Second Life's Revenge

Laura stood tall, looking at the door in front of her, and she knew that once she steps in, there will be no turning back.

Laura turned her head and watched as Mary entered the room, carrying a tray of teacups in. She placed down the pen she was holding and moved to the couch. It had been hours since she last rested.

Mary placed the teacups down and poured tea into the cup with the newly bought tea set. The aroma of the tea spread into the room and reached Laura's nose.

"This tea came from the west, and I heard it's good for recovering your body. I was getting worried about you reading those amounts of papers and thought this might help you," Mary said and smiled.

"Thank you, Mary. You're a lifesaver," Laura sighed. Picking up the teacup and her eyes widened as she took a sip of the chamomile tea. She added, "It's delicious."

"Anytime, Miss." Mary smiled brightly.

The papers scattered on the desk contained all the information about the nobles. There was only one thing that Laura needed to do, and it was to separate the nobles who supported Tine and the ones who didn't.

However, Laura was only able to rely on her memories to recall the faces of those nobles who attended Tine's party. But since she couldn't remember everyone's faces. Laura struggled and was only able to recognize the important ones.

Laura needed to know who supported Tine because it might bring her to a disadvantage. It was a pain in neck task, but what choice did Laura have? If she wanted things to be better, she needed to make her move.

The other problem that Laura had is getting a supporter with great influence, a supporter who can protect her from harm and the evil doings of Tine. There was just one problem with that. Laura didn't know anyone who would have more influence than Marquess Rogen. In terms of power, influence, and name.

Laura did have one person in mind, but he is a busy person. Not only that, but another problem was also that despite his status and influence, he had never revealed his face to the public. Because of this, Laura didn't want to expose him, as she didn't have any rights.

Laura sighed out loud, placing the cup on the table and slumped on her seat. So many things to do, and only a few are finished. The papers on the table were endless, and she was starting to regret rejecting Lester's help earlier.

"Mary, please call Lester. Tell him I need help."

"Yes, Miss. I'll be right back," Mary bowed before leaving the room.

The person that Laura had in mind, the one who she knew could help her, was none other than Erwin Ferguson, but as she said, he's a busy person. Running errands around the empire all day with a packed schedule, and knowing him, the word 'rest' probably didn't exist in his dictionary.

Laura groaned out loud, burying her face in her hands. 'But maybe asking for help from others isn't such a bad thing.' she thought, especially when things are getting more and more chaotic.

In the middle of her brainstorming session, Lester came as quickly as he could and knocked on Laura's door. And as soon as she heard this, Laura promptly straightened her back and asked for the person on the other side to come in. Lester entered the room and noticed the number of papers scattered on the floor. For a while, he stopped breathing, but he knew what Laura needed help.

"I'll help you, and so please, clean the mess up, especially if you don't want me to ruin what you have separated," Lester retorted. Laura shifted her eyes to the mess she had created, laughing awkwardly.

"You could at least say it in a better way," Laura muttered as she proceeded to walk towards the mess.

"If I don't be strict with you, how can you change?" Lester answered back with a glare. Making Laura flinch.

"How did you hear that?" Laura scowled.

"My hearing is good."

"You ignorant brat," Laura muttered.

"I heard that. And I don't think you'll be needing my help anymore," Lester threatened.

"No, no, no. That was just a joke," Laura corrected.

The night has fallen, and Laura was still busy assorting the papers on the table. With the help of Lester, the documents on the table were slowly but surely flattening. Just a few more to do, and she was done.

"Lester, what do you think about Marquess Rogen and Tine? How do you think they are related?" Laura pondered. Lester lowered the paper he was reading and tilted his head as he thought about what she just asked.

"The relationship they share with one another?" Lester asked. He added, "I don't know, but what I do know is that Tine and Marquess Rogen knew each other since before."

"I never knew that," Laura murmured.

"I'm sorry that I'm not useful to you," Lester apologizes.

"No, you don't need to apologize. It can't be helped, and Marquess Rogen is a mysterious person after all," Laura added.

"Do you need someone who can overshadow Marquess Rogen?" Lester asked.

"Yeah, I do, and I already have one in mind. But I don't want to destroy his cover," Laura said.

"Who?" Lester asked.

"Erwin Ferguson," Laura blurted it out and covered her mouth instantly.

It was the end for her. If people knew Laura and Erwin knew each other, it would become very bothersome. Even if it was Lester, Laura couldn't bring herself to trust him because there is a possibility that he could betray her someday.

Lester stood there speechless and swallowed the name Laura mentioned. Erwin Ferguson, the duke who never showed his face, was a mystery only very few people knew about. But thinking about it, Lester remembered that there was a man who attended Laura's party who had silver hair.

"It's alright to share such things with me. I think I know what His Grace looks like, and I promise you that I will not tell anyone. So it's better to tell me than to keep it bottled up to yourself all the time," Lester said.

Laura was left with no choice and decided to tell Lester everything, starting from when they both met. It was a coincidence how they both met each other. After she was finished, Lester was left speechless, everything she told him sounded like a fairy tale story, but somehow they were all real.

"So you don't want to expose his face to the public. And that's why you're conflicted whether you'll ask him or not," Lester repeated just to make sure, and Laura nodded. "But either way, he'll need to expose himself to the public. He can't forever hide in the dark."

"Still… should I try asking?" Laura contemplated.

"I think you should go for it," Lester convinced.

Laura's face lit up, and she smiled. Thanks to Lester, she was convinced that she should go for what she thinks. It's better to try now than not to try and regret later, even if things might not go the way she had planned.

"Bring me a paper and an envelope. I'll be writing to him," Laura smiled.

"Yes, Miss."

Back to reality. Laura was starting to regret coming to the Ferguson estate. But it wasn't nice if she asked Erwin to go to their place without any occasion. Blaine called out for Laura, asking her to enter.

Sending his aide to fetch, Laura made her confused. Why would he send him and not a maid? It's not like they were both in any relationship.

It was her second time taking a foot into his estate. And the sight of everything was not a surprise to her anymore as it was times two bigger than their place. She wondered if it was lonely to live in such a prominent place by yourself.

"Young Master is still dealing with some papers, and he wants to apologize for that," Blaine spoke, breaking the silence between them.

"It's alright. I'm sure I came in the wrong time as well, and so I too have to apologize," Laura concluded.

"Please wait in this room. I'll be asking the maids to make some tea for you," Blaine said and bowed as he took his leave.

The room she was in was filled with books, and it piqued Laura's interest. She traced her fingers on the books, and her eyes trailed the titles on the book. As she looked around, something familiar caught her attention.

It was a fairy tale book that was, for some reason, very familiar to her. Somehow, she can remember someone reading that book to her in the past, but she couldn't remember who it was. She flipped the pages and stopped when she saw one of the few stories that she read over and over again.

"The cursed girl and the prince," Laura muttered.

"Do you like that book?" Erwin asked. Making Laura squeak in fright and slap Erwin on the face.

Erwin groaned, touching his face and laughed out loud. He saw Laura making a face he never expected. It was adorable, and it tempted him to scare her once again next time.

Laura then realized that she just slapped Erwin on the face, she was horrified by her actions, but at the same time, she didn't regret doing it. It was his fault in the beginning.

"I never expected to get slapped by a woman," Erwin said, still laughing.

"You deserve it," Laura said, crossing her hands together.

"I'm sorry for that, Miss Laura," Blaine apologizes and scolds Erwin.

"No, it's my fault, also."

"What's with that low face of yours when you read that title out loud," Erwin asked.

"None of your business," Laura puffed.

"Okay. Don't be so mad, I'm sorry, Laura," Erwin smiled, genuinely making Laura blush.

Laura turned her head away and accepted his apology. Just what kind of guy would use his face to apologize? It's so unfair. It even made Laura flustered.

"So, what's this business you were talking about?" Erwin asked as his tone of voice changed.

"Let's take a seat first," Laura said.

"And so, what important thing did you want to tell me?" Erwin asked.

"That's… can you ask Blaine to leave first?"

Erwin looked at Blaine, and he immediately followed. Initially, Laura didn't want to kick Blaine out of the room, but she didn't have a choice because it was a secret between her and Erwin.

"I want to ask you to become one of my supporters," Laura said as she looked down, holding both hands together.

"Why?" Erwin asked, leaning his elbows on his lap.

"That's because…" Laura paused.

"Because you need a way to defeat Tine. Am I right?" Erwin guessed. And he wasn't wrong