Second Life's Revenge

Chapter 57: Competition

"This is still not enough," Laura muttered as she placed down the piece of paper onto the table.

After a while of sitting and looking through an endless amount of papers, Laura stood up and opened the curtain and was blinded by the sunray that passed through the window. The sun was rising, and Laura still hasn't gotten any sleep. She got overly excited about the number of documents she needed to read, which resulted in staying up all night.

Despite reading most of the documents, it was full of loopholes. There are many reports about Marquess Rogen's corruption, but none had to do with Tine. But this is what Laura had expected anyway.

Tine was just a normal noblewoman who had nothing to do with society is what Laura thought. But because Tine had a connection with Marquess Rogen, the possibility of her having connections with the underground market was high.

But with the lack of evidence, there was nothing that Laura could do. However, there was one thing she did consider doing, and it was to get information from the underground market itself. But for a young and weak girl Laura, it was dangerous for her to go alone.

With the numerous thoughts that filled Laura's mind, she didn't notice Lester entering the room. Lester watched the occupied Laura and wanted to report to her about something, but instead, he waited for her to finish as he saw how preoccupied Larua was.

"Should I go?" Laura muttered, resting her chin on her hand and continued, "But it's too dangerous, and I don't have a personal guard."

Lester's eyes flickered as he listened to Laura's debate. He was hesitant to step in as he didn't want to intrude on her discussion, but when he heard 'underground market' coming out of Laura's mouth, Lester called Laura's name out and startled her.

"When did you get here?" Laura asked as she placed a hand on her chest.

"I'm sorry for surprising you. I don't want to be rude, but did you just mention the underground market?" Lester asked as he placed both of his hands at the back.

"Yes" Laura hesitated, putting her hand down.

"Are you planning to go there alone?" Lester asked, scaring Laura, who had no idea what was in Lester's head. "No, but at some point, I did," Laura added, "It's because I need to know something. Will you let me go?" 

Lester looked at the determined eyes that laid in front of him and sighed as he realized that he had no choice but to help Laura. 

"I understand, but please do tell me when you're going there," Lester jabbered, looking away as he continued, "Because, you're not going alone."

"Yes, I know, father," Laura waggled her eyebrows, rubbing her eyes and continued, "I'm going to take some rest now. Please tell Mary to wake me up before lunch. I heard that my father was coming back."

Laura closed the curtains and turned her head back as she watched Lester leave the room. Laura yawned once more before entering the sweet comfort of her bed, and once she laid down onto the bed, she drifted into the darkness.

Meanwhile, in another estate, a man sat on his chair, feeling restless as he tapped his foot onto the ground. And beside him was Blaine, who was standing up with his eyes closed.

"What are you going to do about it?" Blaine asked as he slowly opened his eyes, turning his head towards Erwin. 

The tapping sound stopped, and silence filled the room. When Erwin acts like this, Blaine didn't know what to do but leave him be. But there are times where Blaine gets annoyed with Erwin's childlike actions.

"I'm asking you a question," Blaine said, massaging his temples.

"Didn't I tell you not to speak with me?" Erwin scowled.

The sound of Blaine's gloves twisting caught Erwin's attention as his face continued to stay expressionless. 

"If you don't want to tell me about it, then I shall take my rest," Blaine retorted as he walked out of the door, not before slamming it loudly as he left.

Erwin was left alone in the room and seemed unbothered despite knowing that he had angered Blaine. He knew that he wasn't in his right mind right now. But keeping it all to yourself is something no one should do.

After all, it's better to release it than holding it into a jar. 

Erwin ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, clicking his tongue, and sat back straight onto his chair. Right at the moment, he was not in the mood to talk or do work. He wanted to have some time alone.

Knowing that Blaine was a worry brat, he needed a way to kick him out, and the only thing Erwin thought of was to anger him. It wasn't the best plan, but if it's to have time alone, it works.

Erwin spun his pen with his fingers as he continued to contemplate what to do. He was visualizing what he did that night to Laura. Erwin kept replaying the question that he had asked her, which caused him to feel restless the past few days. "Just what am I to you?"

The reply of Laura played in Erwin's head countlessly, and the image of Laura's face full of pain and uncertainty flashed into his head. He bit his lip, slamming his fist onto the desk, and sighed. 

As he slammed his fists onto the table, a piece of paper dropped onto the floor, and Erwin stood up and picked the fallen paper up. His eyes widened as he scanned through the writings on the paper. Erwin felt a tiny bit of hope in him and made his way out of the door.

Erwin thought, "This can do it. A way to stop my uncle and maybe to see her again."

The clock was ticking nearly twelve, and Laura was awake by then. She still felt tired, but it was not an excuse to not see Count Harrison. Count Harrison has not been returning home as his business was suddenly blooming, which made his work harder and work longer hours.

There was a possible chance that it was because of Tine's influence, even though it didn't hold an ounce of truth in it.

"Is father here already?" Laura asked, keeping her face straight the hallway.

"He's just arrived," Lester answered.

"Let's just hope we don't get into trouble," Laura sighs.

Laura entered the dining hall and sat on her seat, patiently waiting for Count Harrison's arrival. When the door opened, Laura's mouth lifted, but she saw Tine instead, and smile turned into a frown.

It was a disappointment to see Tine and Laura had almost forgotten about her. But reality struck, and there was no other way to dodge it. Seeing the disappointed face on Laura, Tine smirked as she sat on her seat.

The tension between them was high, and the maids who were around felt it. Both were calm, but the aura surrounding them was not. To be a good example, Tine decided to start a conversation.

"It's been a while since we've eaten together," Tine smiled, slightly tilting her head.

"Yes, it has been a while. I have been busy with my studies recently, perhaps that is why," Laura answer and continued, "I have also been busy embroidering a handkerchief for father."

"Embroidering? Did Viscountess Andrea teach you that?" Tine asked with a hint of jealousy.

"That is right. Miss Andrea told me to make her one in the future as well," Laura giggled.

Underneath the tablecloth, Tine clenched her fist, but she managed to continue to put on a smile. Tine herself never received embroidery lessons from Miss Edith despite it being a skill that each noble lady needed to learn.

From the beginning, Laura knew that Tine wouldn't receive lessons, not until she was seventeen, which is quite late. Laura decided to take on with embroidery because it is hard to learn and not a skill that can be inquired easily.

"What about you?" Laura asked innocently.

"I-I'm about to start. It was supposed to be today, but Miss Edith was sick, so she wasn't able to come," Tine stuttered and had clammy palms.

As Laura was about to speak, the door opened, which caught her off-guard. Count Harrison entered the room while Tine and Laura acted as if nothing happened between them.

"Good afternoon, girls," Count Harrison smiled, sitting down.

"Good afternoon, father," Laura and Tine said in unison with big smiles on their faces.

Count Harrison yawned and apologized for his absence for the past few days. Just by looking at Count Harrison, you can tell that work flooded him, and it seems to continue. He was truly lucky to get out of work for a while.

"It seems like you haven't been getting enough sleep," Tine frowned, walking over to Count Harrison to give him a massage.

"How thoughtful of you," Count Harrison laughed.

"This is what I can do to help," Tine smile, glancing at Laura.

Laura scoffed, pressing her lips together. In her mind, she had a better plan, and it was something Tine probably never thought about. Laura called for Mary, who showed Laura a handkerchief, which was embroidered by Laura herself.

"Father, I have a present for you," Laura announced, "Mary, give this to father."

Mary bowed and held a handkerchief out for Count Harrison to get. At the same time, Count Harrison laughed out loud, nodding his head. 

"I am lucky to have two daughters to spoil me," Count Harrison smiled and held the handkerchief.

Count Harrison looked at the embroidered handkerchief, and his eyes widened, looking at Laura speechless.

"This is...how do you know about this?" Count Harrison trembled.

"Honestly speaking, I wanted to make something memorable for you, and so I asked Percival what you liked, and he told me you liked this specific flower," Laura lowered her head.

Count Harrison shook his head speechless and continued, "This will be my treasure forever. Thank you, Laura."

"You're welcome, father," Laura smiled and glazed at Tine, who bit her lip.

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