BLOODY LOVE'S
Episode 168's

Marco frowned. He thought Nolan would be offended or run amok as usual, instead of giving a hug. Things change in a matter of days, leaving Marco wondering what else or who else has changed beyond his expectations.

"You can beat the black ghost or you can run away from it?" Nolan raised an excited face, his arms still clenched around Marco's neck. "I was arrested by the police and my voice was gone! You think—"

Lady Chantall thumped loudly from the doorway, cutting off Nolan's sentence. "I know you're happy to see the Marquis safe, son. I'm happy too. We're all happy." He stared at Rolan sharply as the man coughed a little to hide the sound of laughter. "But the Marquis is still wounded and you better let him go so that the stitches don't open again."

"You hurt? Which side?" Nolan took off a hug, observing curiously. In his eyes the man looked healthy.

"Little injuries, trivial things." Marco automatically asked, "You alone?"

"This?" Nolan showed his arm that was wrapped in bandages. "That's painful. But I always give it not to be stiff."

"If the pain does not move," said Rolan seriously.

Marco stared at the door, nodding at Renata and Lady Chantall. "Come in, you two. And you," he continued on Nolan. "Never go in before you are welcome. Come out again and knock on the door!"

Nolan smiled slightly, for some reason not feeling upset in the slightest. But still he did not want to go out. "Of course, I'll be out later" he said, again holding out Marco's blue handkerchief. "This. I give it back."

"Save it if you like. Then out. I want to have a serious talk with the others."

Nolan kept the handkerchief back without any hesitation. "I also want to talk seriously with you" he said, not to lose.

Jose smiled amusedly. "Come out first, Nolan," he said. "Later there'll be your turn to talk seriously. You're gonna get a special place because you're the last one. You've got longer than us."

Nolan felt it sounded good, so he agreed. He courteously saluted Marco and Renata, then stepped out while not forgetting to knock his knuckle on the door when passing by.

Rolan chuckled hysterically at that.

Ignoring his sister, Renata reported, "The messenger from Aston came this morning. Greyland and Edgar have received word that you survived, but they haven't been able to return home as they are still finalizing business with Baron Spencer and the trade alliance at Aston. Jacob asked permission to go catch up and help them."

"Rolan told me about Jacob." Marco glanced at Jose with a critical gaze, signaling that he had also heard reports of their quarrel from Rolan. "I'll allow it."

"Right now he's getting ready, soon to be joining the party." Renata nodded. "I'll go down to prepare breakfast. You want breakfast in the room?"

Marco nodded. He was banned from moving much by Rolan. "Why isn't the boy sent back to the South?" tanyanya, referring to Nolan.

"He's hurt" Renata said firmly with an indisputable tone. "I've contacted his family secretly. Other than her mother, no one knew she was here. As long as the situation is not conducive, he will be in my protection."

Renata is indeed in the role of taking care of household affairs, so Marco will not argue his decision. He just nodded. After all, Nolan was wounded by the body to protect him, and it was the girl who first gave the answer to all these mysteries by bringing the talisman necklace to Argent's house.

As soon as Renata left, it was Lady Chantall's turn to speak. "I want to talk four-eyed" he said, asking for privacy.

Jose looked at Marco. His uncle gave a small nod, so he immediately got up and left after saluting him.

"Four eyes," Lady Chantall reminded, staring intently at Rolan who was still sipping tea quietly.

"Go Rolan," expel Marco. "Repease Lord Dominic's circumstances. Don't call anyone before the conditions are clear."

Rolan nodded. "Jose took Xavier Hastings and Krip in" he said before forgetting. "Krip felt threatened in his shop, so he stayed here for a while."

Marco nodded. "I want to hear more later."

Lady Chantall turned her gaze forward, smoothing the hems in her dress with an imperceptible gesture. He borrowed Renata's dress because her clothes were damaged. The dress looks sleek and graceful on Renata's body, but Lady Chantall makes it look sensual. There is a charm in him that makes every outfit he wears as if made to show off each curve of his body. This time her brown curly hair was woven in a loose braid and allowed to descend past the left shoulder, falling on the chest. On her slender, smooth finger was a newspaper. He handed it to Marco to read.

"If you agree with that style, we'll use it for the next week" he said, going straight to the core. "I've asked Bjork's experts and intellectuals to come to this opinion. Interviews are being prepared. The draft will be sent to you every afternoon before printing."

Marco opened the paper, tracing title after title before skimming through each story. The main topic today was the police investigation into the suspicious movement in Bjork. No Scholomance loaded yet. Lady Chantall has always been careful in herding public opinion.

"Good." Marco nodded. "Regarding Hubbert?"

"I'll take care of it." Lady Chantall thought. "Injuring or suppressing him will actually make him think that he is on the side of the truth, and people will think similarly. So maybe we should make him see reality with his own eyes?"

"Reality?"

Lady Chantall laughed sweetly. "The truth has many angles. Of course we'll make him look from the right angle."

"Okay, it's all yours." Marco folded the newspaper back and placed it on the table neatly. "There again?"

"There's." Lady Chantall tucked her hair behind her ear, biting her lower lip in fret. "Marco ... Argent ..."

Marco awaits.

"You let him call you by first name?" lady Chantall finally asked that question. He did not understand why the criticism of Marco from Nolan was about knocking on the door instead of the name. "Who is he? I just met him this morning, and he's very ... very ... what's the proper term, huh?"

"Bad?"

"Yeah ..it feels like even that word is still too polite pinned on him. And Renata smiles every time the boy says something rude. Is he your brother? I didn't know you had another brother."

"He's a friend of Jose's" Marco said in a short. That's all he said.

"You let Jose's friend hug you like that?" Lady Chantall's tone sounded like a betrayed wife.

"What-like?" Marco frowned, not understanding what was wrong from Nolan's embrace. He knew that the girl was just relieved to see him alive. Nolan is a girl who always honestly reveals what she feels. "Do I have to ask permission from you first to accept someone else's embrace?"

Lady Chantall turned her eyes. Something like scratching it sharply heard the sarcasm. The pain is real. But giving up is never on his dictionary. "You know how I feel" she said with a sweet smile, managing to maintain a graceful and classy tone as she continued, "I just asked because I felt a little jealous, sorry."

Marco did not respond. He still thought the woman must have been confused to understand love with admiration. Loneliness can eat away at women in the most evil ways, making them weak enough to want to lean on anyone who looks in control.

"You must think I don't know anything about love and just say this out of loneliness" Lady Chantall guessed correctly. Both of his cheeks were reddish and his green eyeballs glimmered in the light of the lamp.

Many say falling in love makes a person feel like a butterfly is flying in the chest or in the stomach, but Lady Chantall does not feel that. He felt a raging storm within him, unsettled. He was afraid of losing the man to imagine it could make him short of breath.

"Maybe you think I'm no different from the kid I was, '" he continued. "The two of us are children in your eyes. But you're wrong, Argent." He moved up, then leaned his body closer to Marco.

For a moment Marco saw only the low neck of the dress showing off the woman's cleavage. Then there is the fragrance of soft smelling, seductive flowers. Lady Chantall's hair braid touched Marco's face when the woman's lips landed on his forehead, between his eyebrows. "We are not children" he whispered softly, "but women who fall in love."

"We?" marco repeated in wonder, disturbed at that part to forget about the kiss just now.

"Well, he likes you too, right." Lady Chantall twisting eyeballs. "That rude boy."

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