“Ugh……!”
Logan turned his head.
Deep, pitch-black eyes—so dark they were unsettling.
It was the Grand Duke of Winterheim.
Logan’s hand trembled violently.
It felt as though he were being held by a bear rather than a human.
The pain was so intense that his fingers gradually loosened, turning white from the force of his struggle.
Smack!
Unable to endure it any longer, Logan jerked his hand away in irritation. Lumiere, who had been holding onto him, staggered backward.
“Ah!”
Axid instinctively caught her by the shoulder from behind.
“Are you all right?”
“…I’m a little dizzy.”
Still feeling light-headed from the sudden impact, she naturally leaned her head against his chest.
“……”
Axid was momentarily startled by how readily she leaned against him.
Then, as if to protect her, he wrapped one arm around her.
“You seem to have a habit of using your hands carelessly.”
Logan’s brow furrowed deeply.
He had caught the contempt in those ominous black eyes.
As if being overpowered by some barbarian wasn’t humiliating enough, he now had to endure such an insult as well.
His pride wounded, he spoke through clenched teeth.
“Her Highness the Princess threatened my fiancée first.”
Axid’s cold gaze shifted toward Clora.
He was a man who had cut down hundreds, even thousands, of monsters on the battlefield.
His broad, solid physique could not be concealed even beneath his perfectly tailored formal attire.
His sharp gaze seemed capable of seeing straight through a person.
He had not even explicitly threatened Logan, yet his stare felt heavy enough to crush the air from his lungs.
“Th-that, I mean… it was all just a misunderstanding……”
Clora stammered in confusion, but Roselin quickly stepped forward.
“That’s right! Her Highness not only threatened the Duke of Trobitan’s fiancée, she also slapped me in front of everyone!”
She had to speak up before Clora could tell the truth.
If she did not seize this opportunity while the Duke of Trobitan was here, she might never get another chance to make the Princess apologize.
A quick glance.
Roselin looked at the mysterious man.
Judging by his ordinary appearance, he was probably a guard assigned to the Princess by the Grand Duke. But if the Duke of Trobitan stepped in, surely that man would not be able to do anything to her.
A mere envoy from the Grand Duchy would never truly risk a conflict with a duke for the sake of a Princess who had been married off to them.
But then—
“What exactly is the problem?”
“Pardon……?”
“If the Princess wishes it, there would be no problem even if she struck your neck instead of your cheek.”
“W-what……”
Roselin, who had been so confident just moments ago, faltered.
His tone was firm, as though he were simply stating an obvious fact.
Standing before him, Roselin felt as though she had become a fragile insect that might be crushed beneath a foot at any moment.
Just then, several enormous men entered with grim expressions.
They were knights of the Grand Duchy.
“Your Highness, what is going on?”
Perhaps sensing the unusual atmosphere, their eyes were sharp and alert.
“…Just a moment, Grand Duke.”
The Princess, whose arm had been wrapped around the man, straightened herself and stepped forward.
Grand Duke?
He was the Grand Duke?
Roselin’s eyes widened in shock.
“Lady Veleno.”
“Eek……”
“Now that you understand the situation, apologize properly. If you do so, I will overlook the disrespect you showed me here.”
Roselin looked desperately toward Logan, but he showed no intention of stepping forward.
That meant the man’s identity was genuine.
But even so, if some barbarian dared threaten an Imperial citizen, shouldn’t he, as a duke, intervene?
Especially when she was Clora’s close friend?
Roselin called out in a trembling voice, as though begging Clora to do something.
“C-Clora……”
But Clora merely looked away, seeming just as troubled.
“Sniff……”
She was being told to apologize to some lowly Princess whom she had treated like a plaything whenever she was bored.
Humiliation, shame, and a sense of betrayal toward Clora made Roselin’s face burn as her entire body trembled.
But the cold gazes of the knights were not something an ordinary noblewoman could withstand.
Roselin’s trembling body slowly crumpled to the ground.
“I-I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Your Highness. P-please forgive me……”
Lumiere watched her impassively.
Roselin would no longer be able to participate in high society.
The story would spread far and wide.
It was simply the consequence of her own actions.
Lumiere turned her gaze away from Roselin, who was sobbing on the floor.
“I’m sorry for causing an unintended commotion. Please accept this as compensation for the trouble.”
“Oh, no, Your Highness!”
Despite the shopkeeper’s repeated refusals, Lumiere forced a gold coin into her hand.
“Let’s go, Grand Duke.”
She could feel Logan and Clora watching her with unreadable expressions from behind, but she had no desire to exchange farewells with either of them.
“Haa……”
Only after she climbed into the carriage did the fatigue finally catch up with her.
She let out a languid sigh and closed her eyes. Then she heard Axid’s voice.
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“Mm… No……”
She slowly lifted her heavy eyelids.
“If the Princess wishes it, there would be no problem even if she struck your neck instead of your cheek.”
She had never realized how reassuring it could feel to have someone take her side.
“…Thank you, Grand Duke. For standing up for me.”
“I merely did what was necessary.”
Lumiere smiled faintly as she looked at his expressionless face.
The fact that he did not even seem to expect praise for it filled her chest with a gentle warmth.
She wanted to properly thank him, but right now she had no strength left, as though a heavy weight had been tied to her body.
“…Grand Duke, I’m sorry, but I’m tired. I’m just going to close my eyes for a little while.”
She whispered softly, rested her head against the carriage wall, and gently closed her eyes.
Rattle, rattle.
After some time, the carriage began moving slowly along the road in the quiet silence.
Clora called out to Logan.
“Duke, how can you just leave like this?”
Logan abruptly stopped walking.
He took a moment to steady himself and calm his anger.
“…I can’t stay in such a chaotic place.”
“But we can’t just leave Lady Roselin there like that.”
“Why should I take care of that woman?”
“What……?”
It was only after the Princess had left that Logan learned the full story from the guests who had been there.
He learned that Roselin had been the one to approach the Princess first and provoke the confrontation.
Some even said that Roselin was lucky she had gotten away with nothing more than a slap.
Hearing testimony about just how rude she had been made Logan’s blood boil.
If that woman had not needlessly picked a fight, he would never have been humiliated by that barbarian.
Suddenly, he felt a lingering ache in his wrist and had the urge to grab the Viscount’s daughter by the throat.
“Your friend didn’t just provoke the Princess first. She also humiliated Her Highness in front of the Grand Duke.”
“But Her Highness said she would let it go.”
Her carefree response made the anger he had barely managed to suppress flare up again.
“That could have caused a diplomatic dispute. Just because the Princess forgave her doesn’t mean what she did was acceptable.”
“Her Highness was simply angry because of what I did to her in the past. She only acted that way because of me……”
For a long time, after being subjected to the Princess’s behavior, Logan had found Clora’s broad-mindedness and easygoing nature attractive.
Her beautiful appearance, excellent family background, and good reputation.
She was a woman who seemed perfect in every way to have by his side.
But if the Princess had not let the matter go, he would have been forced to make a humiliating apology as well.
Did Clora have no concern or remorse about that?
Suppressing a rising sigh, he muttered,
“If she really had been doing it for your sake, she wouldn’t have deliberately caused a commotion.”
“……”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can spend time with you in this state of mind.”
Clora looked disappointed, but she readily agreed.
“…Yes. I understand.”
“…I’ll take you back to the estate.”
Logan took Clora’s hand and began walking, memories of the past resurfacing in his mind.
“Duke, please… accept me. You know it too, don’t you? That you’re the only one I have.”
The Princess of the past had desperately clung to him with a gaunt face and a painfully frail body.
He had only pitied her because her condition had been so pitiful that it was difficult to look at.
He had later regretted that act of kindness, wishing he had never shown her even that much pity if he had known she would mistake it for love and pursue him for three years.
The Princess who had boldly spoken her mind even before the Emperor to protect the Grand Duke’s dignity.
And Clora, who could not even properly speak up for him when he was in trouble.
The two women could not help but be compared.
“……”
Logan clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached as he remembered the Princess naturally leaning against the Grand Duke.
Could she really have thought I would become jealous after seeing that?
He turned his head and looked at Clora.
Beneath her long, delicate eyelashes, her beautiful lake-blue eyes were clouded with concern.
To think he had compared Clora to a woman who behaved so frivolously over something so trivial.
Even if it had only been for a fleeting moment, he could not deny that it had left him irritated.
Trying to clear his mind, he tightened his grip around Clora’s soft hand.
But for some reason, the image of the Princess lingering in his mind refused to disappear.
