IQBTMLR ✔

Chapter 108

"I have a favor to ask of you, Annabelle."

Marquis Abedes had a much more emaciated face than I had last seen.

I think the last time I saw him was the day of the paternity test.

His unexpected appearance surprised not only me but also my family.

As soon as he saw me, he gasped and knelt down.

"Please ask Prince Robert for the mercy of my Richard..."

"What?"

"Annabelle, you know."

The Marquis of Abedes said with a mournful expression, still holding my hem.

"I invited you to dinner even before the paternity test. Let's get along well."

"Oh..."

"Please speak well to Prince Robert. Can't you listen to me? The disciplinary action against Richard is too strong for a guy who hasn't even come to his senses yet..."

I folded my arms to see how far he would go.

"If that's hard, at least cancel the Treasury audit."

He continued, looking earnestly at me.

"For the sake of old times, please..."

I was dumbfounded and asked back.

"...Old times?"

It was exhilarating to see someone, who once ignored me and tried to use me, crawl in front of me. However, "old times" was a remark that went beyond exhilaration and felt unpleasant.

The Marquis of Abedes continued in a hoarse voice.

"Elburn can't sleep every day either."

That was good news to hear. Maybe it was because he was going to get disciplined like that too.

When I was about to give him a scathing answer, the drawing-room door opened again carefully.

"Excuse me... Oh my."

A middle-aged woman I saw for the first time in my life came in and opened her mouth when she saw this.

The Marquis of Abedes, whose back was to the door, had of course not seen the woman.

Even if he heard a voice, he thought it was just a maid.

"Annabelle, Annabelle."

I was a little surprised by the appearance of an unexpected person, so I couldn't answer for a while, but Marquis Abedes seemed to have misunderstood that I was hesitating.

He glanced at my family standing behind me and continued in a squeaky voice.

"If it weren't for the paternity test, you could have been the youngest of a Marquis, not this lowly commoner family. I would really accept you..."

I thought I could read the expressions of my parents without looking at them from the words "lowly commoner family."

I didn't need to hear any more.

"Marquis."

I looked down at him holding the hem of my dress and said,

"Don't do this. It's dirty."

"It's okay. This is me speaking from my heart..."

"What are you talking about? My mother's hand-made clothes have the dirty Marquis's hands on them."

Speaking coldly, I snatched the hem of my clothes.

"Caitlyn was the one who stuck like a leech when it looked like she had something to gain. I guess there's a reason why you two got along."