now. In the future, if it continues like this, we will lose workers. Or worse, we'll have to move to the suburbs or even the countryside. But Arabella..." Anthony looked down deeply. His breathing sounded shaky. "We'll probably be divorced if that happens," he added.
Inez took a deep breath. Her eyes glazed over as she could not express her anger and disappointment. She swallowed back all the curses she wanted to say to Anthony. That man was a fool for putting most of his investment in a ship. She left Anthony coldly.
"If you want to go anywhere, I hope you can adjust your schedule with me. We only have one car now," Anthony said before Inez left his office.
But the girl did not look back at all.
~•|•~
"Lady," Anne called as Inez came out of Anthony's office while wiping away her tears.
Inez did not answer. The girl took a quick step, and Anne followed her in concern. Suddenly, Inez stopped walking and turned to face Anne with an intense gaze.
Anne immediately lowered her head. Unable to look at Inez.
Inez's heart quickly throbbed with discomfort. That meant Anne knew about this but didn't report it to Inez.
"Were all the workers who were fired paid improper salaries, like Hides?" asked Inez, deciding to ignore the pain in her heart.
Anne bites her lips in silence.
"Answer me, Anne!" shouted Inez in the long and quiet hallway, until her voice echoed.
Anne immediately nodded without speaking. She could hear a harsh breath afterward. Then Inez turned away from her and took another step.
"Call the butler to my room! And also bring Buford's financial archives!"
Anne looked up at Inez's departure. "But, Lady--"
"This is an order!" Inez exclaimed.
Anne clamped her mouth shut. She could not ignore the orders of the lady she served. "A-Alright, My Lady," she said as nodded slowly.
———