Chapter – 3

--SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS--

Plumette informed her brother about their father, telling him to make his report directly to him after this inspection, so they all quickly went their own way. Jacob returned to his estate, Zachary to his father’s office, and Plumette to her room.

Zachary entered his father’s office and stood at his desk, seeing so many documents lying around messily.
“Father, I’m here to report to you about the inspection,” Zachary began. His father merely nodded for him to continue.

“All of the goods are stored properly, and the new merchants we hired seem to be good enough for the job. As winter is approaching, all the necessary food is stored in places where it won’t be damaged easily, and the farmers and workers are all working diligently…” Zachary continued his report for quite a while. Before he could finish, his father took out a few documents from inside his desk and handed them to him.

“Read them,” his father uttered.

Zachary took the documents and read them, his expression showing a little stress.
“Since when are you collecting this information, Father?”

His father finally stopped working and looked at his son with a stern expression.
“Since the last noble council. Things started to look suspicious at the border, so a couple of nobles, including me, agreed to look into it. We found quite a bit of information, and I’m only telling you this because I hope you can handle future matters with a stable mind and not panic when something happens.”

Zachary nodded, glancing at the confidential documents detailing the suspicious movements at the border and reminding himself to stay calm.
“Father, does the Emperor himself know of this?”

“Of course. The Emperor has his own intelligence team throughout the Empire,” his father answered matter-of-factly.

“Then... Lord Jacob came here today regarding this matter?” Zachary continued cautiously. His questions became endless, but he asked only the necessary ones.

“You are sharp. A good quality for an heir to have,” his father commended subtly. “Prepare accordingly, and let the Captain Commander know to increase the training hours for the knights.” With that final word, he returned to his work.

Zachary went back to his room directly, changed into his normal clothes, and returned to his paperwork with a heavy mind.

The next day, Plumette woke up early and went to the infirmary to check on the fox she found yesterday. Kate, her maid, followed behind her.

“My Lady, you could ask a servant to check on the injured fox and inform you of its condition. Why must you go yourself?” Kate asked.

“Kate, it’s the fox I rescued myself, so what’s the big deal about going to check on it personally? Just follow me,” Plumette replied and made her way to the infirmary.

As soon as they entered, Rupert, a middle-aged man and caretaker of the medical herbs and medicines, greeted her.
“Lady Plumette, what brings you here?” he asked, standing from his desk.

“I came to check on the wounded fox that was brought here yesterday,” Plumette answered while looking around the room.

“The fox is doing well and is currently resting, as I’ve tended to its wounds,” Rupert informed her, leading her to the side of the room where the curtains were drawn. Through a slightly opened gap, the fox could be seen wrapped in bandages, lying on a small bed.

“Thank you for taking care of it, Rupert,” Plumette said as she approached and gently caressed the fox’s head.

While Plumette was looking after the fox, Kate left the infirmary to meet with a servant. She returned a moment later.
“My Lady, Lady Dorothy Ashcroft is here to meet you. She’s currently waiting in the drawing room.”

“Dorothy’s here? She never shows up suddenly… I’ll go meet her.” Plumette stood up and headed to the drawing room.

Dorothy is Count Ashcroft’s second daughter. Count Ashcroft has three daughters, and many of their relatives are eager to push for marriage with the daughters so they can gain the title. However, Count Ashcroft was firm in his decision and made his first daughter, Ester Ashcroft, his heir. Though many relatives were against a woman inheriting the Count title, he wasn’t an easy man to budge. He even made sure his other two daughters would inherit his personal businesses under their own names.

Dorothy eagerly waited in the drawing room. As she heard approaching footsteps, she set aside her teacup. The door opened, revealing Plumette.

“Dorothy, why did you suddenly visit without any prior notice?” Plumette asked, taking her seat opposite her.

“Well… it’s because it’s something important,” Dorothy answered, sitting straighter.

“Important? What happened?” Plumette inquired, taking a sip of tea.

Dorothy fiddled with her fingers for a moment and finally answered,
“I started dating yesterday.”

“Dating?! Who? Why am I only hearing about this now?” Plumette moved to sit beside Dorothy, curiosity clear on her face.

“I met him a week ago, and he said he really likes me, so we agreed to date each other to get to know each other better. He’s Viscount Corwyn’s second son,” Dorothy admitted with a happy expression.

“Is he a good man? I don’t think we’ve met him before. Is he treating you well?” Plumette asked, genuinely concerned.

“Yes. He’s a gentleman, and the first time we met at a small salon gathering, he treated me extremely well. We even went to Willow Street yesterday.”

Plumette sighed in defeat, seeing how lovestruck her friend was, and gave up asking more questions.
“Does Grace know about this?”

“Um… Grace… isn’t aware of this. I’m scared to go alone, so I came to ask if you would come with me to her house,” Dorothy admitted nervously.

“Hell no, I’m not going to voluntarily listen to her nagging with you,” Plumette said, turning away.

“Plumette, will you please consider it? Pretty please?” Dorothy took her hands, pleading.

Plumette resisted but soon gave up, sighing.
“Fine…”

Dorothy instantly brightened and squeezed Plumette’s hands.
“Thank you, dear! I told Grace that we’d visit her tomorrow, so be prepared. I’ll pick you up.”

After chatting a while longer, Dorothy left. Plumette then went to Zachary’s office.

“Brother, are you perhaps busy?” she asked, already sitting down before he could answer.

“What did you come here for again?” Zachary asked, taking off his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes.

“Have you heard of Viscount Corwyn’s sons?” Plumette leaned forward.

“The Corwyns? Yes, we did business with them for a while, but due to some disputes we terminated the contract early. Why are you asking about them?”

“I’m not asking about Viscount Corwyn, but about his sons.”

“Corwyn’s sons? Are you interested in them or something?” Zachary asked, surprised.

“Heck no. It’s because of… just something. Keeping that aside, just tell me about them.”

“They recently acquired debt because of gambling addiction, so their father is trying to gather money to repay it before rumors spread. But why are you so curious about them, Plumette?”

Before Zachary could finish, Plumette stood up and left the office to gather more information and evidence before the man could try anything suspicious with Dorothy.

Soon after Plumette left, A servant brought chamomile tea to Zachary’s office and placed it on his desk.
“Lady Plumette recommended this tea, my Lord,” the servant said before leaving.