"Ah, Mary, I really didn't expect there to be so many! It's so tiring!"

Under the bright candlelight, Fran, who had been at the desk for a long time, finally stopped his hand, then frowned and stared at the pile of messy documents on the table.

"It should be said, 'We have worked hard to solve so much, it's hard to do it!", right?" Miss Marquis de Leorang, who was sitting next to her, replied with an encouraging smile.

Then, she pointed to a pile of sorted documents on her side, "Look! This is the result of our hard work!"

Fran followed her fingers and looked at the pile of documents, then blinked her eyes as suspiciously.

"Yes, we've actually read so much?"

"You read it right, you've really read so much." Mary blinked, "How about it? You feel that you're very powerful, right?"

"...It seems that it is indeed a little powerful..." Fran whispered to himself.

Then, a smile of fatigue and relief appeared on her face, as if she was very satisfied with the fruits of her hard work.

Because, she is really helping her family.

Following the previous agreement, after receiving Fran's reply, Lola indeed sent all the commercial exchanges between the two families of Treville and Bowang for her to take a look (of course, it was only the part she could be responsible for).

When he just received this pile of materials, Fran was a little stunned, worried that he could finish reading it.

Although he had received the consent of his parents, Fran didn't understand this kind of business dealings very well. So he had to take his friends to read these documents and bills.

It took them a whole day to sort out and review most of these documents, and only the girl's care and patience can complete such meticulous work in peace.

Under the candlelight, the two girls' golden hair shines with a soft luster, and the focused and gentle expression on their faces can be matched in the painting.

"Let's see here first, we need to take a rest!" Fran breathed a sigh of relief, then took a cup of tea from the coffee table next to him, raised his head, and poured it without any manners, "Ha, I really didn't expect it to be so tiring!"

"I want to take on the heavy responsibility. It's okay to be tired..." Mary replied with a smile, and then took a cup of tea from the side, "Isn't this what you want?"

"That's right, isn't this what I want?" Fran smiled embarrassedly. "How can you feel tired now... Isn't that the most useless person..."

"No matter what, people always need to rest. Have a good rest and then finish the rest later." Mary pinched her friend's hand, as if she was relaxing her muscles and bones. "How is it? After reading so much, what do you think?"

"I feel... it's not without it." Fran lowered his gaze, "I really didn't expect that our family would owe them so much money!"

After this period of sorting, the two girls realized that the involvement between the two families was much deeper than they thought. In several projects, De Bowang's family invested a lot of money.

"How can we say that we owe it? We have also paid a price..." Mary continued to rub the slender hands, just like the two of them playing when they were learning to paint. "Power is also capital, and it can also be exchanged for shares. If it weren't for your grandfather and brother, they wouldn't have put in such great effort. What's more, we didn't treat them badly."

"It's not bad for you to say that..." Fran nodded slightly.

Unintentionally, neither of the two noticed anything wrong with her "our side", as if naturally, the Marquis had become a member of the Treville family.

"Mary, thanks to you, without your help, how could I finish these things so quickly..." After letting my friend knead for a while, Fran gently pulled back his hand and looked at Mary seriously. "It's great to be able to get your help. Mary, please continue to help me in the future, okay?"

Her expression was very sincere, full of kindness and gratitude to her friends.

However, after hearing this, the smile on Mary's face suddenly froze. She quickly turned her face slightly to hide the shakenness in her heart.

How happy I should have been to get this promise! A sensation of colic made her throat dry in an instant.

Just this morning, the owner of the house, Marquis Treville, called her over and gave her an extremely difficult choice.

There is no doubt that if he chooses not to obey his wishes, even if Fran relies on him and believes in him, he will have to leave this family.

Unexpectedly, that old guy could make such a proposal! Anger surged into the heart of the marquis's marquis again.

However, no matter how angry he is now, it doesn't make sense. He should have made up his mind and will never change it because of himself.

So, what should I do?

If you look at it normally, you should maintain your dignity and leave here.

Then? Go back to the previous life where you have only a lot of money but can only be lonely and helpless? After finally trying every means to get rid of this situation, will you be trapped back now? At that time, should you stay in that mud, or do you think of another way?

The heavy thoughts lingered in Mary's heart like a nightmare, making her forget where she was for a moment.

God, what should I do? She asked herself again.

"Mary...what's wrong with you?" Just as she was still indulging in these chaotic thoughts, the friend's next to her heard a lot of greetings, "Why are you suddenly dazed?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing... I just suddenly remembered something," Mary finally woke up, then shook her head in a little panic, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"Oh, that's good." Although Mary's performance seemed a little strange. But since she had said that, Fran stopped asking. "If you are tired, go and have a rest first. Anyway, there are not many things left. I will finish it alone later..."

"No, it doesn't matter. I'm not tired. Let's start work later." Mary immediately refused her.

"Okay, listen to you." Fran blinked.

The girl's playful expression could have made Mary laugh instantly. However, now it made her feel even more uncomfortable.

The unspeakable guilt made her never dare to look directly at the other person's face again.

Fran was also an important reason why she was a little hesitant.

What kind of feelings does this Miss Treville have for her brother? No one can see it, can't she still see it? She knew that if she really did what the old thing said, then it would become a double betrayal - she betrayed herself and her friends.

Even if the kind of feelings Fran held could not be responded to, if she did that, she would undoubtedly have a new mark on her already scarred heart.

However...at this moment, a sarcastic voice suddenly rang in her heart.

"Why are you still good at this time? If you really feel so guilty, wouldn't you just refuse before?"

In an instant, her mood sank to the bottom. She didn't know how to answer this question because it made too much sense.

I am really an excessive person, only considering myself in everything. She couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart.

Driven by this feeling of guilt, she couldn't help but look up at the paintings on the wall in a daze.

These paintings seemed to be brought back by her grandfather after plundering them from Italy. However, these carefully selected paintings were hung on the walls without taking them seriously, just like the works of painters on the street.

"Have you read these paintings many times? Mary?" Fran looked at his friend in confusion, and then couldn't help laughing again, "Let's do this, I'll give you any painting you like, anyway, I still have a lot of them here."

This inadvertent tone suddenly revealed the status gap between the two people.

She definitely didn't think it was a show-off, and then Mary felt a little tingling in her heart after hearing this.

"Oh, no, I'm just a casual look," she tried to make her tone sound very natural. "As far as I say, Fran, shouldn't you cherish these paintings more? Just putting them like this will probably greatly lose their lifespan... These paintings are also masterpieces no matter how well they are, it won't work if they are not preserved."

They had been learning painting under a painter for several years, and naturally they knew this knowledge well.

"It's okay, just break it. Anyway, there are so many in my box, so I can change it to another batch at that time." Fran smiled indifferently. "We don't have to care about this kind of second-rate painter's stuff. I learned it for a while after I took it, but after that I felt that there was nothing to watch. I just hang it here as a decoration. I can't hang it out or exhibit it anyway."

"Even the works of second-rate painters are quite valuable. Wouldn't it be better to preserve them well?" Mary persuaded him again, "Flan, look, from the recent trend, artworks will become more and more valuable in the future. Besides, these paintings can still be considered antiques by then, and no one will pursue the problem of the original owner and the way they succeed... If you change hands, you will definitely make a lot of money, right? So, I think you should be more careful to preserve them."

"Don't you have to pay so much attention to money or something, right?" Fran murmured in a low voice, and then smiled as if begging for mercy under the serious look of his friend, "Okay, okay, let's listen to you. I'll collect them tomorrow. Mary, you are becoming more and more like a housekeeper. You will definitely be able to take care of your family well in the future."

Her tone was careless and had no derogatory meaning, so she would not have thought about what impact her words would have on her friends' hearts.

After hearing the following words, Mary lowered her head slightly.

At this moment, her heart felt a throbbing again.

Housekeeper... Housekeeper! This is another title!

Do you think it's really funny? What a joke! No one is born to think of this!

I also want to be like you, and there will be someone to take care of everything you do!

Fran's inadvertent expression once again hurts Mary's long-accumulated resentment and her self-esteem that was frustrated because of her current situation of living under someone else's roof.

And, although it has never been revealed, it has always been hidden in the heart.

And. Want to be the same as her again...

Competitive.

You are right, I can indeed be a good housekeeper.

Then, I will be a real housekeeper to show you.

In this way, after ten hours and forty minutes of hesitation, she made a decision.

Mary looked at Fran's back with a calm face, but Fran was unaware of anything at this time.

Because of fate, she had to run to this friend and become her female companion.

Although it seems intimate and no one has ever made it clear, she knows that among the two, her status is always inferior to each other.

If it was someone else, she might be able to withstand this result. But she...it was indeed unbearable.

She wanted to be someone who could enjoy great honor like this friend. Even if fate prevented her from getting these brilliances naturally, she wanted to use her mind and everything else to retake this brilliance back into her hands.

Even if you hurt others or even your best friend because of this.

At this moment, her idea was decided.

"Fran, I'm sorry."

She whispered.

"Sorry?" Fran opened his eyes wide and looked at Mary curiously. "What's wrong?"

"If I make you angry in the future, will you forgive me?" Mary asked in a low voice. "For example, when I have committed any mistakes..."

"Of course I won't be angry. We are good friends!" Fran opened his eyes wide, obviously not understanding what Mary suddenly said about it. "You were helping me just now. Even if you make any mistakes in the future, I won't take it seriously. Don't worry."

After receiving Fran's answer, Mary lowered her gaze again and calmed down again. Although she knew that such words had no meaning - Fran's answer, she just didn't know what kind of mistakes she would make - she still received a little comfort, which reduced the guilt in her heart a little.

Of course, even if she doesn't get such an answer, she will never change her mind after she has made the decision.
To be continued...