Chapter 144 : Chapter 144
Chapter 144. Good News and Bad News
Young Master Hamel, who had been staring intently at the Young Lady, let out a sigh.
“You have lost even more weight while I have not seen you. You have not been eating well because it is summer, have you? It is the season when one’s appetite becomes picky. So, since I was coming anyway, I brought a few chefs from Rosetta with me. I have shown you generosity, so accept it gratefully.”
The chefs standing behind him lined up and greeted her. There were four people in total. Unfortunately, Ramsay, the Head Chef, was nowhere to be seen. Still, with this much manpower joining us, it seemed there would be no need to send a Messenger to the Main House.
And another guest greeted me.
“Have you been well, Sir Dilen?”
To be honest, I found it even stranger that this person had come with him than the fact that Young Master Hamel had arrived.
The guest was Eluna.
In other words, to summarize, Young Master Hamel had come to the Royal Capital together with Eluna. It was not an entirely impossible picture, but it truly surprised me.
“Miss Eluna. I did not expect you to come all the way to the Royal Capital.”
“How has life in the Royal Capital been? Do you know how upset I was when you did not send even a single letter…….”
Was she trying to role-play again? The timing was not good right now. Young Lady Sapiela was right beside me.
Sure enough, Killing Intent poured out from beside me.
It belonged to Sapiela. She seemed to remember Eluna’s face. After all, Eluna had once staged an entire melodrama at the mansion before leaving.
For now, I had to settle this situation.
“My lady. Allow me to introduce her properly. This is Eluna. She is the Chief Secretary helping my older cousin with his business at the Metis Merchant Company.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Sapiela.”
“…….”
Sapiela did not answer and only glared at me. It meant she wanted me to explain the situation properly. To think things would get this twisted. I let out a sigh and began explaining.
“It was difficult because everyone misunderstood. To be honest, at that time, Miss Eluna did not come looking for me because of romantic feelings. It was an offer to work together, but it seems it appeared strange.”
“How odd. At that time, did you not clearly say that the two of you could not be together?”
Sapiela picked out the point with perfect precision.
To be honest, I panicked.
Had she remembered every single word that had been said back then? It had been improvised acting. Once again, I thought women’s grudges were frightening.
“I believe I meant that we could not be connected professionally. My lady, I hope you will not misunderstand. There truly is no relationship between us.”
“…….”
At that moment, Eluna stepped in with covering fire.
“Sir Dilen is right. But what kind of relationship do you have with Sir Dilen, my lady, that you would question him so closely? You seem offended.”
“That is.”
She struck the vital point very well.
Getting angry right now was proof that she had feelings for me. If I did not change the subject here, it would be no different from Sapiela publicly admitting that she liked me.
“And I am reasonably confident in my appearance as well, but do you think I would develop feelings for someone like Sir Dilen? I am not that easy a woman.”
Hey, Eluna! Do you not think you have gone too far? Stop!
“An easy woman…….”
Sapiela’s expression crumbled once more. Since she had feelings for me, Eluna’s words were no different from a fatal shot.
In an instant, she had been turned into an easy woman.
“Well, it seems I was mistaken for a moment. It is nothing, so please do not mind it.”
“I am glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up.”
“You are welcome.”
The war of nerves between the two women was remarkable.
For a moment, a flash of cold clarity came over me. I had thought it would be pleasant to receive attention from many women, but apparently, that was not the case.
Only then did Sapiela, who had returned to her proud expression, accept Eluna’s greeting.
“I am Sapiela. If you are the Chief Secretary of Metis, it seems we will be seeing each other often. After all, the Metis Trading Company is working hard for our house.”
“I look forward to your favor, my lady.”
“As do I.”
Meanwhile, Young Master Hamel had been watching this scene with a meaningful expression. Then he dragged me aside and moved to another place.
“You bastard…… I told you to take good care of my sister, and you seduced her and started a romance with her in the meantime?”
“A romance? That is a misunderstanding. I am afraid someone might hear you.”
I pretended to look around. Perhaps that sight looked even more irritating, because Hamel growled.
“Do not run your mouth. Ella and I are blood siblings. I can tell what she is thinking just by looking at her eyes. I do not know how you won Ella’s heart, but do you really want to die?”
“Please just kill me.”
“Ha!”
“Let us move somewhere else first. I also have something urgent to tell you.”
Since he had not yet been assigned a residence, I took Young Master Hamel to the place where I was staying. We were now able to talk without anyone disturbing us.
Over these past few storm-like days, I had made one decision.
It was to reveal my double identity to the Third Young Master.
We had chosen each other, and matters were moving urgently. I intended to reveal the secret I possessed to him and catch the two rabbits of trust and efficiency at once.
In any case, he would surely demand a three-way confrontation later. Now was the right time.
Because we now had a common enemy.
“Young Master. In truth, there is something I have been hiding from you.”
“What is it? Do not tell me you and Ella…….”
“No. It is absolutely nothing like that. I am saying this because I chose you, Young Master, and I believe there should be no more secrets between us. I intend to fully lend you my strength. The situation also calls for it.”
The Young Master tilted his head. For now, was he relieved that I had not laid a hand on his sister?
“That is true, but why are you suddenly spouting this nonsense? You kept pulling your foot back, saying you were not joining my faction.”
“The situation has now become one where I can no longer do that.”
“You found something out, did you not?”
It was a question asking whether there had been progress in the investigation into the Delfino Merchant Company and House Astria. I nodded.
“Before that, I will call Eluna for a moment.”
“Do as you like.”
Soon, Eluna came running at my call. I sent her a serious look. She nodded.
“Before explaining the details, I will first reveal my identity to you, Young Master. Please do not be angry.”
“Your identity?”
Seeing would be better than a hundred explanations. I took the Face Mask out from my breast. With a soft sound as it adhered, I transformed into Suhyeon in an instant.
“What the fuck…….”
Young Master Hamel could not close his gaping mouth.
Even though he was an outstanding young master, he was bewildered, perhaps because he had been struck from behind in a place he had never expected. After staring at me for a long while, he rubbed his face with dry hands and let out a sigh.
“You goddamn bastard! You have been deceiving me so thoroughly until now…… you son of a bitch! I will cut off that filthy head of yours right now!”
“I had absolutely no intention of hiding it for impure purposes. Please understand.”
“Are you insane? Understand? As if you would understand if you were me. Hey, you bastard! You are saying you toyed with me using a single Face Mask?”
“Please calm down, Young Master. I did not toy with you. If that had been my intention, I would not have revealed my identity until the end. I am sure a wise young master like you understands that well.”
“Phew…….”
“I will take the mask off first. Excuse me for a moment.”
I applied the special solution Simon had given me to my face and removed the Face Mask. When I returned to being Dilen once more, Young Master Hamel let out a hollow laugh.
“Now I understand. Now I finally understand! That was why you said you chose me when you were Suhyeon. That was why you said it that way. Heh!”
Young Master Hamel grinned and slowly approached me. Then he gripped my shoulder tightly.
At that instant, the Status Window was displayed.
It was good timing.
However, more important than examining its contents was what the Young Master was about to say. For now, I pushed the Status Window to one side.
“No wonder it felt strange that you were so confident in front of me even when I first met you as Suhyeon. You knew far too much about me. You said you were a distant relative, but you acted like a twin brother. I should have noticed then. Ha! Hahahaha! Wahahahahahaha!”
Young Master Hamel, who had been muttering like that, began laughing like a madman. Eventually, drained of strength, he flopped down onto a chair and simply stared up at the ceiling.
“A masterpiece. An absolute masterpiece…… I do not know which bastard picked you as an apprentice, but he was truly remarkable.”
“Should I bring you some water? Or perhaps some Starleaf Tea. It is good for stabilizing the mind and body.”
“Forget it! Why are you pretending to be a butler now?”
Young Master Hamel raised himself and stared intently at me.
“Which one is the real you?”
“If I must say, it is Dilen. Suhyeon is a fictitious person I created in order to do business.”
“You have guts, you bastard. No, hey. I truly do not understand, so tell me this. If that is the case, why are you working as a butler? You should just quit and do business.”
“How could I leave the house behind when you are here, Young Master?”
“Are you worrying about me right now?”
“Please do not misunderstand my loyalty.”
“Do you even know what the word loyalty means when you run your mouth like that?”
The more it was like this, the more courteous I had to be. I brought both hands together in front of me and bowed my head politely.
“I have thought about leaving the house someday. However, it is still too early. There are still many knots I must untangle. Even if I do not know about the others, I wanted to resolve the matters concerning you and the Young Lady before I left. These are no ordinary matters, are they? If the house’s future is dark, then the future of our Merchant Company is also dark.”
Hamel closed his mouth. At the very least, he and Young Lady Sapiela knew my sincerity. They knew that I was working for the house with all sincerity and strength.
Young Master Hamel pointed with his chin at the Face Mask I was holding.
“Where did you get that?”
“I bought it at a high price in the Underworld. I know the Artisan well. Would you like me to introduce you?”
“Forget it. The more I think about it, the more absurd it is. Does Ella know about this?”
“She does not. Within the house, you are the only person who knows, Young Master Hamel.”
I emphasized that he was the only one. It was a strategy to share a secret and make it feel special.
“What an honor, you bastard. Well, still, it is amusing. It was one of the most entertaining moments of my life. You are probably the first person to make this kind of gamble against me. Will another interesting bastard like you ever appear again?”
“Would that not be difficult?”
“You think so too, do you? Ha!”
Only then did Young Master Hamel laugh. It was a little wicked, but that was just how he looked, so it could not be helped.
It had unfolded exactly as I expected. In the end, Young Master Hamel respected my choice and also understood it.
I judged that he was speaking sincerely.
Thanks to the Status Window.
There had been no major changes in the other parts, but his Favorability had risen from 85 to 88. If he had truly been disappointed, his Favorability would have fallen.
Once I safely crossed one more hurdle, his Favorability would enter the 90s.
“Dilen, no, Suhyeon, no, Dilen…… Fuck. What should I call you?”
“You should call me Dilen. Right now, I have Dilen’s face, do I not?”
“Are you trying to teach me right now?”
“I only told you the facts, Young Master.”
After clearing my throat, I subtly changed the subject. For now, I started with a lighter topic. In any case, we would have to talk about the Delfino Family at the end.
“The fact that you came with Eluna must mean the affairs of Metis went well.”
“Yes. Everything was handled well, just as you wanted. You bastard. You were not working as a butler just to win that exclusive trade deal, were you?”
“That is not the important matter right now, is it? In that process, was there no opposition from Young Master Kaien?”