CHAPTER 10
“My wife did nothing except greet the Countess, did she not?”
Sylvester said with an irritated expression.
Kallian narrowed his eyes.
“So, are you saying that Ophelia has done nothing wrong?”
“Yes.”
Sylvester answered firmly.
Good heavens, who would have thought?
I had never expected Sylvester to take such a stance, so I felt strangely reassured.
I looked at Sylvester with a gaze that clearly said, Well done.
But then—
“If my wife has one fault, it is simply that she looks frightening.”
“……”
Was that supposed to be defending me or insulting me?
It felt like he was hitting me with the shield he was using to protect me.
I stared at Sylvester incredulously. He merely shrugged.
“Anyway, I don’t think my wife has done anything wrong. I don’t understand why Your Highness is so angry.”
Kallian shot Sylvester a sharp glare.
“Have you said everything you wanted to say?”
“Not yet.”
Sylvester quickly continued.
“Even if my wife really had done something wrong, it is improper for Your Highness to summon both of us here just to vent your anger. At the very least, you should have left me out of it.”
“Why should they leave you out?”
I asked out of genuine curiosity. Sylvester answered casually.
“Because I’m busy. You’re free.”
“Are you defending me right now, or are you taking His Highness’s side?”
“The former. I’m defending you plenty.”
“It really doesn’t feel like it.”
I grumbled, but I didn’t add anything else.
Kallian’s gaze was far too murderous.
He looked like he could kill someone with his eyes alone. I quietly folded my hands together.
“I clearly ordered Ophelia not to speak to Fleur again!”
But I hadn’t been the one to speak to her!
Fleur was the one who greeted me first, so why was I being treated like this?
I was truly frustrated.
“And yet you disobeyed my order. I believe disobeying the Crown Prince’s command is more than enough reason for punishment.”
Sylvester ignored Kallian’s sneering expression and looked down at me.
What?
Why are you looking at me like that?
I never expected things to turn out like this.
I looked at Sylvester with an aggrieved expression. His brows drew together.
“Where in the world does one issue an order forbidding people from greeting each other?”
“Think about everything your wife has done to Fleur!”
“I’m not sure what you mean. She has never been convicted of anything, has she?”
That was true.
Even in the original story, Ophelia had never been punished even once. It had all been thanks to the power of the Rizen Duchy.
Kallian seemed well aware of this fact, because his face twisted with frustration.
“So that’s how you’re going to play it, Duke.”
“I’ve always played it this way.”
Sylvester replied leisurely.
“Duke.”
Kallian clenched both fists and ground his teeth.
“Do you not think you are overstepping your bounds?”
“I’m not sure.”
Sylvester answered with a faint smile, as though he had been waiting for those exact words.
“If speaking about my wife is considered overstepping my bounds—”
His eyebrows rose slightly.
“Then is Your Highness not also overstepping your bounds by getting angry merely to appease the feelings of a countess who already has a husband?”
“Sylvester Rizen!”
Kallian shouted and immediately glanced at Fleur.
As expected.
Fleur was shedding even larger tears as she covered her mouth.
“How could you say something like that!”
“Fleur!”
And with that, she ran out of the room.
She was the very picture of a tragic heroine.
The reason she was acting this way was simple.
Everything Sylvester had said was true.
Fleur had not yet divorced her husband.
They were merely separated.
That was why she could frequently meet Kallian, and why the Crown Prince could continue summoning her.
But regardless of the circumstances, she was still a married woman. As a result, she could not completely avoid public criticism.
Just like now.
“Damn it.”
Kallian bit his lip and ran a hand through his hair.
“I won’t let this go this time.”
He glared at both Sylvester and me as he spoke.
Excuse me, I only apologized…….
But Kallian had absolutely no intention of acknowledging my grievance.
He simply ran after Fleur.
Leaving me and the strangely angry Sylvester behind in the drawing room.
“Fleur!”
Kallian caught Fleur by the wrist as she ran away.
“I won’t let this go!”
He was serious.
He was that angry.
Kallian had been in a terrible mood since this morning.
Ophelia Rizen had delivered a strange letter to him.
His mother’s name, “Margaret,” was written on the letter.
The signature was also identical to the one he had seen in his mother’s diary in the past. It did not seem to be forged.
It was the first letter from his mother he had ever received.
He had been deeply moved by it, but precisely because of that, he had become even more displeased.
Because the person who had brought him the letter was Ophelia Rizen.
An evil woman.
A woman he couldn’t even stand to look at.
How could that woman possibly have his mother’s letter?
He was certain she must have extorted it from someone.
That was why Kallian had forbidden Ophelia from entering.
He thought it would be enough to find out how she had obtained the letter.
But even after reaching that conclusion, he was still in a foul mood.
And in the middle of all that, Fleur had come in crying.
She said that talking to Ophelia had drained her completely.
Kallian had become furious.
How dare she disobey my order?
That was why he had summoned the Rizen couple.
To give them a proper warning.
But what had happened?
He had been the one who got hit instead.
And Fleur had suffered the same fate.
The Crown Prince’s immense pride told him that he could not let things end like this.
“Really. I promise you. Even if I have to stake everything I have, I will put Duke Rizen in his place. All right?”
Fleur looked at Kallian with a face covered in tears—and yet she was still beautiful.
“Your Highness……”
She buried her face in Kallian’s arms.
“It’s all right if I have to hear things like that. But I hate the thought of people saying bad things about Your Highness because of me.”
Kallian frowned. With a sigh, he gently stroked Fleur’s back.
“How can you say that vile things said about you are all right? They are not all right. Not at all.”
“But……”
“How can you be so kind that it borders on foolishness?”
He trusted Fleur completely.
She was the woman who had saved him when he was dying.
The woman who had cared for him without asking for anything in return.
Who else could he trust and rely on as much as her?
Kallian was completely captivated by Fleur.
“I cannot associate with people who don’t understand a heart like yours. Yes. I shouldn’t keep them by my side.”
“No, you mustn’t.”
Fleur shook her head.
“Duke Rizen is the leader of the aristocratic faction. As long as he stands opposed to Your Highness, you cannot recklessly provoke him……”
“Fleur.”
“I don’t want to cause trouble for Your Highness……”
“Don’t say that.”
Kallian hugged Fleur tightly and tried to comfort her.
“Trouble? How could you ever be a burden to me?”
He pulled away from Fleur and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Don’t cry. When you cry, it breaks my heart.”
As Fleur sniffled again, Kallian soothed her and made a vow.
“I will make sure to teach him a lesson somehow. So stop crying. I’m sorry.”
Fleur lowered her head and took a deep breath.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Then she embraced Kallian again.
Kallian hugged her tightly.
And so, he did not see Fleur’s face.
He did not see what kind of expression she was making.
Ophelia and Sylvester.
The two of them were now alone in the drawing room.
Ophelia clicked her tongue.
“He certainly left after delivering quite the villainous line.”
She scratched her cheek as she spoke.
She looked remarkably unfazed.
Perhaps that was why Sylvester suddenly became angry.
“Why are you just standing there?”
“Huh?”
“If you really feel wronged, then either get angry or say that you’re upset. What’s the point of getting half-angry and then stopping halfway?”
“No, why are you getting angry at me……”
Ignoring Ophelia’s bewildered expression, Sylvester ruffled his hair and loosened his tie.
He felt strangely unpleasant.
Specifically, the fact that Kallian had gotten angry at Ophelia.
Normally, he should not have cared.
Whether she was insulted or not had nothing to do with him.
And yet, for some reason, it bothered him today.
Why?
After thinking about it carefully, Sylvester came to an answer.
“If anyone gets to insult you, it’s me.”
If anyone was going to criticize her, it should be him. The fact that someone else was doing it annoyed him.
Otherwise, there was no reason he should be this irritated.
“Don’t let other people insult you.”
Sylvester looked down at Ophelia.
Ophelia could not hide her bewildered expression.
“Then should I have gotten angry?”
She clicked her tongue and shot Sylvester a sidelong glare.
“You were the one who told me to seduce the Crown Prince. I was barely holding myself back from flipping the whole table because I was so angry.”
“……”
She had a point.
Sylvester firmly shut his mouth. His tightly pressed lips betrayed the thoughts swirling in his mind.
“Why did you get so angry? You made things even more awkward for me.”
Sylvester was momentarily speechless.
Exactly.
Why had he gotten so angry?
Again, there was only one answer.
“I need to make it look like I care about you so the Crown Prince will become more wary. I told you that.”
It was to make the Crown Prince pay more attention to Ophelia.
There was no other reason.
That was what Sylvester told himself as he spoke, but Ophelia did not seem convinced.
“But you seemed way too angry for that.”
“I have anger-management issues. You know that.”
“……”
At least say something that makes sense.
Ophelia stared at Sylvester with her mouth half-open.
But Sylvester’s expression did not change in the slightest.
He merely glared at the door through which Kallian had left.
“I wonder what he’ll do next.”
Sylvester murmured.
“Whatever he does, though, I won’t just sit back and do nothing.”
