Chapter 36
And now he dared to ask him to let Yulia go? Cayente couldn’t even laugh at the absurdity.
“You were the one who dragged Yulia into this.”
“I was only trying to protect Yulia… If you were determined to ruin my family completely, I thought at least she could survive by marrying into another family.”
“You weren’t trying to use her marriage for your own benefit until the end?”
“…No.”
“Yet you sent her to me?”
“Your grudge is with me, not with Yulia. I thought that even if you hated me, you would at least treat her with respect as your wife. But…”
“But?”
“She looks worse by the day. She denies it, but I know it’s because of you.”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t do this?”
Cayente laughed at Baron Ruper’s drawn-out excuses. He had sent his daughter to the man who came to avenge his father—and he thought she’d be happy?
“Looking back, I was deceived again.”
“Deceived? What would I gain from deceiving you?”
Cayente’s idea of revenge was to see Baron Ruper ruined—bankrupt, homeless, his dignity shredded. Once he succeeded, he had planned to forget the man’s existence entirely.
The collateral damage—the suffering of the rest of the family—was something Cayente considered inevitable. After all, his own family had suffered the same way. Even Yulia, who he had once cherished as much as or more than his own sisters, would have to share in that sorrow.
“So all of this was ultimately for Yulia’s sake?”
“Yes.”
“Your performance was so convincing I almost believed you.”
With his goal finally within reach, he couldn’t let Ruper use Yulia as a way to escape. Cayente hadn’t just allowed Yulia’s marriage to go ahead—he’d even paid off her debts and taken her as his wife, because he realized the thing that would hurt Ruper most… was Yulia’s unhappiness.
He knew now that the only reason this ordinary man might have dared to commit murder was his overwhelming love for his daughter—and Cayente intended to exploit that.
Looking beyond the title of “enemy’s daughter,” Yulia was, in truth, not a bad woman to marry. She was still pure, even more beautiful than he remembered, desirable to any man—and, at one point, someone who had completely captured his heart.
“I don’t know what performance you think I’m putting on. I’ve never deceived you.”
“That act of pretending Yulia is more precious than your own life—I can’t stand it. Stop.”
But come to think of it—yes. In the end, Baron Ruper had dragged the very daughter he claimed to want to protect into all of this.
He was that foolish? He really thought Cayente would treat Yulia specially? Even if it wasn’t him, did he expect another man marrying her for money to love her any more dearly?
Sure, Cayente had eventually come to love Yulia. But what about the pain she endured in the meantime? Wasn’t she the one who gave up her dream of becoming a cellist for this marriage?
“I’ve said it before—Yulia is more precious to me than my own life. From the beginning, I told you: as long as you didn’t touch my family—especially Yulia—I would give you my life without hesitation.”
“Even if I believed your noble resolve—which I don’t—what would I do with such a worthless life? Did you really think your life could make up for my father’s?”
“But Yulia is suffering! That kind girl dreams of a happy marriage with you, completely unaware of everything!”
Cayente sneered, looking into Baron Ruper’s desperate eyes.
“You really believed I would take my enemy’s daughter into my arms and love her?”
“But you two got along well. Even as children, Yulia liked you.”
“And who was it that murdered my father—whom we got along with?”
Ruper was speechless. Cayente continued with a slight smile.
“You made a promise, Baron. If you keep quiet and let Yulia stay with me, I’ll also keep my mouth shut. I’ve been restraining myself every day from telling her her father is a murderer because of that promise. If you suddenly change your mind, it’ll be troublesome.”
Truthfully, he didn’t need the excuses. Cayente already knew the biggest reason Ruper sent Yulia to him: he couldn’t bear to tell her the truth—that her father was a murderer.
“Please… let Yulia go. I can’t stand to see her suffer anymore.”
“And you think her learning her father’s a killer is less painful than living with me?”
Ruper feared the shock Yulia would receive. And yet he truly believed Cayente would treat her kindly. He had turned their past bond into deep resentment—and still expected Cayente to show Yulia warmth?
“Even if I accepted your offer, where would the money come from?”
“I’ve found a good investor. If I get the factory running again, I could pay you back in five years.”
Sure. He believed it. He loved to say it was all for Yulia. And if his love was sincere, that just made things easier.
“I have no intention of waiting five years… and even if I did, you’d never be able to repay me.”
How naïve I was—to think bankrupting your family was enough for revenge. My family and I have suffered ever since… likely for the rest of our lives.
“And Yulia will never leave my side.”
Let Ruper slowly waste away imagining what horrors his daughter was facing in the arms of the man sent to avenge a murder.
“Even if you tell her the truth, it won’t matter.”
That, Cayente believed, was the only fair outcome.
“Well, perhaps the rest of the family you worked so hard to protect… might not starve at least.”
That, too, was justice. For a man who had made him unable to trust anyone and turned what few happy memories he had into nightmares—only a lifetime of repayment would be enough.
“Miss, you’re awake? It’s a lovely day today.”
After a long, painful day filled with tears and injury, Yulia had finally managed to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. She woke feeling refreshed at Lucy’s cheerful morning greeting and didn’t lose her spirits even when she saw the bandage wrapped around her hand.
It’ll be fine. Everything will be okay.
It still hurt when she clenched her hand, so she wouldn’t be practicing the cello for a few days—but she wasn’t going to worry too much. Worrying wouldn’t make the wound heal any faster.
“Oh my! Really?”
“Yes, Madam. That’s the story going around the Duchy of Esacudia.”
“My goodness!”
After changing clothes with Lucy’s help and going downstairs, Yulia found her mother talking loudly with Emma in the lobby. Her mother gasped repeatedly, then came running over when she saw Yulia.
“Yulia! Did you know about this?”
“Know what?”
“There’s a rumor that Lord Bane’s death wasn’t an accident—it was murder!”
“What?”
So that was what they were gossiping about—Count Clue’s death. Yulia shook her head firmly. Henry, who knew the circumstances well, had said it was an accident.
“That’s not true. Who would say something so awful?”
“Cayente never talks about his family, so I asked Emma to find out… and this is what she heard! Everyone in the duchy knows!”
“It’s just a rumor.”
They even said she seduced Cayente and got pregnant. Yulia had heard far worse. She wasn’t shocked—or interested.
“Lucy, can you bring the newspaper?”
“Yes, Miss. Will you eat breakfast in the dining room?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Yulia brushed off the gossip and went to the dining room, but her mother followed close behind, still chattering.
“I’m telling you—it’s suspicious. The diamond necklace Lord Bane bought for his lover disappeared, and someone saw a man running off that day with a jewelry merchant in his arms!”
“Sounds like someone added some extra drama to the story.”
It was a dramatic tale—but Yulia knew firsthand how rumors gained details that made them seem real. If she weren’t the subject, she might have believed it too.
“If your brother doesn’t want to talk about it, why dig around? What if he finds out?”
“But we’re going to be in-laws! And we were once so close—how can I not be curious?”
After sitting at the dining table, her mother finally offered some useful information.
“Isabella and Ayla are studying art in Casad. Lady Maria hasn’t been well since that incident and has been in long-term care. Probably on Hilden Island—Clue family owns a resort there.”
It was unclear if that was true, but Yulia was curious how the rest of the Clue family was doing.
They wouldn’t even attend the wedding?
“Miss, you have a visitor.”
As she was thinking, Lucy brought someone in. The Clue family doctor wasn’t due for another two days, so who…?
“Miss, have you been well?”
“Mr. Stevenson!”
It was Stevenson—her cello instructor.
