His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 56

Marden puffed a cloud of smoke before putting out his cigar and leaning back in his chair with a tired sigh. For years he had hoped his business would take off and bring him some money to pay off his assh0le of a father’s debts, but now he kind of missed the times when he could laze about all day and fool around with the girls that had nothing to do. Still, this felt nice. Being successful tasted almost as good as Madam Lydia’s food.

That reminded him.. where was she? Was she even aware of what was happening in her own aurant? What had happened to him? He got reply to any of his messages and every time he approached one of the managers, they said she was fine and that they would let her know he wanted to speak with her.

He hadn’t seen her since the Empress’s birthday and she didn’t look too well as she left his carriage in a hurry. He never got an explanation about what had caused her distress, but judging by the fact that her veil was unfastened and she was pressing it against her face, somebody must have uncovered her identity – or came close to. But why was she so scared of that? Was she really someone important? Was she a criminal? A noble? An enemy spy? Whatever she was, she seemed to have almost as many secrets as the Imperial family itself.

Still, she wasn’t like them; she wasn’t like any of the nobles he had met – arrogant, conceited, looking down on anyone with just a little less wealth or power than them. Not to mention she had pulled him out of the hole he had been for years in more ways than one. He had decided that even if she turned out to be a noble, he wouldn’t resent her for it. If she ever decided to reveal her identity, of course.

While his pride as a man didn’t want to admit it, he could tell that the wall she had been putting between them was never going to crumble. Be that because of that dark-haired creep or someone else, she had clearly drawn a line and she was firmly staying on her side. Maybe it was for the better. He doubted he could give a woman like her more than mind-blowing s*x, and she didn’t look like a person who would be satisfied with just that.

“Too much pressure,” Marden mumbled, taking out another cigar. His eyes stopped on the candle on the desk that had been burning minutes prior, only to realize it had gone out. He sighed, looking the few others flickering on the shelf on the opposite side of the room. He was just about to get up when a knock come on the door. He sat back down, spitting the cigar from his mouth and calling for them to enter.

The door opened and Arissa stepped over the threshold, staring at him with a tense expression.

He was just about to ask what was going on when she moved aside to show she wasn’t alone.

Marden frowned as he met Raena’s guard’s eyes, but then nodded to Arissa and she swiftly left them alone. She had mentioned more than once that she didn’t like the dark-haired guy even though she had never talked to him, since he looked like the customers who talk all sweet and nice, but liked to play too rough in bed.

“Do you plan to stay there the whole night?” Marden asked when Zen didn’t move from his spot, as if waiting to be invited. Marden’s words seem to be enough of an invitation because he stepped inside and closed the door. Marden’s eyes darted toward the sword hanging from the younger man’s waist, but he quickly looked back to his face. “So… to what do I owe the pleasure? It’s not every day we get to have a little chat, just the two of us. Which reminds me, where is your mistress? Have you kidnapped her and locked her up somewhere?”

“She is fine,” Zen said dryly. Marden scoffed, leaning back in his chair and biting on his cigar again.

“So she is not kidnapped and locked up?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Zen replied in the same low, uninterested tone. “I’m here on her behalf. She wants me to bring in the report.”

Marden froze, forcing himself to meet the other man’s eyes. How did he know about the report? The only ones that knew about their little arrangement were Marden and her. They had agreed to keep it small, forbidding even his workers to discuss it between themselves.

‘Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing’ sort of thing, that was what she had said. He had agreed since this minimized the chances of anyone finding out about those secrets and exploiting them for themselves. At first, it was just petty little details about this noble or that which Marden couldn’t even use for mock-blackmail.

But lately, there had been more rumors and chatter about things that could get a person killed in a dark alley if he wasn’t careful enough. It had to be why he was attacked that night, wasn’t it? What else could prompt someone to want to kill him? Nobody would win anything from his death – he had no money or property to pass on. If he died, the mansion would be used as collateral for the debt, but that place was so old and shabby, it was barely worth anything. Even if he was gone, the brothel was going to keep running – he had made a will to pass it over to Arissa in case anything happened to him. This would keep her and the others settled for a long time.

Those secrets were the things that must have put a target on his back. But which one? Was it the reports of Craidal agents hiding in the capital? Or the one where they worked with some high-up nobles to dethrone the Imperial family? Or maybe the fact that the Emperor had fallen ill again – that had to be a secret worth keeping.

There were even more lately: about people sneaking over the roofs at night, about some new drug being passed around the capital, about people disappearing without a trace or acting strange all of a sudden. Separately, while disturbing, that news was not all that interesting. But looking at the bigger picture…

“The report. ls it ready?” Zen insisted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Marden shrugged. “Can you pass me one of those candles?”

Zen stared at him for a second, then stepped toward the cupboard and picked the holder of one of them. He carried it to the table, still not saying anything. Marden nodded in thanks, leaning forward and putting the edge of his cigar over the flame. He puffed a few times to get it started when the dark-haired guy spoke again.

“Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” he said, a small smile appearing on his lips as Marden choked onto the smoke that he was supposed to exhale. When he was done coughing, he raised his teary eyes to look at the other guy. “This is your secret message, right? She said to use it, otherwise, you’ll pretend not to know what I’m talking about.”

Marden studied him carefully before sighing.

“You could have started with that, brat!” Marden murmured, picking up the papers scattered over his desk and going over them quickly to find the one he was scribbling on earlier. He still couldn’t believe she would involve somebody else in this, but if she gave him this message, she must have trusted this guy enough. Or was she testing him instead? That damn woman, why was she so hard to understand?

Marden pulled up an empty sheet and started writing the latest findings on it. He had a copy in his hidden drawer department, which he usually gave her, but he didn’t feel comfortable revealing the existence of the secret place or the full report to this guy. She could trust him all she wanted, but Marden’s trust supplies were limited.

Marden blew on the paper until he was sure the ink was dry, then folded it in half, put it in an envelope, and sealed it. He held the envelope for a moment, then handed it to Zen. The dark-haired guy pushed himself off the wall, taking the message and heading for the door without another word.

“Wait” Marden called after him. Zen stopped, turning over his shoulder with an annoyed expression. “Does she know about the restaurant?”

“Know what about it?”

“About what happened three nights ago,” Marden replied, frowning. Zen slowly turned to face him, his eyebrows raising.

“l was just about to head there. What happened?”

“Well. you’ll see, I quess, but just to give you heads up. Somebody broke in three nights ago and caused some damage to the place even attacked some of the guards staying in there to watch over it. Nobody died, but I’ve noticed a big decrease visitors in just three days. She might want to do something about that.”

“I didn’t notice a decrease in customers here when I walked in.” Zen pointed out coldly.

“Well, the people who usually come here don’t care much for appearances,” Marden smirked. “But the people who go to a public restaurant with such a fancy name, do. That attack was never addressed and the rumors circulating are that Madam Lydia has been dealing with some shady people, so some of them turned on her. Nobody wants to get in the middle of that.”

“l see,” Zen said. “I’ll let her know.”

Marden stared at his back as he left the room, closing the door with a soft click. He looked back at the papers at the edge of his desk, then at the cigar that had burned out. He threw it in the ashtray and got up, hurrying outside. The corridor was empty, but there were voices and laughter coming from the two reception rooms mixed with the smell of alcohol and that incense stuff he had procured to relax his guests.

Marden headed toward the back room where the guards went to smoke or have a bite and found only one of them there. He was dozing off in the corner with his feet propped on another chair.

“Wake up!” Marden called from the door and the tall, muscular man jumped to his feet, looking around with alarm. When he noticed it was just Marden with him, he let out a sigh of relief.

“What do you need, boss?” the guard asked in a hoarse voice.

“Do you know the black-haired guy that follows Madam Lydia around?” Marden asked, receiving an affirmative nod in return. “Good. I want you to follow him.”