MFMLC 82💥

Chapter 82

“I will do my best to ensure that the ducal title goes to you, Sister. I don’t intend to become the heir.”

After a brief pause, I added an explanation she could accept.

“I lack the qualifications compared to you. And I haven’t even tried that hard. I want to find a different path, so don’t worry about me.”

I couldn’t predict how Ever would react.

Would she deeply analyze why I was making such a foolish choice? Or would she be confused?

Knowing her, she might think: Who are you to interfere in the succession and casually hand it over? She might even see my decision as condescending, stripping her of pride instead of helping her.

Even if she got angry, I could accept it—because I understood her personality.

In the end, I believed this was a decision made for both of us. Who could deny that?

‘Huh?’

I gripped the hem of my skirt tightly.

Contrary to expectations, Ever’s expression didn’t change at all as she listened.

She brushed her hair back and leaned against the sofa.

“There’s no need for that.”

“I’m not doing this to be considerate of you. I truly don’t think I’m suited for the DeMaid ducal position. That’s why I’m giving it up.”

“I also know you don’t pity me. You’ve just always made it obvious you find me unpleasant.”

She lifted the corner of her lips in a mocking smile.

“So, what are you exactly? Tell me your real identity.”

“…You won’t tell anyone?”

“I don’t have anyone to tell.”

“I was just… an ordinary woman in her twenties.”

I answered hesitantly, watching Ever’s expression, already regretting not pretending to deny it when she first suspected I was fake.

But Ever seemed intent on keeping my secret and simply replied that she understood.

With one warning.

“Let me say this again—don’t think you’re doing me any favors by yielding to me. And don’t feel the need to side with me in front of Father. Also… be careful.”

She spoke as if I wasn’t needed at all.

Then she stood up.

She swayed for a moment, grabbed the sofa back for support, and breathed heavily.

“Go. And be careful.”

“Sister, please think about this again…”

“Please tell Father and Mother to be careful too. Tell them I hope they stay safe.”

After saying that, Ever ordered me to leave.

I had no choice but to comply, leaving without having fully persuaded her and blaming myself for being pushed back so easily.

Why had Ever refused an opportunity that seemed so beneficial?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

And her insistence that we all “be careful” felt strangely ominous.

‘There must be something she’s hiding.’

I thought I should go back and talk to her again immediately, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.

The light in her room had already gone out.

‘Maybe she’s unwell… or went to sleep early.’

I swallowed my disappointment and turned away.

I needed to visit her again as soon as possible.

* * *

The Emperor summoned Beltanio privately.

He told him that the engagement with the youngest daughter of House DeMaid would be canceled.

Beltanio vaguely understood his father’s intentions without needing to ask.

‘So the DeMaid house is no longer a useful piece.’

The curse that descended upon the Empire.

The Emperor was constantly aware of it—and desperately tried to distance himself from it.

If even a minor injury had occurred to key members of the imperial family during the war, he would have likely ordered the extermination of those with royal blood—just as he once did with his own former fiancée.

Though fundamentally unethical, the Emperor carefully maintained his public image. Yet toward Beltanio, he was especially coercive.

“I hear things are not well between you and Grand Duke Raymoun. Surely nothing improper occurred while you were engaged to Lady DeMaid? You know well that so-called ‘friendship’ between men and women can easily turn into scandal.”

The Emperor liked the Grand Duke of Raymoun, who was loyal to him—but he never liked Harriet.

That was also why Beltanio had been kept at a distance from Harriet.

The Emperor had recognized Harriet’s capabilities early and moved to keep him in check.

Before Harriet could even become a threat to his eldest son, the Emperor had spread rumors damaging his reputation.

Rumors that he mistreated and looked down on the servants in his estate.

Even though they knew it made no sense, people gladly repeated them because even a small blemish on his otherwise perfect image was entertaining.

Ironically, those same people were the ones who looked down on servants due to status.

‘Even then, only Lana defended Harriet.’

Although Lana herself didn’t remember, Beltanio still remembered what she had been like in her teenage years.

She was a noblewoman not deeply involved in high society, but at tea parties she was occasionally invited to, she consistently defended Harriet and insisted he was a good person based on what she had seen herself.

At a time when the rumors would have disappeared on their own, only Lana sincerely shielded him.

Harriet, thinking about the past, let out a quiet laugh.

‘If this is the level of manipulation, it’s almost cute—at least compared to my father.’

Even Beltanio’s former fiancée’s meaningless death had been orchestrated by the Emperor’s influence.

‘If you take someone’s heart, you must prove it. Where is the pride of Pether to be found?’

The moment Beltanio’s first love and fiancée—the princess of the Kingdom of Pether—manifested her ability, the Emperor remembered the prophecy of the Empire.

He then hired an unknown magician and manipulated the princess so that her amplified power would be directed against herself.

That magician, especially skilled in control magic, was later discarded after being stripped of all his wealth and thrown into the slums as a means of silence.

He was Patrick’s father.

After he disappeared, the ten-day continuous rain over the Empire also stopped.

The Emperor interpreted this as the will of heaven.

And that was why he had willingly chosen Lana, who carried Pether’s blood within House DeMaid, as Beltanio’s new match.

‘She was already someone who would be discarded.’

The Emperor intended to tie Lana—alongside Patrick, who was also destined to be cast out of the Empire—and dispose of them beyond the borders.

That was why he was fundamentally opposed to Lana becoming the DeMaid heir.

However, he could not openly oppose her due to the importance of the DeMaid family within the Empire.

‘Now he might even try to kill Lana DeMaid. If she becomes Grand Duchess Raymoun, her prestige will only rise.’

Like his first love, Lana might die unjustly.

Beltanio’s heart pounded uneasily.

‘Whether she becomes the DeMaid Duke or the Grand Duchess of Raymoun, she will be under the Emperor’s scrutiny.’

There was nothing he could change.

Even if Lana had abandoned the succession and become a commoner, she likely wouldn’t have been interested in him.

And even if he fought and took the position from his brother Kellian, by then Lana would already be the Grand Duchess of Raymoun.

‘So what I’m trying to change isn’t fate—it’s Lana DeMaid’s heart.’

Only belatedly did he realize his feelings had shifted away from the person he had believed he loved most in his life.

He knew it was already too late.

Harriet, pretending to be flexible and pure, had already seen through the Empire’s inner workings.

Beltanio understood the prophecy of the Empire early, and would likely try to protect Lana by keeping her close.

If only he could warn her before acting directly—would Lana DeMaid ever think of him even slightly in the future?

‘How pathetic and pitiful this is.’

Despite criticizing himself, Beltanio wrote a letter asking Lana DeMaid to meet him.

Two days later, Lana DeMaid accepted his request.

It had been a long time since he saw her.

Watching the unusually nervous Beltanio, Lana spoke carefully.

“I’m sorry for breaking off the engagement without speaking to you first.”

Seeing her express what she had clearly been worried about, Beltanio could not show even a trace of hope.

Because what she said next was far more cruel.

“However… you never intended to spend your entire life with me either, did you?”

At her calm question, Beltanio could not bring himself to answer.