As if he had not a single regret, Luzbel firmly ordered them to drag Aisha out.
“Are you insane?!”
Aisha, who had been acting gentle, revealed her true nature.
It seemed she was furious that things weren’t going her way.
More than anything, she also noticed Luzbel’s gaze toward Edith.
Thump. Thump.
Her heart beat uneasily.
There was only one answer to why Luzbel was treating her so coldly.
Edith’s existence.
He had definitely realized something.
“Tsk.”
She couldn’t retreat like this.
Why had she come all this way?
What should she do?
What should she do to make Luzbel unable to take his eyes off her again?
She should have pushed her to reincarnate back then!
“You acted like you would love me forever, but you were actually such a shallow person.”
“…”
“If you were going to change this easily, why did you torment me like that?”
“…”
“How are you going to compensate for the past seven years of my life?”
Aisha brought up the years she had endured.
“What…?”
Edith, who had been listening quietly, let out a scoff, as if it was ridiculous.
“You’re laughing?”
At that, Aisha glared at Edith with fierce eyes.
“I know the marriage was legally arranged. Of course, I heard that Luzbel pushed it forward, but noble marriages always have that aspect to some extent. Why do you speak as if only you were unhappy?”
“Because I was unhappy! My life was hell!”
She shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Because of you, Luzbel’s life was hell too.”
“He brought that on himself. I told him I hated it, but he forced the marriage anyway!”
As if she were the only victim, Aisha poured out her words.
“Marquis Lisellon Erves also had a political marriage, but he is not living well. Unlike you.”
“…You…”
When Edith brought up Lisellon, Aisha’s expression changed.
Her eyes gleamed with killing intent.
“And unlike you, he did not divorce and is maintaining his family properly.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“If a man truly loves you, he does not act in such a confusing way.”
“…How dare you? What would you know?”
Aisha, now trembling violently, swung her hand again.
But before she could strike Edith’s cheek, Edith blocked her.
Smack!
Instead, Edith slapped Aisha across the face.
“Come to your senses.”
“You crazy…”
Aisha, who had been hit while trying to strike, lunged at her again, but she was caught easily and could only struggle helplessly.
“I do not know why you came all the way here to cause a scene. You are someone who loses control just hearing Marquis Erves’s name.”
“…”
“You said you missed Luzbel?”
“…”
“Who would believe such a lie? There is not a single trace of light in your eyes.”
Edith scoffed.
***
Aisha, struck by the truth, could do nothing and was dragged away by the knights.
“Aaaah!”
She resisted and even shouted Luzbel and Jeron’s names, but no one showed any reaction.
He only watched coldly.
“Your Grace, are you really alright?”
Monet asked cautiously.
The man who had longed so deeply for Aisha had cut her off so decisively?
For Monet, who had watched him longer than anyone else, it felt unreal.
But even Luzbel himself found it strange how unaffected he was.
She had been someone he loved so deeply, yet seeing her dragged away while screaming only made his affection fade.
Why?
Before, even when she acted so recklessly, he had accepted it.
He believed it was all his fault, understood Aisha, and loved her.
What had changed so that now he felt nothing?
“Are you alright, Edith?”
“What?”
For reasons he didn’t understand himself, his attention turned to Edith, not Aisha.
“I hit Lady Aisha and spoke harshly to her, so why are you worried about me? Why are you not scolding me?”
“What would I scold you for?”
“…What?”
“You only spoke the truth.”
“…Did you perhaps eat something strange?”
“Pfft.”
Luzbel laughed.
Edith’s eyes widened in shock, and Monet, the servants, and Jeron, who were watching, reacted the same way.
***
Edith tilted her head.
It was a good outcome, but it felt like it had resolved too easily.
In any case, it was clear that something had changed within Luzbel.
Aisha had been driven out of the Valencia estate without being able to do anything.
What this meant wasn’t insignificant.
Now, Luzbel was free from Aisha.
It meant he would no longer be swayed by her.
For a moment, Edith wondered if this wasn’t a collapse of the original setting.
Luzbel had only been a minor character, but he had been obsessively devoted and someone who had shared life and death with Aisha.
Yet he forgot her this easily?
Did that even make sense?
After the situation was resolved, Edith was filled with confusion when Jeron approached her.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, of course I am. Why is everyone worried about me? Aisha was the one who got thrown out.”
“She behaved rudely. She tried to hit you.”
“I said everything I needed to say, so I’m fine. I even hit her.”
“It was self-defense. I… feel a little ashamed that someone like that is my mom.”
“…Jeron.”
“I used to miss her a lot, but after meeting you, I am alright now.”
“What?”
“Thank you. It is thanks to you.”
“…Ah…”
Jeron truly looked relieved, as if he had completely let go of any lingering attachment to Aisha.
It was good, but…
Even though it was clearly a good outcome, the changes were too sudden no matter how she thought about it.
“Jeron, there is something I’m curious about. What difference do you see between the current Aisha and the Aisha from before?”
“What?”
“No, I just became curious.”
“…Hmm. The difference.”
Perhaps he had never thought deeply about it before, because Jeron soon fell into thought.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
Jeron murmured quietly. Strange.
“I thought I could love Mom even if she changed. Because I knew she was hurting.”
“Yes.”
“But at the founding day banquet, she was different.”
“Different?”
“I met Aisha, but unlike before, that blind feeling wasn’t there. But…”
Jeron’s gaze turned directly toward Edith.
“Why do I feel that way toward Edith instead?”
“What?”
Shocked, Edith covered her mouth.
Jeron himself looked just as confused saying it.
***
In the end, Aisha returned empty-handed, trembling with humiliation.
“…Ha…”
To think Luzbel would treat her like this.
This was definitely not something she had expected.
“That is unexpected.”
Lisellon, perhaps thinking the same, simply said that.
Aisha, her pride wounded, said she would go again, but Lisellon shook his head.
“They will find it strange.”
“…Ugh.”
“They already do. Even if Duke Valencia is obsessed with you, he strictly separates public and private matters. If you go again in this situation, he will grow suspicious of you and may even investigate.”
“Luzbel?”
Aisha scoffed, but perhaps because being driven out had left a strong impression on her, she couldn’t refute it.
She only trembled, not knowing what to do.
“Then… what are we going to do?”
She had believed everything would be resolved if she simply went herself, but now she had only planted suspicion, and Aisha grew anxious.
Lisellon, with a calm expression, lightly kissed her cheek as if to soothe her, then spoke.
“We will send someone to investigate.”
“…But it didn’t seem like he knew anything.”
That was the only thing she had confirmed.
“That would be fortunate, but it is better to be certain.”
“Yes…”
As Lisellon smiled faintly and comforted her, Aisha leaned into him and nodded, calming down.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t helpful.”
“Not at all. Your very existence is helpful, Aisha.”
For some reason, Lisellon was treating her with unusual tenderness today, and Aisha felt more at ease than usual.
Separate from her wounded pride.
But the anxiety Edith had planted remained in her mind.
Was Lisellon truly staying by her side because he loved her?
If so, why didn’t he come to her completely?
It was something she had always wondered, but Lisellon would always avoid the question with one excuse or another.
“What is it?”
“…You love me, right?”
“Of course.”
Lisellon smiled slightly, as if her concern was unnecessary, then lowered his head and kissed her deeply.
Some time later, after Aisha fell asleep limp in his arms, Lisellon left the bedroom and summoned someone.
“You called for me?”
The person wore a black mask, and even his clothes were matched so perfectly that he looked like darkness itself.
“Is there anyone expendable who can be sent to the Valencia Duchy?”
“Yes, there is.”
“…Prepare them well and send them. Tell them to find out why Lady Edith is there. More importantly, what about House Capanteni’s movements?”
“They are quiet.”
“I see…”
“Yes. What shall we do?”
“Keep watching.”
The black-clad man bowed his head as if obedience was his only path to survival, and the moment the conversation ended, he disappeared from sight.
