Chapter 79: Chapter 79

Antes and Fersen? At Luna’s response of not understanding the matter, Rosemary bounced around from her seat in reply.

“Well, it seems young lord Lordrian took a lot of my brother’s business partners!”

“What…?!”

Luna froze at the sudden bad news. She had heard that there had been an issue, but that it had been resolved. What does this mean?

“Who says?”

“My well-informed acquaintance! It seems the damage has already been done! Maybe that’s why brother has been so busy…! What should we do?”

Even though they fought every time they met, Rosemary seemed very worried for Antes, pacing around nervously. Luna also couldn’t think straight. Always self-sufficient, it was unthinkable that Antes had lost all the clients to Fersen.

She didn’t know the details, but it was a bad situation. Not just a few clients, but a large number were taken away. If something went wrong, the business could collapse.

‘Is Antes alright?’

She was more worried about Antes as she thought about it. He had a lot of pride, and probably blamed himself or felt tormented.

“Ena! Ena, where are you?! Prepare the carriage quickly! Hurry!”

Rushing back inside the mansion, Luna searched for the coachman. She didn’t exactly know what was going on, but she felt she couldn’t leave Antes alone in this situation.

* * *

Luna headed straight to Antares Merchant Guild. It was frustrating that Rosemary, despite being busy, had come to deliver the news and then returned to the Marquis’ residence.

‘He said it was resolved well, but what is this…! If it was going to be like this, he should’ve asked for my help!’

Whether her help would have made a difference was uncertain, but it was better than losing all the clients while suffering alone.

Fortunately, the distance to the guild wasn’t far, so they arrived soon. As soon as the carriage stopped, Luna hurried inside and immediately looked for Antes.

“Young lord Antes?!”

A staff, startled by her urgency, informed her about Antes’ whereabouts.

“Yes? He hasn’t arrived yet.”

It was already late, and he hadn’t come to work? Was it because he was so saddened and tormented by losing the clients to Fersen?! Didn’t he have any negative thoughts, did he?!

Even though he wasn’t the type to make extreme choices, given the circumstances, anything was possible.

The business was everything to him since he left his family.

Realizing this, Luna covered her mouth with her hand. Disturbing thoughts swirled in her mind.

The staff, who had been watching her puzzled expressions, tilted his head.

‘Why is she behaving like this…? Is it because of the rumor?’

The rumor about losing the clients had spread, but the staff seemed very calm. Of course, they knew Antes had a contingency plan.

From the moment the contracts were canceled, Antes had been very busy, which everyone knew. He wasn’t the type to handle his work loosely.

So Luna, Antes’ lover, must know about this. However, looking at her about to cry, a staff member was about to speak to her.

“Lady Luna?”

At that moment, Antes appeared at the business, looking very neat contrary to someone who might be blaming himself or feeling tormented.

“Young lord Antes!”

It was normal to feel something strange here, but Luna, whose mind was a mess with worry about him, didn’t notice his outfit.

Luna hurriedly ran to Antes. Then, she carefully checked him for any injuries, and his face, asking about his well-being.

“Are you alright? Everything’s fine, right? You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

What was all this about? Antes stared at Luna causing a fuss for a moment.

“Why aren’t you answering? You’re really not hurt anywhere, right?”

When he glared coldly at a staff member as if suspecting something might have happened, he waved his hands, indicating he hadn’t done anything.

“Did you have breakfast? Are you eating well?”

Luna asked while caressing Antes’ cheek. It wasn’t like they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, but he seemed somewhat gaunt.

Antes, slightly startled by the sudden physical contact, turned his gaze back to Luna.

It would normally be thrilling, but not today. His lover looked as worried as a mother examining her child returned from war, and he found it strange.

“I skipped breakfast…”

“Why! Why didn’t you have breakfast!”

I was going to say that it was okay since I had a hearty dinner last nigh. Antes asked Luna the point.

“What brings you here?”

Only then did Luna realize why she had sought Antes and quickly regained her senses and hurriedly answered.

“I heard that Fersen took all your clients. You said you handled it well on your own, what is this…!”

Talk to me! You fool, idiot, moron! Luna hit Antes’s chest with her fists a few times.

So, she was very surprised and worried when she heard the rumors.

Despite being hit, the corners of Antes’s mouth began to curl up. It wasn’t painful, but the fact that Luna cared for him this much was very new.

He was sure he mentioned several times that everything had been resolved. It seems like there was a misunderstanding since he didn’t explain it in detail.

Antes, who smiled briefly when she was being quirky, still grabbed Luna’s hand hitting his chest.

“I’m busy, so let’s talk while moving. It seems like it will take a long time, is that okay with you?”

Luna quickly nodded her head. Even if there wasn’t time in this situation, she had to answer.

Thus, as they climbed into his carriage together, the carriage seemed to have waited and departed towards the destination. It seemed to be going quite far as the carriage entered the road leading out of the capital.

“Where are we going?”

Luna asked cautiously. Hopefully, he wasn’t thinking of throwing everything away and leaving due to pessimism.

While Antes was considering how to tease Luna a bit more, he chose a very significant answer.

“You’ll know when we get there.”

Of course, Luna’s face was shocked again.

“You said you handled it well, what happened? How are you handling the employees’ salaries if all the clients were taken? Were they all fired?”

“No. They weren’t fired.”

He was busy with other things. Even making a good amount of money as a penalty fee was fine. Finding a better replacement was also an option, getting rid of the messy clients.

“So how are you paying the salaries? Is there anything I can help with?”

Luna asked as if she could lend money right now. If asked for help, she would readily agree.

She usually wouldn’t take a loss, calculating meticulously. But if Antes was indeed in crisis as rumored, she was serious about lending money even if it might not be returned.

At this point, he was curious about how much she’d lend, but if he did, she’d definitely get mad later, so Antes suppressed his curiosity and answered.

“It’s okay. Our top client, the young lady, is fine. Meeting you that day, I think, was a blessing bestowed upon me by God.”

“…Please let me know whenever you need help.”

Although unintended, the answer carried quite a few meanings, but Luna, seeing only the fragmented meaning, was greatly relieved.@@novelbin@@

Of course, that didn’t mean she was completely at ease. The fact that Antes had lost all his clients to Fersen was true, so the worry continued.

With such complex thoughts and feelings, they rode for a while and eventually reached the destination. It took quite some time and halfway through she dozed off, waking up to find herself leaning on Antes’s shoulder.

Unable to comfort a heartbroken person, she had fallen asleep. Feeling somewhat sorry, Luna apologized to Antes as they got off the carriage.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I guess I fell asleep unknowingly. But where are we?”

Looking around, it was a small village with a few sizable warehouses. Fortunately, it didn’t seem far from the capital as the sun was still high in the sky.

“You’ll know when we go in.”

Antes pointed to the warehouse. Luna, wondering if he had set up a new household in the warehouse, moved her steps anxiously.

It seemed it wasn’t a lone setup, as the man guarding the door opened it when he saw Luna and Antes.

With a steeled heart, Luna entered and was momentarily speechless at the sight before her.

“…What is all this?”

Inside the warehouse were quite a lot of boxes, not household goods. Even though they were tightly sealed, the strong scent suggested they were spices.

“These are goods from a new client. They are also good replacements for the products of the clients that were taken away.”

Only then did Antes openly share the truth with a swift laugh. ‘See, I told you I handled it well,’ as if he was saying.

Realizing the situation, Luna, after a moment’s effort to grasp the situation, charged at Antes with fierce eyes and acted violently.