🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 30
He must have struggled a lot, being suspected of such things so often. Raiden quickly hid his doubts beneath his expression and nodded.
“If you say so, then it must be true, my lady. Understood.”
“Really, my father is a good person.”
“Yes. Count Evercline is a good man—I’ll engrave that in my mind.”
“That’s enough.”
Anna giggled, then looked at him and spoke kindly.
“So, my father will be your father too, Raiden.”
“…What?”
The unexpected words left his mind blank for a moment. Anna gripped his hand tightly and repeated, slowly and clearly,
“My father is the one who risked his life to save me from danger. So… if you marry me, he’ll give you everything without holding back. I believe that.”
Anna’s pale face was filled with nothing but certainty, no doubt or hesitation at all. That innocent belief was infectious, and maybe that’s why, in Raiden’s heart, trust for Count Evercline began to take root as well.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped from the man lying on the floor. Raiden snapped out of his memories and returned to reality. He stared at the man coldly, then slowly stood up.
“Shall we start again?”
No sooner had Raiden finished speaking than the man curled up, whimpering in terror. Raiden took the whip hanging from the stone wall and held it in his hand. With thorns embedded all over, just looking at it sent chills down the spine. He pulled it taut between both hands, murmuring to himself,
“Back then… I always wondered why you looked so shocked when you saw me.”
“!”
The man gasped.
“Even when I went to the far west, I kept wondering. Why did you treat me with such hostility?”
The man’s shoulders trembled, and he panted for breath. Raiden’s gaze was as cold and relentless as a blade as it pierced him, but his voice was soft and smooth.
“After winning the church martial arts tournament, I ran straight to the Evercline estate. To ask permission for my engagement with Alianna. You stumbled back the moment you saw me, as if you’d been hit over the head with an axe.”
“….”
The man remained silent, not even breathing. Raiden slowly walked over, knelt by his side, and spoke. His voice flowed low and lazy over the man’s wretched, crumpled body.
“You knew me, didn’t you?”
“….”
Raiden’s voice dropped even lower.
“Or did you know someone who looked like me?”
“!”
The man’s blood-soaked back trembled, and he began to gasp for breath. Raiden watched the man’s chest rise and fall with an indifferent look, then pushed himself to his feet with a hand on his knee.
“It seems we have a lot to talk about.”
He walked away, cracking the whip hard through the air.
CRACK!
The chilling sound echoed through the dungeon. The thorns left a bloody trail, and droplets of blood on the whip made grotesque patterns on the stone wall.
The terrified man began to sob like a child.
“….”
Anna turned her head away. Seeing her suddenly staring into space, Lucy, who was winding a ball of yarn, tilted her head.
“My lady, what’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Anna shook her head, feeling a chill as if the hair on the back of her neck was standing up. She tried to brush it off and picked up her embroidery frame again, but Lucy hesitantly spoke.
“Um, my lady.”
“Mm?”
Anna replied absentmindedly as she worked her needle over the blue butterfly. Lucy frowned and pondered for a moment.
“I might be remembering wrong, but…”
“What is it?”
Lucy fell silent, cautiously glancing aside. The maid Cecil was brushing Anna’s coat by the drawing room door, far enough away that she couldn’t hear their conversation.
Lucy lowered her voice to a whisper.
“The Marquis Marcus… He’s the same person from back then, right?”
“What do you mean, the person from back then?”
Without taking her eyes off the needle, Anna asked. Lucy hesitated.
“Well… the Count said someone threatened you and he gave them a huge sum of money to make them leave…”
At that moment, Anna slammed her embroidery frame down on the table.
“Lucy.”
“…Yes, my lady.”
At Anna’s cold, heavy voice, Lucy shrank like a scolded puppy.
“Raiden isn’t that kind of person.”
Anna said firmly. Her profile was stubborn and resolute as she glared at the embroidery frame. Lucy swallowed nervously.
“So you don’t believe what the Count said…?”
“No, I never did. Not then, and not now.”
Anger churned in Anna’s chest. Even after reuniting with Raiden, she never asked him about that, because she trusted he would never do such a thing.
Five years had passed with countless hardships and moments to doubt herself, but not once did she believe Raiden had approached her for money. She could have staked her life on it.
Raiden would never do that.
“…Okay.”
Lucy, embarrassed by Anna’s strong denial, scratched the back of her head, messing up her neatly rolled hair. Anna glanced at her and let out a small sigh, then stuck her needle firmly into her sewing kit.
“Turn around.”
“Yes…”
When Lucy obediently turned, Anna untied her hair and began fixing it. Lucy, feeling Anna’s hands, mumbled quietly.
“I knew he wasn’t that kind of person, even when I met him last time… I just had to ask, just in case. Since you didn’t believe it either, it really must be false. That’s a relief.”
Lucy drooped her shoulders in self-reflection.
“To be honest, I didn’t know the truth when I said it back then. The head maid was around in those days… I just overheard her talking and made assumptions.”
“….”
Anna’s hands slowed as she gathered and twisted Lucy’s hair. After a pause, she spoke bluntly.
“Raiden doesn’t talk much… so people misunderstand him sometimes. And it was my father who said those things. Looking back, I never trusted it, even then.”
“I guess so… How could he say such things? Maybe he just cared too much for you…”
“Maybe. Did he really think that would help me?”
Anna pursed her lips, recalling her father and Lisa. Memories she tried hard to forget replayed in her mind.
[“I’m telling you this honestly because I raised you like a little sister. I know what it’s like to be a commoner. Of course a commoner would fall for a noble lady—someone as pretty and wealthy as you! Who’d kick away such a lucky break? Even if he didn’t have feelings, he’d pretend. That’s what commoners do. It’s not love. How could you believe it’s real? With the young master of Haimel family right there, you pick a poor commoner? How could you choose a pebble over a sparkling gem, my lady?”]
When Lisa, hands on her hips, finished with a high-handed tone, her image faded, replaced by Anna’s father, John, who looked troubled as he sat in his chair with a report in hand.
[“I didn’t want to tell you this, but he asked for money—a lot of it. Commoners are usually shameless, but that man was worse. He even calculated the value of your future title and demanded the exact amount. He said he’d disappear from your life if I paid. Of course I gave it to him, for the sake of your reputation. I had no choice.”]
Her father’s image faded, and Anna saw herself crying on the bed, Lisa comforting her.
[“It’s true, my lady. The Count really gave that shameless man money—I saw it myself. You know the Count would do anything to protect you. He left without a second glance, just as I said he would. I told you, you can’t trust a commoner with soft feelings like love. To him, you were just a source of money, nothing more or less. The Count is searching for a suitable match for you, so hurry and get engaged to the young master of Haimel, my lady.”]
The scene changed again.
John, her father, sat in an armchair, reading a report, and spoke to her.
[“Lisa says Haimel is a good choice, but I think he’s not quite your level. My daughter deserves the finest, most comfortable life… I’ll pick the very best for you. Just do as I say.”]
Finally, John disappeared, replaced by Lisa in an outing dress with a feathered hat, looking at Anna as if she were hopeless.
[“The Haimel family might have less money and status than Evercline, but it’s still decent. The two families have a good relationship. Don’t get greedy, my lady, or you’ll be punished.”]
