ITAYA 35

~Chapter 35~

“Creating problems, are we…!”

“Buying up bonds scattered across the financial world is nothing at all.”

At that moment, Anais’s eyes flashed, catching the sunlight. They were sharp, like the eyes of a beast awakening from a long sleep.

Her gaze swept slowly across the noble ladies.
They were women who could not live without money. Their faces flushed red.
They had understood perfectly what Anais meant.

If she started the process of collecting investments based on the bonds she had bought from the bank, then those businesses—barely just beginning—would collapse before they could even spread their wings.

“If something is worth investing in, I won’t hesitate. If you ever need it, you may come to me anytime.”

Anais straightened her back even more. The only sound was the noble ladies swallowing nervously.

“Then, please continue to enjoy the banquet.”

Anais slowly turned her body. She knew most of the people gathered here were already talking about her.
They would spread their guesses like wild rumors, speaking as if they were truths.

“Don’t get hurt.”

Her lips trembled faintly.

“The more you let yourself be wounded, the more they will run wild. So never show them weakness.”

The warmth Baldwin had left on her skin that morning—when he had devoured her like a piece of candy he had been saving—was still there.

That was her comfort.

With it, Anais’s steps grew stronger.

Baldwin walked toward the friends who were waving him over.
He wanted to ignore them, but that would defeat the purpose of hosting this banquet.

He accepted a glass with a bored expression.
The passion that had lasted until this morning left him in a languid mood.
The only thing in this marriage that truly satisfied him was what Anais gave him.

“Just one more day, and it’ll be over.”

Then he would finally be free from this tiresome affair.

Baldwin calculated everything with precise judgment.
By now, the news might have already reached his mother, who was wandering abroad.
All the newspapers were buzzing about his marriage with Anais.

She might already be on a train bound for the capital.
Baldwin had warned Anais enough about his mother.

[Do not get involved with her. You’ll eventually meet her, yes—it’s unavoidable. But avoid her as much as possible.]

‘What if I run into her anyway?’

[With her temperament, she might even force such a meeting. If that happens, come straight to me.]

‘…I’ll do my best.’

[Do your best?]

‘I know how to handle noble ladies. I wouldn’t be managing the bank otherwise.’

[Even so, come to me.]

Anais had nodded reluctantly.
But Baldwin knew: even in an unpleasant situation, Anais wouldn’t run to him.
She was a woman far too used to enduring.

The three years she had survived proved it.
Anais was patient—and skilled at hiding her pain.

“It would be better if Mother leaves again.”

She enjoyed luxury but had no sense of duty or care.
A woman like her belonged in the provinces, not the capital.

Thinking this, Baldwin searched for Anais.
He spotted her politely greeting noble ladies, handling them with ease, before she moved toward the lakeside.

‘Taking a break?’

But something in her gaze caught his attention.
A group of noblewomen lingered near her.

Baldwin frowned.
They were the type who spread bad rumors—idle mouths with nothing else to do.
He thought sharply that it was better to pull Anais away from them.

Just then—

“How was last night?”

“Haha, why ask something like that? With such a beauty, of course it was good!”

“Gwen’s right here, don’t talk like that.”

“It’s a compliment. Gwendolyn, you don’t like hearing it?”

The gentlemen chuckled among themselves, trading vulgar words.

Baldwin pressed his lips tightly together.
At times like this, he wished he truly couldn’t hear.

‘Filthy bastards.’

The so-called gentlemen here were no different from the gossiping women—people with too much wealth who had abandoned all courtesy.

“Come on, it’s just a compliment. Anais’s best weapon is her beauty, isn’t it? I admit it. She really is beautiful.”

“You’re bold to say that!”

Fools.

Baldwin’s cold stare silenced them.
Those who met his eyes stammered and shut their mouths.

Beside him, Gwendolyn placed her hand on his arm, her face thinner than before.

“That’s why you gave in, Baldwin, isn’t it? Only a woman that beautiful could stand by your side.”

Her voice wavered with heat, sharper than usual.
Baldwin brushed off her hand and fixed his violet eyes on her, cold as winter ice.

Gwendolyn forced a trembling smile, trying hard to compose herself.
Every day she had to gather strength just to stand tall in front of others.
But the moment she looked into Baldwin’s eyes, all her resolve crumbled.

“Why? Am I wrong? Ah, she does have the bank too.”

But to Baldwin, the most valuable thing Anais possessed was Anais herself.
She was nothing like these idle nobles—she was the only one who could think as he did.

“Is that all she is, then?”

Gwendolyn’s question was obsessive.

“That woman… is that why you married her?”

Unable to hold back, she burst out:

“She’s nothing! What’s so great about a divorcée? And the daughter of a baronet at that! Bloodlines matter. Did you even get the imperial family’s approval?”

Baldwin sighed and pulled a fountain pen from his pocket.

[This is your warning.]

His first words carried both coldness and anger.

[Do not look at her. Do not speak to her. She has no reason to be entangled with you.]

Gwendolyn froze. Baldwin’s jaw was tight with suppressed fury.

“Are you… angry? Why?”

You’re the one who betrayed me, she thought bitterly, her eyes filling with tears.
But she swallowed the words.
If she blamed him aloud, everything would truly end.
Baldwin never kept those who resented him close.

The gentlemen fidgeted awkwardly, shrinking behind Gwendolyn.
Her pale blue dress shimmered pitifully, her fashionable jewels losing all brilliance.

[Go back to your fun. But don’t drag the Duchess into it.]

The Duchess.

That word made Gwendolyn’s legs go weak.
It was a sharp rebuke, reminding her not to disparage Anais.

Baldwin was like a beast with bristling fur—protecting his wife fiercely.
And Gwendolyn realized—

That wretched woman had stolen what was hers.

Her heart pounded.

‘I must take it back… before it’s too late.’

‘What if that woman gets pregnant?’

The thought squeezed her chest tight.
The noble Constantine line might be tainted by filthy blood.
Her perfect ideals would collapse.

Her greed for what she could not have nearly suffocated her.

‘Hurry, Gwendolyn. Before it’s too late.’

One day Baldwin would realize who truly belonged at his side.

After silencing them with only a few words, Baldwin left.
The gentlemen cleared their throats, embarrassed, rolling their eyes away.

Baldwin walked across the lakeside toward Anais.
Everyone saw it: the same eyes that had just been cold now curved warmly like sunlight.

For the first time, they realized Baldwin was capable of smiling like that.

One of the men muttered awkwardly:

“He’s lost in her, isn’t he?”

Gwendolyn’s small, pointed chin stiffened.

She would destroy that witch who was ruining Baldwin and Constantine.

And at that moment—
a great storm arrived at the lakeside to give her strength.

Through the whispers of the crowd, a slender silhouette approached.

“It’s the Duchess Constantine!”

“She’s finally here? Surely she knew about the wedding?”

Gwendolyn’s lips curled in a sly smile.
Someone had arrived who could wield the knife on her behalf.

Baldwin and Anais also turned their eyes toward the Duchess Constantine.
She marched straight toward her son and his wife, without a word of greeting to anyone else.

Seeing Baldwin’s expression harden, Gwendolyn felt certain—

Bringing the Duchess was the right move.