"One mont, Duke Qinghui."
Oreos spoke up. "Where is my sister? Didn’t she go to spar with you this morning?"
"Miss Jocelyn, you an?"
A subtle smile appeared on Westheid’s face—a face so handso it annoyed Oreos. The Duke Qinghui stroked his chin and said:
"The spar is over. I don’t an to be rude, but your sister seems to be all enthusiasm and no skill. Yesterday’s match was enjoyable enough. Even though she didn’t stand a chance from the very beginning, she refused to give up, relying on sheer willpower. I must say, I was impressed."
"But today... Heh. She was on her knees begging for rcy in less than a quarter of an hour. Utterly dull. It was as if she ca just to wag her tail and beg for my pity."
Oreos flew into a rage. "Bullshit! There’s no way my sister would beg you for rcy!"
Westheid said, "Then maybe she didn’t. Just pretend I was talking nonsense."
The black-haired, purple-eyed Qinghui Patriarch didn’t bother arguing with the Lord of White Rock City. He simply waved his hand and left.
Oreos watched Westheid leave, then joined his little sister for afternoon tea, but his mind was elsewhere.
’My sister, Jocelyn... Would my beautiful, strong, proud sister really kneel and beg Duke Qinghui for rcy?’ Even though Oreos was sure he was just trash-talking to get under his skin, he couldn’t stop imagining the scene.
’Dammit! Don’t think about it! You can’t fucking think about it!’
"Brother... Brother! Honestly, you haven’t even looked at once!"
Daphne shook Oreos’s arm, pouting.
"If you hate having afternoon tea with so much, then I’ll just go find Duke Qinghui. He knows how to make special cream puffs from the Imperial Capital, and I want to try them."
Oreos waved his hand dismissively. "Then go. You’re just a little glutton anyway."
"Hmph! Such a half-hearted response! I’m going right now! See if I care!"
With a haughty sniff, Daphne tossed her twin ponytails and stord out of the dessert shop.
Oreos wasn’t surprised. His little sister was always switching between being obedient and mischievous; such were the moody whims of a young girl.
Because of Westheid’s words, the afternoon tea between the siblings wasn’t the warm, pleasant ti Oreos had hoped for. Instead, it added another heavy weight to his heart.
"Marine!"
Back at the City Lord’s residence, Oreos imdiately summoned his maid, who was also the confidante in charge of White Rock City’s intelligence network.
"Master, what are your orders?"
Oreos spoke to the pretty, chestnut-haired maid:
"Go investigate Duke Qinghui’s movents. I want to know what he’s really up to... You go yourself. I don’t trust anyone else’s skill or loyalty."
"Yes, Master."
The quiet maid, who was completely loyal to Oreos, accepted the order and slowly withdrew.
The handso young Lord trusted his childhood friend, who he knew was in love with him, completely.
But the investigation took a full day and night. The maid who reported to him every day had, for the first ti, lost contact.
However, Oreos’s worry didn’t last long. Late the next night, as he was tossing and turning in bed, a gust of wind rustled the curtains, and a familiar, graceful figure appeared in the corner of the room.
"My Lord."
"Marine! Why are you only back now?"
Oreos shot up from the bed.
"My apologies. Investigating Duke Qinghui’s movents... took more ti and effort than expected, so I was unable to report to you in a tily manner."
The young Lord was about to scold her, but when he rembered she was working hard on his orders, his tone softened:
"Never mind. What were the results?"
"After my... um, in-depth investigation, there is nothing suspicious about Duke Qinghui."
Oreos pressed, "Are you sure?"
In the bright moonlight, the young man noticed a strange flush creeping across Marine’s pretty face.
But before he could get a closer look, his trusted maid lowered her head.
"...I’m sure."
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