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Chapter 03
Meanwhile, Abelin was still trapped in a suffocating standoff inside Libes Duke’s carriage.
“Crying your way into my carriage… that was quite a refreshing strategy. So, what’s your next move? Seduce me?”
“…What?”
Abelin was so dumbfounded that her tears instantly dried up.
Even though an unbelievably handsome man was speaking to her, every time he opened his mouth, all she could see was a handsome mouth spouting nonsense.
Just as the rumors said—he really was a bizarre lunatic.
“No. I never had any such intention.”
“Ah.”
As soon as Abelin denied it, Libes Duke curved his lips as though he had already figured everything out.
Even that expression made him look like the son personally crafted by the gods, but to Abelin, he simply looked incredibly irritating.
“So, not seduction… You were planning to pounce on me right away?”
“…What?”
What kind of insane person says something like that?
Abelin silently blamed herself for climbing into the first carriage she saw.
“Could my luck possibly get any worse…?”
She had encountered this type of handsome man several times in the novels she enjoyed reading.
“Guys like this always acted crazy at first… then later became completely devoted to the heroine.”
But that was only in novels.
Now that she was facing one in real life, she didn’t care how handsome he was—she just wanted to get away.
“The heroine who kept putting up with someone like this was the truly amazing one.”
Abelin clearly wasn’t the heroine of a novel.
She simply didn’t possess that kind of patience.
“Duke, your words are becoming more and more outrageous.”
“Ah.”
Once again, Libes Duke smiled as though he understood everything.
“What exactly are you smiling about?”
Cursing inwardly, Abelin focused solely on finding the right moment to get out of the carriage.
“So you’ve decided to deny it now that your strategy has been exposed.”
The handsome mouth smiled brightly at her.
“Haa…”
Abelin took a deep breath to calm herself.
“Endure it. Just endure it. He’s Libes Duke—Father’s enemy. Don’t get involved with him. Just focus on getting off this carriage.”
As she tried to steady herself, a pleasant scent of soap suddenly drifted toward her.
“Gasp.”
The face of Libes Duke, who had been sitting across from her, suddenly appeared much closer than before.
“He’s even more handsome up close.”
As crazy as he was, she couldn’t deny it.
He truly deserved to be called one of the Empire’s Three Great Handsome Men.
Just as Abelin admitted that much to herself, Libes Duke threw another verbal bomb.
“My, such a sorrowful sigh. It seems you’re quite disappointed that you failed to seduce me.”
“Ah, I seriously can’t take this anymore!”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Startled by herself, Abelin quickly covered her mouth.
I messed up!
No matter how insane he was, he was still a duke—and the Emperor’s nephew.
She should have held back a little longer.
Contrary to her fears, however, Libes Duke’s beautiful blue eyes sparkled instead.
“Don’t hold back. I’m finally starting to become interested in how you’ll act next.”
Seeing Abelin rendered speechless, he casually added more fuel to the fire.
“Go ahead. Do whatever you want.”
At last, Abelin reached her limit.
“You crazy…! Mm!”
She hurriedly covered her own mouth.
No, no!
Even crazy people hated being told they were crazy!
As expected, Libes Duke’s expression stiffened.
“…Crazy?”
Blinking slowly, he repeated the word in his usual leisurely tone.
Abelin squeezed her eyes shut.
“I’m completely screwed.”
Today was truly the unluckiest day imaginable.
Her meeting with the viscount had already ended in failure.
She absolutely couldn’t afford to become entangled with Libes Duke as well.
Just as she took a deep breath and prepared to desperately explain herself—
“Now this is refreshing.”
“…What?”
Instead of becoming angry, Libes Duke rested his chin on one hand, looking genuinely deep in thought.
“This is certainly something I’ve never experienced before.”
He smiled thoughtfully.
“Someone cursing directly to my face.”
“No, that’s not what I…”
Why…
Why was he taking this so seriously?
Apparently, Libes Duke believed this was merely another unique method of trying to seduce him.
Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, Abelin couldn’t tell.
Still, at least he wasn’t angry.
Quietly, she sighed in relief.
“So… who was it?”
Yet another completely unexpected question came from him.
“Pardon?”
“The person who made you cry.”
Though she found it strange, his expression was so sincere that Abelin answered almost unconsciously.
“Viscount Berta…”
“Ah. Berta.”
The moment he heard the name, Libes Duke nodded knowingly.
Even Libes Duke—a man who looked like he cared about no one except himself—recognized the name.
It reminded Abelin just how infamous Viscount Berta’s reputation truly was.
“Is he still inside?”
“Probably.”
She had hit him fairly hard, and he had already been heavily drunk.
He probably hadn’t gone anywhere.
The instant Abelin nodded, Libes Duke immediately opened the carriage door and stepped outside.
Standing beneath the sunlight, he somehow looked even taller and even more handsome than he had inside the carriage.
As soon as he got out, nearby people began glancing his way.
Even Abelin, still inside the carriage, could feel their stares.
Yet Libes Duke seemed completely unconcerned.
“But… why are you getting out of the carriage?”
“I’m going to teach him a lesson.”
“…What? Me?”
Libes Duke looked at her as though she had asked something absurd.
“Of course I mean Viscount Berta.”
“…Why would you do that?”
After all, Abelin belonged to a family aligned with the Imperial faction.
There was no reason for Libes Duke, the leader of the Noble faction, to help her.
“You’ve given me something refreshingly new today.”
He smiled.
“I should repay you at least this much.”
“…But… I called you a crazy bastard.”
She added the clarification, wondering if perhaps he hadn’t fully understood the insult.
Instead, Libes Duke’s face brightened.
“Exactly.”
Why was he so happy after being called crazy?
His way of thinking was utterly impossible for an ordinary person to understand.
After looking at her for a moment, Libes Duke asked,
“Do you perhaps have feelings for that man?”
“That’s an awfully harsh thing to ask.”
Apparently satisfied with her answer, Libes Duke grinned.
“Ah… that’s dazzling.”
Earlier, he had merely seemed like a handsome mouth.
Now, standing beneath the bright sunlight, he looked like an angel that had accidentally wandered down from heaven.
“He has an endless list of scandals, so I thought I’d ask.”
He turned around.
“Please wait here for just a moment.”
Watching him leave, Abelin suddenly found something strange.
“Here?”
“Where else would you wait?”
Libes Duke tilted his head, genuinely unable to understand her confusion.
Seeing that reasoning with him was impossible, Abelin gave up arguing.
“It won’t take long.”
He smiled lightly.
“When I return, we’ll continue watching your attempts to seduce me.”
What?
Enjoying her utterly dumbfounded expression, Libes Duke chuckled before disappearing into the shop.
“What… was that?”
Left alone, Abelin could only stare blankly.
Although he was undeniably an extremely strange man, he was also the first person who had ever stepped forward to help her like this.
Would even her own father do the same?
Or her twin brother, Ares?
Ares was always showing off how capable he was.
Unless his own pride was at stake, he would never bother helping her.
“No. Pull yourself together.”
Abelin shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
No matter what, that man was still strange.
Not just strange…
Dangerous.
“Who in the world repays someone for insulting them? Revenge, maybe—but gratitude?”
She suddenly remembered something her father had once casually said.
That if Libes Duke were left unchecked, he might someday attempt a rebellion.
She had overheard her father telling Ares that although Libes Duke was the Emperor’s nephew, he was an unpredictable element who might one day stab the Imperial Family in the back.
“Maybe… this is an opportunity.”
If she simply returned home now, her father would surely be disappointed in her.
That was the last thing Abelin wanted.
She couldn’t bear the thought of seeing his cold eyes and hearing his disappointed voice.
She had finally earned some of his expectations.
She couldn’t lose them like this.
“Come to think of it… Father and Ares once talked about some documents belonging to Libes Duke.”
She remembered overhearing their conversation while passing by Father’s study one day.
Could those documents be here?
Her meeting with Viscount Berta had failed…
But if she could find those papers and bring them back, perhaps Father would finally see her differently.
With trembling hands, Abelin began carefully searching the inside of the carriage.
At that very moment, completely unaware that his carriage was being searched by Abelin, Libes Duke—Teron—looked down at the man sprawled across the floor.
Unlike the curiosity he’d shown while speaking with Abelin earlier, his eyes now held absolutely no emotion.
“It looks like someone’s already hit you once.”
Viscount Berta’s lip was already split as he lay on the floor.
Teron didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
He calmly stepped on the viscount’s wrist with his polished boot.
“Urgh…!”
A painful groan escaped Viscount Berta.
“Libes Duke! You barged in here out of nowhere—what exactly do you think you’re doing?!”
Teron crouched down before him and smiled.
The smile was completely out of place for the situation, yet his face was so breathtakingly beautiful that he looked like an angel who had accidentally fallen from heaven.
Even Viscount Berta was momentarily captivated by Teron’s sculpted features, forgetting the pain in his crushed wrist.
That illusion lasted only until the words that emerged from the living statue’s lips brought him crashing back to reality.
