"I see," Anfey said with a nod. "About Batusimon… do as Christian says."
"Yes, sir," Ye said. Anfey's attitude showed that Ye's words had made an impression. He was also glad that Anfey was willing to listen to advice, and was not an overly confident man.
"Sir?" someone outside called.
"What is it?" Ye asked.
"We found those men, sir," one of the men replied.
"Did Alice put you up to this?" Anfey asked.
Ye shook his head. "She knows what I'm doing, but she did not tell me to do anything."
"Tell me everything that happened."
"You haven't talked to anyone lately, have you, sir?"
"I went to meet the guards," Anfey said. "I didn't notice anything off."
"After those noblemen were executed, the families began spreading rumors to slander Lady Alice. Some of those families must have found an artist and paid him to do some paintings on a wall near the southern gate. The artist drew a picture of a woman performing sexual acts with demons, and the woman resembles Lady Alice."
Anfey frowned. This showed blatant disregard and disrespect toward Alice and, by extension, him. Ye paused upon seeing his frown and added quietly, "We destroyed those images as fast as we could."
"Does Alice know?"
"I think so," Ye said. "Lady Alice is popular among the commoners, and there is no reason for them to be so disrespectful toward her. Batusimon has already apologized to Lady Alice as well."
"Why did he apologize?"
Ye sighed and said, "The paintings were done during the night. Batusimon's men found the paintings and, instead of reporting it immediately, they chose to ignore it. It wasn't until midday that it was discovered by us."
Anfey's frown deepened.
"I don't think Batusimon has anything to do with this, though," Ye said hurriedly. "He seemed very sincere when he apologized to Lady Alice."
Anfey walked over to the window and opened it, wanting to calm himself down. He pushed on it too hard and the windows slammed into the wall, attracting the attention of several mercenaries below. He looked to the distance and saw that Alice was still in her office. "Is she getting enough sleep?"
"She is busy," Ye said. "She will only get busier."
Inside Alice's office, Alice was with Hui Wei. Both had a large stack of paperwork on the table next to them, and were hard at work. Suzanna was sitting in a chair in the corner, staring at Alice.
"Did you hear that?" Alice sat down and asked with a frown.
Hui Wei nodded. "Was that Anfey?"
"It was," Suzanna said with a nod. "He sounds angry."
"Do you want to do check on him?" Alice turned and asked Suzanna.
"I'll go when Shinbela gets here."
"But…"
"Don't worry," Suzanna said with a smile. "He's not a child anymore. I am sure he can take care of himself."
"Does that mean that I am a child that can't take care of herself?" Alice asked jokingly.
"Of course not."
"She's right, Alice," Hui Wei said. "We can't risk it. Sure, it's unlikely, but what if something goes wrong, and there's no one here to protect you? We can't lose you."
Alice sighed. "I'm just curious," she said. "What made him so angry? Has he been moody lately?"
Suzanna thought about it and shook her head.
Alice smiled. "Seeing how much he cares about you, I don't think he would let you know if anything's bothering him, even if he is extremely irritated."
Suzanna blushed. "Don't you have work to do?"
Alice giggled and returned her gaze to the paperwork.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Anfey appeared. "Suzanna, honey, smile," Alice said without lifting her head.
Suzanna rolled her eyes, but nevertheless grinned at Anfey. Hui Wei looked up and smiled.
"Anfey," he said. "I need to talk to you."
"How did you guys know it was me?"
"Because you're the only one who doesn't knock," Alice said. "What is it?"
Anfey looked at her for a few seconds, then said, "Did Lord Baery say anything about executing the noblemen?"
"Of course…" Hui Wei said. Before he could finish, Alice frowned and interrupted him.
"Hui Wei, can you go fetch me Ozzic?"
Hui Wei glanced at her, then sighed and quickly left the room. Anfey sat down in Hui Wei's chair and looked at Alice. "You didn't want to tell me anything," he said.
Alice shrugged. "Didn't feel right," she said.
Anfey turned to Suzanna and whispered, "Can you leave us alone for a bit? Don't let anyone come in."
Suzanna nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her softly.
"What happened?" Alice asked with a frown.
"You should know. Batusimon came to apologize in person, didn't he?"
"Oh," Alice said. "You mean the paintings."
Anfey nodded.
"It's not a big deal," Alice said, shaking her head.
"Not a big deal?"
"I know you worry about me, but this is inevitable," Alice said. "I won't let it get to me."
Anfey stared at Alice. He admired her sensibility, and was very impressed by how calmly she had handled this public humiliation.