If You're Going to Sell Yourself, Sell It to Me - Chapter 109

When she entered Raymond’s office, he brewed tea himself and handed it to her.

Unlike his usual bright and gentle demeanor, he looked somewhat gloomy, and Georgiana looked up at him with concern.

“Leona.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay by your side to the end yesterday. It was because of me that you attended the event, and I’ve been troubled ever since about leaving you behind.”

“Not at all. It was a dangerous situation, and your decision was obviously the right one. That’s why we were all able to meet again safely.”

Despite her answer, he didn’t seem to feel any better.

“I regretted it all night. I shouldn’t have left alone—I should’ve stayed with you.”

“No, really, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay. It should have been me by your side, not my brother. If it had been, then it would’ve been me who saved you, not him.”

At his continued self-blame, Georgiana finally let out a deep sigh.

“Raymond, the incident happened inevitably. And I want to protect myself without relying on others. So there’s no need for you to feel guilty over something like that.”

“Then… does it mean nothing to you that my brother was the one who saved you?”

“It’s not that it means nothing—I nearly lost a count’s life because of me, and I can’t brush that aside. But still, that doesn’t mean I wish someone else had been in his place.”

“I see…”

Raymond studied her expression, as if trying to discern her true feelings.

“Um… what exactly are you curious about?”

Georgiana couldn’t shake the feeling that he was dancing around what he really wanted to say.

Whatever the reason, she couldn’t afford to keep wasting time—Locke would be waiting without having eaten, and she also needed to check on the estate.

As if caught by her pointed question, Raymond hesitated, then opened his lips as if making a decision.

“Have you reconsidered my previous proposal?”

“Proposal?”

As she repeated the question, she recalled something she had forgotten in the chaos—the proposal Raymond had made, asking her to become his wife.

She had refused then, and now more than ever, she couldn’t accept such a proposal.

Whether it was Raymond or anyone else—if it wasn’t Locke, she didn’t want to give her heart.

Georgiana answered with a much firmer tone than before. “Raymond, my answer is the same as before. I don’t want a relationship based on a contract.”

“What if you’re caught by the authorities? Of course I’ll help you, but if something happens while I’m not around, I may not be able to.”

At his words, Georgiana thought of Henry, who was likely pursuing the truth of her past.

“There’s someone helping me to recover my identity. I don’t know how long it will take, but I believe it will happen. That should resolve everything.”

“That someone—isn’t it my brother?”

“That’s…”

Her hesitation confirmed it for him, and his face turned pale as he muttered, “Leona, I’ve known you longer than my brother has. But the fact that you turned to him instead of me for help—it stings a bit.”

“I didn’t ask him. Actually…”

She began to tell the truth, but Raymond suddenly stood up, cutting her off.

He walked over and knelt on one knee before her, looking up with pleading eyes more sorrowful than she had ever seen.

Just as she wondered what he might say, he uttered something completely unexpected.

“Leona. I admire you.”

Georgiana’s expression froze completely.

“What did you say?”

“I admire you—as a woman, and as a person. Given my circumstances, and knowing how you tend to keep people at arm’s length, I’ve held back. But now, I feel like I’m going to lose you to someone else—I can’t stand it.”

“Raymond… I…”

“I know. I know you’ll reject me. I know this might make you feel uncomfortable. But I’d rather express my feelings and move on than regret saying nothing.”

She imagined how long he must have debated saying this, and how much he had restrained himself for fear of burdening her.

Georgiana knew now was the time to tell him the truth.

“Raymond, I love it here. The mansion, the plantation, the people—I love everything. To me, this place is like heaven. My life before coming here was incredibly hard. But this place was different.”

Georgiana took another sip of tea before continuing.

“This is the first place that made me feel I was truly meaningful. That’s why I’m always grateful to you, Raymond. But… I once said there was someone who made it possible for me to come here, right?”

“You mean the one who helped you board the ship?”

“Yes. We drifted apart due to some circumstances in the middle, but thanks to him, I was able to come to the New World.”

“Don’t tell me… that person is…”

Raymond trailed off, a shocked look on his face.

Georgiana slowly nodded, sealing it. “Yes. That person is Locke.”

“Why are you only telling me this now?”

“I had no choice. I’m Georgiana Courtney, the woman whose face was on the wanted posters alongside Locke.”

Raymond’s eyes widened to twice their size.

“Is that true?”

“I became his accomplice against my will. I didn’t even know his real name. Then I left Locke and was hunted down with a large bounty on my head. That’s why I resented him so much that when we met again, I didn’t even want to acknowledge him. I even asked him to pretend we didn’t know each other when we met here by chance.”

“Then your return to blonde hair recently is also…”

She nodded immediately. “Yes. The war ended, and the wanted status was lifted, so I went back to my real hair. It’s not dyed—it’s my natural color.”

“Then shouldn’t you still hate him? Didn’t he use you?”

Logically, Raymond was right. It would be natural to hate the man who had put her in such a situation.

But Georgiana had come to realize, after meeting Locke again, that emotions don’t always follow reason.

Resentment and affection—there was such a fine line between them.

The more she denied her feelings, the more she found herself thinking about him.

Georgiana let out a small sigh. “I thought I would hate him too. But that was just a thought. In reality, I still feel sorry for him and worry about him. That doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what happened, though.”

Her answer made Raymond’s face lighten a little.

“So that’s the extent of your feelings for now. It hasn’t been long since you reunited, after all.”

“Well…”

“Then I suppose that means I still have a chance.”

***

At Locke’s request, Henry headed to the oldest library in the Northwest.

He had hired a few private investigators to look into the maritime accident, but with time remaining, he also came personally to see if there were any older records.

With the help of a librarian, he searched articles from over ten years ago but found surprisingly few documents about accidents at sea. Either such incidents were so common they weren’t recorded, or someone had deliberately hidden them. It had to be one or the other.

In the end, he sighed, wondering if he would have to ask the coastal people directly.

How could he question people when he didn’t even know which sea it was?

Still, he had to pursue any possible lead.

Thinking of the count, who had believed Georgiana to be dead and suffered so much, he still felt deeply sorry. He wanted to repay that pain by finding her family as soon as possible.

As Henry stood to return the documents with a deep sigh, a small scrap of newspaper fluttered to the ground in front of him.

It looked like it had been cut out for scrapbooking but had gotten mixed in among other articles.

Bending down to pick it up, he instinctively read the piece.

It was an article about someone he knew well.

It detailed how Duke Angus Rossmann’s family had perished when their ship to the New World was completely destroyed by a typhoon. It also mentioned that the duke had lost his only daughter, his marquis son-in-law, and their young granddaughter.

Because it was a story he already knew, he almost put the paper away without a thought—until he noticed the date printed on the article.

Henry’s eyes widened.

Could it be… Miss Georgiana is the granddaughter of Commander Rossmann?

Come to think of it, the commander’s blonde hair and Georgiana’s were strikingly similar.

Such bright blonde hair was rare even on the continent.

And coincidentally, they both had green eyes.

Their ages also matched at the time of the accident.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. Henry hastily gathered his things and rushed outside.

The commander wasn’t far from here.

If he asked whether his granddaughter’s name was Leona, he would know right away.

As Henry ran, excitement driving his steps, a dangerous gaze followed him from behind.