A Handsome K*nky Gangster Reporter - Chapter 69

#69

The next day after Countess Vladimir’s party, newspaper readers talked about the scandal involving a woman named Emily in the photo.

“If this is about the noblemen in the imperial palace, is this about Prince Edmund?”

“Come on, man. How can I say that this man is the Crown Prince just based on this portrait from his back? If you say that, you’ll be in big trouble later. Watch your mouth.”

“No, this newspaper supposedly reveal the real identity of the man. If the author doesn’t mention this man’s name and only gives out clues, are they making the newspaper readers die of curiosity on purpose?”

“Geez, what if she reveals it’s the Crown Prince in public and brought to the imperial palace later? I don’t know who this reporter is, but they are certainly smart. Look at them deliberately taking a photo that only shows his back.”

Gillane, the owner of the grocery store who intentionally peeked around the newspaper office when she came to buy bread, pretended to be close to Tom Baker.

“Hey, about this picture. Have you met the Crown Prince? Did you hear something from the boss upstairs?”

“Huh? Looks like the newspaper boss hasn’t even come to work yet?”

“What did Mary say? Perhaps, it’s best to ask your daughter.”

“Oh, my daughter has been busy lately.”

“For what reason?”

“Don’t you know that nobles these days are eager to marry off their unmarried children because they’re debuting or something like that? Everyone are asking her to publish stories about their children in newspapers.”

In the past, nobles used to evaluate the unmarried children of nobles by looking back at portraits of conspicuous noble children during the social season. Since these were portraits drawn by humans, the appearance was somewhat exaggerated depending on the painter. Therefore, Haley Mertes, president of Golden Wild Goose Daily, incorporated the introduction of unmarried nobles into the newspaper which could be considered an opportunity.

Of course, the first target was Claude Lischer who has been shrouded in secrecy, and the newspapers containing tributes to his favorite women and his tastes and areas of interest have lately achieved such explosive sales that they have to be printed further.

And the place Haley and Mary went to cover today was the town house where the rumored Grand Duke of the North lives.

“Mary. If he’s not married, comes from the imperial family, and owns the title of Grand Duke. He must be very handsome, don’t you think so?”

“Probably. Everyone has a stereotype about the Duke of the North. Young and rich, tall and handsome. A man with an incredibly firm chest.”

“Oh my. I’m so eager to see him.”

“Me too, President.”

Haley and Mary waited with high expectation to conduct the interview in the living room. Actually, only one reporter was allowed to interview and take photos, but they also came here due to the special name of the Grand Duke of the Northern.

“I like a sweet man. I’m sure the Grand Duke we’re going to interview today has such a personality, isn’t he?”

“I like a cautious and thoughtful man. Oh my god, Pres. This will be the happiest day since I joined the newspaper.”

Haley agreed with Mary’s words while lowering her head.

“Me too. I wonder what kind of feng shui principles exist in the North, because there are always good men there.”

“Feng shu… What? What is it, Pres?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just something like that. Oh right, the people we meet today must have a miserable past. As reporters, we should pay attention to those small things. We should form a lapo with the Northern Grand Duke today.”

Laphora, it was the first time Mary, who was still an amateur reporter, heard it. Mary asked Haley while scratching her head.

“Lapo? Pres, what is it?”

“Hmm. It’s… something. Should I call it a Lapo that forms empathetic relationships with people? We make the intervention more comfortable and it’ll get easier from there.”

“Hmm, I think I got what you mean.”

Similar to the romance-fantasy world, the Grand Duke of the Northern World also had a miserable background. He was someone who was technically second in the line of imperial succession, but own no power. He was the second son of the current Emperor, who was the son of the late emperor. The protagonist of the tragedy who was banished by Empress Fionia to the north of the Morris Empire at a young age and gained the status of duke.

Haley suspected that the current Claude or one of the Grand Dukes of the North that she was about to meet was one of the sub-male rulers of this world.

That’s weird. I was the writer of this world. How come I didn’t remember any of the sub male leads?’

Of course, Haley could blame her memories of being reborn in this novel world and fading away for 20 years. However, Haley was able to recall the other characters in the novel, but she didn’t remember much about one of its important contents, the dark-haired grand duke.

‘No, from the beginning. Is he really a dark-haired man?’

Come to think of it, there was something else that had became strange. In the original story, beside the female lead Gloria, there was always a maid who was angry while assisting her. It seemed that her name is a common one. Perhaps, because she was currently occupying the seat beside Gloria, such maid role didn’t exist to stay beside the female lead. Haley was certain that the maid was the same age as her.

Someone seemed to have removed the memories of Duke and Gloria’s personal maid in Haley’s mind. When Haley thought of the two of them, she felt strange.

“President, you have to wake up.”

Mary jumped up from the sofa and shook Haley’s shoulder as she had gotten lost in her own thought. Haley, who realized it, immediately rushed to the door. A man with slightly dark skin and broad shoulders walked into the living room with his servant. The man’s presence felt overwhelming.

Haley welcomed the man cheerfully, tugged at her skirt and knelt down to greet him.

“I am utterly pleased to meet you. You must be the Lord Mordred Eaton, the Grand Duke of the North. My name is Haley Mertes, President of Golden Wild Goose Daily.”

Due to Haley’s positive attitude, the atmosphere of the Northern Grand Duke’s residence suddenly became cold. It was as if Haley had made a big mistake.

The handsome man with shoulders similar to a gangster, cleared his throat.

“Ehem! Hm. I am His Majesty’s bodyguard. This is His Highness Mordred Eaton.”

Only then did the Duke of Mordred Eaton, who was hiding behind the guards and out of sight from Haley and Mary, appeared. He was a thin man with narrow shoulders, black hair, and bloody red eyes. He must have never been outside due to the cold northern part of the country, and his skin was as pale as a corpse, his face was covered in freckles.

‘President. You said he was handsome.’

‘You also said tall and handsome, chest and all.’

Mary and Haley communicate to each other through their eyes. A hint of disappointment could be sensed from their glances. Haley managed her expression quickly.

“Haha. Sorry. I misunderstood. Your Honor, how about we take a seat here?”

The interviewer and the establishment of Laphora seemed awkward. Haley didn’t know where to untie this knot. Haley’s eyes trembled out of embarrassment. While taking a sip of the cup of warm and strong tea brought by the servants, she decided to speak first.

“You’ve turned 19 this year, am I right? I know you haven’t come to the capital for a long time. How long has it been since your last visit?”

“I was banished to the north at the age of 13. It’s been about six years.”

“…I see. Why did you come to the capital?”

When asked by the woman, the Grand Duke of the North spread his shoulders and stretched his chest forward. The curves of his mouth formed a composed smile.

“I also wanted to try a marriage for love. These days, young nobles would rather fall in love and get married rather than having their parents arranging it. I would also like to experience it.”

It was true that love marriages were popular among nobles in the capital.

However, they also meet strategically by shaking their heads behind their backs and weighing the opponent that balance their position. On the surface, they made up a love-at-first-sight story and passed it on to others, but the truth is that they only married the partner determined by their parents and pulled up an act so that they would appear nice in public.

‘Are you naive or stupid because you’re only been in the North all these times?’

Mordred Eaton, who blew his nose and said he also wanted to marry for love, somehow made others seemed a little frivolous and dull. Of course, they shouldn’t judge just by outward appearance, but this was Haley.

The image of a northern archduke, a cold man but warm to his woman, has long since been put aside.

Haley asked him anxiously, as she sensed that he had the opposite tendency to the image people attached on him.

“Then, perhaps. Do you have any preferences?”

“Preferences?”

“I mean, your ideal type. I want to hear in detail such as whether you like someone with blonde hair, or what kind of body type that you prefer.”

“Oh! About that. I… I like skinny women such as you. That way, when I stand beside her, my body would appear bigger. And I hope she’s a bit shorter. Oh, but it’s too small for someone who sticks to the ground. Her skin should be clean like white jade, and I hope she has a lot of knowledge.”

Haley was nervous and wet her dry lips.

‘How can I make this story that came out of the Northern Grand Duke’s mouth to appear more graceful and appealing?’

That was when she was thinking hard while racking her brains. Mordred Eaton who was excited when talking about the ideal type added.

“Hmm. I don’t really care about hair color, and I just hope she’s quite rich. What do you think? Is this good enough for my ideal type?”

As soon as he finished, Mary involuntarily burst into an exclamation.

“Oh my god!”

Fortunately, Mary failed to try hard to hold back what she was about to say.

‘How can there be such unreasonable requirements? Is there a woman in this world who is thin and has a big chest, unless she is blessed with such amazing genes?’

At Mary’s exclamation, the Northern Grand Duke asked with twitching lips as if he was offended.

“What do you mean?”

Mary was at a loss for words and lowered her head guiltily. The settlement was only Haley’s responsibility.

“Hahaha, it seems my employees were surprised to hear your ideal type. Your resourcefulness is very special indeed. As expected, you are, indeed, a part of the imperial family.”

It was not a compliment. Mordred Eaton immediately felt better and shrugged shoulders.

“Well, if it comes to the eyes of a good man of my size. She’s no ordinary woman either.”

If the Grand Duke’s interview was published in the newspaper right away, it woud be obvious that he would gain the lowest popularity not only in the capital but also among the local unmarried nobles.

“Your Highness, may I write in the newspaper that I found the woman who is destined to be together?”

“Well, that’s up to the reporter.”

“Thank you for your permission. Hahaha.”

Haley thought she should make the interview with the Grand Duke’s ideal type to her taste. If Haley mistakenly published the interview with someone related to the imperial family, there would definitely be gossip circulating around. Haley hurriedly added all sorts of rhetoric to the interview by drawing lines in her notebook.

While staring at Haley like that, Mordred dropped his gaze. Haley, who felt the look in her eyes, asked in confusion. Haley wondered if she had said something wrong.

“Why, why –?”

“Journalist. Can you take off your shoes for a moment?”

Haley couldn’t believe the Grand Duke ordered unmarried women to take off their shoes in public. Haley sighed while looking at the people around them. Commoner couldn’t refuse an order from a grand duke. She took off her right shoe. Then, her legs, which was wrapped in silk stockings, revealed so clearly. The Grand Duke of the North smiled at the sight of Haley’s feet.