Chapter 137
“O-Oppa…!”
At her brother’s sudden appearance, Liena felt like her heart nearly dropped out of her chest.
“Why are you here? What about your territory?!”
“Why else? I came to persuade you.”
Leandro answered with a complicated expression.
“Father asked me to. He thought maybe you’d listen to me. Apparently you haven’t even met Father or Reheim lately, and you haven’t replied to their letters either.”
“That’s because they keep opposing everything I do. They even said I absolutely shouldn’t start a new merchant company.”
“…Anyway, let’s go back home and talk. Even if you’re in a relationship, staying in Prince Mikhail’s palace for so long doesn’t look good.”
“I might go back if you promise to convince the two of them for me.”
“That won’t work. To be honest, I’m against it too.”
A faint wrinkle formed between Leandro’s brows.
“Public opinion isn’t good either. It hasn’t even been a few months since that scandal. Do you really have to establish a new merchant company right now?”
“I can manage public opinion.”
“That might work for now, but you can’t guarantee it’ll last.”
“That’s enough! If you keep talking like that, I won’t speak to you anymore!”
“Liena.”
“…You’ve changed too, Oppa. In the past, you told me, ‘Don’t care about what others think—just do what you want.’”
Just like Duke Cassius and Reheim, Leandro had changed as well.
Why is everyone suddenly like this?
Was it really because the Cassius family carried the blood of demons, so her divine power no longer worked on them?
Leandro looked at Liena with pity before speaking in a resigned tone.
“Forget it. Looks like even my persuasion won’t work. But before that—explain what I heard earlier. What do you mean you married me off?”
“What? W-Well… you must have misheard.”
“I definitely heard it. And before that, you said something about compensation and giving someone a comfortable life.”
“It wasn’t anything important. Since I was the one who brought you and my sister-in-law together, I meant it in that sense.”
Realizing she couldn’t completely deny it, Liena tried desperately to make excuses.
“Still, the atmosphere was strange.”
However, Leandro looked suspiciously between Liena and Idel.
“What kind of relationship do you have with Idel? Is there something between you two that I don’t know about?”
“No! It’s just that my sister-in-law holds a grudge over the divorce and keeps interfering with me—”
“Alright, that’s enough nonsense.”
Idel, who had been watching the siblings argue like a bystander, finally spoke.
“It’s been a while, Leandro.”
“…Indeed. Baroness Luciviu.”
“Oh, so you don’t call me wife anymore. Have you finally realized that we’re divorced?”
“…After returning to my territory and being separated from my family, I had a lot of time to reflect on the past.”
Leandro’s gaze dropped weakly toward the ground.
“It’s late, but I’ve finally come to face my own faults. If you’re willing, I’d like to visit you properly and apologize.”
“……”
Idel fell silent for a moment at the unexpected words.
A chilly wind swept past them.
It was a late-autumn wind with no warmth—much like the relationship between the two people who were now strangers.
“It’s cold.”
At that moment, Terrence took off his coat and draped it over Idel’s shoulders.
“I have a cape, so it’s okay.”
“Even so.”
“You’ll get cold instead.”
“I’ll be fine. One of my charms is having a healthy body that never gets sick.”
“What kind of charm is that?”
A smile spread across Idel’s face as if she couldn’t help herself.
“……”
Because Liena stood behind Leandro, she couldn’t see the expression on his face as he watched them.
Idel, now wearing both her cape and the prince’s coat, looked at Leandro again.
“Alright. I’ll give you the chance to apologize. Schedule an appointment and come see me later.”
“Thank you.”
“And at that time, I’ll tell you what kind of relationship I really have with the younger sister of the Cassius heir.”
“What?”
After giving Liena—who looked startled—a meaningful smile, Idel turned and walked away.
“Goodbye.”
Not long after, the carriage carrying Idel and Prince Terrence left the Luciano estate.
Liena’s body trembled.
She said she’d tell Leandro everything?
No… that can’t be.
It had to be a lie meant to provoke her.
If Idel wanted to talk about their past, she couldn’t avoid mentioning Liena’s regression and her previous life.
Leandro might feel suspicious after what he heard earlier, but he wasn’t naïve enough to believe such an absurd story—and Idel knew that as well.
So this had to be nothing more than a shallow attempt to provoke her.
…And yet—
I feel uneasy!
After Duke Cassius, Reheim, and even Roland had begun changing their attitudes toward her, it was difficult for Liena to suppress the anxiety rising inside her.
Just then, Leandro—who had been staring in the direction the carriage disappeared—grabbed Liena’s arm.
“Let’s go home too.”
“N-No! Why should I?”
“How long are you going to stay in the imperial palace? All three of us are waiting for you to come back.”
His words shook Liena.
Originally, the biggest reason she stayed in the imperial palace was to win over Idel, who lived in the detached palace.
But now that Idel had clearly become her enemy, that purpose had disappeared.
Even so, she had remained in the palace because she expected that Duke Cassius and Reheim would deeply regret their actions and stop opposing her.
But now doesn’t seem like the time for that.
Liena looked up at Leandro, who was staring at her sternly.
He didn’t look like he had any intention of yielding first.
Duke Cassius and Reheim—who had sent Leandro—probably felt the same way.
Fine. I’ll go home for now, then use my blessing to turn Father and Oppa back into how they used to be.
Even if the demon blood interfered, if she kept trying consistently like before, it would surely work eventually.
“…Alright. If you insist, Oppa, I’ll go back to the Cassius townhouse after the banquet—”
Just as Liena reluctantly agreed to follow him home—
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
A furious voice rang out as Mikhail jumped out of a newly arrived imperial carriage.
“Mikhail!”
“Liena, I’m sorry. I came too late.”
He had originally planned to attend the banquet with her, but a sudden summons from the Emperor delayed him.
“How disappointing, Young Lord Cassius!”
Mikhail roughly knocked Leandro’s hand away from Liena’s arm.
“I thought you were a brother who loved his sister, but you’re trying to drag her away by force!”
“That’s not true! Oppa just—”
“Liena, stop. Just because he’s family doesn’t mean you have to defend him blindly.”
Mikhail’s sharp gaze turned toward Leandro.
“I’ve never liked you. When I started dating Liena, you showed ugly jealousy. You even joined forces with your father and younger brother to monopolize her.”
“Your Highness, at that time I—”
“I don’t want to hear excuses!”
Mikhail’s shout caused murmuring to rise from the banquet hall entrance.
The host had suddenly left earlier and hadn’t returned for quite a while.
Just as the guests were starting to wonder what was happening outside, a commotion broke out between the newly arrived prince and the Cassius heir who was supposed to be in his territory.
Naturally, it drew everyone’s attention.
“What’s going on?”
“Why is Prince Mikhail so angry?”
“Did the young lord try to force Lady Cassius to leave?”
Eventually, many of the banquet attendees came outside and surrounded the three of them.
The banquet Liena had painstakingly organized was turning into complete chaos.
Mikhail looked at the crowd gathering around them and at his tearful lover.
Then he suddenly grabbed Liena’s hand.
And loudly declared in front of everyone:
“I know that many people have been whispering about Lady Cassius staying in my palace.”
In truth, no one dared openly criticize it, but an unmarried woman staying in a prince’s palace for so long naturally invited gossip.
Some even dared to say that the Emperor hadn’t expelled Lady Cassius because he had already half-given up on Prince Mikhail.
“Would there have been such rumors if we were already engaged to be married? Therefore, I declare here today—”
He pulled Liena into his arms.
“I, Mikhail Fetus Asteroth, will become engaged to the woman I love—Liena Cassius!”
It was a bombshell declaration that left everyone present speechless.
Later That Night
That night, I only heard about what happened at the banquet after returning to the detached palace.
“So something like that happened right after we left… That’s quite surprising.”
When I said that, Terrence—sitting across from me—replied.
“Mikhail, that idiot, is digging his own grave.”
Normally, engagements of direct imperial family members had to be arranged after thorough discussions between the imperial family and the other noble house.
But Mikhail had declared it entirely on his own.
“What do you think His Majesty the Emperor will do?”
“Well… he’ll probably be furious. But surprisingly, he might allow the engagement.”
Then Terrence added:
“Though if he does, it will probably mean he’s completely given up on Mikhail as an heir—and plans to squeeze an enormous dowry out of the Cassius family.”
At that moment, someone came to visit us.
“I serve Her Majesty the Empress.”
A maid who had secretly come to the detached palace late at night bowed respectfully.
“Her Majesty the Empress says she accepts Baroness Luciviu’s proposal.”
A slight smile crept onto my lips.
It seemed that Mikhail’s foolish actions had finally helped someone make up their mind.
