Chapter 69
Johannes Beliar’s Circumstances (3)
Marquis Beliar, though displeased with Johannes, handed a generous sum of money to the victim and ensured their silence.
“I don’t care what you do behind the scenes. But do not sully the name of Beliar. I’m still at an age where I can afford enough losses.”
“….”
“Be wise. Be Beliar.”
After that, Johannes took the marquis’ advice to heart and acted perfectly as a Beliar in public.
It wasn’t particularly difficult. Foolish people would behave as if they would give him their liver and gall just because he smiled and treated them kindly.
Behind the scenes, however, he indulged his twisted desires. There was nothing he couldn’t accomplish with the name and wealth of Beliar.
Then, at a party he attended without much interest, he saw Riena Dyke—and was startled. He thought the late marquis’s wife, who had been buried, had returned.
They looked that alike. But the color of her eyes and the expression she wore revealed that she was someone else.
Yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her. At first, it was because she resembled the marquis’s wife. Then, his curiosity shifted to Riena herself.
A twisted affection sprouted within Johannes. He wanted her attention and love, yet also wanted to dominate and break her.
He wanted Riena. He wanted to whisper tender words of love to the innocent girl and then shatter her completely.
He wanted to take vengeance on her for the marquis’s wife through Riena.
Seeing Riena’s face, so similar to the marquis’s wife, contort in fear and humiliation would give him a thrill he had never felt before.
Twisted as it was, Johannes desired Riena Dyke.
Without much hesitation, he politely proposed marriage to the Dyke family. Considering Beliar’s reputation and his own carefully built image, he naturally expected a positive response.
But the reply came back sooner than he expected—and it was negative.
Though written politely, the gist of Count Dyke’s opinion was clear:
I will never marry my daughter to a man like you.
He tried contacting them a few more times, but the answer remained the same. If anything, with each letter, the count’s stance grew more resolute.
So he approached Count Dyke’s wife. He had someone lure her into luxury and gambling, accumulating debts.
After that, he dealt with the count and pushed forward with the plan to arrange a marriage between Riena and Viscount Lotman.
All that remained was to save Riena from despair, in the darkness.
But then, Kassel Winkler.
An unexpected variable had appeared.
Count Dyke, that wretched old man, had foiled Johannes until his death.
But it didn’t matter. Though Riena had temporarily slipped from his grasp, he was certain she would return to him.
If anything, her resistance only fueled his desire further.
With a crooked smile, Johannes leisurely returned to the party.
Riena, walking deeper into the party to avoid Johannes, stopped as a sharp pain flared in her heel.
It seemed the shoes had caused a blister.
Madame Lachapelle had designed them for maximum comfort using soft fabric, but perfection was impossible.
“Haah…”
Not only was the blister painful, but her feet, unaccustomed to heels, throbbed painfully. Planning to rest briefly, she took a seat on a nearby bench.
After a while, she heard a familiar voice.
“You’ve been here?”
Kassel appeared, seemingly worried as he searched for her. His cravat, which Riena had carefully adjusted earlier, was slightly disheveled.
“Sorry. I was just looking around the garden, but my feet hurt, so I took a short break. Did you search for me a lot?”
“No, not too much.”
Riena sensed he was offering a white lie for her sake.
Grateful, she looked up at him and smiled—but Kassel’s expression hardened for a moment as he leaned closer, touching her tear-stained eyes.
“Did you cry?”
“…No.”
“Do you think I wouldn’t notice your condition if I looked at your face?”
“It’s just some dust in my eyes.”
Like Johannes, Kassel did not look convinced.
“Really?”
Riena bit her lip, unwilling to lie to him.
“Actually, I met Raoul.”
“….”
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t go looking for him—just happened to see him on my way to the lounge.”
“I see.”
Kassel said nothing further, not asking what she had discussed with Raoul.
“Aren’t you curious what I talked about with Raoul?”
“I am, but if you don’t want to tell me, I won’t press.”
“Still, I’d like you to hear it. It might be a bit of a complaint.”
“I’ll listen. Everything you say.”
It was strange. Seeing Kassel made her gradually feel better after having been downcast earlier. In fact, she felt herself smiling.
Riena tapped the bench beside her, signaling Kassel to sit. Once he did, she began again.
“After reconciling with you, I sent a letter to Raoul, inviting him to dinner and telling him you had things to say about what happened.”
“Yes, I heard.”
“You know I sent multiple letters without a reply?”
Kassel nodded slightly.
“I wanted to resolve the misunderstanding with Raoul. After all, he’s my friend. I hoped the two of them could get along. I didn’t think that was too much to wish for.”
“….”
“But Raoul’s thoughts were different. He didn’t even read my letters. He said, how could I try to communicate through letters instead of coming in person after what happened?”
Riena fidgeted for a moment, hesitant to relay everything. Telling Kassel would mean recounting how Raoul had insulted him.
Sensing her reluctance, Kassel held her hand.
“Say whatever you need to. No matter what Lord Berna said about me, I truly don’t care.”
“….”
“I just worry if you were hurt by it.”
“Why would I be hurt when it wasn’t directed at me?”
In truth, Riena felt anger as if she had been insulted herself.
“So what did you say next?”
Riena hesitated but eventually spoke under Kassel’s urging.
“I said, if he really wanted to apologize, he should have come in person, knelt, or bowed his head. I asked how he could say such things, and the noble duke asked if he wasn’t allowed to do such things…”
She bowed her head in shame.
“Sorry, you had to hear such nonsense because of me.”
“No, I’m really fine.”
Kassel caressed the back of her hand, signaling her to continue.
“Then Raoul told me to choose between him and you. It was absurd. Even as a child, I’d never been asked whether I preferred my mother or father. Though it wasn’t the right time for such a question, anyway.”
“And what happened?”
Kassel’s calm voice wavered slightly—he was anxious in case Riena chose Raoul.
Riena smiled faintly at him.
“You don’t really think I would choose Raoul, do you? The one I’m with now is you.”
“…Why is that?”
“Simply because I no longer felt respected by Raoul, but you continued to respect me.”
Riena took his hand, intertwining her fingers with his strong, calloused ones.
“What could have happened in the capital to Raoul? He seemed crushed by people and his own inferiority complex, even toward you, a duke.”
“….”
“Raoul must have his reasons, but I don’t know. Can I still call someone who’s changed like that my friend?”
Riena smiled bitterly.
“You were right when you said not to trust Raoul completely. I didn’t want to admit it, but this is the outcome.”
Kassel didn’t scold her with, “I told you not to trust him.” She silently appreciated his calmness.
“Kass, you also told me not to trust you completely. Was that just to convince me not to trust Raoul, or did you truly mean it?”
“Yes.”
“Then shouldn’t I not trust you?”
“….”
“I want to trust you now.”
“I… will never betray you.”
“No matter what?”
“No matter what happens.”
“That’s a relief.”
Riena exhaled in relief. Even if the day came when Kassel turned away from her, this answer was enough for now.
