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Chapter 61
Unlike Mera, who watched with a satisfied, wide smile—
Beside her, Hillius turned his head and stared at the dark-haired child.
“…That child is the one Aileen is raising?”
“Poor Aileen. She was boasting in the papers about how happy she was. Looks like she has her own troubles, doesn’t she? Grand Duke of the South—I didn’t expect this of him. An illegitimate child, of all things. I was wondering why they claimed to be so close but still had no children. Ohoho!”
Mera was certain.
Whether that child really was Floan’s illegitimate son or not, just appearing in this hall was already a huge blow to Aileen.
What did the truth matter?
What mattered was that, because of this incident, Aileen Helios’s reputation would be scarred forever.
Only moments ago she had felt trampled into the dirt, but thanks to this small commotion, she felt like she was soaring in the sky again.
“Isn’t this going to get so much more fun, Hillius?”
She had expected him to smile lazily as usual and simply watch the situation unfold.
But his reaction was nothing like she had imagined, and Mera’s expression stiffened rapidly.
He was staring intently at the back of the child being hurried out by a maid.
Seeing Hillius visibly shaken made Mera feel as though she was being dragged back down into the dirt.
What, he still hasn’t gotten over Aileen? Just the thought of her raising an illegitimate child makes him hurt like this?!
Annoyed, Mera jumped to her feet.
“Let’s go back now, Hillius. We’ve had our fun.”
“You go on ahead.”
With that, Hillius strode off somewhere in haste.
Flustered, she shouted after his retreating back.
“What did you just say? Hillius! I’m really leaving, you know!”
But he left without a glance, and Mera sank back down in dejection.
The moment the child left, curious nobles could no longer contain themselves and began approaching Aileen.
They looked like hyenas who had just found prey.
“Grand Duchess Aileen, that child just now—wasn’t he dark-haired? Did my eyes deceive me?”
“Yes, you saw correctly.”
“My goodness. Who would have thought you were facing such troubles.”
“What? Troubles? I think you’re mistaken—”
Before she could explain, the noblewoman left hurriedly, shaking her head in pity.
Aileen knew that people only heard what they wanted to hear and believed only what they wanted to believe, but it didn’t make it any less unpleasant.
The murmurs weighed heavily on her.
Ha… I should tell Floan about this first—
She hurried toward the back of the hall, trying to escape the barrage of questions.
Suddenly, a hand shot out of nowhere, seizing her shoulder and slamming her against the wall.
She was so shocked she couldn’t even scream.
When she lifted her wide eyes, she found herself staring at none other than Grand Duke Hillius Perstein.
“It’s been a long time, Aileen.”
“…I don’t recall sending you an invitation. You came with Lady Mera, didn’t you? Planning to use her?”
“You looked like you were doing well… but today, you don’t seem all that well after all.”
“I’m doing perfectly fine. I think you’re mistaken. Now let me go.”
But instead of letting her go, his grip only tightened until her shoulder began to ache.
The heavy pressure near her collarbone made it nearly impossible for her to struggle free.
“That child earlier—are you really raising him?”
“Let go, you’re hurting me!”
He shook her shoulder hard, slamming her back against the wall again.
Wincing in pain, Aileen stared at him with frightened eyes.
Was this man… completely out of his mind?
“Where did you get him? Where did you take him from?!”
“What does it matter to you?”
“…He isn’t an illegitimate child, is he?”
“…”
“Then why are you pretending he’s yours? He isn’t your child.”
His gray eyes were unfocused as they bore into her.
Whatever it was he was seeing through her, it left him looking furious.
“…And what does that have to do with you?”
“You can’t deceive me. The moment I saw him, I knew. As if it wasn’t enough to abandon and betray me—you even take her child—!”
The pressure on her collarbone grew so intense that she thought the bone might snap.
Just as she squeezed her eyes shut, ready to scream in pain—
Thud!
Hillius was knocked aside.
Freed from his crushing grip, Aileen collapsed to the floor, her legs giving out.
The next thing she saw was Floan, seizing Hillius by the collar and dragging him up.
“F-Floan…!”
Had she ever seen Floan this furious before?
“How dare you lay a hand on her.”
His jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscles stood out, and he raised his fist again.
But Aileen noticed people rushing toward them from across the hall.
She quickly wrapped her arms around Floan’s waist from behind.
“Floan, no. People are coming. Please?”
“…He put his hands on you.”
“So what? It was like a fly landing on me and falling off again.”
Well… a rather heavy fly.
If she didn’t stop him here, those onlookers would soon be watching the disgraceful sight of the Southern and Northern Grand Dukes brawling.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“…Hmph.”
At her pleading, Floan roughly released Hillius’s collar, sending him sprawling again.
Then he led his wife away from the scene.
Inside the office of the café, Aileen quickly pulled out a first-aid kit and sat down beside Floan.
“How hard did you punch him to hurt your hand like this?”
“…It seems I scraped it on his accessory.”
“Let me see. Oh heavens, this is more than just a scratch from an accessory! What on earth was that man wearing?”
In truth, it wasn’t an accessory—it was a dagger Hillius had drawn in retaliation. Floan had been cut while striking him.
But he kept silent, hiding the truth.
He knew exactly how Aileen would react if he told her.
“The bleeding won’t stop.”
She fetched a clean towel and pressed it to his wound.
“What a disaster this is… There was a small commotion. Pia accidentally bumped into a noblewoman in the hall. When people saw her hair color, they jumped to the wrong conclusion—just as they did with me.”
“They think she’s my illegitimate child?”
She carefully dabbed ointment on the wound. Floan flinched.
“Sorry, did that hurt?”
“It’s fine. Just stings a little.”
“Anyway… I couldn’t possibly say in front of the child that she isn’t yours or mine, but just some orphan I picked up. It felt like cutting off a lizard’s tail—protecting my reputation by hurting her.”
As she slowly wrapped the bandage, Aileen glanced up at him cautiously.
“I’m sorry, Floan.”
