About Your Pride and My Prejudice - Chapter 115

Chapter 115: Eyes and Ears of the Street

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Everything went smoothly. For ridiculous reasons, there was a crisis of withdrawal from the new division, but as a reaction, Alan overcame the crisis.

Investment was nothing more than a shallow fluke in the first place. What’s easy to get is what goes away easily, and Alan never pursued those kinds of things on his own. Isn’t trade the most outstanding weapon he possesses?

So maybe it wasn’t something to worry about from the beginning.

—God will never give you more than you can handle.

It is the second quarter since Alan Leopold anchored to the sea of ​​the Principality of Lunoa. It was definitely going smoothly, as she said.

But there was one problem.

It was good to have established a trading company and bring traders together, but the day he had to take them to the Hwa Empire drew near.

When Alan dropped out of the academy many years ago, he began training as the successor to manage many of the family’s businesses. From then on, he had looked at even the slightest thing without exception. Even though the office was full of his subordinates waiting for his orders, he never let them take over his work.

Such an attitude was of course the same when he came to the Principality. No, rather, he became more fanatical about business. The team that got out of his father’s shadow for the first time,was led under his name. Since this was the key to getting Leopold completely in his hand one day.

But……. for the first time, Alan wanted to reduce his share of the work.

He laughed at himself, but he didn’t want to go to the Hwa Empire.

“You look tired. If you didn’t sleep properly……….”

Alan, who was resting his chin on his hand, looked up.

It wasn’t that he didn’t sleep well last night, but he was awake without falling asleep for a moment. It’s because every moment of contact with Melissa felt so precious to let it go in vain because of a sleep that won’t matter even if he stayed up all day.

After realizing that the mysterious feeling he had been holding in his heart for the past year was love, Alan felt like a wrecked ship drifting aimlessly in a storm. He didn’t know that the desire and love for her hidden in him would be big and deep.

He tried to pick it up, but it was already out of control, and it engulfed him before he knew it.

“……Anderson.”

“Yes.”

“The business trip to the Empire this Tuesday……….”

Alan was hesitating uncharacteristically. Anderson, the only Lunoa executive in the new division, noticed something strange.

No, in fact, it’s not recent that this talented young boss has started to get strangely disturbed.

Anderson couldn’t help but notice him because he was the closest assistant to Alan. After Alan came to the Principality, to be exact, around the end of summer. It must have been since then.

But apart from that, as a businessman, he was still as sharp and shrewd as a blade. So, whether it was a sudden visit, homesickness, the burden of being the director, or the shock that the long-awaited investment case was overturned, Anderson thought it would be a passing wind…….

“Can you take care of it?”

Anderson heard something Alan wouldn’t possibly say.

“That means….”

“Well, I don’t want to go.”

Perplexed, Anderson asked awkwardly, smoothing out his neatly brushed hair.

“Pardon me…..?”

What do you mean you don’t want to go? Shouldn’t you give a more plausible reason than that?

Like a medical student, Anderson spoke with a serious face.

“As expected, you must have had a hard time. No matter how young you are, you haven’t had a single vacation in months—”

“No.”

Alan answered with a sigh, rubbing his face.

“…… It’s the other way around.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not that I’m tired, I’m full of energy”

“What? But why… ah.”

The blonde gentleman who had narrowed his brow as if puzzled stopped talking for a moment. Alan certainly once said this at a regular meeting one day.

—It is true that I’m seeing a woman. I’m in my prime.

The cause of turning his back on the great Riemann family and obscuring the future of the business.….

“Lord, I mean, is this what I think…….”

“Because I’m in my prime.”

Alan smiled faintly. The smile on that cold face was mysteriously rare and beautiful, so Leon Anderson briefly forgot to say.

“So, I am thinking of reorganizing the division of work at this point. I’d like to lighten up my work a little, is that fine?”

“……Do you mean to me?”

“I can step down from my position at any time. The only task given in the first place was to lay the foundation for a new business. But you’re different.”

“…….”

Anderson doubted his ears.

Alan Leopold, ten years younger than him, but all his tracks were enough to be admired. So he joined his new division without hesitation. 

But he’s talking to me like he’s going to hand over the business and leave.

It was so sudden that Anderson didn’t know what to say.

“Why all of a sudden…….”

It would be a great opportunity and challenge for him to take over some of the control of the business.…. It’s not enough to entrust the business trip to the Hwa Empire to him, to think that he wanted to reorganizing his workload. This is absolutely not like Alan Leopold.

Does fiery love make everything feel useless?

Even so, he couldn’t figure out why it should be him. It was out of respect that he wanted to follow Alan Leopold most closely, not something he was hoping for. After all, he was the youngest on the staff.

“It’s not a sudden thought.”

“…….”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to bring your lover, who works at my cafe, to the duchy?”

Anderson’s pale green eyes narrowed at those words. Alan added in a low-pitched voice.

“I think this offer could help us advance that day.”

“Ah….”

The fact that there’s a woman he needs to look after obviously means she’s living with him. He didn’t hesitate to overwork himself because he had to go back home.

It is not unreasonable for Alan, who was going to give up the business he has devoted to because he can’t bear it even if she’s close to him,  to take pity on him, who has a lover across the sea.

“Do you pity me? Is that why?”

Alan’s cool eyes curled gently at the question.

“Pity. I don’t do that. I don’t if it’s charity work.”

“…….”

“You’d better not look down on me, Anderson.”

“Sir Alan, it’s Eden.”

At that moment, an urgent knock was heard outside the office.

“What’s this?”

“I……It’s a sudden death in the kingdom.”

“……Sudden death?”

Anderson muttered blankly at the urgent voice. Since he doesn’t mention the family name, it’s probably not a letter from the Leopold family… Is it the royal?

“Come on in.”

“Yes.”

Alan answered indifferently, without looking at the doorway. When the young man entered the office and politely handed an envelope, his cold eyes weren’t shaken at all.

Although it is an urgent letter, there is a high probability that it will be news about the facilities that are being donated, or a letter of thanks stating that the academy facility extension has been completed safely thanks to it. It was also time for the construction to be completed.

But as soon as he read the words from the envelope that was handed to him, Alan felt all his thoughts stop.

[Eyes and ears of the street]

* * *

November. Is there another season that is more lonely and lovely than this?

Although it is somewhat pale compared to the autumn of my beloved Sourne, here in Lunoa, the autumn atmosphere deepens with the smell of dry leaves.

As I have decided, there are three ways to overcome sadness. Friends, walks, and hot coffee are the things, but since I had no friends and drank coffee, all that was left was a walk.

So I was walking slowly through the garden full of the smell of autumn.

“……It’s good.”

I love the ephemeral nature of the leaves that fall in vain at the peak of their abundance. Because I think the moment of loss is just as beautiful as the moment of sprouting.

Also, I love the scenery where the sun sets as much as I hope that the entire day is sunset, and I think autumn is the most beautiful season.

In my previous life and even now, it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that I was born in the fall.

But even these thoughts did not dissipate my thoughts. Somehow similar to this season, our relationship with love but no certainty.

It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful, but…….

“Miss.”

One of the two maids who followed me, immediately spoke.

“How far are you going?”

At some point, the employees here began to pay more attention to me. Is it because Sandra left? Or are they afraid if I run away?

If I run away, of course, they will be reprimanded by their master, but the main gate is guarded in the first place, so there is no way I can go out. So I don’t know why they are following me.

“I don’t know. I’ll walk until I feel better.”

“Are you going to the front gate?”

The other maid asked in a rather irritated tone in my half-hearted reply.

I understand. The garden is huge and I don’t think I’ll ever go back, so it’ll be annoying for them to accompany me for a walk out of nowhere. My legs hurt too.

But who told them to follow me?

“For now. I can’t go beyond that.”

“B-but……!”

I like to walk. It’s easy enough to walk for hours without a break. I wondered why the maid’s voice sounded impatient for some reason, but I thought she might just be out of breath, so I hurried to walk again.

However, when I reached near the main gate, I doubted my eyes and had to stop my steps. It wasn’t to rest my tired legs.

“Wait for me, miss!”

Even when the maids, who were dozens of steps behind me, huffed and followed, I still stood with a stunned face as if I had seen something I couldn’t see.

And that’s….

“……There’s no security?”