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Chapter 46
Meanwhile, Cedric was lying on his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.
He tossed and turned for quite a while. In the large bedroom, only the faint rustling of the sheets echoed quietly.
‘Die.’
Eric’s voice lingered in Cedric’s mind. Cedric slowly opened his eyes.
“Hoo….”
He let out a deep sigh and pushed himself upright.
Sleep wouldn’t come. What had happened earlier kept replaying in his head.
Looking haggard, Cedric got out of bed. His thoughts were filled entirely with Eric.
Aside from the matter of marriage, Eric had never once disobeyed him. Of course, he had shown displeasure now and then, but this was the first time he had done something so shocking.
Cedric pressed his throbbing temples. His head was in complete turmoil.
“…How dare he raise a weapon against his own father.”
He had never raised his son that way. He had spared no effort in trying to raise Eric well.
To him, a “good son” was a “obedient son” who followed his words without question.
That was why he had thoroughly broken his son into submission. Only by listening to him could wealth and power be inherited from nothing. Everything had been for Eric and for the family.
And yet, without even understanding his intentions, the boy dared to rebel like this.
Cedric could not simply let it slide. He left his room and quietly walked down the long corridor.
He wasn’t headed for Eric’s room, but for Tersia’s.
A maid standing in front of Tersia’s room greeted him when she saw Cedric. She knocked on the door and said,
“The former Count is waiting.”
“Tell him to come in.”
Had she been asleep? A drowsy voice responded.
The maid opened the door.
Cedric entered and walked straight to the bed where Tersia lay.
Tersia pushed herself up when she saw Cedric in her room. Looking as though she had just woken up, she rubbed her eyes tiredly.
“What is it?”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. It wasn’t deeply stabbed to begin with.”
Though she might have smiled at Cedric for coming out of concern, her attitude was cold to the extreme.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Cedric muttered indifferently as he stared down at Tersia’s hand.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
As Cedric turned to leave, Tersia’s voice came from behind him.
“Are you going to Eric?”
Cedric stopped in his tracks and glanced back, neither confirming nor denying it.
Seeing his reaction, Tersia spoke sharply.
“Don’t go.”
“Then are you saying I should just let this go? He stabbed you!”
Instead of pushing him on, she was stopping him. Cedric raised his voice in anger at Tersia’s behavior.
But Tersia was not easily cowed. She shouted back in an even louder voice.
“He didn’t stab me. He stabbed you!”
“……”
“I’ve told you over and over! Please, just let Eric go now…. Do you want to see him completely ruined?!”
Cedric remained silent in the face of Tersia’s shouting.
“When you grow old, you’ll be nothing more than a sick, toothless monster. So please, don’t touch Eric anymore.”
“…Is it normal for a son to attack his father just because he was disciplined once?”
Despite Tersia’s desperate plea, Cedric did not agree with her. On the contrary, her words only deepened his resentment.
“A father who disciplines like you isn’t normal either.”
“Tersia!”
“Eric said something today.”
Even as she looked at Cedric’s face twisted in anger, Tersia didn’t stop. In fact, she spoke even more firmly and calmly.
“He said you didn’t look like a human being.”
“What?”
“He said you didn’t look human. At some point, you looked like a monster to him. So… without realizing it, he picked up a weapon.”
“What are you even talking about?”
Cedric let out a deep sigh as he looked at Tersia.
He didn’t feel the seriousness of the situation at all. He was only thinking that perhaps Eric needed psychiatric treatment.
But that wasn’t the core of the problem.
Having only grown more complicated after coming to Tersia, Cedric strode out of her room.
“Cedric!”
Tersia called his name, as though she still had something to say, but Cedric didn’t look back.
And so, the night before Eric’s wedding passed.
The next morning.
Roze was busily preparing to go out.
“It feels so awkward doing this alone when the maids usually do it for me every time.”
At the Serviat residence, there was no hired help. She had to do everything herself—from washing up to getting ready.
Suddenly, Roze let out a small laugh at herself.
“Heh, this was normal back in Korea, though….”
It seemed she had grown quite accustomed to life inside the novel. Roze put on a wide-brimmed hat large enough to shade her face over her neatly braided hair.
Since she hadn’t brought any belongings with her, both the dress and the hat belonged to her mother, Rivera.
After finishing getting ready, Roze went down to the first floor. Rivera greeted her with a bright smile the moment she saw her.
“Oh my, how pretty.”
“Where are you going?”
In contrast, Damon spoke bluntly.
“I have an appointment.”
“Who are you meeting? Don’t tell me it’s a date?”
The moment the word “date” left his mouth, Damon’s eyes flashed. Flames flickered in his once-indifferent gaze.
“No. I’m meeting someone for work.”
At Roze’s quick denial, the flames in Damon’s eyes settled. With a calmer expression, he asked,
“Work? What kind of work?”
“Well….”
Roze trailed off, hesitating to speak. She was debating whether or not to talk about the business.
“There’s something I want to try. If I’m going to be independent, I’ll need ability too.”
She spoke vaguely, without going into detail. Damon was about to ask more specifically what she meant, when someone arrived.
Knock, knock.
A knocking sound came from the door.
“Oh, I think they’re here. I’ll be off then!”
Roze hurried over and opened the door. Curious about who it was, Damon and Rivera peeked from behind her.
“You’re early, Your Grace.”
“Your Grace…?”
Damon’s eyes widened slightly when he saw the Grand Duke of Arteum. He hadn’t expected the Grand Duke to come himself.
“Oh my, are you going together with the Grand Duke?”
The Grand Duke exchanged polite greetings with Rivera and Damon.
“Would you like to have a cup of tea before you go?” Rivera asked kindly, but Roze stepped in front of her.
“Another time. We have a lot to do today.”
Rivera couldn’t hide her disappointment, but Roze had no choice.
I saw the Grand Duke look momentarily flustered.
If she hadn’t stopped it, he probably wouldn’t have refused Rivera’s offer.
For anyone else it might be different, but Damon and the Grand Duke were in a master–disciple relationship. It would have been quite difficult for him to refuse the words of Damon’s wife.
“Let’s go, Your Grace.”
Roze spoke brightly as she passed by the Grand Duke. He pulled the hood of the robe he had taken off back over his head and followed her.
A carriage was waiting at the end of the alley. It wasn’t one belonging to the House of Arteum.
It seemed they had rented one in town to move around more freely without attracting attention.
As they approached the carriage, the Grand Duke naturally extended his hand to Roze. By now, she was quite used to such escorting gestures.
Roze lightly placed her hand atop his and carefully climbed into the carriage.
Rivera’s dress wasn’t as extravagant or trailing as the ones she wore at the count’s estate.
So it wasn’t a situation that strictly required an escort. Still, Roze didn’t dislike the Grand Duke offering his hand.
Once Roze settled inside, the Grand Duke climbed in after her.
Come to think of it, is this my first time riding in a carriage alone with the Grand Duke?
Roze glanced sideways at him. He removed the robe that had been stiflingly covering him, revealing his face.
With his clear skin, his handsome features were fully revealed. Sensing her gaze, the Grand Duke looked at Roze.
“Shall we stop by the bank first? I need to provide you with the capital for the business.”
“Um….”
At his words, Roze couldn’t answer right away. There was something weighing on her mind.
Seeing her trail off, the Grand Duke looked at her with curiosity.
I thought she’d answer right away.
Compared to how passionately she had spoken when asking to borrow business funds, her current hesitation felt oddly out of place.
However, his doubt was soon resolved.
“Um… Your Grace, are you very busy today?”
The Grand Duke had indeed been extremely busy.
He was digging into the imperial faction nobles, investigating the true identity of the monster he had encountered when he was framed as Marquis Bled’s murderer, and on top of that, his regular duties were already overwhelming. He had even been sacrificing sleep.
He quietly observed Roze, who was fidgeting with her fingers as she watched his reaction.
Her flushed face and trembling lips looked exactly like a woman in love.
As always, Roze made no effort to hide her feelings, and that made her look adorable to him.
She’s mustered the courage to ask me out first—can’t say I’m busy now.
With that firm misunderstanding, he spoke.
“I cleared my entire day.”
At his words, Roze’s face brightened visibly.
“I’m really sorry, but… could you grant me just one request?”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”
After all, what you want must be a date with me.
With a relaxed expression, the Grand Duke looked at Roze. However, what came out of her mouth was different from what he expected.
“Before we go to the bank, there’s somewhere I want to stop by. Would it be okay if we go there first?”
One of the Grand Duke’s eyebrows lifted.
…She’s not upset, is she?
Roze worried that her request might have offended him, but—
Since I’ve brought it up, I should explain it properly.
She decided to face her fear.
“I have business at the temple.”
“The temple….”
That was where Count Wence’s wedding was being held.
It was something everyone knew from rumors. The entire empire had been abuzz over the fact that he was remarrying immediately after a divorce.
The Grand Duke swallowed his unspoken words and looked at Roze with a puzzled expression.
It’s not like she still has feelings for Count Wence.
Roze carefully took out the wedding invitation she had brought with her and handed it to the Grand Duke.
“One of the count’s maids got pregnant with Eric’s child. Because of that child, a butler who had worked for the Wence family for over thirty years was expelled.”
The Grand Duke listened attentively as he took the invitation.
Even without opening it, he already knew who the bride was.
Beliar of the Ducal House of Dicar.
She was the bride of today’s wedding.
“That maid must have believed without a doubt that she’d become the countess. She tormented the maids I cared about a lot… and it’s embarrassing to say this, but I suffered quite a bit too.”
The Grand Duke understood her meaning.
“You want to go there and mock that maid right in front of her, is that it?”
Roze nodded without denying it. The Grand Duke gazed at her quietly.
It wasn’t the date he had expected, but it wasn’t a request he couldn’t grant either.
“Then before we go to the temple, let’s stop by one more place.”
“What?”
Roze tilted her head at his words. There was some time left before the wedding began, but not enough to be leisurely.
However, at what the Grand Duke said next, Roze had no choice but to agree.
“It’s your ex-husband’s wedding. I can’t let you go like this.”
Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that…!
Roze didn’t look shabby, but neither was she dressed appropriately to attend as a guest.
If she went like this, she might be laughed at—not only by Eric and Doana, but by the wedding guests as well.
A pitiful woman, divorced and unable even to dress properly, loitering around her ex-husband’s wedding.
Roze’s eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands in delight.
“Your Grace, you’re truly wise…!”
Looking at Roze gazing at him with such pure eyes, he couldn’t help but smile.
Unable to hide the enthusiasm burning in her eyes, Roze smiled happily.
Not in my previous life—but in this one, I’ll laugh at you as much as I like, Doana.
You should try feeling what it’s like to have your husband taken too.
