Chapter 7
Derek, the butler, knocked on the door to Dimitri’s office.
Still intoxicated by the lingering scent Lewayne had left behind, Dimitri sprawled lazily across the sofa and stared at the ceiling.
“What is it?”
“Count Larcel’s aide says they’re leaving.”
“So obediently?”
“Miss Lewayne has already boarded the carriage. I asked whether she wished to say goodbye to you first, but she said your conversation had already ended, so I let them go.”
Dimitri straightened the head that had been resting against the back of the sofa. His shoulders began to shake.
Watching him laugh like a madman, Derek simply stood there with his usual polite, composed expression.
After laughing silently for quite some time, Dimitri finally let out a long sigh.
“That woman knows I’m desperate. She’s testing me.”
He recalled the way she’d looked at him—those unwavering eyes that seemed to say she knew everything. They had been full of conviction. She hadn’t looked like she was lying.
Derek asked,
“What shall we do?”
“What else is there to do?”
Remembering Lewayne’s confident expression, Dimitri unconsciously licked his lips.
Just thinking about her made that sweet, refreshing fragrance fill his senses again, making his mouth water.
Driven by an aching hunger, he slowly rose to his feet.
“I’m going to catch her.”
The carriage passed through the teleportation magic circle in the Duchy of Blois and arrived at Count Larcel’s estate before long.
It was dusk, with the last rays of sunset hanging beyond the mountains.
I hadn’t stormed home simply because I was angry.
While the Duke of Blois kept Count Larcel occupied, I intended to persuade Nigel, Lewayne’s lover.
Things have come this far. I can’t just abandon Linier now. I have to take responsibility.
If I simply left her alone, I didn’t think she’d be able to survive on her own.
I could have turned a blind eye, but then I’d only feel as though I’d used a timid girl and thrown her away.
Still, there was one thing that worried me.
If Count Larcel tries to drag me to the Emperor before the Duke of Blois makes his move, I’ll be in trouble.
As I climbed out of the carriage while thinking of how to stall for time, someone grabbed me roughly.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing, Lewayne?!”
It was Count Larcel.
His plump face was flushed bright red with rage.
The Countess, Lewayne’s birth mother, gasped and hurried to stop him.
“Please calm down, dear. She came back, didn’t she?”
But the Count’s anger hadn’t subsided.
He shoved me violently, sending me sprawling to the ground.
“Ah!”
“I’ve spoiled you rotten, and now you’ve become completely disrespectful, Lewayne. I thought you were a clever girl. Yet you pull something this stupid?”
“My dear! What if you leave a mark on her face? Are you trying to incur His Majesty’s wrath?”
…What?
She wasn’t worried because her daughter was being hit.
She was worried about the face that had captivated the Emperor.
I couldn’t believe it.
No wonder Lewayne turned out the way she did in this family.
People don’t simply become monsters who enjoy abusing the weak.
Environment shapes a person.
Watching Count Larcel strike his own daughter without hesitation suddenly reminded me of my father.
My father used to beat my mother whenever he pleased.
A deeply patriarchal man, he’d raise his hand the moment my mother did anything that displeased him.
After my mother became bedridden with illness, that habit naturally turned toward me.
One day, after another beating, I’d run away to my grandmother’s house.
My father found me soon enough.
The reason he’d come all the way to that distant countryside was simple.
There was no one left to cook meals for the older brother he adored.
…What had I done after hearing that?
The memory flashed through my mind as I pushed myself to my feet.
I’d never once accepted violence against me without resisting.
“Don’t give in, Eunsoo. Fight back. Don’t live like your mother.”
My mother’s tearful voice echoed through my head.
Heat rushed into my skull.
I walked straight up to Count Larcel until our foreheads were almost touching.
He frowned.
“What is it, Lewayne? Are you planning to rebel?”
“Yes. Why shouldn’t I?”
“What?”
“So the Emperor favors you a little, and now you’ve become so arrogant you can’t see what’s in front of you!”
I couldn’t help laughing.
“You’re talking about yourself, Father. His Majesty favors you, so you think you can beat me without consequence. Have you forgotten who’s responsible for His Majesty keeping you by his side in the first place?”
“What did you say? You dare speak to your father like that?!”
The Count raised his hand high.
I didn’t even blink.
Trying to intimidate Lewayne through authority was foolish.
Even if I were the real Lewayne, swollen with newfound arrogance, she would never have tolerated this treatment.
To outsiders, our confrontation would simply look like a family divided by pride and authority.
Deliberately imitating Lewayne’s arrogance, I provoked Count Larcel even further.
“Go ahead. Hit me.”
“But if I become the Emperor’s mistress as you wish, you’re the first person I’ll deal with.”
“What?”
The Count trembled with rage.
The next instant, my vision went black as my body staggered sideways.
Only after regaining my balance did I realize my cheek was throbbing.
“You dare hold a grudge against your own father? After everything I’ve done to put you in His Majesty’s favor?”
I slowly lifted my head and glared at him without yielding.
“You’ll regret laying a hand on me.”
“You little—!”
His hand rose again.
I closed my eyes without resisting.
But nothing happened.
The Countess clung desperately to his arm, stopping him.
“Please, dear! If His Majesty hears about this, it’ll be a disaster!”
The words His Majesty seemed to be the only thing capable of restraining Count Larcel.
Breathing heavily, he lowered his arm.
“Get to your room. Right now!”
I stared at him for a moment.
Then I suddenly raised my own hand.
Smack!
A loud slap echoed through the entrance hall.
Everyone present stared in shock.
“W-What are you doing…?!”
Ignoring them, I slapped myself again.
And then a third time.
Only when the knights rushed forward and restrained me—at the Count’s horrified command—did I finally stop.
“What on earth is wrong with you, Lewayne?! Have you completely lost your mind?!”
The stunned expression on Count Larcel’s face was almost funny.
Just moments ago he’d been hitting me himself.
Now he was panicking over the injuries on my face.
Watching him fret over the bruises made me want to laugh.
It was as if he were mourning the scratches on an expensive product that was supposed to fetch a high price.
To this man, his daughters truly were nothing more than merchandise.
“If His Majesty finds out…”
After examining my swollen face, the Count began trembling.
I snorted.
“He’ll either think I’m insane and throw me away… or think I’m a tiresome woman and throw me away.”
“If you don’t want that to happen, you’d better make sure everyone here keeps their mouths shut.”
I paused before flashing him a broad grin.
“Although… won’t His Majesty first assume my father beat me until I looked like this?”
“What? You did this to yourself because you’ve gone mad!”
“Who knows? His Majesty believes whatever I tell him.”
“And all I remember… is that my father beat me.”
The Count’s jaw dropped.
He slowly shook his head.
“You’re insane. Completely insane.”
“That’s right.”
“I am.”
“So if you ever lay another hand on me…”
“I won’t let it slide.”
I brushed away the frozen knights restraining me, straightened my clothes, and looked calmly at Count Larcel.
“I’ll decide tomorrow morning whether I feel generous enough to spare you.”
“So I suggest you conduct yourself carefully.”
Then I turned and walked proudly toward my room.
From my own experience…
When your family looks down on their daughter, sometimes you have to act like a complete lunatic.
Only then do they realize their daughter is an individual with thoughts and a will of her own.
Of course, realizing that and actually respecting those thoughts are two entirely different things.
Good.
Now they won’t dare take me to the Emperor until my face heals.
That had been the real reason I’d slapped myself while pretending to lose my mind.
I’d bought myself some time.
Now all I needed was for the Duke of Blois to arrive quickly.
The next morning, I woke up rubbing my sore cheeks.
When I looked in the mirror, both sides of my face were badly swollen.
It’s swollen more than I expected.
Exactly what I’d wanted.
The worse I looked, the more desperately Count Larcel would try to keep me hidden from the Emperor until I recovered.
The moment I got up, I quietly slipped outside to look for Nigel.
He was at the training grounds with the other knights, though he looked absent-minded.
I silently waited until he noticed me.
When his listless gaze finally met mine, I discreetly beckoned him over.
“You wished to see me, Miss?”
Even giving him every benefit of the doubt, Nigel wasn’t a particularly handsome man.
But his eyes were filled with longing for the woman he loved.
I studied his face carefully, wondering whether he was truly someone I could entrust Linier to.
In the end, I gave up trying to judge him by appearances.
If a person’s character could be read from their face alone, there would never have been a saying like, “You can measure ten fathoms of water, but not one fathom of a person’s heart.”
Linier must have had her reasons for choosing him.
“Do you love Linier?”
“…!”
Nigel’s slightly sharp-looking eyes widened.
Unable to grasp what I was getting at, he hesitated for a moment before suddenly grabbing onto me with desperate urgency.
“I heard she went to the Duke of Blois.”
“How is she now?”
