I Unintentionally Cured the Grand Duke’s Insomnia - Chapter 128

64. — Consolation Through Fairy Tales (2)

Mrs. Passe, who was looking at the beautifully blooming freesia with approval, checked the table once again. She had prepared Earl Grey tea leaves, moderately heated milk, and even sugar cubes for the contractor to drink according to their taste. Having warmed the milk and placed it in a teapot on a warmer, she completed all the preparations.

“Alright. Now all that’s left is to finalize the contract…”

At that moment, the sound of a doorbell hanging by the door rang.

While she was taken aback by the client, who had arrived unexpectedly early, she turned to greet them, feeling relieved that she had finished her preparations just in time.

“Yes, please come in…”

However, the person who entered the property was a man dressed in a black cloak and hat. She wrinkled her nose at the foul odor emanating from him and his dirty cloak.

Mrs. Passe took a step back when she saw the man gasping for breath and looking around the property.

“W-who…”

As the frightened woman’s voice trailed off, the man removed the hat he was wearing. Finally seeing the face hidden under the cloak, her eyes widened in surprise, and she covered her mouth.

“Mr. Cus?”

“Long time no see, ma’am.”

“W-What happened? There are still a few days left until the deadline I mentioned, right?”

“Things have taken a turn.”

“Yes?”

Passe blinked in confusion at Cus’s urgent tone.

“What do you mean by things have taken a turn?”

“I think there will be a major disturbance in Aren.”

“What do you mean suddenly? Disturbance… Oh, are you saying there might be a disturbance at today’s return ceremony?”

“The ceremony! They might even cancel today’s return ceremony!”

As she asked nonchalantly, he burst out in frustration.

Startled by his sudden outburst, Passe, who had been frowning, quickly realized the seriousness of the situation and widened her eyes. In the meanwhile, Cus, looking annoyed, ran his hand through his hair and slumped onto the sofa. Her face crumpled as she saw dirt settled on the freshly cleaned sofa.

However, without noticing her expression, Cus asked in a rough voice.

“But it’s almost summer, and you’re planning to serve warm tea to the customers? Wouldn’t it be better to prepare refreshing juice instead?”

“…The guests coming soon prefer warm tea. They said cold drinks give them stomachaches.”

“Really?”

Passe raised an eyebrow as she listened to Cus muttering, saying that he would hear all kinds of strange things in his life. She had felt this way for a long time, but he truly had no manners, prattling on endlessly. She probably would’ve cut ties with him long ago if it weren’t for the interesting stories he occasionally shared or the building he entrusted to her for sale.

With a shallow sigh, she sat down in front of him.

Despite pretending not to want it because it was hot, he eventually picked up a warmed teapot.

Passe glared at the man in front of her, who was recklessly tampering with the tea she had prepared for VIPs who would soon arrive at the property. However, oblivious to her expression, Cus poured tea into an empty cup and spoke.

“Anyway, a body was found on the castle wall. And not just anywhere, but on top of the west gate where the Saintess would’ve passed through!”

“No, just a moderate amount of sugar… Wait, what did you just say? A dead body?”

A look of confusion crossed Passe’s face as she tried to stop Cus, who poured five sugars into his teacup.

Seeing her blinking in surprise, he poured warm milk into the cup and went on.

“Yeah, I have a really bad feeling this time. In times like this, it’s best to just lie flat and wait it out.”

She suddenly felt uneasy at his words.

It was clear that he had no talent for business. Yet, strangely, he seemed to have a knack for this sort of thing. Well, that was probably why he was still alive after causing such incidents.

Cus, unaware of her thoughts, quickly drank his warm tea and got up from his seat. As he rubbed his neck with his hot hand, he immediately spoke.

“Anyway, now that things have turned out like this, I need to leave Aren as soon as possible.”

“You’re leaving Aren?”

“Yeah, once I finish the contract I asked for earlier and get the money, I’ll leave right away. Oh, speaking of which, there’s someone who wants to buy that building, right?”

“Y-Yes!”

Passe, surprised by Cus’s question, awkwardly smiled and nodded.

“Who are you going to sell it to?”

“There’s, uh, someone named Awil Kiryu.”

“Awil Kiryu? Is that the name?”

“Yes. They seem to be a wealthy person with a lot of money.”

“Well, they say rich people can smell money like ghosts*.”
[ T/N: The phrase is an idiom which literally means ‘to smell like a ghost,’ but it figuratively means ‘to have an uncanny ability’ or ‘to be very sharp at detecting something.’ ]

Covering his head with the cloak’s hood, Cus headed towards the door. As he grabbed the doorknob, he looked back at Mrs. Passe and opened his mouth.

“Then, tell them to come tomorrow by one o’clock to sign the contract. And remind them not to forget to bring the money.”

“Y-yes, of course. Don’t worry about that.”

He nodded at her answer and left in an instant. Passe, who had craned her neck to check on Cus, raised a corner of her mouth.

“Well, don’t blame me tomorrow. In this business, there’s no such thing as your side or my side. Money is the only side that matters.”

Then, she grimaced at the mess on the table before she stood up from her seat.

“Anyway, who else should I tell this big news to?”

Her mouth was already itching.

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