If You're Going to Sell Yourself, Sell It to Me - Chapter 111

When Henry visited Rossmann’s estate, he immediately sensed that things would not go smoothly.

“The Commander left for the West this morning. He said he’ll be gone for about two weeks.”

At the attendant’s words, a look of dismay crossed Henry’s face.

If only he had found out a day earlier.

He considered going after him, but he didn’t even know what the commander’s business was—it wouldn’t be right to follow him and bring up uncertain talk about family ties.

The Commander usually remained at headquarters, so if he had left, it likely meant something important was underway.

But waiting two weeks felt like a waste of time.

So Henry wrote a letter stating that he knew a woman named Leona, including her age and a description of her appearance, asking to be contacted if there was any relation. He listed Raymond’s mansion as the return address.

It wasn’t likely that a fellow soldier would think him a liar. If he was right, he believed they would reach out.

He also changed the request he had given the detectives, asking them now to investigate Commander Rossmann’s family in detail.

If the general was indeed her maternal grandfather, it was only right to look into Georgiana’s paternal family as well. Her father, being the Supreme Commander’s son-in-law and a member of royalty, had held the high rank of marquis.

With the scope narrowed, more useful materials began to surface.

After organizing everything, Henry promptly set off for the South.

He had to keep a sharp eye on Locke to make sure he didn’t make another mistake with Georgiana—especially since Locke had never been in a proper relationship before.

He too was far from perfect, but he was confident he would handle things better than the Count.

When he returned to the mansion, he noticed a strange atmosphere.

Locke was acting like a completely different person, as if it were his head—not his arm—that had been injured.

Raymond, once the gentle one, was now openly and boldly expressing his feelings toward Georgiana.

Georgiana, caught between the two, looked visibly annoyed by them both.

Realizing many things had changed while he was away, Henry began thinking hard about how to turn the situation in Locke’s favor.

However…

The more he watched, the harder it was to get used to his superior’s behavior.

Using his injury as an excuse to dine in his bedroom, Locke wasn’t lifting a finger, relying entirely on Georgiana to feed him.

This was the same man who had elegantly cut meat by himself on the battlefield despite far worse injuries. Now, because of a few stitches in his right arm, he refused to use his hands at all and insisted on being waited on.

His exaggerated expressions of pain were so over the top, Henry had to blink several times to be sure he wasn’t imagining things.

Even after rubbing his eyes, Locke seemed like a completely different person from the one he had reported to the previous night.

Henry was starting to wonder if Locke hadn’t hit his head.

The night before, he had gone to see Locke as soon as he arrived.

It had been near midnight, but Locke, always a light sleeper, had been reading.

As soon as he saw Henry, Locke set down his book. At the time, although his arm was bandaged, he had seemed perfectly fine.

His eyes lit up with expectation when he saw Henry’s cheerful face.

“Did you find out anything?”

“Yes, Count.”

“Her family?”

“That as well. But it’s still only circumstantial. I believe it will take another two weeks to confirm.”

“Two weeks?”

Locke frowned slightly.

“The delay is because Commander Rossmann has gone to the West.”

“What does the Supreme Commander have to do with this?”

“It appears Lady Georgiana is his granddaughter.”

“What?!”

Locke leapt to his feet, eyes wide.

He was so shocked that the crutch propped nearby fell over with a loud crash.

“Of course, it still needs to be confirmed, but the timeline when the Commander lost his granddaughter and Lady Georgiana’s accident align closely. His daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were reportedly lost at sea during a typhoon.”

“Is that enough to go on?”

“If you look at the color of the Commander’s hair and eyes, you’ll understand. Even in the Empire, such golden hair is rare. Both his daughter and granddaughter were said to have royal blonde hair and green eyes. If you think back, you’ll notice the resemblance.”

Locke’s eyes widened even further at Henry’s explanation.

“Besides, the name Leona isn’t exactly common, so if it’s correct, the Commander will surely come here. Since he’s gone to the West for now, I left our names and address at the mansion.”

“I hope so. She lived in agony thinking even trash like that were her family. How happy would she be to finally know her real relatives.”

“I’d feel the same, if it were me.”

“Until we’re sure, let’s keep this between us. We might end up disappointing her for nothing.”

At Locke’s words, Henry nodded, then hesitantly glanced at him.

“But… are you all right with this?”

“With what?”

“If she really is, then she could become part of Commander Rossmann’s family.”

“So?”

Locke looked confused as to what the issue was.

“Well, your reputation from the war… it’s not exactly spotless. The Supreme Commander might object.”

“Reputation?”

“You know… all the names they used to call you. Mad Dog, Wild Cat…”

Henry averted his gaze.

“And what does that have to do with anything…?”

Locke’s voice grew quieter. His shoulders slumped.

The once-confident superior asked with a disheartened face, “…You think it does, right?”

He wanted to say no, but the words wouldn’t come out.

All he could manage was:

“Still, if Lady Georgiana says she wants to be with you, I doubt even the Commander could go against his one and only granddaughter’s wishes.”

“You’re right.”

“So, before the Commander arrives here, you need to win Lady Georgiana’s heart. She’s so beautiful—if she regains her status, no one will leave her alone.”

“True. Then what should I do?”

“Get close to her. You need to become the closest one to her so she won’t look anywhere else.”

“Yes… That I can do.”

Locke’s eyes gleamed a bit too much.

At that moment, Henry sensed something was off, but he didn’t realize his superior had completely misunderstood the meaning of his advice.

He had failed to account for how his normally rational, calm superior turned into an extreme fool when it came to Georgiana.

Watching Locke open his mouth like a baby bird waiting to be fed, Henry barely held his own mouth shut.

It seemed Locke had taken “get close” as a physical command rather than emotional.

When Georgiana finished feeding him and began to clean up, intending to leave, Locke clung to her.

“I need to check on the plantation and give instructions. I can’t stay here all day.”

“Then what am I supposed to do? The butler can check the plantation, and you can leave the instructions to Henry. Only you can take care of me. What’s more important than that? Please, don’t go.”

At Locke’s words, both Georgiana and Henry’s jaws dropped.

Instead of the one who should be embarrassed, it was Georgiana’s face that turned bright red.

Henry, escaping the room as if fleeing, ran into Raymond.

“Henry, did you find out anything about Georgiana?”

Henry was startled to realize Raymond knew about it too.

“How did you find out?”

“Georgiana told me. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

“What… what exactly is your relationship with her?”

“More special than most. I even proposed to her.”

At that, Henry almost jumped in surprise.

“Proposed?”

“Yes, I did. I want Georgiana to be mine. So, Henry, will you help me out?”

Henry let out a groan and sighed at Raymond’s request.

***

“How could you lose him?”

“Why don’t you go chase him then? It’s hard enough already.”

Robert and Willow had followed Henry all the way to Norfolk City but lost him when they let their guard down.

Though not as bustling as the Northwest, the South’s sheer size made it impossible to know where to start looking.

The stolen carriage was on its last legs, and the horse looked ready to drop. Pursuit was no longer an option.

Still, judging by the man’s appearance and the fact that even the other one looked like a noble, they were convinced they could find them if they searched the noble houses.

They used the money from selling the horse to rent a room and change into clean clothes.

As they wandered near places nobles frequented, they perked up at a passing conversation between two women.

“I wish I had bright blonde hair like hers.”

“Right? Even if her father was only a baron, the family sounds like it’s fallen—but she’s so pretty, men just fall over themselves.”

“Yeah, even Lord Raymond, who never gave Clara the time of day no matter how hard she chased him, seems to have changed. I mean, why else would he bring a mere governess to that event?”

Hearing the women’s gossip, Willow and Robert exchanged sly grins.