# 14
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Ariana couldn't show too much interest in gathering information inside this house.
If she's not careful, Emily might pass the information on to others instead...
Therefore, Ariana opened her mouth very cautiously: “Emily, can you bring me morning tea?”
“Of course, I will make tea!”
“No, um… ask in the kitchen if there’s lemon tea. If not, that’s okay.”
“Okay!”
Emily answered cheerfully, thinking that everything was in keeping with the tastes of nobles.
A short time later, a steaming teapot arrived.
But Ariana's eyebrows narrowed when she saw the tea.
'This is not Kenneth's taste.'
The people of Cremisa prefer strong leaf tea with milk, and are not drawn to tea with southern fruits like this.
This was an exotic style in the capital, and it had not been long since they had begun to be imported from Dobris.
Emily laughed excitedly, tilting the teapot: “Fortunately, the chef said he brought it in recently! I didn’t know such tea existed, ma’am.”
“Yes, okay. That's good.”
Ariana smiled back. Thanks to Emily, she got some guesses, and her depression eased.
‘A guest came from Dobris.’
If no guest was expected, they would not have brought tea that did not suit the taste of the master of the house in advance.
During her marriage, the only person she mentioned repeatedly in business matters was...
'Marquis Damien Baptiste.'
The owner of the Luang area, which she was thinking of escaping to.
In her previous life, there had only been passing greetings with him, but she clearly remembered that he was a businessman who pursued both art and commerce.
'But in places like parties, it's hard to have a real conversation with a man.'
To get to know him, it was better and more natural to host him at the palace.
"I'm going out for a walk this afternoon, Emily. Set that up for me later."
"Good!"
Ariana turned her gaze to the window.
To the place where she used to dig a hole in the dirt and create chaos when she returned after her death.
I'll put some flowers on the hiking trail...
You will meet Pepe again for sure.
But no mother can go to that buried place with empty hands.
The Cremisa Empire was a land bordered by straits with other countries.
Since ancient times, it has flourished through sea routes, so Lentia, the capital, had a huge port outside its center.
Unlike the south with its clear, transparent blue sea, Lentia Beach was not a money-making tourist destination.
However, the harbor was bustling with its own liveliness and the cries of seagulls.
***
At this moment, twenty-four-year-old Damien Baptiste was cursing all the noise.
In contrast to his platinum white hair and blue-gray eyes, he was handsome, expressive, and cheerful in the Dobris way.
He was tall, wearing a light coat that exuded a relaxed elegance.
But his beautiful face was, unfortunately, dark.
'I'm in a bad mood. 'I feel like I'm going to die.'
He ran his long, strong fingers carelessly through his soft, silky hair.
Damian walked towards the car waiting at the dock, rubbing his temples the whole way.
Although the Cremisa language became the lingua franca on the continent, he naturally spoke with his companions in his mother tongue.
[Ah, my head...]
[Oh, sir, didn't I tell you not to drink too much?]
A servant from Dobris scolded him in a worried and friendly tone, while skillfully passing him medicine to get rid of his headache.
Damian swallowed and grumbled:
[There had to be something to kill time on the ship other than drink. And by the way, they were the ones who forced me to drink.]
[Well, since you beat everyone in the poker game, it's only fair that you get punished by drinking…]
But despite his suffering from drink, the servant did not worry that Damian would spoil his schedule.
The Kingdom of Dobris was known for its fine handicrafts since ancient times, and the people of Cremisa were eager for luxury products that were rare in their country. They were traditionally less skilled manually.
The Clifford family, which contributed greatly to the establishment of this trade, naturally monopolized the channels of communication.
Therefore, Damian had been dealing with Kenneth Clifford even before he inherited his family.
But if he is asked whether they are close humanly because of this long interaction, the answer is no.
'Our personalities never agree.'
From the beginning, Kenneth was a typical Cremisa resident, annoyingly arrogant.
So, the only thing they had in common was roughly their level of taste.
Finally, the pavilion of the Duke's Palace, where his business partner was waiting, began to appear.
As befits someone who had suffered an assassination attempt, security on the road was frighteningly tight.
In the reception room of the ward, Kenneth smiled harmlessly, but he exuded a cold, shadowy aura.
“It's been a long time.”
In fact, Kenneth wasn't too keen on Damien Baptiste either.
‘He is a typical Dubrizi.’
Aren't the Dobris people overly cheerful, complaining too much about food, and considering their exaggerated flirtation with reason elegant? Damien lived this trait without shame.
But even if he had grown up in the same land, they probably wouldn't have been friendly.
“Friendly interaction” no longer existed after the Aberdeen family.
'And the crown.'
Kenneth smiled sarcastically as he remembered the piece he had carelessly thrown into the safe.
He regretted buying that crown, but importing it through the Baptiste family was something he regretted even more.
However, Damian was such a satisfactory business partner that he was willing to invite him to the pavilion. He was also an excellent source of information from Dubris.
When the business talks were coming to an end, Damian relaxed on a carpeted chair, stretching his long legs and asked: “By the way, Prince Andrew… or, wouldn’t it be better to call him the Deposed Prince now? Honestly, he’s already fallen.”
“As you wish.”
“We searched every area of Dobris and did not find him. Even the royal family, who wants to make you their debtor, searches hard and finds nothing.”
“By this point, isn’t it likely that he may have taken refuge in another country? There are still relatives of the Claude royal family spread across the continent.”
"no."
Kenneth shook his head firmly.
Claude's royal family's network is the same as that of Clifford's family, and they would rather tell Kenneth to make gains.
'They can't be silent like this.'
So, is the royal family still unaware and hiding it?
But there was no palace or royal land that Kenneth had not discovered.
Thanks to his hidden pressure, the young Second Prince Cedric was going to become the Crown Prince this year.
'So, all that's left is…'
Inside the country again. Perhaps he is still living in hiding with the help of followers who have not yet awakened.
That insect.
Damian laughed with interest, but he was talking about other people's affairs.
“But, Duke Clifford, what will you do if you find the deposed man? Will you kill him?”
“Scary joke. I will only follow due process. I am not the master of this land.”
Kenneth turned around with an indifferent smile.
Of course it will kill him.
This coward who caused the assassination of Clifford's family, abandoned his followers and fled, deserves a miserable death...
Kenneth swallowed his uncomfortable truth, and remembered the small piece of newspaper on his desk.
In that photo, Andrew was hugging Ariana's waist.
He remembered his face, flushed with victory, and wanted to tear his features apart.
'Before I kill him, I will tear off his left hand first.'
He skillfully concealed this grim truth, and left the suite with the guest.
It was still early for dinner, and it was the host's duty to accompany the guest to a place of rest until dinner.
He walked down a short path paved with white stones towards the guest quarters, stepping forward along the path and looking sideways towards the main palace.
Ariana wasn't familiar with today's schedule.
Since she entered the palace, he set a rule for her: “Show yourf only on the days I specify. There is no need to appear on any other occasion.”
He wanted women to appear only in places he controlled.
'Most importantly, I don't want to introduce Ariana to Batiste.'
With her fickle nature, belief in fate, and love of beauty, Ariana will definitely be an over-stimulator for him.