Chapter 1
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***
“By the way, Duke of Sussex.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“Why does the Duke even say thank you?”
He was taken aback.
Enoch, who had a very excited face, hardened as it was.
“Even if the Countess of Brierton joins the crew of the exchange, it would not be good for the Duke.”
Helena asked the question playfully again.
“Isn’t it inconvenient to ask me to do this?”
“… … that.”
Enoch’s neck moved loudly.
“I just hope that the exchange will be held successfully.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And personally, I cherish the genius of the Countess of Brierton.”
Enoch continued, pretending to be calm.
“I discovered the Countess, so I want her talent to shine as much as possible.”
“Hmm, then.”
Helena didn’t ask any further questions.
With a look of knowing something, she blinked her eyes and nodded her head.
***
That evening.
The king and his wife returned from seeing Enoch off.
“Surely… I think the Duke of Sussex had a crush on the Countess.”
The first to speak was Helena, who had a somewhat unexpected face.
“I’ve never seen the Duke talk about someone with such enthusiasm.”
Unlike Helena, who looked a little surprised, Edward had a playful smile on his face.
“Right? Isn’t it funny?”
“Since when did Edward notice?”
“Well, to be honest, I thought he was a bit suspicious from the moment he opened an art exhibition out of the blue.”
Edward, who swept his chin, spoke.
“Anyway, I haven’t confirmed it myself, so let’s watch it for now.”
“Yes.”
Helena nodded with a puzzled face.
But the royal couple were already feeling it. The fact that Enoch, who was only indifferent under any circumstances, showed various expressions when ‘Ines’ became a topic of discussion.
***
late evening.
After returning home to the townhouse, Enoch heard the good news.
“A reply has arrived from the Countess of Brierton.”
“Really?”
Enoch listened to the news about the letter from the butler, pretending to be carefree.
Enoch, who immediately entered the study, put off even changing his clothes and picked up a paper knife.
So, the reply from Ines that was confirmed was simple.
There is a lot of work to be done with the recent return of the Countess of Brierton.
So, it was about meeting again at the studio from the other day in a week.
“…… A week later.”
Enoch spoke softly to himself.
Earlier in front of the butler, Enoch pretended to be nonchalant, now it was only himself in the study.
A smile slowly spread across his beautiful face.
It was a very happy smile.
***
Meanwhile, Ines was busy.
While she attended social events she had never even set foot in support of Ryan before, she also met face-to-face with representatives of businesses she had invested in in Brierton.
Then, an incident happened that Ines did not expect. It was about the quarrel with Charlotte at Baroness Wickham’s teatime.
‘Honey, do you know that? How did the Countess of Brierton get a divorce?’
The ladies who attended the tea time talked to their husbands one by one.
‘Well, this is the story I heard. Baron Jason’s Young Lady, and Viscount Gott’s Young Master….’
The husbands then told their friends at their club that Ines had witnessed a shocking sight in the art studio.
The rumors that had spread like that suddenly grew and inflated, and even people who were not interested in other people’s business got to know them.
It even got into the ears of Ryan, the party to the rumor.
“Ryan!”
Someone grabbed Ryan’s shoulder from behind.
At that hurricane, the alcohol that flowed over the glass wet Ryan’s shoulders and chest. Ryan looked back with a grimace.
“This punk?”
The opponent was one of the club’s party goers, whom Ryan often drank with. A drunken man abruptly shoved his face at Ryan.
The distance was so close that the tips of their noses touched.
“You, get away…!”
“Ryan, you’re very talented, and on the day of your divorce, you had a hot night with Baron Jason’s Young Lady.”
For a moment, Ryan wrinkled his brow.
“What?”
“Why? I heard that Baron Jason’s Young Lady was crying profusely. She said you seduced her first.”
The lowly vulgar man chuckled softly.
“So, I heard that Young Lady Jason couldn’t withstand your pressure and spent the night with you?”
For a moment, Ryan felt his eyes roll over.
‘Charlotte, you damn b*tch!’
He was also annoyed that Ines divorced him because of his tangle with Charlotte!
But now Charlotte spread nonsense behind his back?!
“How sadly Lady Jason was sobbing, it was heartbreaking for everyone who saw it!”
The man was now holding his belly and giggled.
bang!!
Ryan, who couldn’t win, slammed the table and jumped up from his seat.
“Sh*t!”
In the midst of that, the wine bottles and snacks on the table were scattered all over the place. Ryan, who had been vigorously angry, ran outside.
The eyes of people who were drunk and hung up followed Ryan’s back.
“You b*stard, where are you going?”
“Well, are you going out to see The Countess of Brierton?”
One of the men opened his mouth viciously.
“To take her back, get down on your knees and weep like a child.”
“Hahaha!”
“That’s right!”
Laughter erupted from among the people.
“A b*stard has no pride….”
“Well, isn’t it more ridiculous to take care of his pride in front of the Countess?”
“He’s the b*stard who had the Brierton on his back, and now he’s a dog!”
The people who laughed at Ryan for a long time titled the bottle again.
Actually, he deserved it.
It’s because Ryan’s reputation wasn’t very good among people. Who would like a man who always bragged, ‘It’s on the Count of Brierton’ in the first place?
However, Ryan was proud of Ines’s money and paid for his alcohol well, so people hung out with him.
That meant that Ryan, who had lost the title Count of Brierton, was no more than a mockery.
But then.
“Hello.”
A woman’s gentle voice was heard.
“I want to meet Young Master Gott.”
People’s eyes immediately turned to one side. At the end of that gaze, a beautiful woman with her long red hair was standing with a proud expression.
“Baron Jason’s Young Lady?”
****
Meanwhile at that time.
Ryan got into the carriage in a hurry.
“Let’s go to Brierton Townhouse right away!”
Ryan, who shouted first, gritted his teeth.
‘Charlotte, what the hell am I supposed to do with this b*tch?’
Ryan couldn’t help but bite his nails.
‘I was going to visit Ines again when she calmed down moderately, but I didn’t expect to visit her like this.’
But if he stayed like this, only Ryan’s appearance would drag to the mud.
First of all, since Charlotte lied that ‘Ryan seduced me first’, he had to clear up the misunderstanding.
What if Ines really closes the door to her heart……
‘That’s not good!’
He had to somehow appease Ines’ heart.
Just then, the carriage stopped.
Ryan hurriedly ran out of the carriage.
Late at night when only gas lamps illuminate the surroundings reddishly.
The atmosphere was silent.
‘For now, I’ll have to wait and see if I can hang on to Ines.’
Although he knew the guards were guarding the townhouse, he still wanted to meet Ines once.
Ryan strode towards the townhouse with a grim expression on his face.
“I want to see The Countess of Brierton.”
Instead of reflexively trying to call Ines, Ryan gritted his teeth.
Ines.
He didn’t know that the name he usually called casually would feel so far away.
The guards, who used to call Ryan politely ‘Count of Brierton’, now stared at him with stern faces.
“The Lord has not yet returned home.”
“What? It’s so late……!”
Ryan angrily shouted.
Speaking of the devil, he heard the sound of a carriage running from afar.
It was a carriage with the coat of arms of Brierton.