Chapter 78
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. And you are being very rude. Just because you’re a Duke, does that mean you can look down on others like this?”
Rebecca looked at Alicia with surprised eyes. A faint smile appeared on the lips hidden behind Alicia’s mask.
Julian let out a disbelieving laugh. “Ha. Well, let’s figure out who exactly is being rude here.”
Zeppelin, who had finally grasped the situation, put on a deliberately fierce expression and said, “Duke Johannes. If you intend to continue insulting my wife, I may have to ask you to leave.”
Julian looked down at Zeppelin without even blinking. A flash of anger briefly clouded Julian’s eyes.
“I heard you lost your memory, but you’ve become quite the devoted husband, haven’t you? You seem very different from the man I knew. You should have been like this from the start.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“What exactly does the Count know? Then again, if someone is deliberately deceiving you by taking advantage of your memory loss, I suppose there’s little you can do about it.”
Julian looked meaningfully at Alicia. Alicia’s pupils shook violently.
Zeppelin also followed Julian’s gaze and stared at Alicia.
Alicia stammered as she spoke. “Y-You must be joking. Count, how could it be a lie? You know very well what humiliations I’ve suffered at the hands of that wicked woman all this time.”
“Wicked?”
Julian spat out a scornful laugh.
Rebecca’s face, which had been smiling faintly at Alicia, instantly turned cold. Even without hearing the details, she could guess what kind of shoddy story had been used to deceive Zeppelin.
Rebecca’s grip on Julian’s hand tightened.
Julian gritted his teeth. “This is absurd.”
Julian lowered his gaze for a moment and muttered quietly. A fierce light briefly flashed in his eyes.
But Zeppelin, no less intense, glared up at him with wide eyes. “Say that again. I’ll have you thrown out of here right now.”
Julian looked down at him with a sharp glare. “Isn’t it absurd? All this time, you treated your first wife like a saint, and now you call her a wicked woman? Viscount Devonshire, it seems your principles are rather lightweight.”
A saint?
Zeppelin fell silent for a moment. It was his turn to dismiss Julian’s words as nonsense, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come easily. Another headache washed over him.
‘The Viscountess is a vessel of God more outstanding than anyone.’
An inexplicable memory surfaced. Zeppelin frowned as his head throbbed.
Julian sneered, “How about it? Remembering anything now?”
Alicia hurriedly looked up at Octavio, who was watching the entire scene from the upper floor. She signaled with her lips for him to help, quickly.
Octavio made an annoyed face but then clapped his hands a couple of times. Immediately, the waiting musicians began to play the prelude. The lively melody eased the tension that had filled the banquet hall.
Seizing the moment, Alicia raised her wine glass and announced loudly, “Let the banquet begin!”
Two servants hurriedly supported the unsteady Zeppelin.
Alicia turned to Julian and said, “The Count has not yet fully recovered his health. Please excuse us.”
As Zeppelin turned away, Julian tried to add a few more words, but Karim stepped in front of him.
“Julian. What in the world is all this? Explain,” Karim said, arms crossed, glaring at Julian. He seemed resentful that Julian hadn’t given him any prior notice.
Karim had taken a liking to the unfiltered Julian. Accustomed to the rough life of the north, Karim always felt queasy whenever he came to the capital. He hated the terrible smell of cosmetics and struggled to adapt to the nobles’ manner of speaking, hiding their true intentions behind convoluted words. He was particularly disgusted by parents trying to pawn off their daughters, who looked like they might freeze even in the northern spring breeze, onto him.
Though he had to come to the capital due to the Emperor’s invitation, the social season was utterly dreadful to him because of the people who swarmed around him like flies. As usual, he was boredly drinking when he heard Julian’s voice.
‘I believe I told you not to speak to me. The sight of your face makes me nauseous. I’m in a bad mood today, so please, everyone, get lost.’
Julian spat out harsh, menacing words. He was a man with a memorable, dark shadow in his eyes. His tone was dripping with boredom. Julian brushed off whatever the much older Viscount Devonshire was prattling on about as if it were a dog barking, then stretched out on his chair with a yawn, looking like the apex predator of the food chain.
Karim’s eyes lit up at his attitude, which feared no one. He was undoubtedly the same type as himself. A person bored to death by the world’s monotony and lack of excitement.
In the past, wars were frequent in the north, but after Zahidras became Emperor, the Empire noticeably stabilized. By the time Karim inherited the title of Duke of Latranis, there was little for him to handle aside from the occasional bandits and ruffians crossing the border. With the development of alchemy, monsters were destroyed before they even reached the border.
As endlessly boring days stretched on, Karim even contemplated destroying the barrier stones at the border. Picking fights with neighboring territories was his only pastime in his monotonous life, and Julian brought a wave of change.
Unlike people who were always happy to see him, Julian would push him away with a single word: “Get lost.” This aspect stimulated Karim’s competitive spirit. Julian always cursed at or threw punches at Karim, who persistently tried to get close. But it seemed he didn’t dislike Karim, as he allowed him to stay by his side.
As time passed, they reached a point where they could call each other friends. On very rare occasions, Julian would confide in Karim. Karim felt a secret pride in being someone Julian opened up to.
‘Your Grace, have you heard the news that Duke Johannes is the playboy of the century?’
‘Ha? What? That kid? You don’t know anything about Julian.’
He had even laughed himself silly when rumors spread that the blockhead was the Empire’s greatest playboy. It might be believable if he were the subject, but Julian was hardly the figure for such tales. When he pressed Julian about it, he found out that Julian had started the rumor himself to avoid marriage proposals—a fact only known to his confidant Croa and Julian himself. Karim smiled a victorious smile. As expected. There was no way he wouldn’t know everything about Julian.
So who was this woman before him now? He had only found out about Julian having a lover after arriving in the capital, and now the words coming from Julian’s mouth were news infuriating enough to make Karim angry.
“Ah. She is my fiancée.”
For a moment, Karim felt as if he had been hit on the head. But he immediately started thinking. Surely, he’s just pulling another trick to avoid pressure from the Temple. Karim concluded that the woman of unknown origin was a fake fiancée.
“Fiancée? I can’t even believe you have a woman, let alone that you held an engagement ceremony without inviting me.”
“My apologies for that. There were circumstances, so we held a modest ceremony just between us. I’ll definitely invite you to the wedding, so why don’t you relax a bit? Your fierce expression is scaring my fiancée.”
‘Look at this guy.’
Karim let out a hollow laugh. Julian occasionally played these pranks on him. He thought today was no different.
Karim whispered to Julian, “Are you lying to even me now? Hey, Julian. You can’t fool my eyes. Tell me. What’s the scheme this time? I’ll gladly help…”
“No, Karim. You’ve got the wrong end of the stick this time. We’re truly in love.”
Julian smiled brightly and took his fiancée’s hand.
Karim knew that when Julian lied, his left cheek twitched. It had to be a lie. There was no way that Julian Johannes could fall in love.
With a suspicious gaze, Karim stared intently at the area around Julian’s cheek. But as he watched Julian’s expression, Karim’s face gradually hardened. The cheek of Julian, who was looking at the woman, did not twitch. On the contrary, Julian’s cheekbones, soaring sky-high, were even tinged with a faint pink. Even if he did three backflips and looked again, it was clear that affection dwelled in Julian’s eyes.
‘Impossible.’
That Julian—the Julian who despised everyone in the world—was making the foolish expression of someone head over heels in love.
With a face still full of shock, Karim turned his gaze towards Julian’s fiancée. Feeling Karim’s gaze, the woman stared back at him. Arrogant eyes pierced through him. Unwavering blue eyes scanned his deeply furrowed brow.
Karim flinched in surprise. He sensed an unusual aura from her. Having roamed various battlefields since childhood, Karim often detected specific auras people emitted. It was a kind of instinctual sense. He could immediately sense if someone was timid,卑鄙 (vile), or likely to betray one day.
Karim narrowed his eyes. From the woman holding Julian’s hand, he felt an aura akin to an old master who had mastered the ways of the world. ‘How on earth…’
Her appearance was no different from any other fragile woman. Objectively speaking, she had a delicate figure that could evoke a protective instinct. But looking into her eyes sent a shiver down his spine, like meeting a worthy opponent in the midst of a brutal battlefield. The faint floral scent from her body felt like the smell of blood. Even while thinking his senses had dulled from lack of recent sword practice, Karim couldn’t relax his guard.
Karim watched as Julian showered kisses on the back of his fiancée’s hand. For some reason, it seemed that if Julian stayed by that woman’s side, he would be in grave danger.
Karim’s fist clenched tightly.
Rebecca, meeting his searching red eyes, lowered her gaze to look at his trembling fist.
According to Julian, Duke Latranis was the most likely man to become their ally. Though she didn’t care for his disapproving scrutiny, there was no need to deliberately make an enemy of him.
