Although Mary was furious, she looked calmed as if what Norman had said was something extremely normal. It was because she had been trained to control her emotion since kid in her previous life as a top agent.
Norman’s level stare suddenly reminded her about the story of Lord Mathilda from the Rustica kingdom told by Luna.
Mary let out a soft chuckle and said, “I wonder whether your looks are as hideous as Lord Mathilda’s.”
“Very funny, Miss Debeur.” The tense atmosphere was slightly relieved. Norman rubbed his thumb ring unconsciously and asked, “Has Miss Debeur met Lord Mathilda before?”
Mary answered honestly. “Never.”
It was said that due to her mother, Lenroe’s death, the royals of the Rustica kingdom was hostile towards the Debeur family, even towards the whole Cynthian Empire. Lord Mathilda did not even pay the Debeur family a visit when she was being summoned by the emperor that one time. Mary had always thought if Lord Mathilda had gone to their palace and saw her situation, would she lend her a hand? And would it be possible that her previous self could have lived a better life?
It was only her imagination after all. Lord Mathilda did not come, and her previous self had died a helpless life. Mary had been holding a grudge for her previous self therefore she believed in the rumor of Lord Mathilda being hideous easily.
“You sound like you’ve met her before?” Mary could not deny the fact that she was intrigued by such a legendary female.
Legend had it that Lord Mathilda was the only female among the royals of the Rustica kingdom in her generation. She was pampered by her family since young like her mother, Lenroe. Yet what was rare was not only that Lord Mathilda was not arrogant for the love she received, she developed an amiable personality.
Mary often showed contempt towards that saying. A person who was truly amiable would not always be in the limelight. Lord Mathilda must secretly be a flamboyant person who enjoyed showing off her talent.
“How would I possibly meet her?” Norman adjusted himself to a more comfortable position and said, “She’s the descendant of the royals, how could I possibly meet her with my identity?” Yet what he had in mind was these two sisters were both interesting. Yet the one before him was far more mysterious than the other.
Mary did not trust Norman’s words at all. She had categorized him as an enemy the moment he asked her to steal the eighth prince’s letter. Although she was unclear which prince had Ralph decided to assist and whether it was the eighth prince, her instinct told her Norman intended to cause harm on Ralph.
Causing harm on Ralph meant causing harm on the Debeur family.
What dismayed her more was Norman actually approached her with this kind of purpose. She should have known it before. It seemed like she did not learn her lesson well from her previous life that she had let go her grudge and believed in others that easily.
“How funny. A martial art master like you who does not leave a trace wherever you go could be the person needed by Lord Mathilda.” And it was possible that Norman was actually working for Lord Mathilda. Mary wrinkled her eyebrows and there was a slight sharp pain on her injured shoulder. Her imagination started to run wild that she thought maybe Lord Mathilda was planning something big, like overthrowing the Cynthian Empire.
Or, it could be that having Lenroe abased herself to marry Ralph as a princess more than a decade ago was actually a conspiracy by the Rustica kingdom itself, and her mother was only a sacrifice for politics.
Mary shook her head lightly to chase those meaningless thoughts away from her mind. She was afraid that she would bear hostility towards all the people of the Rustica kingdom when she continued her thought.
“How could you think of your cousin like that?” Norman frowned under his mask. Mary truly did not know Lord Mathilda at all. If she did, she might actually defend for her and tolerate her every weakness.
Perceiving Norman’s unhappiness, Mary’s inexplicable anger burnt even more fiercely, as if someone had added some woods into the fire. No, it should be a bunch of woods and some oil following that.
“Looks like you have an unusual relationship with my unmet cousin. How could you say you do not work for her when you’ve kept on defending for her?”
Although Mary was wearing a smile, Norman could not detect any trace of joy from her look, but a little jealousy and grievance instead. It was possible that Mary herself did not realize it too.
Contrary to Mary, Norman suddenly felt a load being taken off from his mind and his heart felt comfortable like never before. “Lord Mathilda’s literature has brought benefit to all living things in the world and I do admire her Highness. Therefore it’s reasonable that I defended for her.”
Did he mean that she was just an ordinary mistress from a noble family that was incomparable towards Lord Mathilda?
Mary snorted and could no longer hold her smile.
“Is Miss Debeur angry?” Norman sounded jolly.
Mary startled. What was wrong with her? How could she let Norman’s few words disrupt her thoughts? That was a taboo for an agent.
Mary quickly adjusted her emotion and replied languidly. “You’ve over thought. I’m just being tired.” She raised her arm difficultly, signifying she was injured and continued. “I’m just being exhausted and I need a good rest. If you have nothing more to say, you can come over some other time later.”
“Miss Debeur wants me to come over again?” Norman did not move but continue staring at Mary.
Mary felt disturbed by his stare and could not wait for him to leave as soon as possible. Yet she lacked strength and capability now and needed to rely on his help at the moment. Although she knew clearly that Norman might take a stand against Ralph, she still placed her hope on him.
“I have something to ask for your help.”
Norman did not behave in a superior way as what Mary had expected. He replied with a serious manner. “I’ll be glad to hear it.”
Having a sense of being respected, Mary’s anger was slightly allayed. “I want to ask you to inquire about the personality and the temper of Kace Gladstone.”
“Why, Miss Debeur’s interested in Kace Gladstone?” Norman’s tone of voice slightly rose. His voice seemed to crack but was not sharp in the ear. There was an ethereal element in his voice which brought out the genuine emotion of a human.
Mary could not help but turn around and look him up, yet she could not make out what he was really thinking after a long while as he was wearing a mask. She felt slightly disappointed and rolled back listlessly, replying unhappily. “If you can’t do it then so be it.” It seemed like she still needed to think of other ways on her own.
Norman gazed at Mary’s head without uttering a word. Her coal-black long hair cascaded at the side of the pillow like waterfalls or cloud rivers, attracting others to have a touch. He could not help but remember her who was far, far away, who also possessed such a pitch black and glory long hair.
Yet what differed from Mary was she did not fancy hair oil and her hair was always puffy. There would always be some hair dropping down even if she had made her hair into a tight bun, and she looked cute and playful that way. As for Mary, her hair was always brimming with the light fragrance of gardenia. She seemed to have used the hair oil made of gardenia flowers whose fragrance unlike the cloying osmanthus hair oil, which was inexplicably calming and relieving.
Having not heard any commotion from Norman who was behind her, Mary wanted to turn around to have a look, yet she resisted her temptation. She was on the outs with him just now yet she deigned to ask for his help the next moment. It was of common sense that he refused to help. It would be too degrading if she pleaded him for help.
Mary began to blame Luna in her heart. Why did she not choose to fall in love with any other man in the world but Kace? After this thing was over, she was so eating up her rose dew and finishing up all her personal stock.
Norman still did not make a sound after a long while and who knew what he was thinking. Just as Mary was too anxious for her wait and thought he had left silently, she heard Norman rumbled when she was about to turn around. “Alright, I’ll help you inquire about that.”
When had she been so intrigued by Kace? Norman pursed his lips. Kace, though was well accomplished, his body had failed him. How would an arrogant person like her pay such an attention towards him?
Although Norman remained silent, Mary could still sense his elusive unhappiness. She frowned, feeling baffled and hoping to hide herself under the blanket. She hated herself and Norman who were behaving such a way now, and she hated the suffocating, quiet atmosphere more.
Hearing the rubbing sound of fabrics, Mary could not endure it anymore and turn immediately. As expected, she saw Norman standing up and was ready to leave. She blurted out by asking, “When would you come over again?”
A smile appeared on his face hidden under the mask. His voice became joyful once more. “I’ll come whenever you want to see me.”
Mary was exasperated and speechless. How should she reply? Should she say that she could not wait for him to come tomorrow as she wanted to know about Kace’s stuff? But wouldn’t that mean she was actually anxious to see him?
How could this man be so shameless?
Mary was annoyed and she suddenly had a thought for mischief. She sneered and said, “I have to tell you that I would not do anything that would harm us Debeur family. Therefore, I’ll pretend that I’ve never heard your request for me to take the eighth prince’s letter. If that is how you want me to repay you for helping me, you should tell me earlier so I won’t bother you with Kace’s matter.”
The corner of Norman’s lip curved. She had such a hot temper.
“Don’t worry, Miss Debeur. I have many capable and extraordinary subordinates, and I don’t really need to depend on a single female to accomplish anything. Plus, I’m not despicable enough to force Miss Debeur to help just because I’ve helped Miss Debeur a few times.” Norman did not turn and smiled. “Yet, I do want to thank Miss Debeur for not exposing the matter between us to Lord Regent.”
Mary frowned. Isn’t he shameless enough?
Norman took out a vial from his sleeve and tossed it backward. The vial then fell beside Mary’s pillow lightly. “The medicine in the vial is effective. Apply it on your wound and your wound would cure in just a few days.”
Mary took it over and examined it. It was a dark green, jade vial with only the size of a thumb. A picture of a blue-eyed cat curling up seemed to be carved on its surface which was seen by Mary before. The jade which was an accessory at Norman’s waist seemed to have the same picture too.
Mary closed her eyes and thought back. She remembered the person Norman and she saved from the cliff had the same picture on him too. The picture seemed to be the secret code for that mysterious organization. Mary secretly memorized the picture and intended to investigate Norman’s background whenever she had the chance.
She pulled the plug out and smelled the content of the vial. She could not resist coughing hard as the smell was so awful like the odor of leftover food.