#54

‘If it’s the demon woman who accepts the love of two men at once. Wouldn’t it be possible to make her own dead and hardened heart beat?’

Edmund was really curious about the woman trapped between these men. A cortisan who seemed to have a hard time, and even a waitress in a back alley bar. There was no woman who could make Edmund’s heart flutter.

Well, there was one woman who made him a little curious recently. It was not enough to be called deep affection which could ignite a sense of struggle inside him like the two men before him. Women were merely a part of nightlife for Edmund.

“I’m sorry, but we will gladly accept the charge of making a scene in Your Majesty’s glass house. Please do not punish innocent women.”

“I’m sorry. Your Majesty.”

‘What? Not funny. Neither of these men didn’t even speak.’

The Crown Prince, whose interest rapidly decreasing, signaled them to stop and came out immediately. He suddenly missed the red-haired woman.

She was the only one who could make him laugh within recent days.

At that moment, at the dessert shop, she was the one who was more curious about the Crown Prince’s tastes and personality than anyone else. He was responding to the words of the woman who asked if the Crown Prince had a personality full of justice.

The Crown Prince wondered what she was planning in her head to ask such questions.

‘Can’t you include me when filming the 2nd book of The Red?’

‘What? Are you crazy?’

‘I can also take off my top.’

‘I don’t need it.’

Then, he also offered to help with her work while filming the second volume of ‘The Red’. He got angry later on and heard Haley’s voice responding to his lewd words.

‘How dare you talk dirty to me? You said something stupid.’

But the crown prince didn’t really hate women with bad temper.

Edmund had thought, ‘It turns out that a slender woman can also be cute.’ Haley attracted him with the charm of a cat she had in her.

*  *  *

I glanced over Gloria’s head as she was lying on the bed. I kept on nagging.

“Until when are you just going to lie in bed like that? Now you’re the president at Stephen’s Bank. Don’t you know there are hundreds of people under you?”

My mother and I were still staying at the Baron’s residence.

A cold wind blew in the air between Gloria and me. I was sad that she didn’t trust me, and Gloria didn’t say anything as if she was also disappointed with me.

However, it was only a week before my patient wear thin. Even after getting out of jail and return to her consciousness, she hasn’t left her bedroom for one week. Gloria has to quickly go through her husband’s funeral as a proper housewife now.

“The more you go out like this, the narrower your position in this family becomes. Or are you going to starve everyone under you? Didn’t you hear the servants’ complaints about the stench of corpses in the basement over there?”

Was I really too weak in managing my novel characters? Or was Gloria really this kind of irresponsible person? As a writer, I blamed the past and ended up shouting to the heroine.

“Get up. Get up now and take a bath! Oh, look at this mold. I can’t tell if it’s your ex-husband or you who’s rotting here!”

I grabbed the female lead’s arm forcefully and lifted her up from the bed. Gloria’s legs wobbled in the process. She had been lying in bed, so it was natural for her leg muscles to be weak. I helped her and carried her to the bathroom by force and poured water on her.

Today the weather was cloudy.

On days like this, if you stay in one place, you would only feel more depressed. As I was bathing her, I poured out all the stories Mother had ever told me.

“People who live must continue to live! I mean, if it were me, I would be enjoying it while spending a lot of money that my dead husband left me. You’re rich and become a noble now. Although living in luxury and eating delicious meals while hitting on many handsome men, it will definitely keep you preoccupied. Do you want to follow the Baron to another world? If you die, will the Imperial Palace at least set up a gate for virtuous women?”

“If I were you, I would give your friend a hundred gold coins because I have a lot of money.”

Gloria burst out laughing at my grumble.

“Hey, I’m serious. Shouldn’t you pay me a little? If you have a conscience.”

I looked at my friend and continued to make fun of her hands while washing them. This kind of work should be done by a maid, but I didn’t want to show the weak side of Gloria who wasn’t yet the full owner of this house to her subordinates.

“How much do you need?”

Gloria’s expression when she said this seemed a little sad.

Look at this girl. She thought I was saying this because I really need the money?

“Oh, look at you. You’re saying nice things that make my heart flutter just after hearing them from me? Are you trying to tempt me with money? Are you going to get married again?”

Perhaps, she realized I was just joking. The corners of Gloria’s mouth curved up. I thought it was time, so I spat out more jokes.

“Why, would you give me money if I asked for it? I have plenty of money, too. If you want to return the favor, get up and take your rightful place as the head of the Baron’s family. Let’s have a noble friend who stay by my side so I know I have a dependable backer. If your business is successful, our newspaper will place an advertisement at a high price. Oh, by the way, I’ll give you a bargain price, my customer.”

When I said that I was going to use my friend frankly, Gloria’s eyes turned red. Soon, tears dripped down her doe eyes. Were those words pathetic?

“Hey, I’m going to use you only a bit. Am I going to eat your backbone?”

I was just kidding. I was really nagging to cheer her up by throwing out jokes.

She hugged me and burst into tears, I was confused as to why she was so sad.

“Huhu….sorry. I’m sorry I doubted you, Haley.”

“Hey, my clothes are going to get wet. Stop crying. You’ve been crying since morning. Sh*t. If you feel guilty, you can go to the Konkuk Festival with me later. You’ll make me cry, too.”

I don’t know why I’ve become sentimental lately. If anyone cried in front of me, my tears also kept coming out. We burst into tears after a long period of unconsciousness. After that, it became awkward and we avoided each other’s gaze. Even so, I could see that the emotional goal that had been a defeat between us had disappeared.

“Get up quickly and send out letters to people. We should bury your ex-husband. That way, you can meet another man soon, too.”

Even if she wasn’t going to get married, she still could enjoy life by going out with others.

What made my words so funny was that Gloria cried and laughed repeatedly.

‘There’s hair growing in your a*sh*le.’

After taking a shower, I looked at Gloria’s closet and took out one black attire. For now, she had to become a woman who just lost her husband, so she needed to wear dark clothes for a while as a sign of remembrance.

Gloria wore a tight black cashmere outfit and wore a yellow ribbon decoration on her chest. I wish I had black lace gloves. She lost her appetite because of her depressed mood.

After Gloria finished dressing up, I borrowed her clothes before we went out of her bedroom. Henrick, the butler of this house, already stood outside the door.

“You’ve woken up, Madam.”

He bowed and greeted Gloria more politely than usual. Now that Baron Stephen’s first rank had been transferred to Gloria, the attitude given by her subordinates deserved to change, too.

“I have to take care of the Baron’s funeral. You can set the date and prepare it.”

“Yes, Madam.”

The butler seemed to have more to say. He had to move quickly to prepare for the funeral. He didn’t leave, but his lips were fluttering and twitching slightly while looking at us.

“What is it?”

“Listen… Madam. You should also adjust the mourning clothes that will be worn at the funeral. How about going out today? In the meantime, please enjoy the state establishment festival.”

Rather than calling the designer home, the butler asked if it would be better to visit the designer for a change of scenery. I nodded and agreed with what his words. It was too expensive to call a designer. If we went directly to the boutique and had it sewn, we could buy the dress for half the price. Since the Baron had also died, it was necessary to save money for now.

However, the butler’s struggling attitude to send Gloria out also appeared suspicious to me.

Of course, without the butler’s words, I had planned to take Gloria out today.

“Haley, will you go with me today?”

Since she had been once suspected of k*lling her husband, she didn’t seem to have the confidence to walk around on her own. Moreover, Gloria still felt uncomfortable with Stephen’s maid. I answered her words as if I had been waiting.

“Okay. Come with me. Gloria, I’m going to drive away everyone who talks about you behind you. You know it, right? I have a bad temper.”

Usually, next to the main lead, there should be someone who needed to curse everyone and lose their temper, not the main lead themselves. That way, the female protagonist could maintain the noble and kind act.

I was able to figure out the butler’s suspicious plan while we were waiting for the carriage. To get a feel for the atmosphere of this house, I walked to the stables with him.

“What is this? Why are the stables so hot all of a sudden?”

Gloria narrowed her eyes at my words and looked into the stables.

“It looks like the butler is recruiting new employees.”

The sun seemed to be descending into the stables. It was my illusion. The stable remained the same, and the men working seemed to get younger. They were all people with striking appearances who probably worked in entertainment venues.

Some of the men were beautiful men with blonde hair and turquoise eyes, others have muscular appearance and showed off their masculinity. Once they saw us under the pretext of heat, they pretended to work half-naked. The view pleased my sight.

‘Hah?! Where did the butler find people like this?’

I could see the butler’s ulterior motive.

I came to understand the butler’s motive, which was to please the innocent Baroness, who was rich and noble, by falling in love with handsome men, though it was very disappointing. Even so, thanks to the butler, I finally felt happy because it felt like I was really in a romantic fantasy world.

For the first time, the beautiful scenery made me blink my eyes beautifully. I liked what this butler had done.

“Madam, welcome.”

The copper skin muscular man approached us while wiping off his sweat. He was a beautiful man with dark gray hair and black eyes, and a few drops of sweat ran through his chest.

‘It’s bigger than mine.’

As soon as I saw his wide chest, I felt like I was defeated by a man. However, I subconsciously dropped my gaze to where the drops of sweat were flowing, and my saliva dripped without me realizing it.

Gloria quietly turned her gaze elsewhere before answering the man.

“We’re going out. Give me one of the horse carriage.”

The copper-colored skin man flashed a smile and slowly turned around. His chest muscles appeared as he turned around. The man silently enjoyed how our gaze directed to his body. It was very conspicuous. I whispered in Gloria’s ear.

“Why is he naked in this weather? But I’m grateful for that.”

Of course it was hot because it was currently summer. Thanks to that, I hit Gloria and said that I saw her gaze as well, but the female lead seemed embarrassed and threw her gaze away. He looked like someone who had a high lust and worked in a back alley bar that deals with rich women.