Only Realized After Losing You

63. My Beloved Has A Fatal Allergy

“Anyway, if you can give me some valuable information about Count Hannah, I will reward you accordingly.”

“May I ask what kind of reward?”

Lennon replied as if he had been waiting.

He knew how to deal with guys like him.

With just the right number of threats and rewards, it would be easy to manipulate them.

“I might be able to help you get your status back.”

‘I might.’

That wasn’t a definitive answer.

Unless he was an emperor, it would be difficult to guarantee the restoration of a fallen noble’s status.

Moreover, he had not yet inherited the dukedom.

There’s no way he could guarantee that.

But Lennon looked at Baltan with eyes full of trust.

It was a confident look that gave more faith than a thousand words.

Perhaps that was why.

Baltan seemed to take his words as definitive.

A look of anticipation passed over Baltan’s face.

Lennon smiled faintly.

He was enjoying the fact that everything was going his way.

“I will try to provide you with information that will satisfy you, Lord Lennon.”

Lennon nodded instead of answering. And so began Baltan’s story.

He told Lennon all the little details he knew about Hannah.

As a child, she was ambidextrous, a social outcast, liked boys, was good at martial arts, and…

In Baltan’s story, there was no mention of Hannah’s chronic bronchial disease.

The disease that she used as an excuse to refuse Lennon’s hand in marriage.

“… What are the chances that Count Hannah still suffers from the chronic illness she suffered from as a child?”

Baltan answered.

“I can’t give you a definite answer either. I heard that fact in passing from the previous Count a long time ago, and I’ve never been told exactly what it was.”

“I see. Did Count Hannah also suffer from bronchial disease?”

Baltan answered with a noticeably deflated look on his face.

“… I’m afraid I can’t give you a definitive answer. I’m sorry.”

Baltan said he’d never seen Hannah cough. At least, not the Hannah Lennon had met.

Lennon spoke like a gentleman.

“I am not so crude as to criticize you for things you do not know.”

And then he thought.

The chronic bronchial disease that Hannah was suffering from was something that Baltan had never heard of.

Either she had been hiding it, or she created a disease that didn’t exist.

“That’s all I know about Hannah… Was it helpful?”

“Very.”

Lennon nodded, and at the same time Baltan’s face lit up.

“That’s fortunate.”

The look of anticipation on Baltan’s face grew even bigger.

Lennon was only sorry that he could not live up to it.

I can’t do anything about his status, but I should at least give him a lot of money to keep him from talking about it.

Lennon lifted his teacup to moisten his mouth parched from talking.

He sipped his tea with dignity.

Baltan’s eyes followed Lennon’s every move.

As soon as he put the teacup down on the table, Baltan stared blankly at the tea.

“May I ask you one more favor?”

Lennon’s words brought Baltan’s gaze back to him.

“What kind of favor would you like to ask?”

“I would like you to go to Count Phever’s house in person.”

“What should I do there?”

He was a man of few words.

Lennon told him what he wanted.

“I want you to question Count Hannah’s true identity.”

“What?”

“I want you to suspect that Count Hannah has been replaced by someone else.”

“Has Hannah been replaced by someone else?”

Baltan, who was not a complete fool, saw right through the nature of his request.

Lennon pretended not to know.

“I don’t know. I just want to shake up a woman named Hannah. Whether it’s her suspicions about her identity, or the men she’s been seeing… ”

“… … .”

“Because I really want to have Count Hannah.”

Baltan tilted his head without answering.

It was clear that he found the sudden order a little strange.

Lennon had no intention of providing tasty bait to the Phever siblings’ relatives.

The truth about her identity should be known only to him.

Lennon leaned forward slightly and looked at Baltan coldly.

His mood, which had been gentle, suddenly changed to fierce.

He had an intimidating aura about him that made it hard for anyone to approach him.

Baltan’s shoulders flinched slightly at the change in Lennon’s demeanor.

Lennon spoke warningly.

“But if you get involved in that matter unnecessarily, I will take away everything you have now.”

“… … .”

“You’d better not think about anything else. Just do as I say.”

It was more of a warning.

There is no guarantee what will happen if you disobey.

Baltan answered quickly.

“Yes, of course”

Baltan knew that too.

How dangerous a person Lennon was.

That Lennon was not a man to speak carelessly.

If he had wanted to, he could have killed Balton like a mouse or a bird.

Baltan erased all doubts he had about the strange order.

Let’s not doubt.

Instead, let’s do what Lennon wants perfectly.

If I do that, I might be able to get back the title and wealth I lost.

Baltan was an ambitious man who knew this subject well.

It was a sense of caution that arose after he got severely beaten by Hannah for being too greedy.

“I’d like you to go to Count Phever’s residence tomorrow. Is that possible?”

Baltan said cheerfully.

“Yes, absolutely, of course”

“I like that.”

Lennon leaned back until he was completely resting against the sofa.

His aura, which had been full of icy intensity, softened in an instant.

“… Uh, by the way, Lord Lennon.”

Isn’t this the end of the story?

Lennon was puzzled by Baltan’s sudden words.

“Is there anything else you want to say?”

“Isn’t this hibiscus tea?”

It was an unexpected question.

Baltan was talking about hibiscus tea, which Lennon enjoyed drinking these days.

Lennon looked down at his cup of red tea, which resembled the color of his own eyes.

“Yes. Is this your favorite tea?”

“No. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, more like…”

“More like?”

“Hannah was allergic to hibiscus.”

At that moment, he felt, well, something.

He felt like he’d been hit in the back of the head with a heavy blunt object.

Like when you know what you’re looking for, but you get so caught up in the search that you’ve forgotten what it is.

And it was incredibly frustrating.

But this was like remembering it unexpectedly.

Lennon’s heart began to beat faster.

It was clear that the hibiscus allergy would be a good way to keep Ellie and Hardwin apart, plus it would be a good way to keep her by Lennon’s side.

“Tell me more about that.”

Baltan began to recall a day in the past.

“Once, when I was a frequent visitor to the Count’s estate because I was trying to obtain the title, I happened to have some nice hibiscus, so I took it to the count’s mansion. And that was when I served it to Hannah. After drinking the hibiscus tea, Hannah’s face began to break out in hives. It happened only a few minutes after she drank it. I think Hannah didn’t know that she was allergic to the plant.”

“Ah, I see. My beloved has a fatal allergy, yes. What a shame.”

It’s obviously a shame, but why does this make me smile?

Lennon chuckled deeply. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Lord Lennon…?”

“Haha. I’m sorry. Does young Hardwin know that fact too?”

“I don’t know. Because I was alone with Hannah at the time. It was also around the time when Hardwin was at the Academy… I don’t know if they talked about hibiscus.”

“I see. So who else knows what happened that day?”

“About two of the count’s maids were there that day, and the doctor who took care of Hannah’s allergies is probably still alive.”

This was very good information.

Hardwin may not know it, but there were plenty of witnesses.

This was probably the most useful information Baltan had given Lennon.

“Okay, so then let’s…”

Lennon began to tell Baltan what he had to do when he got to the Count’s mansion.

He was thinking of putting on an amusing skit.

* * *

“Captain, what on earth are you thinking about these days? You’re full of holes in your defense.”

Thanks to his subordinate’s voice, Lebrado’s mind, which had been lost in other thoughts, came back to reality.

“You’re wrong. No matter how distracted I am, I won’t be defeated by my subordinate’s sword.”

It was a heavy, serious answer.

If Ellie heard this, she would be shocked.

Lebrado had completely stopped twitching at the sight of hands.

Standing in the middle of the Duke of Hill’s training ground, Lebrado’s eyes were cold as he watched his subordinates’ swordplay.

“I’m not denying what you said, Captain. I just said it out of concern.”

Lebrado glanced at his subordinate, who seemed genuinely concerned for him.

His right-hand man, Kyle, was a pretty trustworthy guy, even if the others weren’t as trustworthy.

He was also the only subordinate who knew the circumstances surrounding his obsession with hands.

Lebrado’s gaze shifted back to the training ground.

The training was coming to an end, and everyone was doing their final moves.

“Okay. Training will be over soon, so I’ll leave you to it.”

“Yes, please go ahead, Captain.”

Lebrado turned away without answering.

The sound of swords being swung and the knights’ heavy breathing grew further and further away.

When he was finally out of earshot, he let out a long sigh.

Hardwin’s words swirled in Lebrado’s head.

‘I want you to spy on Lennon Hills.’

‘I want to know the extent to which Lennon suspects Ellie’s identity, how far his investigation into us is.’

That’s why Lebrado was deep in thought.

How do I find out information about Lennon?

Although Lebrado was a knight who served Lennon closely, Lennon was a thorough person who did not reveal anything to others that could be a weakness.

So it was really difficult to find out information about Lennon.

Lebrado paused in his walk down the hallway and let out another deep sigh.

“Haah.”

It was then that a door near the hallway where he was standing opened, and someone came out of it.