IVHMH 35

Chapter 35

Roena took out the small souvenirs she had bought at the festival and showed them off.

I wasn’t particularly interested in the souvenirs, but they were a great excuse to avoid Tirzen’s gaze, so I showed active interest.

Inside, I was desperately praying for us to arrive at the villa soon.

I wanted to escape this uncomfortable atmosphere that seemed to be bothering only me and hide away in my room.

“Ellicia unnie, that friend from earlier… you two are close, right? When he hugged you tightly, my heart skipped a beat! It must’ve hurt so much to be engaged to someone like Gustavo when you had someone that good.”

Roena crossed her arms and hugged herself as she spoke wistfully.

‘That’s not it!’

To be misunderstood even by his younger sister… I could only imagine how angry Tirzen must be.

I wanted to shout that I wasn’t that kind of indecent person.

When I glanced at him, his chin was resting in his hand, turned toward the window—but his eyes were watching me.

Startled by our sudden eye contact, I quickly turned my head and exaggerated my interest in the souvenir Roena had shown.

“Wow, this is so pretty! Roena, you really have good taste.”

“That one was a freebie because they had too much stock. You really like that?”

“Uh? It was a… freebie? I thought the quality felt a little cheap…”

I quickly corrected myself.

Honestly, the freebie wasn’t that great.

Hearing a soft chuckle from across the seat made me want to crawl into a hole.

Until the carriage carrying Tirzen’s group arrived at the villa, Kais and Delina were locked in an intense standoff, neither giving an inch.

Because of Kais’s sly retorts, Delina was on edge and irritable.

“You’re just a measly assistant. How dare you stand in my way? Get out of the way right now!”

“A proper lady should maintain her dignity at all times if she wishes to be praised.”

“I don’t want your praise, you lowly thing.”

“If you don’t even meet my standards, how could you possibly catch the Grand Duke’s eye?”

Delina’s arrogance was sky-high, and Kais handled her scornful remarks with an amused smile—it was no challenge for someone as well-trained as him, both in swordsmanship and people-handling.

“Oh my! While we’ve been chatting here, the Grand Duke has already arrived.”

At the mention of the Grand Duke, Delina quickly fixed her expression.

She didn’t care if others saw her worst side, but she always wanted to show her best self to Tirzen.

Delina put on a smile and turned to him.

But her joy at seeing Tirzen ended immediately.

He was helping a woman down from the carriage, holding her hand.

“Grand Duke, you have a guest waiting. What would you like to do?”

Kais respectfully informed Tirzen of Delina’s presence.

He already knew what the answer would be, but after all the insults Delina had hurled at him, this was his small revenge.

“There are no scheduled guests. I’m not free enough to entertain uninvited ones.”

Though he knew she was there, Tirzen didn’t even glance at Delina as he responded to Kais.

All his attention was on Ellicia’s feet as she stepped off the carriage, ensuring she didn’t trip.

Heat of hatred surged from Delina’s entire body.

‘Why do all the gazes on me today feel so murderous?’

Compared to the killing intent directed at me now, Tirzen’s earlier cold stare felt like a mere tickle.

Though it was my first time seeing her since returning, I immediately recognized her.

Delina Sheeton—the woman who had poisoned Princess Risha of the Khan Kingdom, Tirzen’s former fiancée in my past life.

Her focus wasn’t on me but on Tirzen. The intensity of her hatred was fierce, but thankfully, it didn’t last long.

Delina walked up to Tirzen and greeted him in a gentle voice, completely different from how she’d looked at me.

“It’s been a while, Grand Duke.”

Despite her efforts, she failed to get Tirzen’s attention.

It was as if she had become invisible to him—he continued to look only at me, as though he hadn’t heard a thing.

“You must be tired. Let’s go inside.”

Roena and Mervel had already gone in, and I was also eager to get some rest.

I wished Tirzen would let go of my hand, but he showed no sign of doing so.

To make matters worse, Delina stood in our path and had no intention of moving.

Her glaring didn’t intimidate me, but I was tired.

I figured I should step away and let them talk.

I looked up at him slightly and said,

“Tirzen, I’ll go inside first. You two should talk.”

“Who would I talk to, after seeing you off?”

He whispered near my ear, but his voice wasn’t quiet—Delina heard it too.

Though it was Tirzen who said the offending words, her resentment-filled gaze was directed at me.

Seeing the intensity in her eyes reminded me once again that she had killed Princess Risha in the past.

In this life, I had taken Risha’s place beside Tirzen—but Delina’s desire to become the crown princess remained unchanged.

If she were to kill someone in this life too, it would undoubtedly be me.

Even as Tirzen ignored her, Delina stubbornly stood in our way and spoke again.

“Grand Duke, I’d like to stay here for a few days.”

She acted as if she had every right to be here.

For a moment, I wondered if there was something between them that I didn’t know about.

Instead of replying, Tirzen gave a signal to Kais.

Kais, who had been standing at a distance watching the situation unfold, approached with firm steps.

The playful man from the festival was gone—he now looked serious, even dignified.

“Remove it.”

I was left puzzled by Tirzen’s curt command.

‘Remove what?’

As Tirzen took my hand and began to walk, Delina tried to step in our path again.

But Kais blocked her, rendering her attempt useless.

“Out of my way!”

Delina shouted, her temper flaring.

She seemed to forget her earlier attempt to appear composed before Tirzen.

Her voice rose sharply, like shards of glass scratching inside the ears.

“The Grand Duke ordered me to remove it. I cannot move.”

True to his position as Tirzen’s right hand, Kais perfectly understood and executed the order with just one word.

I had underestimated him.

As I admired Kais’s transformation, Delina suddenly brought me up.

“Who is that woman? If someone needs to be removed, it should be her!”

Tirzen stopped walking and looked at Delina for the first time.

Though his expression was unreadable, I could sense he was angry.

Delina misread the situation and smiled slightly, thinking she had finally gotten his attention.

Unfortunately, Tirzen’s next cold words froze that smile into stone.

“Mind your tongue, Lady Sheeton. Ellicia is not an object.”

‘You’re the one who said “remove it”…’

I wanted to point out his hypocrisy, but staying quiet was wiser for now.

Unfortunately, Tirzen showed no intention of shielding me from Delina’s venomous gaze.

Despite his broad shoulders, he didn’t seem interested in using them to protect me.

So I took a small step to the side.

Thanks to his thick body, Delina’s furious expression was now out of my sight.

“You only care about her… that’s too cruel, Tirzen!”

‘Huh?’

Startled, I peeked around Tirzen’s shoulder.

What shocked me wasn’t her sulky voice, but the fact that the formal “Grand Duke” had suddenly turned into the familiar “Tirzen.”

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, blocking my view of Delina.

Then he spoke with a firm, dry voice.

“Grand. Duke.”

“…What?”

“You used the wrong title, Lady Sheeton. I never gave you permission to call me by name.”

He pronounced each syllable slowly, like teaching a child.

‘But he did tell me to call him by name…’

I didn’t want to gloat, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from curling up.

“She… she calls you by name!”

“Don’t foolishly compare yourself to Ellicia. She’s not someone you can treat lightly.”

“I am the heir of the Sheeton Duchy. Shouldn’t she be the one showing me respect?”

Delina, now completely enraged, came closer.

If Tirzen weren’t holding my shoulder, she looked ready to rip my hair out.

I wasn’t scared. If she hit me once, I was ready to hit her back twice.

So I smiled sweetly at her.

“Hello, I’m Ellicia Maress. Lady Sheeton, before demanding respect from others, I believe you should first reflect on whether you are maintaining the dignity worthy of your noble house.”

“You… Maress?!”

Delina’s pointing finger trembled violently.

“Why are you alive?!”

Her reaction made me wonder if rumors of my death had already spread in the capital.

‘But Kais came from the capital yesterday and didn’t mention anything like that…’

When I met his eyes, he just shrugged, neither confirming nor denying it.

A woman who might someday try to kill me was already wishing I were dead.

“Kais, how much longer do you intend to let this nuisance stand before me?”

“I apologize, Grand Duke. She has legs and moves on her own, so I haven’t yet removed her.”

Despite being insulted, Delina seemed oblivious and blocked my path with arms outstretched.

“If she’s staying here, then I will too!”