Ale leaned back on his chair and relaxed his body.
'What does he want?'
He thought to himself as he did so. That was Ale's negotiation habit.
Whenever he found himself in a situation where he might need to negotiate or make a deal, he'd relax his body and try to gain the upper hand in the mental battle.
Of course, most of the time he just did it subconsciously. After surviving in a war filled zone for more than a decade, many of these habits formed and just got ingrained in his soul and mind.
"I heard from my wife... that you knew about.."
The Marquis hesitated and couldn't seem to finish his own sentence. The subtle change in Ale's demeanor was already making him fluster, unconsciously.
"Yes. I happen to come by that information while I was doing some digging."
Ale answered sweetly. He didn't want to look hostile.
"Digging? Were you looking into our family?"