A Handsome K*nky Gangster Reporter - Chapter 59

#59

Hopefully, among the people chosen by Mary, there would be many consistent and competent talents. Haley came down to the first floor with such hopes.

Today was the day of Baron Stephen’s funeral. Haley planned to take the omnibus train to the Baron. However, a carriage led by a black horse already stood in front of the building.

“Boy, I don’t know who’s driving this, but this looks really expensive.”

Lately, Tom Baker’s bakery had been very popular, so Haley wondered if they were one of the regular customers of the bakery. However, it seemed that she had seen this horse-drawn carriage a lot. Just as Haley thought about the carriage, its door opened and Claude’s face came into the sight.

“Noona. You’re going to attend the funeral, aren’t you? Let’s get on this and go together.”

“….”

Haley pretended to be unaware and walked past the carriage. Then, her feet moved quickly. Claude stopped Haley.

“Noona. Are you angry?”

“Excuse me, how can I, a commoner, dare to get upset at the young master? Can you step aside a bit because I’m busy and have to go for an appointment?”

“Aren’t you on your way to the funeral? I’ve been waiting for two hours in front of this place. Make yourself comfortable on the carriage and come with me. Will you?”

“That’s not necessary.”

“Come with me in the carriage, and I’ll show you around the Duke of Lischer’s residence.”

“What am I going to do with looking around other people’s houses?”

“How about I sponsor you a ticket to stay at the Lischer Hotel?”

At the tempting suggestion, Haley instinctively stopped her pacing feet.

“How much?”

“Well…. 10 tickets for 2 people?”

“Hey, if you want to give them to me, you have to give me 50 pieces. What are you asking me to do with just 10 pieces and stick them on someone’s nose?”

‘You’ve been so frugal since you were young. Are you going to keep being like this even after you becom the young head of the ducal house?’

Haley grumbled like this, and these words came out of Claude’s mouth.

“Fine! I’ll give you 100 sheets, including accommodation vouchers, hotel and restaurant meal tickets! In exchange, you’re going to go to a date with me for just one day. That’s the condition.”

The main customers of Hotel Lischer were either nobles or some rich commoner businessmen. Ordinary people couldn’t afford it due to the high price range. However, it was said that the Duke of Lischer personally offered hotel tickets and meal tickets for the Golden Wild Goose Daily. As the president of a newspaper company, how could Haley possibly miss this opportunity?

‘At this time, I had to establish a relationship with the Duke of Gateron through my younger brother and get the hotel advertisement.’

Haley’s plans for the readers of ‘The Golden Wild Goose Daily’ continued to unfold in his head. If he occasionally gave presents to customers, the sales rate of the newspaper would increase.

“Alright, let’s do that. Let me meet His Grace the Duke in the middle of our date. I have a suggestion to propose to him.”

“Eh? Okay.”

Claude felt compelled to ask his friend, Jay, what a girl’s request to meet her father meant while leading Haley into the carriage. Meeting parents on their date seemed very strange. No matter how hard they go on dates as friends, Claude didn’t think it was right….

Inside the rattling horse-drawn carriage, Claude’s gaze was only directed on his sister. Even if Claude tried to look elsewhere, his eyes kept gazing back to her. Haley’s face looking at the scenery outside through the window was so adorable.

‘If I try to kiss her now, she’ll beat me to death, won’t her?’

Even though he knew, Claude continued to desire those thick lips. If only he didn’t know the taste at all. He kept feeling anxious because he already had memories of the taste of it. A few strands of her red hair were fluttered by the wind entering through the window. Claude pulled himself forward and stretched his hand over Haley’s face. He tucked Haley’s hair behind her ear.

“What, why are you like this?”

“Because it looks like you’re upset.”

With a gentle expression on his face, Claude simply chuckled. He managed to hold back his desire. Claude knew that if she caught his dirty thoughts, Haley would never want to meet him again.

Claude’s fingers stroked Haley’s cheek and retrieved his hands quickly. Although he didn’t show it, he mentally flinched when his finger touched Haley’s cheek. The tickling sensation made Claude’s heart keep pounding.

Haley’s heart continued to pound from the spreading tickling sensation. She stared at Claude’s long, thick hands with blue veins prominent on the skin.

‘Have I been lonely lately? What’s going on with me?’

Haley’s heart kept pounding even with his slight touch. Haley just closed her eyes because she thought that she had a pervert demon inside her. Claude thought as he looked at her slightly flushed cheeks.

‘Is it now?’

When Claude brought his face close to Haley’s, Haley ruthlessly pushed Claude’s face away with her hand. Even if Haley closed her eyes, it seemed like she was reading Claude’s thoughts carefully.

“Stop being a cheater. Why is every guy I meet like this these days? I feel bad.”

Among her words, there were remarks that bothered Claude’s mind. She obviously said, ‘every man she met’. He assumed there was also anyone else that bothered Haley. 

‘Is it that blue-haired man?’

“Noona, what kind of person does nasty things to you besides me?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Noona! Do you want to see me lose my mind? That blue-haired man, right? There’s just that bastard other than me by your side!”

“Hey. If you’re going to keep going like this, you should drop me here.”

Claude shut his mouth when she said she was going to get off the carriage. Claude’s stomach was positively boiling, but Haley had to come first. Claude dropped his head to hide his anger. Then, his eyes were fixated on one place. At the corner of his eyes were Haley’s old shoes.

* * *

Baron Stephen’s funeral went out flawlessly, although the preparation period was short. As expected, the world could make up for the lack of time with money. Gloria held her ex-husband’s funeral more lavishly than anyone else.

Although there were days when she felt offended, she could enjoy the rest of her life thanks to her ex-husband. Of course, these days Gloria felt like she was going to die because she was late in learning about money management and housekeeping.

Saint Laurent Cemetery is located in the heart of the capital. The imperial capital is centered on the cemetery, and could be seen as the luxurious residences and royal palaces of the nobles on the top class and the residential areas of the common people at the bottom.

The people of the Morris Empire are especially proud of the Saint Laurent cemetery, which was surrounded by dense trees. If there was a famous person in the kingdom, he would even boast that his ancestors were buried in this cemetery. In this honorable place, Gloria had prepared a tomb for Baron Stephen. Of course, it was a place where Gloria had hardly bought with a lot of money.

Gloria looked at the gray marble that had been well polished.

[Baron Stephen who was trying to make the empire rich. Stay here. ]

From a nobleman who fell into poverty to some of the richest people in the kingdom. Her ex-husband must have exerted tremendous effort. In the process, trade with foreign countries in Stephen’s name strengthened the empire’s finances.

After the temple priest’s tribute was over, the coffin was quickly buried. Gloria placed a white chrysanthemum on her ex-husband’s grave.

‘May you rest comfortably down there.’

While praying silently for her dead husband, someone approached Gloria and she pretended to be unaware of them.

“Gloria, was it really hard for you to attend funerals? Oh, look at that pretty face of yours.”

It was her older sibling, Brie, who walked up to Gloria and caressed her head and cheeks. Brie seemed so shameless. When she confessed her sins and told Gloria to die with honor. Now she was pretending to be nice to her sister who became rich.

A few days ago, Brie was almost dragged to the police station and severely punished. Luckily, Gloria was able to help her escape after declaring that she didn’t want to punish the perpetrator. Since then, Brie has always tried with all her might to meet her sister.

“Get your hands off me.”

Gloria gave her sister a cold stare. However, Brie didn’t give up.

“Look, it’s going to be hard to run a business that the Baron left behind by yourself. In times like these, you have to put trustworthy people by your side. At least you have an estate. Oh, instead of that, how about asking my husband for a favor? You know that my husband is a nobleman who graduated from the academy with good grades, right?”

“No, I don’t know.”

“Oh, really? Haha. You just have to know it now. Hey, it’s been going on like this….”

Gloria raised her eyebrows as she faced Brie’s gaze. Her older sister, who slowly clung to her, was starting to be annoying.

“Now don’t pretend to know me. We broke up in prison that day.”

“Dude, do you know blood relations aren’t that easy to break?”

“It’s easy to break up with the person who tried to poison me.”

At Gloria’s statement, Brie looked awkward and hurriedly closed the subject.

“My sister. You’re not feeling better yet, are you? I did all this for you. I forgot that I have an urgent appointment. I’ll see you later. I’ll make sure to.”

When her sister walked away from her, Gloria threw a sigh and swept her face with her hands. She was tired of dealing with the guests who came to the funeral all morning. 

Gloria leaned on the stone bench near the grave. She was resting for a moment in the hot sun, and the sunlight streaming down her face suddenly disappeared. Gloria felt like someone had cast a shadow over her face. When she opened her eyes, Gloria saw a pleasant face.

“Oh, sir. What are you doing here?”

“Sorry I came late. You look pale. You’ve been working too hard.”

Ciel, who was referred to as the Crown Prince’s bodyguard, worried about him with a haggard face. He was a man who cared so much that he stretched out his hand and cast a shadow over Gloria’s face. For some reason, Gloria’s cheeks became hot.

“No, no. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do as a homeowner.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. I’m worried.”

That day. Ever since the day Ciel saw Gloria standing in the flowing sunlight in front of the fountain, Ciel had fallen in love with her at first sight. No, come to think of it, that day was their second meeting. Ciel could not see her face properly as he glanced at the National Police Agency’s dungeon. That was why Ciel did not know how beautiful this woman was. 

Ciel spent time with Gloria sitting in a cafe and talkingabout various things. Surprisingly, that day time passed quickly. Although the Crown Prince he served did not appear for a long time, he was somewhat relieved. No matter how much the Crown Prince liked red-haired woman. Ciel did not know when Edmund would fall in love with such a beautiful and kind woman. 

Now it didn’t matter to him if Gloria was a widow and have a commoner background. She just looked like a beautiful woman to him.

The woman calmly expressed her heart despite the desperate situation.

“I will try as hard as I can because I am not good enough. Now I have many people to take responsibility beside me.”

“You will succeed. I will help you if you have permission to go to the imperial palace or if you have a relationship with a noble. Whenever you want.”

“Thank you for saying that. Ciel.”

Ciel and Gloria’s atmosphere seemed quite intimate, then Henrick, the butler who was watching her from a distance, frowned. He stepped in between the two hoping to interrupt their good time.

“Madam, Edgar, the Baron’s relative wants to see you.”

“Relative? When the Baron was alive, he said that he was an orphan who had no relatives.”