The Male Lead’s Fake Sister - Chapter 41

The tea party held in the library instead of the Orangery was very plain. Ravia chatted lightly to pass time, and Tidwell was also a good conversation partner.

She was worried that she might be poisoned with the Dark Flower, but there was no scent of magnolia or drug in her tea.

It was such an ‘ordinary tea party’, it made her question why Tidwell was willing to drink tea with her.

To tie her leg? For surveillance? If that was the reason, he didn’t have to go this far, he could have just met her like he did the other day.

So Ravia called the least vigilant person, Clovia, and asked about how the situation was in Orangery that day.

“I’m not very knowledgeable about high society parties, but I felt he worked really hard to prepare for it. No one would have thought of using the Cheoville fabric, which only releases 12 pieces a year, as a tablecloth!”

As expected, Clovia explained in great detail, as if she had been invited to the tea party herself.

The tea party, which used only the finest and rare fabric as a tablecloth, was obviously very far from the simplicity that a library presented.

“Every flower pot that hung in the air was decorated with amethysts and diamonds, and the tableware was all made of gold. Ah, what amazed me the most was a song that played in the Orangery. I was wondering where that sound came from…turns out there’s a spinning music box! I’ve never seen such a big music box!”

“…There was something like that?”

“Yes! Vincent said it was Count Milrea’s collection. He followed Master to the auction house and saw it once. Maybe the Young Master borrowed it from the count….”

Duke Leontine often brought Vincent along with him. He was quick-witted and reticent. He came to the mansion as a footman, but was promoted due to his capability.

Any information from Vincent was highly reliable. So it must be true that Tidwell borrowed Count Milrea’s treasured item.

‘Tidwell, why are you going this far?’

She couldn’t help but be surprised. Of course, Count Milrea was busy laundering money, so it would be natural that he was connected to Tidwell, who managed illegal funds in the underworld.

What surprised her was the fact that Tidwell went to all the trouble for a tea party that lasted only a few hours.

But what surprised her the most was this:

‘I don’t know how you brought so many flowers. Plus, you gathered flowers from various seasons, as if you swept away a year’s worth of flowers.’

Ravia had no idea where he heard that she liked flowers, but it seemed he had collected a lot of flowers that weren’t in season and filled the Orangery.

Neither the jewelled ornaments nor the music box surprised her. People like Tidwell would easily acquire it with money like it was nothing.

However, collecting flowers from different seasons wasn’t something that could be acquired by money. Yet he was able to effect so much change to the environment like that.

She thought Tidwell must have worked very hard to prepare for the tea party.

So after hearing the story, Ravia couldn’t help but consider new possibilities.

Perhaps Tidwell really just wanted to see her.

Not as Tidwell, the villain who dominated the underworld, but as a young man who lacks what other people commonly have, which is a family.

So, she had this dream because the memory of that day seemed to overlap with the scene with Tidwell last night. She felt somewhat devastated because it was just proof of how close she and Tidwell had become.

It felt like she just discovered a crack in the wall that separated Tidwell and herself.

If she looked into the abyss, naturally the abyss would stare back at her.

Deliberately building a friendship was not necessary to get close. Without them knowing, they had influenced each other so much.

As she lowered her head due to the strange realization.

Tak.

The sound of a small pebble hitting the window broke the silence. The sound was very small, but it was a clear notification of someone’s presence.

Ravia raised herself and turned her head to the window. A familiar person was seen waving outside.

She wondered if it was his presence that made her feel uneasy earlier.

Her heart calmed down. Ravia slowly swept back her tangled hair, exhaled, and rose from her bed. A slightly hoarse voice came out in a monotone.

“Crow.”

At her call, Crow quickly opened the window and slipped inside as if he had been waiting. It was proof that he could’ve come in when Ravia was asleep, but he didn’t.

“I didn’t want to enter because you were sleeping, Master.”

“Because I’m sensitive to people’s presence.”

“Hmm, I’m sure that was the case. Even though I was out there, you could feel my presence.”

Nodding dryly at Crow’s prattle, Ravia walked to the sofa, followed by Crow.

“I met you yesterday, so you must have a lot of tasks to do by now, but what brings you here already?”

“You told me about the production site and the secret code. So I was going to start the operation, but there’s a problem.”

“Doesn’t the problem lie in your ability?”

Crow was taken aback by Ravia’s sharp question. The mission this time wasn’t only to acquire information, after all.

“It’s already hard to enter the Dark Flower’s production site, but I also have to steal the Dark Flower and manipulate it as if it was done by an insider. I can’t do that!”

“So what? I thought all the other messengers would do this much. I thought you were good at your job.”

When Ravia subtly coaxed him, Crow quickly took the bait and started bragging with his head raised slightly.

“Well, of course, there are people who are excellent at their work. But if it’s about finding information, I can guarantee that you will never find a messenger who knows Cosmo’s internal affairs as well as I do.”

“Really? Do you also belong to Cosmo?”

“I’m not one of the Cosmo—”

Crow answered so fast this time, and abruptly stopped talking upon realizing something wrong. Although she couldn’t see him due to the mask, Ravia could fully feel the Crow’s coy gaze toward her.

“If you keep provoking me like that, I won’t work for you.”

“I don’t know you could say such scary words.”

“I’m serious. I can’t deny that you’re clever, but don’t forget that your biggest problem is that you’re powerless despite your bright head.”

Because if those who were powerless held a lot in their hand, they were easily trampled on and robbed of their possessions. And then Crow continued.

“I want you to know that I don’t sell information to weak people.”

“Alright. But you still don’t deny that you’re affiliated with Cosmo.”

Even though Crow did not use his playful image and snapped at her sharply this time, Ravia swiftly ignored him.

“Anyway, didn’t you say you had something to tell me today? You said there was a problem?”

“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot. I’m not even a mineral, but someone tried to dig into me.”

“Stop whining.”

At Ravia’s reproach, Crow shrugged casually and continued to talk.

“It’s an extension of what we talked about earlier.”

“About stealing the Dark Flower?”

“Yes. Tidwell himself was more cautious than I thought. It was much harder to infiltrate the production site. If this continues like this, they’ll discover me much faster than expected .”

“But that’s not a big deal.”

They would continue to doubt each other even if they found out about it.

When Ravia answered like she didn’t know what the problem was, Crow shook his head in frustration.

“It’s not that simple. They’ll soon find out that there’s a third party intervention.

“That’s not what you want, right?”

Ravia could fully understand what Crow was trying to say.

Nevertheless, Ravia’s expression didn’t really change. No, rather, it was almost like she already expected that much. Perhaps because her calm was strange, Crow asked again.

“Do you have other plans?”

“I think it’s too much to call it a plan, and it’s only been a day.”

“It’s only been a day, but it’s not a small problem for you to be this relaxed.”

“If you only focus on what’s in front of you, that might be the case. Cracks are originally hard to notice at first.”

At first, it’s hard to notice the cracks unless you touch them, but one day, everything will inevitably fall into ruin.

Cracks were like that.