MHSGM 06

Chapter 06

The bellboy who had been sent to find Kaiden in the lobby returned to Chloe, still holding the dress exactly as it was.

“I’m sorry, but he had already left, so I couldn’t deliver the message.”

“I see. Good work.”

Chloe took the dress back with a vaguely unsettled feeling. Her eyes, fixed on the glittering luxury gown, narrowed as if it were something troublesome.

“So he couldn’t even wait that long.”

She didn’t want anything even remotely connected to Kaiden Verder near her. If it was something he had personally bought for her, even more so.

“I can’t exactly throw this away.”

But if she did, he would likely scold her later for disposing of something that belonged to him without permission.

If it was that lunatic, it was entirely possible.

“He’s honestly the second worst man in my life.”

The first, of course, was that bastard Duer.

Finding it deeply uncomfortable to keep the dress, Chloe had no choice but to fold it roughly and shove it into her trunk. If she returned home, she planned to send it back to the Verder ducal estate through a courier.

“Have you lost your mind?!”

The duke’s office shook with the roar. Kaiden slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.

“I don’t care who you meet or what you do. But interfering with your brother’s marriage? That is unacceptable!”

The head of the Verder ducal house, Duke Warren Verder, had veins bulging in his neck as he glared at his son.

“Interfering? Father, I merely chose to marry one week earlier than my brother. How is that interference?”

Unlike the enraged duke, Kaiden remained calm and composed. His relaxed attitude only fueled the old man’s anger further.

“It is the first wedding to be held at the Cent Hotel! Do you not understand what that means?!”

The most luxurious wedding hall in the Empire of Ocelte. The first couple to marry there would draw enormous attention.

And that ceremony was also meant to publicly announce the union between the Verder ducal house—one of the Empire’s most prestigious families—and the Crimson Marquess House, a family possessing an immense fortune from its mana stone mines.

It was a carefully chosen spectacle designed to maximize political and economic gain through marriage. In noble society, symbolism mattered as much as anything.

In truth, it was not the duke but Harun Verder and his bride who had pushed for the ostentatious arrangement.

“You may cause us to suffer enormous losses because of your shameless actions!”

That was exactly what Kaiden wanted. But he did not reveal his true thoughts.

“Even if I am shameless, am I worse than the one who stole my brother’s fiancée?”

“Th-that is… cough.”

The duke coughed awkwardly, momentarily deflated. Then he quickly regained his composure.

“This is a political marriage. Alliances between houses can change depending on circumstances. How can you speak so immaturely?”

Rosetta Crimson, who was to become his brother’s wife in two months, had originally been Kaiden’s fiancée.

The Crimson Marquess House was a long-established noble family and also controlled an enormous mana stone mine.

In other words, they were a partner the Verder house, which operated in shipbuilding, could not afford to lose. In the Empire of Ocelte, everything that moved ships and trains depended on mana stones.

Kaiden had planned to secure his position as heir by marrying Rosetta Crimson. With the backing of such a powerful house, there was little he could not achieve.

But a few months earlier, the Crimson House suddenly requested to break the engagement, stating they wished to form a marital alliance with Harun instead.

They had concluded that Harun would become the heir of the Verder house.

‘That snake Harun must have manipulated them.’

Kaiden had never loved Rosetta. Noble marriages were always about calculation, not emotion. There was nothing to be hurt about.

And yet, that did not mean there was no sense of betrayal. Those who had been allies until yesterday had suddenly turned their blades toward his back.

He had no intention of persuading them. But letting it go without consequence did not suit his nature.

“Are you planning revenge? And that revenge is marrying one week earlier than your brother?”

Kaiden already knew today’s provocation would not change anything.

However, provoking Harun and Rosetta, and signaling that he was still watching them, was enough.

“You’re going to bring some random woman and stage such a ridiculous act…”

“Random woman? That’s a bit insulting.”

Duke Verder clicked his tongue in disdain. “The Garret family is not insignificant. But they cannot grant you real power.”

They were an academic house, after all.

“What’s more, that woman is a divorcee. Even driven by pride, how can you propose marriage to someone like that?”

The duke’s contempt was clear—Kaiden would never become heir.

But Kaiden knew something they did not. Chloe Garret held a card that could change everything.

That was precisely why he had approached her.

“You will change your mind soon enough.”

With that confident remark, he left the duke’s office.

A vacation that did not feel like a vacation ended almost instantly.

After three short days off, Chloe returned to the Garret estate feeling even more exhausted than before.

“Lady Chloe!”

The butler, who had clearly been waiting for her return, rushed toward the carriage.

Not just him—the entire household staff was watching her with curious expressions.

Chloe understood immediately.

‘Melvin, that loose-lipped brat.’

She must have already told the entire estate.

‘Of course I’m going to get lectured.’

They would no doubt scold her for recklessly meeting a man again after already failing once.

‘It’s fine now.’

She would never have to face Kaiden Verder again. Before the misunderstanding spread further, she needed to explain that their relationship was over.

‘Not that there was much of a relationship to begin with.’

If her mother found out she had briefly acted as his fake lover, she would likely faint on the spot.

So Chloe planned to say they simply did not get along and broke things off quickly.

Feeling oddly relieved that her father was not alive to witness this, she headed toward her mother’s study.

“Mother, it’s me.”

“You’re back.”

Her mother, Ena Garret, turned away from the window to look at her daughter.

“I heard from Melvin.”

“……”

“She said you have a new man. And that it’s Kaiden Verder.”

She would be scolded any moment now.

So Chloe decided to strike first.

“Mother, about that…”

Before she could continue—

Grab.

“…?”

But Ena’s reaction was completely different from what Chloe expected. Instead of anger, she took Chloe’s hands with an emotional expression.

‘Wait.’

Emotional?

“Well done, Chloe.”

“…Mom?”

“To think you managed to win over Kaiden Verder!”

“……”

“Good job. Well done, my daughter! Truly well done!”

Ena’s voice grew louder until it echoed through the entire study.

“Do you know how furious Melvin was while telling me? You should’ve seen her face!”

Chloe tried to say she had actually seen it three days ago, but Ena did not give her a chance.

“And when I heard you were meeting Kaiden Verder, that woman Clara—she…”

Clara was Melvin’s mother, once a maid in Ena’s service. She had been dismissed when she ran off with the Earl Garret.

When Melvin later arrived claiming to be the Earl’s daughter, chaos had erupted in the household.

The Earl had ultimately accepted them despite opposition, providing them with financial support and protection.

With that backing, Clara and Melvin grew bold. Melvin even claimed Chloe’s life should have been hers, and eventually succeeded in taking Chloe’s former husband, Duer.

Living under the same roof as such people made Ena’s disdain for them completely understandable.