Chapter 10
“Pardon? Whose memorial day?”
For a moment, Damian recalled Gael’s death anniversary—July 7th. Around this time last year, he had just departed for the front lines. When he heard of Gael’s death, Briseis had cried so painfully that it was unforgettable.
“It’s because of me… I’m such a useless older sister…”
“It’s not your fault, Brise.”
Back then, he had briefly returned from the battlefield for Briseis. That was why he remembered it so clearly—because she had broken down and cried in his arms.
“Let go of that hand.”
At Kalisten’s commanding voice, Damian obeyed without realizing it. The crown prince’s eyes, deep and vivid like drops of bright red blood, carried an unsettling intensity.
Damian had once faced Kalisten on the battlefield, and perhaps because of that memory, his body would instinctively shrink back whenever those eyes turned toward him.
“You went somewhere after the victory ceremony. Was it the cemetery?”
“Yes.”
At Kalisten’s words, Damian felt a small sense of relief. He now understood who his wife had met.
If it was Gael’s memorial day, it would make sense that those who had been especially close to him since childhood would visit. Even if the Marquis family of Philia regarded the fallen Gael as a stain on their honor, it was not the same for others.
Damian had been repeatedly rejected by Briseis since childhood, so he knew very well how close Kalisten, Gael, and Briseis had been. He had watched from the sidelines, hoping to win her heart.
Realizing that the person she had met was Kalisten, Damian truly felt relieved.
If it had been a man unfamiliar with her, even if Briseis had stripped and tried to seduce him, he would remain unmoved like a stone.
The crown prince was someone who had once twisted the necks of women who had thrown themselves into his bedroom to seduce him.
Moreover, there were other rumors attached to the crown prince as well.
In fact, Damian himself had no idea how Kalisten viewed Briseis.
“Did you hit Brise?”
“I have not.”
“Then why are there so many bruises on Brise’s arm?”
Damian wondered how Kalisten knew about the bruises on his wife’s arm. He felt uneasy, imagining that she might have shown them to him by rolling up her sleeves—but at the same time, he also thought it might not be such a big deal.
“She tripped on the stairs.”
“Do people get bruises like that from falling down the stairs?”
Kalisten continued to look at Damian with suspicion.
“Do you take me for a man who would strike his own wife?”
“I don’t know you well. All I know is that Briseis would never speak up even if something like that happened.”
Kalisten said this in a low voice as he looked at Briseis, as if urging her to tell the truth.
“It’s… it’s true, Your Highness!”
Elara, who had appeared at some point, spoke up. She was a loyal maid who had served Briseis since her time at the Marquis house of Philia. In her childhood, she had even been Briseis’s playmate and was always respectful toward Kalisten.
“I see.”
Hearing the maid’s confirmation, Kalisten accepted that the injuries had indeed come from a fall. If Damian had truly been the one to hurt her, Briseis could have simply revealed everything now. Elara was not the kind of maid who would stand by if Briseis were being abused.
“Apologize, Your Highness the Crown Prince. You suspected me.”
Damian said this without even meeting Kalisten’s eyes properly. Kalisten looked down at him, visibly unimpressed.
“I’m the one who should be receiving an apology, not giving one. Brise is practically family to me. Is it appropriate for you to treat her so carelessly?”
Kalisten sighed as he looked at Briseis clutching her own arm.
“Please refrain from interfering in our marital matters. Brise is simply being reprimanded by her husband for her wrongdoing.”
“Reprimanding is something done by someone of higher status. Brise is your wife. Do you really think it makes sense to call it reprimanding?”
“Your Highness—”
“Ah, this is making my mood worse.”
The more Damian spoke with Kalisten, the more irritated he became. And since Kalisten was a crown prince who had achieved great military merit, he did not want to make an enemy of him.
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
“You should apologize to Brise, not me.”
“I will do that in private.”
“Fine. I trust you won’t behave like a petty man who promises an apology and then fails to follow through.”
Kalisten said mockingly with a sigh.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
Damian asked, trying to change the subject. Kalisten responded with a relaxed expression, forcing a smile.
“I’ll be attending the academy starting tomorrow. I came to ask if you had any notes you could lend me.”
Briseis remembered that Kalisten had a habit of pressing his thumb and index finger together whenever he lied—just like now.
“I see. It would be difficult today, so—”
“I’ll lend them to you!”
Delilah smiled brightly, touching the ring hanging from her necklace as she looked at Kalisten.
“I have notes I took today in my room! I’ll lend them to you.”
“Now that I think about it, it may be too late to start studying in advance.”
Kalisten said this and glanced once at Briseis.
“Then we’ll see each other tomorrow.”
“Take care, Your Highness.”
With that, Kalisten departed.
Damian, looking somewhat deflated, turned to Briseis and said:
“Now that the crown prince is back, you seem rather emboldened, madam.”
In truth, Briseis found Kalisten, the crown prince, difficult to deal with—but what was even worse at the moment was Damian himself.
“Just apologize, Damian.”
“Do you really think I will?”
Damian looked at her mockingly.
“Demi, can we go back to our room now?”
Delilah asked Damian with a worried expression. Elara instinctively stiffened upon seeing Delilah, thinking that her mistress had been going through all these troubles because of her.
“Deli, you always say such kind things.”
Briseis no longer wanted to listen to their conversation and tried to step away.
“If you keep getting in my way like a thorn in my side, I won’t be able to hold back either, Brise.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Since we are already married, you must bear my child. A duchess who cannot produce an heir is nothing more than someone who will eventually be discarded.”
“….”
“So when I say I will grant you my seed, you should accept it obediently. Stop resisting.”
After saying that, Damian stepped away from Briseis with a more relaxed expression than before. He glanced toward the door, as if checking whether the “mad crown prince” had truly left. Only after confirming that Kalisten was no longer in the mansion did he finally seem relieved and took Delilah’s hand.
“Then, madam, please rest well alone in your room.”
Damian walked past Briseis, speaking mockingly. Delilah turned back with a wistful expression, looking at them before glancing at Elara with a faint smirk.
“…Ha.”
“Madam!”
After everyone had left, Briseis nearly collapsed onto the floor as her legs gave way.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Please help me up, Elara.”
“Yes, madam.”
Elara quickly supported her and helped her back to her room with steady hands.
❖ ❖ ❖
“You will not be attending the academy today.”
Damian stood in her way early in the morning, blocking Briseis from leaving her room.
“Move.”
“I told you not to go.”
“Ugh…”
When Briseis tried to pass him, he grabbed her wrist tightly and turned her around.
“How dare you leave before your husband when he is speaking to you?”
“Have you forgotten that you said you wanted a divorce?”
At her words, Damian tightened his grip on her arm even more. Briseis instinctively flinched in pain.
“Let go!”
He abruptly released her hand, causing Briseis to stagger.
“I am your husband. Therefore, you cannot go to the academy without my permission.”
Briseis decided that provoking him further would not benefit her, so she simply glared at him.
“Hand over your dowry, as well as the financial records of the merchant guild. Everything you managed while I was away.”
“That is my personal property that I brought with me when I married into this house.”
“You are my wife. Everything you possess belongs to me. Even you yourself belong to me.”
Her wrist still ached from where he had gripped and released it, and her eyes burned with tears.
“If you hand it over, I will allow you to attend the academy.”
“….”
“What is the use of education for a woman anyway? After marriage, you should simply assist in managing the estate.”
‘You always looked most beautiful when you were studying.’
Briseis recalled what Damian had once said before their marriage, and it made her feel even more miserable.
“Just bear children like other women and stay quietly in the manor. When I grow tired of Delly, I will return to you.”
Hearing his words, Briseis came to a realization.
The person she had loved… had never truly existed.
If she continued to endure like a fool, she would lose everything she had.
She did not want to lose even herself to him.
Now, she thought—it was truly time to make up her mind.
“If I don’t go to the academy today, His Highness the Crown Prince will come here.”
Although she did not want to resort to this method, Kalisten was the only person Damian seemed to be wary of, so she had no other choice.
