CHAPTER 55…………………………………….
Seeing me shrink back completely, Count Uberis’s demeanor grew even more triumphant.
“You should have come to find your father first. What are you doing here? Do you have any idea how desperately I’ve been looking for you?”
I lowered my head even further and curled my body inward.
“I-I’m sorry. I never expected that you would come looking for me, Father.”
As expected, my stepmother stepped in this time, responding to my timid appearance. She pretended to be kind, wrapping her hand around my clenched fist, but her thin, cold hand sent shivers down my spine.
“Oh, my dear, why would you think that? Count, you care for her so much.”
I pretended to glance around nervously, hesitating before speaking.
“But you’ve never come to find me first even once… Ah! I-I’m sorry!”
I stopped suddenly, startled as if I had said something forbidden.
And then, the reaction I wanted slowly began to emerge from the audience.
“That’s strange, isn’t it? Didn’t Count Uberis care more for the Duchess?”
“Yeah. But the Duchess seems terrified?”
“That’s right. A beloved daughter wouldn’t react like that.”
Since I could hear it clearly, surely the Uberis family could as well.
I decided to encourage their suspicions further.
“I-I was wrong. Father, please forgive me just this once. Next time, I’ll come to you first. So please, don’t lock me in the basement.”
I remembered the Duke’s collarbone I had accidentally glimpsed the first time I stayed in the same room at his estate, my face flushing as if I were about to cry.
I recalled the day I was moved by the kindness of the people at the Duke’s estate, letting tears well up in my eyes.
“W-What are you talking about! Don’t make up nonsense.”
“Y-Yes, Father… what you say is all correct.”
As I took hesitant steps backward, the audience’s voices became even clearer.
“Oh my. The Duchess looks so pitiful.”
“Could it be that Duke Nostdian rescued her knowing the situation?”
“Then the rumors about the Count cherishing and raising his daughter….”
“Could it be that the Duchess is basically non-magical too…?”
Now public opinion had completely shifted to my side. People were even suggesting that the Count had been using me to get extra funding from the Emperor’s policy favoring commoners.
The more the audience reacted, the redder Count Uberis’s face became.
If he scolded me as usual, it would only confirm their suspicions. If he treated me kindly, he couldn’t tolerate his own temper.
“Sometimes you just reap what you sow.”
Then it happened.
“El, are you alright?”
Through the swelling crowd watching the standoff between me and the Uberis family, the Duke appeared.
His timing was impeccable.
I realized from his expression:
“Oh, he’s deliberately waiting for the right moment.”
He wore a worry so exaggerated it was almost theatrical. It seemed as if he were genuinely committed to our act.
I didn’t want his effort to go to waste, so I ran straight to him, throwing myself into his chest.
“Ugh! Li-Lion!”
I raised my pinky high and wiped my eyes delicately, pretending to be fragile. The Duke gently wiped the fake tears from my eyes and looked at me with a full, concerned gaze.
“I rushed here because something seemed wrong with the Duchess. But…”
His gaze suddenly turned sharp.
“I should have come sooner.”
Count Uberis turned pale at that piercing look.
“Oh! He actually looks angry! The Duke’s acting is impressive.”
While I marveled, the Count quickly regained composure and bowed to him.
“Duke Nostdian. It has been a long time.”
“Indeed, Count Uberis.”
The sudden shift in tone startled me even more. Previously, he had always used honorifics except for servants, so this change was shocking.
“You seem displeased with me.”
“You already know without me saying it.”
“My grievance is mine alone, Your Grace. If you hadn’t abruptly taken my daughter as if kidnapping her, we wouldn’t have this uncomfortable meeting.”
“I didn’t want to see your face again either, Count. Had you not been her father, we wouldn’t even be speaking this politely.”
“Cough! Your words are excessive, dismissing a father who has cherished his daughter for years.”
“You’ve misunderstood the meaning of ‘cherish.’”
‘Wait. Is he too serious?’
The verbal clash between the Duke and the Count was turning from acting into a genuine fight.
‘Why is the Duke so worked up?’
Everything had been planned by us, yet he was reacting as if I were truly distressed.
Count Uberis forced a smile that looked strange on his face.
“You seem to think that because of your love, taking my daughter forcibly could be excused, but then how do you explain the mistreatment I received afterward? Does a non-magical son-in-law dare treat a master magician like this!”
Gasps came from around. Even though Duke Nostdian was really the true heir, insulting him in such a formal setting was audacious.
It was practically a challenge to a duel.
‘He’s lost his temper.’
But previously, when I provoked him the same way, Rectarion hadn’t reacted. So I thought the Count’s provocation would be brushed off…
‘Huh? He’s… furious?’
Rectarion’s face was terrifyingly bright with a smile that seemed to shine. I swallowed nervously.
‘Why? Why is he so angry this time?’
Had he restrained his anger last time because I spoke? But he had used “non-magical” several times afterward, so that wasn’t it.
Briefly puzzled, I noticed Rectarion clenching and unclenching his fist, controlling his anger.
I thought I saw golden particles around his hand. Worried something might happen, I gently placed my hand on his forearm.
“Lion, are you okay?”
He paused, then looked at me.
“Hoo.”
He relaxed, exhaled deeply, and suddenly hugged me tightly. The tension seemed to melt away.
“Thank you, my lady.”
“…Lion?”
I was startled.
I had to steady my racing heart from the sudden hug.
Rectarion soon let me go and bared his teeth at the Count, smiling mockingly.
“Count, you should thank my lady. You dared insult the head of Nostdian in front of her, but I don’t wish to shed blood today in her presence.”
He spoke while holding my hands tightly.
‘Ah, his tone is back.’
He seemed to have regained composure.
But something felt off. His grip was weaker than usual. I realized he wasn’t quite himself.
Then, a familiar voice reached my ears.
“I agree as well.”
“Oh, Your Highness. The Princess!”
“The Princess has arrived.”
I raised my head at the murmurs and saw Princess Cecilia, the main guest of today’s event, walking gracefully in a blue dress adorned with diamonds and sapphires.
She probably hadn’t announced her entrance deliberately.
“I don’t want to see anyone split in two at my birthday banquet. Let me warn you, it’s pretty disturbing. You can see bones in the cut…”
“Your Highness, you don’t need to say more.”
A composed woman who accompanied her quickly covered her mouth. She seemed familiar with the situation.
‘That must be Count Lassen.’
Cecilia pouted for a moment but then nodded in understanding.
“From what I’ve heard, Count Uberis seems to want to claim he forcibly took our Elwa even though the man didn’t want her.”
She smiled.
“I don’t think that’s right either. Every time I visited, she had nowhere to look. Count, you saw it yourself today, didn’t you? Rumors were already everywhere. It was creepy from the start.”
“B-But Your Highness, my daughter was a minor. Taking her without my permission is kidnapping. Just because one has lower status doesn’t mean they can’t cherish their daughter.”
“Really? From what I saw just now, you don’t seem to cherish the Duchess.”
The Princess’s voice lowered slightly.
“W-What do you mean?”
“During our conversation, there were several chances to call her name, but you never did. Is that how you cherish your daughter?”
“T-That is…!”
Count Uberis was flustered, realizing he had done that.
Honestly, I realized it just now too. I had focused so hard on avoiding mistakes that I neglected the proper address.
Princess Cecilia frowned in displeasure and waved her hand.
“Abamama has already approved their marriage. And now that the Duchess is of age, she can decide her own future, right?”
Cecilia’s support was clear.
I quickly clasped my hands and nodded, thinking of a fresh croissant to make my eyes sparkle with hope.
“Yes, Your Highness is correct. I want to live with Lion.”
As I spoke, I looked at Rectarion, and he seemed to understand, covering my hands with his.
“El, I love you.”
“Lion, me too.”
Following the script we had prepared, we exchanged loving glances and held hands tightly.
The climax was approaching.
