Balter Ertman, the owner of Jigohan Ertman, was working in the mansion, unlike usual.

Considering that he had been out and about a lot lately, this was a rare occasion.

Thinking about it differently, it also meant that he had finished his business outside.

Balter’s pen twirled in his hands as he pondered.

Despite being newlyweds, Balter had been busy going out, and the cause of his current dilemma was the same.

Louis Clovis.

“He’s scheming something.”

Balter had been keeping an eye on him for a while now.

The traces of Louis Clovis, who had been involved in the smuggling business, had now risen to Blake.

Balter’s gaze focused on the letter placed in front of him.

On the day Cedric controlled the Ertman Duchy, he informed Cedric about the connection between Louis and Blake. In response, Cedric returned the information he had investigated, and the contents of this letter were exactly that.

[…Recently, there have been rare instances of Louis Clovis coming and going. It seems like they meet outside to avoid suspicion, but since Blake is so good at hiding his whereabouts, it hasn’t been easy to track them since then.]

In summary, it couldn’t be determined whether Louis and Blake were deeply connected enough to arouse suspicion. However, it was clear that the two, who should have had little contact in the past, were now frequently crossing paths.

Cedric questioned whether they needed to be cautious about Louis to this extent, but Balter’s thoughts were different.

“In the past, Louis Clovis had no connection to politics.”

He was not without ambition. However, his ambition was more focused on business than politics.

Of course, to conduct business, he couldn’t completely stay away from politics, but Louis preferred not to get entangled in politics as much as possible.

The reason was simple. Louis hoped not to use his own background.

“He was a somewhat peculiar case. He wanted to avoid the glory of the family as much as possible.”

Perhaps he wanted to achieve something with his own power rather than relying on the power of the family.

The problem was that it was an idea that only a naive nobleman could have.

“How foolish.”

Being a noble and living as a noble, what could he possibly do outside the glory of the family?

If he had been a less competent person, he might not have even dreamed of such ambitions. Unfortunately, Louis was quite intelligent.

Just not outstanding.

Hanging on to such mediocrity, he dreamed an unrealistic dream, and there was no way it would end well.

Louis, avoiding Clovis’s eyes, got involved in various businesses happening behind the scenes to secure funds, and eventually, he even got involved in smuggling.

“Once you get involved, you can’t let go before you profit.”
If he lets go, it would be as if he’s proving his own incompetence, and that seemed to be even more true.

Because of that, Louis kept filling his funds as if trying to fill a leaking vessel, and the aftermath all flowed into Odette.

Louis used to ask Odette to bring Clovis’s funds, and he had practically hidden behind the veil of Odette.

Thinking about how Odette ended up dead due to him, the desire to kill Louis still lingers, but anyway, that’s a past event that no longer exists.

The important thing is that, despite the existence of such a past, Louis’s actions were still somewhat strange.

“Clearly, Louis Clovis has almost recovered his memories from the past.”

From wherever it started to wherever it reached, it was enough to interfere with Balter’s plans.

And if he had such memories, he would surely know that he should let go of the undercover businesses he had been involved in.

“It’s even more strange that he’s getting involved even deeper.”

Doing this much is like shouting for someone to discover it.

To reiterate, Louis was not stupid. And if additional factors, such as memories from the past, were included, there was no way he would make such a judgment.

So, it can only be concluded that there is some intention behind why he is doing this.

“He must be related to attaching himself to the Second Prince.”

If that’s the case, what is Louis Clovis aiming for by going this far?

The question that Balter had been unable to solve all along was exactly this.

Even though it was known that Blake and Louis had joined forces, it remained ambiguous what they were scheming, even after digging into their traces.

He even went as far as to meet Blake in person…

-Now that you’re married, Duke, you seem happy. I hear that there’s talk about the two of you getting along well every three steps.

-Odette, do I resemble my mother? Men seem to have such good skills at flattering. Haha!

…There was no significant income.

Especially since Blake, more than usual, openly expressed his discomfort by frequently spewing harsh words, it was even more so.

“Perhaps because he’s driven into a corner.”

And the reason for that was likely to be largely influenced by Odette.

Blake had sent Cedric far away, intending to build his influence in the central part of the palace in the meantime.