EVHE 29

Chapter 29

Taine cleared his throat with a few gruff coughs, and then melodramatically exclaimed,

“Oh, my love!”

“I’m sorry I got mad that day. But still, isn’t it a bit much to ignore all my messages?”

He wasn’t speaking to me—his words were directed at Olivia.

“I’m busy,” Olivia said without even glancing at him, standing behind me.

“Why? Can’t you spare even a moment?”

“No.”

“Come on, just hear me out!”

No matter how coldly Olivia cut him off, Taine had no intention of backing down.

“Ugh, he’s disgusting…”

I muttered loud enough for Taine to hear, but he didn’t even flinch.

“Do you know how much I paid just to find out you were coming here? And you can’t even give me a single conversation?!”

Not only had he stalked Olivia, he apparently paid for information on her whereabouts.

“Don’t just hide back there—say something!”

Taine, now shouting, grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away from Olivia.

“Lady Olivia is not someone you can treat however you like!”

Olivia, who had been responding calmly, suddenly shouted, her voice filled with emotion. If I hadn’t held her back, she might’ve lunged at him.

Seeing the situation escalate, our escort knights stepped in and blocked Taine. The spot on my arm where he’d grabbed me started to ache.

“Excuse me—no, Marquis,” I said, barely restraining my anger as I faced someone I despised.

“When someone says they don’t like you, take the hint.”

“What would you know, Lady? I’m only like this because my love won’t meet with me!”

Taine replied shamelessly.

What an infuriating jerk.

But there wasn’t much I could do about him at the moment. If I hit him until he was barely alive, the Broke family might use that as leverage to demand something outrageous. I didn’t want to make things difficult for the Duke, who wasn’t even my real father.

Luchel could take care of things for me… but if I relied on him for everything, how was I any different from the original Lilith in the novel?

Should I just wait for Nox to take care of him?

But in terms of the original timeline, this was still early in the story. Nox wasn’t in love with Olivia yet.

Even if Nox did handle Taine, that wouldn’t happen until the middle of the story. Which meant this kind of thing would keep happening until then.

I squeezed Olivia’s hand tightly. She flinched at even the slightest pressure—she was such a fragile person.

I couldn’t just stand by. My conscience wouldn’t let me ignore this.

“Marquis Broke. I, Lilith Crescent, as a member of the Crescent Ducal House, hereby challenge you to a duel—for the honor of my family.”

I spoke solemnly, enunciating each word. Turning the rumors I’d heard at the Hyacinth family’s tea party into reality.

“What?”

“Huh?!”

Even Olivia gasped in surprise.

“N-No! Don’t!”

Realizing what I was doing, Olivia urgently grabbed my arm. But my mind was already made up.

“If you win, I’ll back off from Olivia for good. You’ll never hear a complaint from me, no matter what you do at future parties.”

I knew it was a ridiculous offer.

But even before meeting Taine today, I was already at rock bottom emotionally. I didn’t have the energy to care about right or wrong.

“If you lose, you walk away. For good.”

“And why would I agree to that?” he sneered.

I let out a sharp laugh.

“Why? Do you want to be humiliated again standing next to me?”

My derisive tone clearly hit a nerve. Taine’s face turned red, probably recalling the scolding he’d received from Calix at the Espen banquet.

“I heard the imperial subsidies were cut off after that. Hmm… tell you what, if you win, I’ll help get those reinstated.”

I offered a sweet deal—one he couldn’t refuse. Sure enough, his eyes darted as he seriously considered it.

“Fine,” he said, brimming with confidence. “Don’t take your words back.”

He clearly thought this was an opportunity.

* * *

“W-Wait!”

Taine, now a complete mess, crawled across the ground and shouted.

The person fighting him wasn’t me—it was one of the knights assigned to protect us.

“R-Right. My opponent’s not you—it’s the Lady! I should be fighting her, not you!”

When a weak woman is involved, it’s customary for a proxy to take her place in a duel. He had agreed to that. Now here he was, pitifully groveling and crying about it.

I hadn’t expected him to back down gracefully, but still.

“My Lady, you mustn’t.”

One of our guards stepped in front of me as I made to move forward.

“Step aside.”

I hardened my expression and glared at him. Flustered, he backed off, and I walked slowly toward Taine.

Maybe if I hurt him badly enough, he’ll stay quiet out of fear?

That was the goal from the start.

Taine was a man who relied solely on his family’s power. No one had dared touch the proud Broke family before.

Future-me can deal with the fallout.

Maybe remembering my past life was a mistake. I felt absolutely miserable.

The necklace works just by thinking I want to use it, right?

Instead of drawing my sword, I fiddled with the necklace.

Taine saw this and adjusted his grip on his sword, clearly thinking I had let my guard down. With a triumphant look, he charged at me.

Now’s the time to use it—

Just as that thought crossed my mind…

Time slowed, and a black butterfly appeared before my eyes.

A blinding flash, followed by the sound of hundreds of sheets of glass shattering all at once.

I turned my head and shut my eyes tight, unable to withstand the wave of force that followed.

The crashing sounds eventually died down. When I opened my eyes, I found that a thin, dome-like barrier surrounded me, Olivia, and our knights—like something out of an observatory.

The black barrier sparkled like a rare gem.

Taine had been thrown far, lying motionless on the ground.

“No way…”

I mumbled, dazed.

That wasn’t the necklace’s power.

I hadn’t even consciously activated it yet. Then Estella appeared in front of me.

Which meant…

“How am I supposed to take this?”

A familiar voice sent my eyes flying wide open. I reflexively turned toward its source.

“Marquis Broke.”

The voice was cold enough to send shivers down my spine.

Fresh off his horse, his golden hair was blindingly bright—almost cruel in its radiance. His golden eyes, usually dazzling, were now filled with a chilling aura.

Behind him, his knights sat atop their horses, silently watching us.

“…Luchel.”

My breath caught the moment I saw him.

Everyone froze at his arrival. And behind him, even more soldiers continued to appear in rows.

Taine, barely conscious after the blast, turned pale as soon as he saw who had spoken.

“The Crescent family’s young lady is a gift from the gods for the prosperity of the Empire.”

Luchel walked slowly toward Taine. The marquis scrambled backward on the ground, but a tree blocked his way.

“And you tried to harm her?”

His face was like a sheet of ice.

“That’s treason.”

His voice left no room for argument.

“Seize him.”

Luchel gave the command, and his knights rushed forward and grabbed Taine by both arms.

“Y-Your Highness, I was just—!”

Taine tried to protest, but one of the knights knocked him unconscious, cutting off his words. At the same time, Estella’s barrier around us vanished.

I thought it was over.

But then Luchel turned toward us.

He drew the sword from his hip and began walking in our direction.

“Whose side are you on?”

His fierce voice struck like a whip. He was looking directly at the two knights who had been guarding Olivia and me.

“If you serve the imperial palace, you should’ve crushed someone like him already. And if that wasn’t possible, then you should’ve protected them with your life.”

His tone was devoid of emotion, yet somehow it made his fury all the more apparent.

“You endangered them instead?”

A cold light flashed in his eyes—a murderous glint, unmistakable.

“Luchel.”

I called his name, trying to summon the courage to speak. His presence was so overwhelming that even I, who had butted into countless incidents, found it hard to talk.

But I had to. They had done nothing wrong—I was the one who had insisted on intervening.

“Stop.”

At my words, Luchel halted.

“Are you going to kill them all?”

Only then did he turn his head toward me. Even those few seconds of silence were so tense that my palms began to sweat.

“If necessary.”

“…It was my insistence that brought this about.”

With my head pounding, I approached him.

“And the imperial knights are valuable assets of the Empire. You can’t just kill them over something like this.”

I grabbed his arm tightly. If I didn’t, I was afraid he really would go and behead them.

My heart was pounding. In an ordinary situation, I would’ve already fainted.

“A worthless Empire…”

Luchel met my eyes and clasped my hand.

“Could never compare to you.”

He whispered it softly—only loud enough for me to hear. If it weren’t for the circumstances, I might’ve found the words sweet.

Then, just as quickly, he let go and turned toward his knights, who were holding the unconscious Taine.

Phew.

It felt like I had just defused a bomb at the last second. Every time I saw him, I was reminded—Luchel was far beyond the word “troublesome.”