Chapter 165………………………………….
With his arms crossed, Lloyd asked in a low voice.
He didn’t even give her time to sit and asked immediately, yet somehow, even behind the mask, she felt she could read his expression.
“…If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed.”
Leona avoided Lloyd’s gaze and replied irritably, which only made his voice grow colder.
“Are you still thinking about revenge?”
It sounded almost contemptuous, and Leona couldn’t help but glare at him in anger.
She wanted to snap back, “Of course I am!” but Lloyd reminded her of reality in a calm, firm voice, as if issuing a final warning.
“I told you before. He’s not someone you can handle.”
“No matter if it’s a person or an animal, a strike to the vital spot kills! Since I’m building ties with the Empress, approaching that enemy…!”
“You’d kill him in front of everyone? Do you even realize what would happen if the Grand Princess killed the Emperor?”
“…”
Leona had no words to respond to his cold reprimand.
Whether she succeeded or failed in killing the Emperor, three generations would be destroyed.
From Priscilla to Lloyd to Leona herself, they would all be executed, and naturally, the House of Eckhart would fall.
Lloyd, in any case, was her benefactor.
If Leona carried out her plan, it would put the knife at the neck of this benefactor, so she could understand why Lloyd kept telling her to stop.
“Just because Mars tolerates your existence doesn’t mean you can let your guard down. He recognized you back at the debutante event. You know why he hasn’t acted yet, don’t you?”
She knew.
But because Leona was trying to kill Mars alone, only such reckless plans could come out.
If an adult helped her, it would be much easier.
“…Then, you could just help me.”
Even without Priscilla, if only Lloyd helped her, killing Mars wouldn’t lead to the extinction of House Eckhart.
Her nervousness soon shifted into frustration.
“You could’ve helped me since the debutante event! No, from the very beginning! From the moment you took me in!”
Her shoulders heaved with anger, rising and falling rapidly.
Who was she struggling for all this time?
He brought her along as if to help her take revenge but did nothing to actually assist her—not even accompanying her to the debutante event, leaving her to tremble alone.
When Mars saw her face and was utterly shocked, the scariest person wasn’t Mars—it was her.
Even knowing it shouldn’t happen, she feared that Mars’ hot-tempered nature might make him try to kill her on the spot.
So Lloyd had no right to lecture her.
Leona glared at him with accusatory eyes.
She wanted him to feel hurt immediately, realize his mistake, and help her.
But that was a futile wish.
“I suppose I was too vague last time.”
Lloyd, with a voice as calm as his expressionless mask, repeated his command to Leona.
“Stop thinking about revenge. I didn’t bring you here to help you take revenge.”
Lloyd had said the same thing since the past.
“You can’t do anything about him, so give up.”
She had heard it many times, but today, for some reason, it felt even crueler. Leona realized quickly:
‘He doesn’t care about my position at all.’
Lloyd pretended to respect her, but he was just suppressing her.
Even now, he gave commands before giving any explanation.
Gabriel treated Leona like a daughter every time they met.
He prepared her favorite tea and snacks and listened to her stories with curiosity.
Although most of her stories were lies because she couldn’t tell the truth, Gabriel nodded as if he understood and sometimes looked heartbroken.
By contrast, did Lloyd even know how she felt? Did he even know what kind of tea she liked?
He couldn’t comfort her wounds like Gabriel did, yet he brought her here and didn’t let her do what she wanted. Leona was frustrated.
After meeting Gabriel, Lloyd had become a complete stranger to her.
“…Then why did you bring me here?”
When she first asked, he said he needed a child, to create an heir.
Even then, she thought that wasn’t the real reason.
If he only needed a child or heir, he could have just gone to an orphanage and picked someone.
They would know their place, be grateful for the opportunity, and live as Lloyd wanted.
But taking the child of a confined princess would only end up like this.
Unfortunately, Lloyd didn’t give her the answer she wanted.
“Because I couldn’t let the daughter of the Grand Princess starve on the streets. Servants are just servants. No matter how loyal they are, they wouldn’t care for you forever.”
“You asked me if I wanted revenge. That’s why you brought me here.”
“I intended to make you give up slowly. Once you get used to a comfortable life and realize that your target is far more threatening than you think, you’d naturally give up on revenge.”
If he had said something like “Revenge doesn’t suit a child,” she might have at least pretended to understand.
But Lloyd openly said he thought she would calm down if he tamed her.
Since Minerva’s death, Leona had always been on the edge of a cliff.
And now, Lloyd’s words had pushed her further.
Unable to hold back, she grabbed a nearby vase and smashed it onto the floor.
Crash! Porcelain shards scattered wildly between the two of them.
“Am I an animal? You think if I’m picked up and tamed like feed, my desire for revenge disappears? My mother and my enemy are right in front of me, and you expect me to eat, drink, and play like nothing happened? Can you do that?!”
“…”
“Oh, right. Father wasn’t close to Grandmother. He was actually afraid of her! Even I could tell! Even now, still under her control, he wouldn’t seek revenge if she died—he’d just take her wealth! So he’d never understand how I feel about losing my mother!”
Leona completely lost control.
All her resentment and anxiety became sharp thorns flying at Lloyd.
But despite the clearly hurtful words, Lloyd didn’t react at all.
Having lived as a Duke and a ruler all his life, he likely understood what it meant to face an enemy and endure.
Finding his commands unbearable, Leona rampaged, smashing everything in the office.
Lloyd didn’t stop her.
Even when her small hands were cut by glass and porcelain shards, or books hit her body from the walls, he just watched silently until she exhausted herself.
After a while, Leona gasped heavily.
She had finally run out of strength.
Lloyd approached the tired Leona and handed her a handkerchief.
Because of that mask, his expression was unreadable.
Now she understood why Priscilla hated Lloyd’s mask so much.
Wide-eyed, she looked at him with defiance.
Was it because he had no sense of sympathy? Despite receiving all the resentment in a child’s eyes, Lloyd still spoke words that only fanned her anger.
“You’ll be permanently unable to seek revenge if you get injured breaking things like this.”
Snap! The handkerchief slipped from Leona’s rejecting hand and fluttered to the floor.
“Stop worrying about me. If you don’t want the Duke’s house destroyed, either help me or give me up.”
With a hoarse voice, she finally turned her back to Lloyd.
“Leona.”
Lloyd’s voice behind her caught her ankle.
“You shouldn’t go to the palace from now on. Gabriel will only try to use you, so don’t trust him…”
“Hah!”
Leona couldn’t hold back a bitter laugh.
Figures.
She clicked her tongue one last time and pulled the door handle.
