Chapter 62
Riina decided not to bring up that topic at all.
“No, never mind. About the clothes though…”
“Since everything here is sold in bulk, we should move elsewhere. Well, now I have a good use for this fortune.”
“I’ve looked around but there isn’t anything particularly good here, so let’s go to the auction house.”
At this, Einar smiled brightly and extended his hand.
“Gladly.”
* * *
Around the time Einar’s small button was turning into a fortune,
Lione, who had parted ways with the two of them, had just returned to the count’s residence after finishing a short walk, or rather, a wandering.
“Young master, you have a visitor.”
At the mention of a visitor, Lione reflexively frowned and asked,
“Did I have an appointment?”
“No.”
At this, Lione’s eyebrow twitched upward.
If they were informing him of an unscheduled visitor…
“What’s the visitor’s condition?”
Lione, looking even more tired than before, rubbed his eyes.
Dealing with visitors who showed up without appointments was always exhaustingly difficult.
Such visitors, or rather uninvited guests, were all alike, as if they had received the same training somewhere.
‘Lione! Why are you treating me so coldly!’
‘Lione, do you know how long I’ve waited to meet you.’
‘Lione, Lione. I was wrong. So please don’t leave.’
Fragments of the past jabbed at Lione’s temples.
His mood, which had improved considerably after going out briefly to clear his head and experiencing an unexpected incident, began to plummet again.
But at the servant’s next words, Lione, who had been rubbing his throbbing head, paused.
“No, this time it’s not that kind of visitor, but rather the one you said to welcome anytime.”
“Ah, that friend.”
The servant bowed to Lione, whose expression had brightened considerably, and he immediately headed to the reception room where his friend was waiting.
-Bang.
Opening the reception room door without knocking, Lione exclaimed happily upon seeing his friend.
“Well, who do we have here.”
His friend also smiled upon seeing him.
“You’re early. I thought I’d have to wait indefinitely.”
“Ah, I had some business, so I came back quickly.”
“Business?”
At his friend’s question, Lione waved his hand.
“Sit first. But it’s quite something for you to visit. Did the sun rise in the west?”
His friend also chuckled at Lione’s joke and waved his hand.
“I need to ask for cooperation at the family level, so I’m killing two birds with one stone.”
The friend casually revealed that today’s visit wasn’t solely to meet him, and Lione burst out laughing.
“Of course, there’s no way you’d come just to see me.”
Seeing Lione’s strangely satisfied expression, a satisfied smile also spread across his friend’s face before disappearing.
Sitting across the table from each other, his friend asked,
“Did something happen?”
At this silent urging to share the story, Lione took out prepared tea leaves and related his encounter with Riina and Einar.
“Well now.”
“Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. It’s the second time with the Bolshevik lady?”
“That’s right.”
After watching Lione nod for a moment, his friend spoke.
“Is the Bolshevik lady alright?”
It was a very ambiguous question, but Lione precisely understood what his friend meant to say.
“Ah, about that.”
He waved his hand, not hiding his pleased expression.
“She showed absolutely no interest. And His Highness the Second Prince seemed to clearly dislike me.”
“Is that so?”
“Isn’t it proof of how solid their love is?”
Of course, there had been countless cases where seemingly solid couples had ended in disaster after each falling for Lione, but neither of them brought up that story now.
His friend slightly licked his thin lower lip while looking down at Lione’s hands preparing the tea leaves.
I should be wary of the Bolshevik lady and the Second Prince as well.
Since you never know when and how people’s hearts might change.
As his friend’s eyes sank deeply, Lione, who was selecting tea leaves and pouring hot water, asked,
“Family cooperation? Is there perhaps something I can help with?”
“There’s a matter that needs to be resolved through cooperation not just with the Bartorio family but with other families as well…”
Lione’s hands paused as he listened to his friend’s story.
Among the families they needed to build cooperative relationships with was the family of the lady he was to marry.
His friend, quickly noticing Lione’s complicated expression as he remained still, asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, listening to your story…”
After hesitating for a moment, Lione laughed helplessly and confided in his friend.
“It’s sudden, but I’m getting married.”
“Marriage?”
His friend’s face momentarily twisted like a grotesque mask, but Lione, busy preparing tea himself, didn’t see it.
Having skillfully brewed his friend’s favorite tea, Lione soon filled a teacup and pushed it toward his friend.
“Yes, it is sudden. Well, it wouldn’t have been strange whenever it happened.”
At that nonchalant remark, his friend picked up the teacup to hide his contorted face and asked,
“Who is it?”
“A fine lady from a close family…”
After hearing the information about Lione’s marriage partner from his mouth, his friend bit the inside of his mouth until it bled.
I let my guard down.
Marriage? Isn’t this too sudden?
His throat burning, he quickly emptied a cup of tea.
“Could I have another cup?”
As his friend calmly spoke while handling the empty teacup, Lione gladly picked up the teapot.
“Of course.”
Yes. How many people would there be for whom Lione Bartorio would personally brew tea and lift the teapot?
Excluding family, it would only be himself.
That’s why he had let his guard down even more.
He had been certain that he was the only person Lione thought of specially.
But now, marriage?
Isn’t someone just luckily claiming a place by Lione’s side without any effort or yearning?
While he had barely managed to enter deep into Lione’s heart after such a long time.
Although his presence in Lione’s heart was fixed as ‘friendship’ rather than ‘love’, friendship often turning into love was quite common.
No matter how long it took, he had been willing to take all the time needed if he could only possess him.
But suddenly, he’s becoming distant.
Of course, even after marriage, his position as Lione’s friend wouldn’t change, but…
He hadn’t been staying by his side all this time just to be a mere friend.
And so, all the dark emotions that had been suppressed and endured until now,
That had become even more viscous and sticky through compression, completely covered his friend’s insides.
Even at this moment, his friend firmly believed that his twisted emotions were love, but could it really still be called love?
The nauseating emotions that completely covered his insides swirled in his eyes as well, but doesn’t one say that strong belief makes people blind?
He has been by his side as a friend for a long time.
Unless one could read people’s minds, Lione couldn’t possibly fully understand his friend’s thoroughly, desperately hidden inner thoughts just by looking at his eyes once now.
His friend derived a method to overcome this situation faster than ever before.
A way to ruin this marriage without Lione noticing, as always.
He put down his teacup and spoke.
“Right. Marriage. It is past time.”
At his friend’s seemingly calm words, Lione nodded vaguely.
“Well, yes. Isn’t it the same for you?”
And just as he was about to speak, having naturally thought of his friend’s unrequited love interest.
“Shall we check out that lady?”
“What?”
When Lione was surprised by his friend’s unexpected words, he answered as if it were nothing.
“Aren’t you my friend? Since she’ll be spending her life with my friend, I’m curious what kind of person she is. You’ve only seen her on paper too, right?”
At this quite plausible answer, Lione chuckled and friendly patted his friend’s shoulder.
“You say that, but you won’t show me your secret love at all.”
At this reproach tinged with disappointment, his friend nodded readily.
“Haha, that’s true.”
“You’re still not saying you’ll show me even now.”
Lione heaved a deep sigh.
He could somewhat guess why his friend wouldn’t show him his unrequited love interest without having to hear the reason.
“I’m not worried about what might happen after I meet your love interest.”
After all, it was his friend’s love interest.
There’s no way Lione could treat them harshly.
And if that happened, there would be a very high possibility that person would develop feelings for Lione instead of his friend.
His friend was already so awkward that he couldn’t even properly approach them, let alone confess.
If they became entangled with him before his friend could confess, it might make things messy between those two, no, those three people.
“Didn’t I say that if you just tell me who it is, I’ll go look secretly? I definitely won’t be noticed.”
But his friend just handled his teacup and again didn’t give a positive answer.
Though Lione felt both bitterness and disappointment, he deliberately didn’t show it.
If that was his friend’s decision, he just wanted to follow it and help as much as possible.
As Lione was about to speak, his friend was faster.
“Let’s do this. Try to arrange a meeting with the lady you’re to marry. I’ll make an effort too.”
Lione’s eyes widened at his friend’s words.
“You mean…”
“Yes. My love interest will come along too, so the four of us can meet together.”
