Chapter 7-9 (2/2)

anger

Good, Father isn’t daunted

People will talk The misfortune of

others is like nectar to bees for Society

Hopefully our business will not

lose customers because of this

The duke was obviously trying to

ene’s benefit, and place the responsibility of the

break up on me

The acquisitioning party should

have the higher hand It’s like telling your enemy, ‘this is my weakness’

(Zuben: This is gobbledegook, but nothing came up better)

I gave theht me

weakness

We are the losing party When the

story comes out, my family and I would become “pitiful”

We couldn’t even ask for a

settlement even if anted to

nobles are troublesome

Would I be able to go see the play

with General Volker?

It looks like it would be

impossible

In the background, Mother

repeatedly cursed the er’s name

I rubbed my sore arm as I listened

This is rather unfortunate

I’m sorry

9 Volker: A Fox Borrowing the Power of a Tiger

A cup of fragrant tea sat before

me

There was aon the

other side of the table wiping his sith a handkerchief

His behaviour was very suspicious

I wondered if he was like this with

Lady Fredericka, and became anxious

When we returned from the Castley

residence, there was a e in a

rather eate

I looked at Xavier; the person

seeer from the Duke Cajes residence

He had waited all afternoon, he

said, because of my absence, time had been wasted What should he do if he was

scolded by the Duke? He cried, while looking angry

When Xavier and I did not say

anything, he fell silent I wondered if he noticed his own rudeness He gave

his name and said he had important matters to discuss from the Duke, so a maid

directed hi room

Xavier had an appalled expression

as the man walked away

‘Do you think he is really from the

Duke? It is rather unbelievable,’

‘Lack of talented manpower…?’

Xavier went to check details with

the house keeper I handed my coat to my footman, and walk unhurriedly to the

reception room

It seemed in the mean time, he

remembered his position The recent abominable manners were put aside, and the

ave a nervous smile as he

accepted tea from the maid

It just seemed unlikely that this

person was a er from the Duke

So felt off

He was behaving like a commoner

confused by the sudden acquisition of power they were not accustomed to

He began by saying using the

Western arht was a waste of troops, and I should

have thought of ot more

arrogant

When he finally concluded, I was

annoyed, ‘I was asked to assure security last night by the West General as a

favour It was a lastI do not understand what the Duke’s concern

is’

But the ti…it is probably

related to Lady Fredericka, that the Duke would come to see the security

officer for the ball last night (Zuben: I know it’s a plot contrivance, but

why did they need security anyway?)

As I spoke, the er drank his

tea casually

‘Last night, Eugene the heir to the

Duke of Cajes broke his engagement with Fredericka’

I raise a brow, ‘So I’ve heard’ I

replied

He leaned over and said in a conspiratory

tone, ‘Actually, the engagement was a conspiracy by the Viscount Castley The

General may not know this, but Fredericka is a spend thrift A wasteful woman

She spent the Duke’sit was for her bridal

trousseau’

Hmm…

‘The nouveau riche Castleys are a

vulgar clanShe goes about wear gaudy jingly

jangly jewellery about showing off their so called wealth Isn’t it all a lie?’

Hmm… (Zuben: Indeed)

‘She was the one who tempted Lord

Eugene in the first place, showing off her chest with low cut dresses And he

was teh to propose!’

Hmm…

‘Eugene is young, so who could

blaood about that

girl are her breasts Hahahah’

I growled but he didn’t notice

‘But Lord Eugene eventually became

wise to her fox like ways There was numerous evidence of her true common

behaviour So finally he broke off the engagement yesterday But that sly fox

girl played the pitiful victim’

The er’s face was flush with

excitement as he recounted this tale He took a sip of tea to calm down

‘So what are you trying to tell

ripping the armrests

tightly

‘Well, the duke wants the truth of

the matter to be known, since you may have received a biased report from the

guards at the party, so as not to be embarrassed later’

The er said with a smile

‘It was strange in the first place

for a duke’s son to hter Their family status is too

different It’s like the stars coht

their title with gold in the turreat war Such low blood

people should not mix with a Duke’s noble blood’

‘That girl is a vulgar woman, like

a prostitute that invites men in the back streets’

I shot out of my chair,

‘I will not listen to any more of

this for I fear my ears will rot!’

The er jumped at the tone of

my voice

‘Er, yes! That’s right, that girl

is…’ it see my words at his convenience He was

rubbing his hands together like a little housefly, laughing So I pulled out my

sword and held it against the er’s pale cheek

He squealed (Zuben: Squeal piggy

squeal)

‘Shut up, you cretin!’ I growled,

‘I will not listen to you er’

The an

retreating, keeping his eyes on the shi+ny blade,

‘Why are you attacking me so

suddenly? I aiven?!’

‘Be quiet, or I will sew that mouth

closed so that lies may not pass from your lips’

The er paled His mouth

gaped open like a fish

‘I believe what I see with my own

eyes and Lady Fredericka is not the kind of wo her to be!’

The er scrambled out of the

reception roo on all fours

‘Weren’t you too patient?’ Xavier said

as he entered the reception room

‘I was about to choke froer’

I took a deep breath and exhaled

‘Aren’t you worried about the House

of Lords?’

I did not spend a lot of time in

court due to military duties I had to patiently listen to confirm that Cajes

had definitely cancelled the engagement with Fredericka

I was nearly dizzy with the

ridiculousness of the whole situation

‘I do not care about the Lords’

Xavier gave a sh as he

packed up the tea things