Second Life's Revenge

Chapter 59: Underground Market II

"What's wrong with Miss Laura?" Lester asked, pointing at Laura.

"That" Mary whispered back.

Lester nodded his head, looking at the conflicted Laura, mumbling nonstop ever since she returned into the room.

Not only that, Laura kept rubbing her chin, and sometimes her face lit up as if she had an idea, but later on, the smile fades, and she turns back frowning.

Laura ruffled her hair and was slowly losing hope. Of all people, it had to be Tine who interfered. However, above all, her frustration was because of the condition that she needed to bring the Duke with her if she were to go to the underground market.

But Laura thought more in-depth, and she doesn't exactly need to get Erwin, but maybe just ask for one of his guards. Laura bumped her fist onto her palm and had a smile on her face that quickly faded.

That plan is not going to work at all. It was a gamble for Laura. She didn't know how to approach Erwin. But then Laura thought, what if she instead would send a letter to Blaine instead of Erwin.

Laura sighed heavily and laid down on the couch and buried her face into the pillow. It was a stupid insight, but what choice did she have? Laura wanted to avoid Erwin for the meantime and let things subside.

Even if it wasn't the best thing to do, Laura still couldn't ask him because she was too scared to approach Erwin. She doesn't even know why. It's all because of Tine that caused Laura to have to go over this. What is she, a mind reader?

Laura clicked her tongue and sat back on the couch and spaced out once more. All she could do was to think and think without any ideas formed in her head. No matter what, she didn't want to see Erwin at all.

At some point, Laura agreed to go alone and planned to go out secretly without anyone knowing. She knew that it wasn't a good idea, but she was desperate to scoop some information.

The reallocation of the underground market was known to only a few people. And one of the few people was Count Harrison. Being a well-known businessman means knowing many locations.

When Count Harrison was younger, he stumbled upon an unknown land, later known as the underground market. Without knowing how dangerous that place as he entered the foreign land.

It was said to be dark, spooky, and lifeless. As if demons lived and reigned the land. But it was all wrong. There weren't any demons or anything, but it was just a land ruled by dangerous people.

And those dangerous people included assassins, bandits, and other more not only that, it's the only land that sells many illegal substances and a rule that's being contradicting, which was the selling of slaves.

For some reason, the underground market bloomed because of one noble. But no one knew who that one noble is and could be. All they knew was that he is currently still alive, lurking around, not stopping until he reaches his goal.

Bringing Laura back to reality, Mary broke her trace by placing a chocolate mousse plate on the table. There was no way Laura would ignore her favorite snack and gobbled it down in no time.

As Laura finished her chocolate mousse, she grinned and felt satisfied as if all worries were all gone. Right as she finished, Lester came in and slipped an envelope onto the table, and once Laura saw the emblem, she massaged her temples.

It wasn't like she didn't want to see Erwin's face, but every time she sees the Ferguson emblem, her heart skips a beat as if she was anticipating to get a letter from him.

She felt like going crazy, holding the envelope and opening it. When she got the letter out of the envelope, her heart skipped a beat once more when she saw Erwin's handwriting.

It was neat and written with sincerity. It started:

"Dear Miss Laura, I know it's not the best time to write a letter to you, but I want to apologize to you. That night I was to caught on with my feelings and didn't think beforehand what you would have felt. But I wish to know if you trust me, you don't need to tell me now. No matter how long it takes, I can wait as a man who decided to go after you. I won't force you to tell me. But I hope you would say to me honestly. Putting my feelings aside, I wish to speak to you personally. I was planning to go to the underground market to scoop some news about my uncle, and somehow I had a feeling you would want to go along. I will guarantee your safety, and I promise to protect you. If you wish to go with me, please send a letter back to me by tomorrow. Also, I promise not to bring up the topic. I swear to the sun."

Laura frowned and folded the paper back into the envelope. She wondered why her chest tightened. It wasn't like her at all. 

"Mary, give me a scented paper. Once I'm done writing this letter, I want you to send this back as soon as possible." Mary nodded her head and followed to Laura's instructions immediately. 

Two days passed, and it was the day that both had agreed to meet each other again. Laura informed Count Harrison about it, even showing proof that Erwin was going to go with her.

Laura wore comfortable clothes, not a dress, but leather pants that matched with her white long sleeves topped with a vest. Not only that, but Laura also tied her hair with a ribbon. 

Laura chose this outfit so that she would be able to move around freely and walk-in long-distance comfortably. At the same time, it was also to prepare her to run if, in any case, someone tried attacking them. And of course, Laura didn't forget to bring her black cloak. It was essential.

Under the tree, Laura waited for Erwin's arrival, who said to meet when the sun rose. But there were no signs of Erwin, and Laura crouched, hugging her knees as she got tired of standing up.

She lifted her head as she heard noises coming towards her. The only time she stood up was when she saw a familiar silhouette coming closer. 

Laura fixed her gaze at Erwin, and for some reason, he was shining. And like a fairytale, the sun was rising, and his silver hair reflected along. It was a beautiful sight to see.

Erwin pulled the rope, halting the horse from moving, and looked at Laura. His mouth opened when he saw a different hairstyle on Laura. Laura tilted her head, and Erwin felt his ear burning up.

"I apologize for being late. Blaine was forcing me to bring him along, but Blaine has no combat skills at all, and so we decided that it was best for Angelo to come with me so that we have an advantage as Angelo was raised there," Erwin apologizes as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Laura noticed that Erwin was acting weird. Is it because of her outfit? Not only that, she just saw another horse behind Erwin, and a man with a scar came forward and bowed, greeting Laura.

"It's nice to meet you, Sir Angelo. Thank you for coming with us," Laura thanked.

"It's a pleasure to be able to serve you and my master. It is also my job to do so, and please feel free to ask me anything if you have a question or problem," Angelo said in a monotone way.

Laura didn't know that the man who stole her necklace and tried to kill her was Angelo. But that's a different story to tell. 

There was a hint of guilt in Angelo when he saw Laura. He never thought that he was to see her again and for her to be acquainted with Erwin. Is this fate's doing? Whatever it is, he knew that someday he would have the time to tell her and apologize.

"We don't have all day, do we?" Erwin asked, offering a hand to Laura.

"That's right. We don't," Laura answered, accepting his hand as she got on the horse, sitting in front of Erwin.

Erwin leaned in to get the reins, which startled Laura as she felt his chest touching her back. Not only that, she felt his breath close to her ears, making her face burn up. She tried calming her heart down as it was beating crazily.

Laura lowered her head, pulling her hood down as she hid her face. It wasn't supposed to be like this, and she wondered what Erwin was thinking. On the other hand, Erwin was unaware that he was leaning close to Laura since he was focused on the road. 

It was quite a long journey, and Laura felt tired after waking up early. Unconsciously, Laura dozed off, and her head was swinging back and forward. Erwin laughed softly and gently pushed Laura's head back onto his chest. 

The eye bags under Laura's eyes proved that she had not been sleeping well the past few days, which made Erwin worry about her health. Thought he promised himself not to do touch Laura, this time it was an exception. 

Erwin couldn't leave Laura's head swinging back and forward. And because of the rocky path, there was a chance that Laura might fall off the horse. Obviously, Erwin didn't want an accident to happen, and so he touched her, just the head.

For a while, Erwin took his eyes off the road and looked at Laura's sleeping face. The happiness in him couldn't be contained any longer. From behind, he removed Laura's hood off and kissed the tip of her head.

Erwin thought, "It's just for a while, it won't hurt at all."