"You want me to target who??"
Droplets of hibiscus tea dribbled from my bottom lip as I nearly choked on the steaming liquid.
"Count Auden Graye," the lady sitting across from me repeated, casually offering a napkin.
My Monday morning appointment was proving to be rather lively, contradictory to the mundane image I'd envisioned for the week following the exhilarating Baron Lister job.
From the large open window, bird chirps and the smell of blossoming trees blew into the wallpapered room. Dainty tea cups, delectable cookies, and freshly cut flowers adorned the table between where I and an aged noble woman sat.
From an outsider's perspective, it looked like a lighthearted tea time between two ladies.
But there was nothing lighthearted about the conversations that typically took place in this room. And now, after all the heart wrenching stories I'd heard from across my tea table, I was listening to a request that made my stomach jump instead.
Count Auden Graye.
He was, arguably, the nation's most famous bachelor. With killer good looks, a massive pile of money, and the title of Count to his name, he was a constant temptation to ladies both young and old.
It certainly wasn't the first time I'd received a request to scandalize the popular man. In fact, it may have been closer to the fiftieth time or so.
Usually, I'd turn the lady away immediately, but this time…
"Madam, are you sure you want me to target your own son?" I questioned, dabbing the corners of my mouth with the napkin she'd given me.
"It sounds ridiculous, I know," the woman smiled bitterly. "Why would a mother ever wish harm upon her own child?"
It was the first time I'd ever been met with such a case. Not to say I didn't believe a mother could have a legitimate reason to want to cause her son's downfall—in fact, I could think of hundreds of plausible reasons.
But in the case of nobles such as the Graye Household, where a widowed mother remained in the care of her title-inheriting son, such a request was no different from cutting her only lifeline.
So why did this woman want to do exactly that, then?
"That child.." Madam Graye suddenly grew very serious, "he isn't mine."
"Ah! It's not that I don't think of him as my own," the lady's eyebrows shot up as she corrected herself. "It's just that, from a young age, he's known that he is an illegitimate child."
"A-an illegitimate child?!" If there had been any tea left in my mouth, I would have spit it again in shock.
"Yes, it's true." Madam Graye nodded. "Fortunately around that time, however, a doctor confirmed that I would never have children of my own, so we played the entire thing off as a regular adoption."
Right. In all my digging around Count Graye's past, I'd discovered that he was an adopted child. The entire process had been taken care of so discreetly, however, that I couldn't find a single loose end to pull out.
But to think Madam Graye had just handed me the vulnerability I was looking for.
"Auden, I think he holds deep resentment for his father and I," the lady went on. "Since I'm all alone to bear his wrath now-"
Her voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes.
"It's just too much! Please help me, Miss Scandal Maker!"
Now, I may be one of the best punishment-dealers in the kingdom, but I'm not one to give people anything they don't deserve.
After witnessing countless noble ladies sobbing in my office, their hearts shattered by Count Auden Graye, I believed, more than anyone, that the haughty man ought to be taken down a few pegs.
But, despite all the complaints against him, I'd never once thought he deserved to have his life ruined.
Lack of legitimate grievances aside (most women only complained of how curtly they had been rejected), Count Graye was basically infallible. I already mentioned the difficulty I had tracing the single promising lead on the man, and everything else on his record was squeaky clean.
Out of all the trash men in the world, he seemed to be genuinely mediocre. And that simply wasn't the kind of man I targeted in this business.
But now, here sat this woman with tears in her eyes, claiming the untouchable Auden Graye had committed severe wrongdoings against her. And not only that, but she wanted vicious revenge.
"Ahem." I cleared my throat to draw the weeping woman's attention.
"I'm going to need some proof of identification and concrete evidence of misdeeds before I can proceed," I explained, switching back to business mode. "It's all part of the standard onboarding process, so I'm sure you understand."
"Of course!" the lady smiled knowingly as she reached for her purse.
Phew, I thought to myself. That should buy me a week or so to get a better grasp of the situation.
"Right here!" Madam Graye's cheery voice crushed my hopes as she laid a small stack of papers on the table between us.
"Oh.. how thorough," I remarked, groaning internally.
As I dragged the papers toward me, I forced my business smile once again.
"Well, thank you for visiting today. I'll just have my assistant inspect these for authenticity, and then we can g-"
"Oh, if you mean the handsome secretary outside, I already asked him to verify them while I was waiting for you!" Madam Graye beamed.
"Wait, what handsome secretary? ..oh, nevermind," I sighed.
Of course, she must have been talking about Wolf. Just when had he shown up, anyway?
With the left side of my 'smile' twitching, I attempted to wrap the meeting up a second time.
"Well, I'll be sure to look these over and then get back to y-"
"I have plenty of time since I booked two appointment slots, so I can wait," Madam Graye interrupted again.
"Right… Great."
Note to self: make a new rule that nobody can book two appointments on the same da-no, within five days of each other.
I spent the next twenty or so minutes glancing over the paperwork. Normally, I spend much longer reviewing evidence, but with Wolf's eccentric 'stamp of approval' already scribbled across most of the pages and Madam Graye's unwavering gaze, what can I say? My reading speed increased dramatically.
To be fair, I was still uneasy about taking the job. I wanted to shoo her away like every other Count Graye antifan and move on with my day. But based on the information in front of me, I had no reason to refuse.
I suddenly noticed a log that included documented incidents of the man's physical torture toward his mother.
No.. I couldn't refuse.
"Haaa." Setting the papers neatly back onto the table, I stood and extended my hand.
"Well, Madam Graye, I suppose I look forward to working with you."