Garden of May - Chapter 106
“Well, now all His Majesty has to do is sit back and relax… Ah, so that’s why? That’s why the Princess has been so irritable lately.”
There was no answer to his probing question, not even a pitying glance. Edgar clutched his forehead as if he were about to faint.
“Good God, you really used this as leverage to get the marriage proposal withdrawn?”
Theodore leaned back against the couch in silence, his gaze fixed on the firmly shut door. He could hear the incessant sound of the Earl of Essex excitedly conversing with his ‘investment expert.’ The voices would rise for a moment when they couldn’t bridge a difference of opinion, then quickly fall again. Coarse curses could be heard from time to time. Edgar, who had been listening to the goings-on outside, shrugged and whispered, “But why Essex?”
“That doesn’t seem like an appropriate topic for discussion here.”
“I’m dying of curiosity, so just spit it out. You’re putting way too much effort into this for it to be a simple trap.”
With his back to the light, the Duke’s expression was difficult to read. The shadows that darkened his sapphire eyes made them look even colder than usual.
“Because Essex and Somerset are on that list. They’re probably just acting as minions, but they’ll at least have the authority to make direct contact with the gang’s leadership.”
“So you’re going to slowly lure them in and then tighten the leash.”
“Since the inspections on ships bound for the New World were tightened early this year, their liquor trade route has been blocked. They have only two options: die with hundreds of thousands of gallons of whiskey, or find a new route.”
“They’ll be expecting this horse racing business to be their new lifeline. The two earls will be practically licking your boots.”
“They’ll believe that if they use this opportunity well, they can rise to even greater heights. And since His Majesty has no interest in the small fry, if they play their cards right at the opportune moment, that might just become a reality.”
After a moment of silence, Edgar let out a disbelieving laugh.
“And you’re still going to say you won’t marry Lady Vanessa after all this? Even after orchestrating a plan to make Somerset the wealthiest man in the South?”
Theodore lifted his gaze, which had been cast downward, and stared at his cousin’s face—especially his eyes, which feigned a harmless lack of greed, and his innocently pursed lips.
Edgar’s only mistake was to overlook the fact that they had been watching each other for a very long time. Theodore read the unconcealed ambition on his cousin’s face.
“…”
He had known for a while that Edgar, with the Dowager Duchess’s permission, had people watching him. At some point, they had stopped even trying to hide the fact that they were tailing him. It was like a warning: We’re watching you, so be careful.
Nevertheless, Vanessa had been exposed to them earlier than he had anticipated. Perhaps it was because they knew nothing of the situation that their guess had been so simple. That they had been lovers from the start, and that was why he had chosen that old warehouse as a place to spend his summer vacation. It was a story that made more sense that way, after all.
“Say something.”
Theodore leisurely stroked his lips with his hand and let out a soft laugh. He was even pleased to see Edgar recoil as if he had just seen something unsightly. There was no surer path to victory than for one’s opponent in a game of chess to be careless and mistaken. It probably meant that he seemed just that different from his usual self. So different that Edgar’s cold, calculating mind, which was always feigning foolishness, couldn’t even begin to compute.
“Well.”
It was, after all, a truly unbelievable situation. To be swept up in a woman’s affairs so unexpectedly, and now to be going to such lengths simply because he didn’t want to see Vanessa being dragged around…
In truth, Edgar’s insight was the most accurate. The two earls had only a small role to play in this plan. Their position in the gang was insignificant, and traitors could be bought for much less money. For the same price, there were plenty of nobles who would be far more loyal. There was only one reason to go through such a cumbersome process. Because they were the ones holding Vanessa’s leash. And yet.
“If marriage were the goal, I would have found a more elegant method.”
“So you’re just going to keep her as your mistress?”
“Isn’t that a good outcome for everyone? The Earl will have been given more than enough of a dowry.”
“…”
“And she will get to do the work she loves, in the place she loves. Without the fear of having to marry a man of a lower station.”
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 152 - Jun 16, 2026
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 151 - Jun 16, 2026
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 150 - Jun 16, 2026
