Chapter 41
Yulia naturally assumed that Kayente was mocking her again. She thought he was deliberately saying something harsh just to see how she’d react.
“Is it a trait of the Lufers to be so purely naïve it’s almost stupid? Did you really believe that as long as you fulfilled your duties, you’d be free to do whatever you pleased?”
But the gray eyes she met weren’t filled with the leisurely amusement he usually had when he teasingly wrapped an arm around her waist. Instead, they were filled entirely with malice, leaving not a single gap. Yulia forgot how to breathe for a moment.
“I tolerated your childish behavior up until now only because we weren’t married yet. You didn’t know you needed my permission? Then know it now. From now on, whether it’s who you meet, what expression you wear with them, or what accessory you place in your long, lovely hair—you will need my permission.”
She never imagined that something as simple as brushing her hair back could feel so terrifying.
Even after all the hurtful things he had already done to her, she couldn’t bring herself to ask how he dared say he’d “tolerated” her. The angry slaps, the forceful kisses, the tears shed in confusion, the rebellious voice crying out for the freedom to do what she wanted—all of it. Had he really tolerated all of that? Yulia could feel the sincerity in his chilling fingertips as he said it.
Even when he said he wanted her to be unhappy.
“Why?”
The person she was supposed to spend her life with wished for her misery. She should’ve burst into tears at that, but the tears wouldn’t come. Her chest was so tight with confusion that it felt like she was going to suffocate.
“Why are you doing this to me? What did I… what did I do wrong?”
When she finally managed to squeeze out the words, asking why she had to be the one to suffer, Kayente answered without hesitation.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. If I had to pick something, I’d say the problem is that you’re Yulia Lufer.”
If he had said it was because she was acting like a child—as he had before—or that he didn’t like something about her appearance, or even that he couldn’t stand her stubbornness, it might have been easier to swallow.
But to Yulia, it sounded like he hated her very existence. The moments when their eyes met and she thought he looked at her with disgust weren’t just misunderstandings after all.
Work hard and things will change? You can return to the days when you looked at each other kindly? No way. There’s no future with a man who can’t stand your existence and says he’s marrying you just to see you suffer.
“Young Lady, did your performance go well? Where’s your cello… Young Lady?”
“Lucy?”
“What happened? Are you okay? Where did you leave your cello?”
Yulia had no memory of how she walked out of the building and made it all the way near the main gates of the palace after being completely denied by Kayente. She had no recollection of where she’d lost her cello either. It was only after locking eyes with Lucy, whose eyes had widened in surprise, that her senses returned—and then she collapsed.
“Young Lady! What’s wrong?! Young Lady!”
She felt like screaming, but no sound came out. She wanted to cry, to scream at the top of her lungs, but the sobs were stuck beneath her throat, and she felt like her heart would explode.
Thump. Thump.
Desperate to make a sound, she pounded her chest with all her might. Lucy tried frantically to stop her.
“Young Lady!! Stop! You’re going to bruise yourself! Please, pull yourself together!”
When that didn’t work, Lucy sat down and wrapped her in a tight hug, looking around for someone to help. Fortunately, a knight stationed at the gate noticed and came over.
“What’s going on?”
“She’s from the Lufer barony. Our lady’s not well—we need to get her home quickly. Can you contact the carriage depot for us?”
“Should I have the carriage brought to the gate?”
“Yes, please. Thank you.”
Even after that, Yulia kept hitting her chest.
“Young Lady? Young Lady! What’s wrong?!”
“Sir Henry! Please help!”
Her last memory was seeing Henry realize she was the one collapsed on the ground and running over in shock, and Lucy’s sobs bursting out after holding them in for so long.
“Did you see what happened inside? The Young Lady fainted and had to be taken home.”
Henry, not knowing whether to run after Yulia or stay near Kayente who still hadn’t come out, nervously hovered around until Kayente finally appeared. He rushed to him.
“The guards say you were invited for tea with His Majesty. Did something happen in there? Did you see the Young Lady at all? Even for a moment?”
Panicked, Henry bombarded Kayente with questions, but Kayente didn’t respond. He knew Yulia had fainted because of him.
When he silently handed over the cello case slung over his shoulder, Henry took it, his expression growing even darker.
“This is the Young Lady’s cello. She must have been so out of it to leave it behind… Just what happened that she couldn’t even carry this with her and left in such pain?”
Just as Henry said, Yulia had lost all composure the moment she heard those words:
—“You didn’t do anything wrong. If I had to pick something, it’s that you’re Yulia Lufer.”
Kayente had meant it in the sense that she was a baron’s daughter, but Yulia had taken it very differently. And he never had a chance to explain. She’d disappeared with a devastated face like her world had collapsed—leaving behind even her cherished cello.
Explain? What explanation could possibly make it better?
Staring at her retreating back, Kayente let out a bitter laugh at himself for even considering an excuse. Would she have understood if he had said the real issue was her father’s name?
“I’ve never seen her like that before. Just before she fainted, it was like her soul had left her body. You really don’t know what happened? If it wasn’t something here, then maybe something happened at home? Like hearing a family member was hurt—that might explain it.”
Kayente still said nothing, and Henry made such guesses. Only something like a family tragedy could make a person fall apart like that, he reasoned. Kayente bit his lip at the familiar concern in Henry’s eyes—the same look he’d received after his father’s death.
“Don’t concern yourself.”
“How can I not? You should be concerned too, Count! If you had seen her, you’d know—she looked like she might drop dead on the spot!”
She looked like she might die? Even in Kayente’s eyes, Yulia had seemed completely lost. He hadn’t expected her not to cry.
He had thought she would scream, curse him out, and declare that she would never marry his brother. If she had, he might’ve even considered shifting the blame to her father. Let her father hear the real reason.
“Let’s go.”
“To the Lufer estate?”
“No, the office.”
“What? Count! I know work is important, but the Young Lady collapsed! You must go to her!”
But he couldn’t. And that reality tasted bitter.
He had pushed her away so many times, told her to expect nothing—and still, that foolish girl had held onto hope. The fact that she responded to this like she had when her father died meant she had still been hoping.
“She’s still too young.”
“What do you mean, Count?”
“She’s still young… so she doesn’t understand the world. That’s why something like this could break her.”
“So you do know what happened! What was it?! Even if it was His Majesty, after seeing her like that, you can’t just stay silent. You should lodge an official complaint!”
“Someone bring my carriage.”
As Henry grew angry enough to storm to the emperor himself, Kayente silently called for a knight to fetch the carriage.
“You’re really going to just leave?”
A complaint? Against whom? For what? He was the one who had pushed Yulia into despair.
“What do you think, Henry?”
“Pardon? About what?”
“Should someone who did that to Yulia be punished?”
“Of course! She couldn’t have done anything to deserve that kind of reaction!”
Yulia had done something wrong, Kayente believed. Being born the daughter of a baron, living a peaceful life without knowing it was built on someone else’s suffering—he always thought that alone was enough.
But now… even he wasn’t sure anymore. Even if she was at fault, did she deserve this level of pain?
“If that’s true, then that person will be punished eventually.”
“They’d better be. They’ll get divine punishment!”
Still, Kayente had no intention of taking back his words or regretting his actions.
He would willingly bear the punishment that dulled those brilliant golden eyes. From the moment he dreamed of revenge—
—”That sweet child still dreams of a happy marriage with you, knowing nothing.”
He had never wished for a happy future anyway.
