Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 25 Part 3

When it came to business, Nestor was always involved.

He was often very involved.

And always behind the scenes, secretly.

Evan smiled slyly, his eyes narrowing like a fox. “I don’t do business. I’m far too busy with other matters.”

“That’s a pity.”

In any case, Eleanor hadn’t expected an honest answer.

She smiled faintly in response.

“I’ve kept you too long, given how busy you are. I’ll take my leave now.”

Having calmly said her farewell, Eleanor walked past Evan and continued on her way.

As it happened, it was Evan who was left feeling uneasy.

He stared at her back as she walked away, but Eleanor paid no attention as she made her way to the Emperor.

‘He should still be there, right?’

Since he was always in his office, there was no reason to think otherwise.

She had spent the night at the East Palace with him, and when he left for work in the morning, he had said he had no external meetings for the day.

Even knowing this, Eleanor felt a sense of impatience.

Reflecting this impatience, her steps quickened.

“Your Majesty.”

“You’re here?”

As soon as she opened the door, Lennoch stood up.

He had been waiting eagerly for Eleanor to arrive.

“Did everything go well at Ferret Street?”

“Of course.”

Seeing Lennoch stride towards her, Eleanor blushed slightly.

A memory she had momentarily forgotten suddenly rushed back.

“You’ll get used to it soon enough.”

Whether it was because she was drunk on the warmth of the fireplace, or simply caught in the moment, last night she had felt half entranced.

As he had said, she adapted quickly.

Their lips meeting had felt as sweet as honey, and being swept up in the ensuing passion had been instantaneous.

But no matter how many times they kissed, she doubted the embarrassment she felt would ever fully fade.

‘How is he still like this?’

Lennoch looked impeccably composed, as if he hadn’t spent the night with her.

As she watched his handsome face smile, Eleanor found her gaze wandering to places that made her blush even more.

Just as she tried to avoid looking at him, Lennoch reached out, and Eleanor flinched.

Was it…?

“Your hair’s a bit messy. Did something happen there?”

“My hair?”

She was taken aback.

In a slightly exasperated tone, Eleanor responded.

She gently took Lennoch’s hand, which had been tenderly smoothing her hair.

“It must have been the wind. It was particularly strong today.”

“If that’s all, that’s a relief.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Thanks to you, yes.”

“Nothing unusual happened, I hope?”

“Well… something did.”

After a brief hesitation, Lennoch said, “Today was harder than yesterday.”

“A lot of work, I assume?”

“The workload’s always the same. But I felt empty and restless, unable to endure it.”

At this, Eleanor’s expression turned serious.

The earnest tone made it sound as if he was suffering from some grave illness.

Lennoch tidied Eleanor’s hair gently as he whispered, “I missed you.”

“……!”

“I never imagined it would be so hard, knowing you weren’t here in the palace.”

His unexpected confession made her cheeks flush.

It was even more embarrassing to meet Lennoch’s deeply serious eyes.

As Eleanor’s gaze wavered, unsure where to rest, Lennoch touched her cheek.

Her slightly plump, rosy lips closed gently. Lennoch was just about to lean in closer when—

“If I could remind you both, I’m always here.”

Eger, as diligent as ever, interjected.

“Today, Your Majesty, it’s not just about romance. We have work to do as well. You took the whole day off yesterday, didn’t you?”

Eger’s eyes narrowed in disapproval.

It was as if he knew exactly what had transpired between the two of them the previous night.

Feeling a bit exposed, Lennoch straightened up and cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry about that.”

But Eger wasn’t easily placated, his expression unchanged. He immediately turned to Eleanor.

“Do you know what happened while you were away, Lady Eleanor? You’d be shocked to hear it.”

“What was it?”

Eleanor looked intrigued, but Lennoch tried to intervene.

“Is it really necessary to divulge everything?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s quite serious. I honestly thought a war had broken out.”

Eger declared gravely.

Given his role as the Emperor’s aide, he couldn’t let this matter pass without scrutiny.

Eger shook his head slowly. “I’ve never seen such a serious case. There was no precedent for this.”

Laying out documents on the table, Eger clicked his tongue.

“If Lady Eleanor hadn’t returned on time, I would have deployed the entire First Order of Knights. They were waiting at the palace entrance, and it took a lot of persuasion to disband them.”

“The First Order of Knights?”

Having the entire First Order gather meant that either a significant crisis had arisen, or something equivalent had occurred.

Lennoch tried to justify his actions. “Remember the abduction in Hadum? You never know when something like that might happen again, so it was a precaution.”

“Yet it seemed you were preparing for an all-out assault.”

The information brokers at Ferret Street 13 probably had no idea they narrowly avoided a massacre today.

“Everyone was asking what was happening, and I had to come up with excuses on the spot.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Hearing all of this, Eleanor consoled Eger.

Just before she departed for Ferret Street 13, the Emperor had seen her off calmly, wishing her a safe journey.

Even though he hadn’t held her hand—due to Berenice being present—his gentle smile had reassured her as she left.

And yet, he had been preparing all of this without her knowing?

Eleanor glanced at Lennoch.

Sensing her gaze, Lennoch cleared his throat once more. “It’s not as though I was preparing for an actual war. Eger exaggerated things a bit.”

“Exaggerated? I reported everything based on the facts.”

Eger pushed his slipping glasses back up.

“I’m really worried about this sudden development. Whenever something involves Lady Eleanor, His Majesty loses his judgment. Please, Lady Eleanor, from now on, try to speak up firmly for me in such situations.”

“I will.”

Eleanor, understanding Eger’s concerns, nodded.

Though Lennoch tried to argue further, Eleanor’s simple reassurance put an end to it, with him promising never to act that way again.

Lennoch looked somewhat defeated, and then gestured to the empty table in front of them.

“Let’s begin the meeting.”

Around the round table, Eger, Lennoch, and Eleanor gathered.

While Eger laid out documents on the table, Eleanor shared what she had learned from Jack Ruby.

“As I mentioned to Your Majesty before, Caroline often secretly smuggles goods from East Harlem. I wasn’t able to track everything, but I followed the trail of Zigor’s counterfeit artworks back to Caroline, finding evidence of her involvement.”

“I see.” Eger nodded.

“While I couldn’t identify the buyer, I did find the seller. His name is Saruka.”

“…Saruka?”

“Do you know of him?”

Both Lennoch and Eger’s expressions changed immediately.

Eleanor realized they already knew who Saruka was.

Lennoch began to explain.

“Do you recall when we apprehended one of El Gino’s leaders?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

El Gino was the group Milo had briefly been part of, the same group responsible for abducting Eleanor in Hadum, and ultimately dismantled by Lennoch.

“That El Gino leader claimed that Saruka was in charge of the organization. They said they were only following his orders.”

“El Gino?”

“And they were cultivating purple flowers.”

Purple flowers?

It seemed both familiar and strange at the same time.

“We believe they are the poisonous flowers used to kill Empress Edea. The main symptom of the poison is cardiac arrest.”

“……!”

Eleanor flinched at this revelation.

‘Wasn’t Madam Müller’s cause of death also cardiac arrest?’

Could it be a mere coincidence?

Or was there a connection?

After pondering for a moment, Eleanor asked, “Could I see these flowers as well?”

“Count Hilda has them. I’ll have them brought to the palace for you to examine later.”

It wasn’t a difficult request, and Lennoch readily agreed.

“I hadn’t expected it to all connect this way.”

“Indeed. I initially thought Saruka was simply someone connected to Caroline.”

“Hmm.”

Lennoch tapped the table thoughtfully for a moment before instructing Eger to bring over a blank sheet of paper, a quill, and some ink.

Once the writing materials were ready, Lennoch began writing on the paper without hesitation.

“This is getting complicated, so I’ll write things down as I explain. First, Caroline from House Mecklen. You said she’s associated with Saruka?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And Saruka has been secretly leading El Gino in Hadum’s slums.”

A long line was drawn connecting Caroline, Saruka, and El Gino.

“El Gino was secretly funded by Umar.”

“I see.”

“And Umar is Count Verdik’s cousin.”

Eleanor knew that as well.

Lennoch added yet another name.

“Evan from Duke Nestor’s family. While Caroline was confined, Evan lent her his villa multiple times. Although it’s only circumstantial, the fact that these two people, who supposedly have no public association, conducted such secretive transactions suggests a specific purpose.”

Caroline of Mecklen, Saruka, El Gino, Umar, Count Verdik, and Evan von Nestor were all connected.

As Eger reviewed the list of interconnected individuals, he made a suggestion to the Emperor.

“Wouldn’t it be better to arrest them all right away? We might find evidence if we launch a surprise raid.”

Though Eger suggested it, Eleanor shook her head this time. “It wouldn’t be that easy. Caroline, in particular, is incredibly meticulous.”

“Oh.”

“Even the suspicious actions I mentioned to Your Majesty are all just conjecture. The documents detailing her illegal activities are frequently moved, and I don’t know their exact locations. Caroline even periodically destroys them. It’s a form of laundering.”

Lennoch nodded in agreement.

If it were that easy to capture them, the problem would have been resolved long ago.

Lennoch sighed, sounding regretful. “If only Childe could locate Caroline’s secret plantation…”

“Lord Childe?”

Eleanor, unaware of this, widened her eyes.

Lennoch chuckled. “Based on the clues you provided earlier, I tasked Childe with it. He’s determined to succeed and has been sending reports every other day. He’s still at the southern border, and it may take months before the hidden plantation is found.”

“I see.”

Hearing that Childe had taken up the mission enthusiastically was good news.

Noticing Eleanor smile softly at the mention of Childe, Lennoch’s eyebrows subtly rose, seemingly displeased.

Eleanor, unaware of Lennoch’s reaction, continued, “Since Saruka is closely connected to the Balkan Trading Company in East Harlem, it would be good to investigate them together.”

“The Balkan Trading Company?”

“It’s a prominent trading company in East Harlem. There’s a rumor that the company master might be from one of the three great ducal houses of Baden.”

Lennoch glanced over the connections he had previously written down.

“It’s plausible. Given the individuals involved, it doesn’t seem like a baseless rumor. During the recent conflict with the Bahama Kingdom, I had spies planted in advance. I’ll have them investigate East Harlem. Although East Harlem became a lawless zone after the Bahamas relinquished control, it’s not entirely free from their influence. After all, the owner of the East Harlem auction house is also the current Bahama king’s brother.”

“Didn’t the Bahama king’s brother renounce his claim to the throne?”

“That’s why he went to East Harlem. Since he couldn’t become king of Bahama, he decided to be the head of something else. It seems he wasn’t ready to give up power altogether.”

After finishing his explanation, Lennoch gave a peculiar smile.

“If investigating the Balkan Trading Company drags on too long, I’ll request cooperation from the owner of East Harlem in my name. We’re not exactly close, but we can communicate, so it might work.”

***