Please Let Me Live a Lazy Life!

Chapter 16: I Want to Live a Lazy Life (1)

It was the worse case of 'third-party syndrome' she ever had the pleasure to experience.

Of course, there was no way she was going to be the one to resolve anything between the two. Frankly, it was the Crown Prince's problem if he couldn't clarify his intentions towards her brother. Furthermore, that leech of a Prince was the one hogging Edward, not the other way around! She was her brother's cute little sister and yet she could not spend any time with him alone because Xander kept acting like her brother's second shadow!

Many young noblemen and ladies were deceived into thinking that the Prime Minister's son was the one that wouldn't leave His Highness alone but it was actually the opposite! The Crown Prince they all admired and looked up to was actually a puppy that had imprinted on her brother.

In other words, blood was sure to rain if anything happened to her brother under the Royal Family's nose. There was not a single person on this continent that would dare go against Marie Windsor, a first-tier magician and the most powerful swordswoman in the country. And while Charles Windsor and their son didn't have the same might as the Queen, it would be a mistake to consider them as weak or easy to bully.

Therefore, only the foolish would try to kidnap her brother, and Marquis McGowan was not the type of person that did foolish things. If he was, then his not-quite-legal businesses would be out of business long ago.

"But?" Edward encouraged, curious about his sister's insight.

"Well, there is a chance that a third party is involved. One that is using the Marquis' own fortune to fund their schemes." Both son and father went quiet out of contemplation, though Edward had a feeling he knew where his sister was going with this conversation. Katherine kept the top of her frilly fan near the bottom of her lip, her eyes as hard and cold as diamonds. "If I recall correctly, isn't Thomas associated with Marquis McGowan's son and heir?"

Both Kyron and Edward stiffened while Lady Anais Rosetta sneered. His mother's hair was a golden wheat color, darker than her husband and her children's locks, but her eyes were the same sapphire gem as Katherine. There wasn't a part of her body that wasn't covered in embroidered cloth, fine threads, and dazzling jewels. Her make-up was heavily done but tasteful with dark reds and browns in contrast with her daughter's natural and thin foundation.

Their mother had less control of her expressions in comparison to her daughter, though the only thing she couldn't hide was her feelings of disgust and distaste. Therefore, once Thomas was mentioned in the conversation, Anais' face contorted and in order to prevent the people in the room to see such an ugly appearance, she shielded the lower part of her face with a magenta fan. "Of course that little scoundrel is involved! I thought it was too quiet lately-- but to think the rat would try to harm my son!"

"Mother, let's not make any assumptions," Katherine intercepted before they could be treated with another one of Lady Anais' 'the bastard child is a curse on this household' lecture, unaware of the strange and unusual expression on her brother's face. "But we do need to keep an eye on him and investigate his recent interactions with McGowan--"

"Thomas, he-- he has nothing to do with this," Edward blurted out clumsily and the whole room went quiet. Katherine stared at her brother with wide, shocked eyes, startled by his outburst while his mother had a similar expression but more indignant. The eldest son couldn't even begin to imagine the look on his father's face at his sudden defense for the youngest, but he instead turned towards his sister and reasoned, "Thomas hasn't interacted with McGowan in months and he has been sick for the past week; where would he find the time to make such an elaborate scheme?"

After realizing that her brother was making a serious statement, Katherine furrowed her brow together. "Isn't he faking it, Edward?" she countered, her sapphire-blue eyes striking against the eldest sibling's ice-blue orbs. "It's too much of a coincidence for him to be sick while a plan for your abduction was being made."