Chapter 21
While Edel was lost in her thoughts, Laszlo stared at her, thinking about something, and then spoke.
"You made it very clear."
The young man, who appeared to be his colleague, frowned at the lukewarm response. Nevertheless, he asked Laszlo, who was still focused on Edel.
"what are you doing here?"
“I was on my way to collect the laundry from the Count’s room. If it was inconvenient, I’ll take a different route next time.”
Edel responded without any sign of nervousness or trembling. Although she thought it might seem suspicious, she had learned how to handle such situations from a young age, making it difficult to feign surprise.
Laszlo examined Edel carefully before nodding his head slightly.
"Well... there's no need for that. You can go."
"Yes, sir."
After a short bow, Edel pushed the cart towards Laszlo's bedroom, relieved that she seemed to have avoided any unnecessary suspicion.
As Laszlo watched Edel walk away, his right hand frowned, Nathan, and asked.
"Who is she?"
“Didn’t you hear? She said she was the laundry maid.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, boss. My eyes are still working perfectly well.”
Although Laszlo answered briefly, Nathan continued to look at him suspiciously.
"She was clearly born noble. And not from a small family either... Wait."
Quick-witted and perceptive, Nathan quickly remembered someone.
"Is she the woman you received from the emperor?"
"Woman, who?"
"Will you play with me? Edel Lancaster, of course!"
Without replying, Laszlo returned to his office.
But Nathan remained standing by the door, watching the direction in which Edel had disappeared.
“I must be getting older. I can’t believe I’ve forgotten her.”
"You had no reason to remember it."
"Well, that depends on how you plan to use it, Mr. President."
He closed the office door tightly with a cold expression.
"The woman who was once a duchess working as a laundry maid? Has she ever touched water?"
“Are your eyes really working well? If you had seen her hands earlier, you wouldn’t have asked that.”
Laszlo's comment made Nathan stop. Earlier, he had been so preoccupied with the strange atmosphere surrounding the woman stuck outside the door that he hadn't noticed her hands.
However, Laszlo not only noticed Edel's face, but also the roughness of her hands.
Unlike before, her hands were red and swollen and her skin was peeling, making her look pathetic.
“When she arrived here, she probably thought she would end up as a night hostess, but she seemed grateful just to be a laundry maid.”
“This cannot be true. Noble women would rather become sewing slaves than get their hands wet.”
“How many times have I told you not to be blinded by such prejudices? If you only see what you want to see, you should get a job at a newspaper.”
Nathan fell silent, and felt a slight prickling sensation.
In truth, Laszlo was silently mocking himself. He had initially thought the same thing as Nathan.
Naturally, there wasn't enough time to make an accurate judgment.
However, when Laszlo saw her hands, which had probably never washed clothes before, he felt a little like Edel's despair.
'So, she's not planning to die anymore? That's something that needs to be acknowledged.'
Idil, who decided to continue to face her difficult life, looked rather impressive.
As Laszlo was thinking about that, Nathan scratched the back of his head and let out a groan.
"Why did she have to be outside when we were talking about the Count Canyon family? It's worrying. Do you really think she didn't hear anything?"
“Very few people know that the ‘Red Rat’ refers to the Count Canyon family. If she knew that, well… we’d have to hire her as our guild’s codebreaker.”
Laszlo laughed as he tried to reassure the worried Nathan.
However, the unexpected encounter with Edel made Laszlo delve deeper into his thoughts about the Count Canyon family.
'Yes. Count Canyon will be more cautious than before, but he will never give up his greed.'
He sent his promising daughter to marry an old man without hesitation, then handed her over to save his life.
After receiving Edel, he secretly hoped to get a discreet connection from Count Canyon's family, but so far, not a single message has arrived.
'Even the Marchesa Celestine, who is not even a member of the family, sent a letter asking me to treat her well, but her parents and siblings have not shown even the slightest interest in her fate.'
Thinking about this, Laszlo can't help but feel sorry for Edel's life.
Perhaps her father tricked her into marrying the Duke of Lancaster. And perhaps she wasn't happy even before marrying the Duke of Lancaster.
'In any case, Idil must be able to let go of her family.'
Laszlo, believing that Count Canyon's family would eventually disappear from the register of nobility, expressed his hope that Edel had completely severed ties with her past when he returned to discussing their work.
“As I said before, keep a close eye on the red rat. If the yellow fox makes a move, the red rat will certainly behave differently.”
"Understood. I'll trust your instincts this time, boss."
Nathan nodded. Laszlo's intuition had always been accurate, so it would be no different this time.
However, Nathan was unable to get rid of the persistent anxiety.
'My instincts are very sharp too, Mr. President. And this woman really bothered me.'
A beautiful woman, a former duchess, works as a laundry maid in this den of villains.
Every word in this interpretation seems contradictory.
'Well, at most, she might end up becoming the president's mistress. What more could a socially disgraced woman do?'
Nathan tried to lighten his mood by handing Laszlo a document summarizing the various tales and pieces of information about the mercenary squad.
—
There were two main armed forces protecting the imperial family.
One was the Imperial Guard, who closely guarded the Emperor, and the other was the Imperial Cavalry, who protected the palace and went on expeditions at the Emperor's command.
Although the Imperial Cavalry were much larger, the Imperial Guard was considered a more prestigious position because they served directly under the Emperor.
It was considered a promotion when an Imperial Knight caught the Emperor's attention and was transferred to the Imperial Guard.
“Therefore, it is a disgrace to the deputy commander. If Count Crisis hadn't appeared out of nowhere, you would probably be the commander of the Imperial Guard now.”
“Stop talking nonsense! Everyone has their place. As for me, being the deputy commander of the Imperial Cavalry is already a great honor.”
"You are very humble, Deputy Commander."
In the Imperial Cavalry Training Ground, two men, who had just finished their training, exchanged friendly banter.
One of them was the First Commander and the other was Edmund Milton, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Cavalry.
His platinum blonde hair and gray eyes were strikingly beautiful, but his body, hidden beneath a sweat-drenched shirt, was strong enough to suit the title of youngest deputy commander.
"Hello, Mr. Milton! Have you just finished your training?"
"Ah, Commander! I've just finished. Is there anything you need help with?"
“I just wanted to say well done. People might think I work you to the bone every day.”
The commander laughed heartily, and the regiment commander who was next to him said, "Isn't this the truth?"
The commander pretended to stare at him threateningly before turning back to pat Edmund on the shoulder.
“You don’t have to conform to the Imperial Guard’s training system. You already have plenty of other duties.”
“I did not intend to compete with the Guards. But since the suppression of the Duke of Lancaster’s rebellion, things have remained unstable. We must be prepared for any possible uprisings.”
“Ha! That’s truly a perfect answer, sir!”
The regiment commander praised Edmund's response in the textbook, and his praise was tinged with flattery.
Edmund, who came from a high-ranking noble family and followed the path of the elite, always remained humble and friendly, earning everyone's admiration. His handsome looks certainly didn't hurt either.
"Good job everyone! See you tomorrow!"
Edmund wiped his sweat and cheerfully called out to the others, who responded warmly and waved back.
But when Edmund moved away, his expression changed drastically from the one he had just shown.