Chapter 82: CH 82

‘Daphne, I’ll be right back.’

‘…….’

Recalling Daphne’s attitude,which had been so icy this morning that a cold breeze blew through him, Gabriel held his breath inwardly.

His angel no longer smiled at Gabriel.

Whenever she met Gabriel, she always showed a frown on her forehead, a look of grief, or that she was sad.

Either way, it wasn’t the Daphne that Gabriel wanted to see.

I want to see Daphne’s smile. Her smile was a light and salvation for Gabriel.

Gabriel thought of Count Peliard.

If he could help her with her problems, maybe she would smile at him again.

“Hmm….”

Gabriel glanced at the headquarters above Peliard.

According to the report she’d found at the Duke’s Burstoad mansion, the Count Peliar was bringing in investors to make up the shortfall.

However, there were rumors that the contract concluded in the process was a fraudulent contract with a toxin clause.

So today his aide was planning to steal a copy of the contract under the guise of a stupid investor from the countryside.

“Then I will go, my lord.”

Bruce threw out his ticket and headed for the main building at the top of Peliard.

Gabriel, who was left alone in the outdoor cafe, looked at the back of the assistant and shrugged.

‘This should ease Daphne’s heart a little…’

Of course, the contract alone could not punish Count Peliard.

It’s just added to the list of sins Count Peliard has. He must have a bigger case to ruin him.

Gabriel sighed in frustration.

Somehow it felt like he had been happier as a slave, when he had nothing.

Daphne, the sweet Duchess, was kind to him and shared her interest and affection.

Daphne now doesn’t even allow him to have a brief conversation.

Daphne’s warmth left Gabriel.

Gabriel rubbed his temples through his greasy hair.

It was then.

“Huh, my friend! We met again.”

Gabriel hated seeing the man approaching with a smile.

It was a familiar face. Wasn’t he the crazy guy who approached him last time?

I turned my head away because I didn’t want to get involved with him.

But even though Gabriel pretended not to know him, the man didn’t seem to care, rather shamelessly pulled out a chair next to Gabriel and sat down.

“Sir, I’ll have a cup of espresso here. Very steamed.”

After that, he naturally ordered.

Gabriel’s splendid beauty was cracked. This is the second time we met, so why are you being pushy like this?

“Get out of here now

An ominous word came out.

The man opened his eyes round and then drooped his shoulders exaggeratedly.

“That’s too much. There’s an empty seat here. As a friend, I feel sad.”

“Who is your friend?”

“Last time, we decided to be friends.”

“When am I?”

Gabriel’s voice rose.

At that time, he was busy running away from the man in front of him clinging to him.

Suddenly pretending to be close and then suddenly calling you a friend…

Looking back, he was crazy.

Of course, he still looks crazy.

‘Thanks to you, I went around the house a few times.’

It went round and round and it was impossible to do so, I couldn’t go on, so I went back into the mansion and fell asleep.

Gabriel recalled the past and suddenly realized that he had never slept so well as that day.

Without thinking about the other nobles who valued him as the Crown Prince, and without worrying about Daphne who looked down on him.

As he looked at the man with a new look with his eyebrows raised like a crescent moon, the man smiled kindly.

“Shall I have a cake too? Would you like to eat together?”

“No.”

Gabriel refused immediately.

He’s also a weirdo

I want to leave right now, but my aide hasn’t returned yet.

The man whispered to Gabriel, who had his eyes fixed on the building above Peliard.

“By the way, my friend. Do you know that there are strange rumors about Count Peliard?”

“… What rumors?”

I don’t want to respond, but I’m curious as the subject is none other than Count Peliard.

The man glanced around and whispered to Gabriel.

“Well, there is a story that Count Peliard poisoned the previous Countess in order to marry and make his mistress a Countess. She wasn’t healthy to begin with, but they say he drugged her.”

Gabriel scoffed at the story.

He, too, knew of Count Peliard’s filthy past.

Just by looking at the gossip papers, you could find dozens of versions of the remarriage of Count Peliard and the stories related to it.

The story of the previous Countess being poisoned.

In fact, it is not that she was poisoned, but that she committed suicide out of shame.

Or even the story of how she was actually alive and left Count Peliard and ran away with the one she loved.

Even Gabriel doesn’t know which of them are true.

However, if there is one thing for sure, it is that the Count Peliard and his wife who torment Daphne are not at least good people.

“You don’t believe it?”

“You can’t accuse people of anything without proof.”

“Hmm, will you change your mind if you hear this?”

He made a serious face that was not like before, and lowered his voice a lot.

“It is said that there is evidence of the poisoning of the former Countess in the Peliard mansion. It is said that the Count hid it inside the mansion as it is an item that is difficult to dispose of. But do you know where the drug came from?”

The man was confident Gabriel would be interested.

It was absurd, but Gabriel couldn’t help but react.

Hopefully, this could be an opportunity to completely change Daphne’s mind. Isn’t it related to Daphne’s mother’s death?

Gabriel asked briefly.

“Where?”

“No one trades with it because it is a dangerous drug, but it is said that it was dealt with at the top of Peliard headquarters the other day.”

Gabriel’s blue eyes turned around.

This was definitely a helpful story for Gabriel.

Apart from giggling and pointing at Gabriel.

“It’s a drug that’s banned now because of the addictive qualities present in it, but from what I’ve heard, Count Pelliar has been having some financial difficulties lately with the expansion of his business. Then he will need a lot of money, where can he get all that money?”

The man who spoke up to this point raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Just then, the owner of the cafe handed him a cup of freshly brewed espresso.

He took the small cup with a big smile on his face and sipped the coffee, gagging at the bitter taste in his mouth.

He looked so dumb and useful at the same time.

Gabriel asked with interest in him.

“You, what’s your name?”

“Ugh, look at me. Come to think of it, I didn’t even introduce myself.”

The man coughed heavily and then smiled.

“My name is Lee Jong-woo. I am 27 years old and my favorite food is spicy stir-fried noodles with cheese… Oh, and lamb is also delicious these days. Last time I ate it at a small inn in the city, the taste of the food was….”

“Stop.”

At Lee Jong-woo’s endless words, Gabriel interrupted him.

He should only answer the questions asked, but the man was also stating useless personal preferences.

Besides, ‘Lee Jong-woo’?

Even though Gabriel was from a rural area who did not know much about the world, he knew that the name ‘Lee Jong-woo’ was not a common form.

Even neighboring countries don’t use that type of name.

It’s a word that doesn’t even have a meaning to be called a nickname. Above all, the appearance of the man was not different from the imperial people.

So he is most likely making fun of him or playing tricks on him.

I seemed like an idiot for paying attention to him for a moment.

There is no one in this world who truly cares about me other than Daphne.

What did I expect? Everything he’ve said so far will be a lie.

It must have been a made-up word to seduce Gabriel.

Gabriel’s white cheeks were dyed red with shame.

I wanted to see Daphne right now.

Anyway, Daphne will push him away as usual… Still, it was the only time I could breathe when I was by her side.

Lee Jong-woo grabbed Gabriel as he got up from his seat and was about to leave.

“Uh… friend. You want to go again?”

Are you asking because you don’t know?

Gabriel looked at Lee Jong-woo.

“Let go.”

“Hey, I just ordered a cake. It’s too bitter to drink just espresso. I ordered a strawberry whipped cream cake, doesn’t it look delicious?”

Lee Jong-woo smiled sadly and pulled Gabriel closer.

Because

what he ordered was a strawberry whipped cream cake that reminded me of Daphne, Gabriel couldn’t push his invitation.