He spoke as if spitting out the words.

“I was kicked out.”

“What?”

“I said I was kicked out of the Pendleton house.”

Mr. Fairfax looked at him with a shocked expression.

“What are you talking about? Kicked out? Miss Pendleton, who has been taking care of Lady Abigail for 12 years, was kicked out? Does that make any sense?”

“It doesn’t make sense. But that damn head of the Pendleton family, Gerald Pendleton, did that nonsensical thing. Not only did he try to sell his niece to an old man old enough to be her father, but he also trampled her until her hands were bruised, forcing her to accept the proposal, and on top of that, he forged the will to make Miss Pendleton penniless and kicked her out! That damn bastard!”

Ian Dalton shouted, grinding his teeth. Fairfax saw his expression change to that of a beast.

“Hey, calm down first. Let’s find Miss Pendleton first. Does that maid know where Miss Pendleton went?”

He shook his head. Mr. Fairfax was sick with worry about Miss Pendleton.

“Perhaps she went to a friend’s house…”

“She must have hidden somewhere no one knows. She’s a principled young lady who would never burden others. She’s probably silently accepting her situation now. Damn it. Where should I start looking…”

Ian stopped the carriage as they were passing by a bookstore. He went into the bookstore. And he came out with a London travel guide. William quickly got off the carriage instead of riding it, seeing Ian striding along on foot.

“Are you going to start looking at lodging houses?”

Ian was silent.

“Hey, let’s do this together. There must be over a hundred places, how are you going to search them all alone?”

“You have something else to do. Find Lady Abigail’s will executor and lawyer. Find out if what I heard is true.”

“Hey, at least take my carriage. Huh?”

He ignored Fairfax’s words and immediately hailed a passing rental carriage and disappeared.

William returned home and used various connections he had made through business to track down Lady Abigail’s lawyer and will executor. It wasn’t an easy task because Lady Abigail had always handled her affairs discreetly.

But he finally found them. Mr. Richard Royden of the Royden Law Firm. And Mr. Paul Naze, who was once a baronet but had fallen due to bad investments, and was Lady Abigail’s close friend.

Mr. Fairfax learned that both of their financial situations were extremely bad. Mr. Royden was outwardly a respectable lawyer, but had fallen into gambling addiction over the past year, and Mr. Naze had moved to the commercial district with his wife and children after his family’s downfall three years ago, barely scraping by writing all sorts of things for trashy newspapers, from society gossip to shoddy novels.

Mr. Fairfax frequented gentlemen’s social clubs to gather information on whether there had been any recent changes in their financial situations.

Meanwhile, Ian went around everywhere looking for Miss Pendleton from morning till night. He would leave at dawn and return after midnight, and sometimes he didn’t return at all.

Then, one afternoon a few days later, he suddenly burst into his office and shouted:

“Where does Miss Hyde live now?”

“What?”

“I asked where she lives!”

“Uh, a ladies’ boarding house near Fleet Street. But why?”

Ian thought for a moment and then asked:

“What’s the name of the publishing house where Miss Hyde works?”

“Hey, why do you keep asking about Miss Hyde’s personal information out of the blue? Tell me the reason first.”

“I found Miss Pendleton. She’s staying alone in an unbelievably shabby inn. I’m going to ask Miss Hyde to live with her. Hurry up and tell me!”

Mr. Fairfax quickly told him the publishing house where Miss Hyde worked. He rushed out of the office again like the wind.

What happened after that, I heard while walking with Miss Hyde earlier. He came to find her, told her about Miss Pendleton’s situation, and very politely asked her to take her to the boarding house and live together. Through this incident, Miss Hyde realized that Mr. Dalton had feelings for Miss Pendleton.

And so, after going through a series of processes to find Miss Pendleton, Ian finally managed to create a non-existent governess position and succeeded in taking her to his sister’s estate.

Mr. Fairfax asked his determined friend Ian sitting across from him:

“Now that’s settled for Miss Pendleton. What are you going to do about Gerald Pendleton? The lawyer and that notary?”

For now, it was clear that both Mr. Royden and Mr. Naze had suddenly come into a large sum of money. Mr. Naze had moved to a much better house, and Mr. Royden had reclaimed his carriage and house that had been seized due to debt. But was there evidence that the money came from Gerald Pendleton?

“I’m going to investigate the source of their funds more closely. And if it’s money they received in exchange for cooperating in stealing Miss Pendleton’s rightful share, I’ll make them pay for their crimes.”

“How? File a lawsuit?”

“I won’t step out publicly. Miss Pendleton wouldn’t want me to be deeply involved in her affairs.”

“Then?”

“I’ll make sure they can’t earn a living anywhere, including the legal and publishing worlds. Since they were tempted by a few pennies to steal a woman’s rightful rights, those guys should experience having their own futures blocked too.”

Mr. Fairfax nodded. It was a brutal plan, but Mr. Fairfax was relieved. He thought it was fortunate that his friend wasn’t shooting them. The two had committed crimes that could have landed them in prison, so this level of retribution was merciful.

Now Mr. Fairfax’s gaze shifted to a more serious matter.

“What about Earl Gerald Pendleton?”

Ian was silent. Mr. Fairfax couldn’t read his friend’s thoughts from his expression.

He became anxious. Ian was a chronic hothead who couldn’t stand things that made him angry, but when he was really angry, he had no expression like this. He was furious to the tips of his hair.

“…You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

“That would be too easy.”

“Then?”

Ian looked out the window for a moment and then quietly opened his mouth.

“William. What do you think about the nobles of this country?”

“What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“Don’t you think they enjoy disproportionate privileges compared to their duties?”

“…Well. I don’t think so. All the nobles have great ancestors who contributed to England. I admit they’re somewhat arrogant and dissolute… But, if privileges aren’t inherited by descendants, who would sacrifice for the country?”

“If they want to inherit their ancestors’ achievements, they should also bear responsibilities to society. Nobles do nothing but use their titles to continue their pleasures and misdeeds, ignoring their proper service as social leaders. The British noble society is a garbage dump where trash that ruins the country rolls around. Gerald Pendleton is the most foul-smelling trash among the nobles I’ve seen so far. The Pendleton family must disappear for the sake of this country.”

Mr. Fairfax caught the meaning of his words and was stunned by the shock.

The Pendleton family was an old earldom. But now his friend Ian had said he would eradicate that family. It was extremely shocking for the conservative Mr. Fairfax, who always held respect for the aristocratic class.

But Mr. Fairfax didn’t feel like stopping his friend. If his own sister Janet had gone through the same thing as Miss Pendleton, he would have felt the same as Ian.

He was a gentleman who was as faithful to the principle of respecting ladies as he was to his reverence for the privileged class. The atrocities committed by Earl Gerald Pendleton against Miss Pendleton were beastly acts that only someone who had given up being human would do.

Upon arriving at the townhouse, Mr. Dalton immediately packed his bags. Mr. Fairfax provided him with a carriage and driver, and saw him off. He didn’t say a word about not ruining the Pendleton family.

Mr. Fairfax visited Miss Lance with his sister the next afternoon. It was to inform Miss Lance, whom Ian had abandoned and left, that he had returned to Whitefield.

He coordinated with his sister. They agreed to make up an urgent situation that forced Ian to leave for Whitefield so as not to hurt Miss Lance’s feelings. Mr. Fairfax wanted to protect his friend’s reputation (even though the person in question wouldn’t care a bit).

His sister Janet readily agreed to go along with her brother’s plan, but she was much more interested in comforting the disappointed Miss Lance than in Ian Dalton’s reputation. As an ardent fan of Miss Lance, she was prepared to tell any lie for the sake of her goddess.

As expected, when they informed her that Ian Dalton had left London, Miss Lance showed signs of disappointment. How unpleasant it must have been for a gentleman she had been close to to leave without saying goodbye. Mr. Fairfax quickly spoke the words he had made up to soothe her mood.

“The land agent suddenly said he was quitting, so Ian had no choice. He’s a friend with a strong sense of responsibility for his estate. He asked me to give his regards to Miss Lance on his behalf. He said the time he spent with Miss Lance in London was so precious that he would never forget it, and that he would be counting the days until he could see you again someday.”

Miss Lance’s damp expression brightened a little.

“Really, did he leave such words for me?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Mr. Fairfax nodded with a smiling face, feeling a slight pang of conscience. Janet, who was beside him, supported her brother.

“He talked about Miss Lance several times even as he was leaving. He said, ‘I should see Miss Lance before I go, I should kiss that beautiful little hand and say goodbye in person.’ He said it was heartbreaking to have to leave behind the most beautiful flower in London because of his heavy duties as the head of the family. And he asked me to tell you. He said that when he finishes his estate business, he will return to London and visit the Lance baronet’s house first!”

Mr. Fairfax thought his sister had gone too far, but seeing Miss Lance’s face brighten up instantly, he didn’t dare to correct her. Miss Lance entertained the Fairfax siblings with a face as rosy as a May rose, and saw them off to the door when teatime was over.

As they left the baronet’s house, the Fairfax siblings looked up to the sky feeling a bit ashamed of what they had done, but they thought they had fulfilled their duty to their friend. They had no idea that their lie had cost Miss Lance the opportunity to regain her judgment.

The well-intentioned lie sweetened Miss Lance’s heart like honey, plunging her deeper into delusion.

As a result, she wasted the golden time to suppress the rumors spreading throughout London, vainly imagining a romantic reunion with Mr. Dalton and the proposal diamond that would be in his hand.