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Chapter 07
“That was so satisfying.”
Watching the man, Abelin felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
The kind-hearted heroine had always foolishly accepted every empty apology her husband offered. Every time Abelin saw it, she had wanted to scream in frustration.
‘That bastard probably knelt down so confidently because he thought she’d forgive him again. He was putting on a show.’
But instead of the response he expected, he heard something completely different.
No wonder he was standing there with his mouth hanging open, completely dumbfounded.
‘Though his reaction is way more realistic than I expected.’
Even if this was just a dream created by her subconscious, the frozen expression on the man’s face felt unnervingly real.
‘Is he going to start drooling at this rate?’
Seeing that he still hadn’t closed his mouth, Abelin began to grow slightly concerned.
“Excuse me?”
She lightly poked him with her finger.
Thud!
The moment she did, the man swayed in the direction she had pushed him and collapsed straight onto the floor.
“W-What?”
No, wait.
She had only given him the slightest poke.
How did he fall over?
Startled, Abelin hurried over to him.
“Hey! Get a hold of yourself!”
No matter how much she shook him, he didn’t respond.
“Someone call the physician!”
In the end, Abelin ran outside and called for help.
“It appears he was simply startled. He should be fine after getting some rest.”
The physician who resided at the estate quickly examined the unconscious man. Fortunately, he didn’t ask why the husband and wife, who were known to be on such poor terms, had been together.
‘Well, I guess this is all just a dream anyway.’
After the physician left, Abelin was alone with the unconscious man.
She was at a complete loss for words.
“Seriously? You’re the one who did something wrong, and you pass out just because someone called you out on it?”
Compared to what he had done to Eve, this was nothing.
“The ones who hurt others are always the most sensitive when they’re the ones getting hurt. Tsk.”
That was an unchanging truth Abelin had learned through life.
Before she became a shut-in who rarely left the house, she had participated in social gatherings like everyone else.
Then an incident happened there.
After that, she stopped going out entirely and locked herself away at home.
‘Ugh. Thinking about that is making me depressed. Better not dwell on it.’
She had finally begun forgetting those memories by immersing herself in her favorite hobbies.
Shaking off the unpleasant thoughts, she looked back at the unconscious man.
“How did someone with such fragile mental fortitude even manage to cheat?”
Then again, remembering how he had completely fallen apart after discovering that Eve had found another man later on, perhaps he had always been as fragile as glass.
“So he’s one of those people who thinks it’s okay when he does it, but not when someone else does. What a waste of that handsome face.”
No matter how good-looking he was, trash was still trash.
Thinking about all the suffering he had put the heroine through, Abelin couldn’t forgive him.
As she glared at the unconscious man, she suddenly felt exhaustion wash over her.
“I got way too emotionally worked up all at once.”
Dragging her feet, she walked over to the sofa in the corner of the bedroom and lay down.
The moment she closed her eyes, sleep overtook her.
“Miss! Please wake up!”
“Mmm…”
Abelin slowly regained consciousness at the touch of a maid gently shaking her awake.
She blinked sleepily for a moment before suddenly sitting upright.
“Miss? What’s wrong?”
Her personal maid, Yoni, looked at her with concern as Abelin frantically looked around the room.
“It’s nothing.”
After confirming that she was back in her own room, Abelin answered calmly.
The dream had been so vivid that she had instinctively remained on edge.
“But what’s going on?”
Normally, Yoni never woke her before she got up on her own, so this was unusual.
“Miss, you need to get ready and come out immediately!”
Yoni urged her while handing her a cloth soaked in warm water.
Still half-asleep, Abelin accepted it and wiped her face, waiting for the rest of the explanation.
“The Duke of Libes has come to the estate!”
“What?!”
The words instantly chased away every trace of sleep.
The cloth slipped from her hand as she stared blankly.
Everyone knew that the Duke of Libes and Count Herrols belonged to opposing political factions.
‘In other words, there was absolutely no reason for him to visit our estate privately.’
So why had the Duke of Libes come here?
“Why is he here?”
“I don’t know. I heard from Mari that he keeps insisting he’s here to find a jewel he lost.”
A jewel?
Why would he come all the way here looking for his own jewel?
Considering she’d gotten involved with the Duke of Libes just yesterday, his sudden visit made her feel extremely uneasy.
Allowing Yoni to hurriedly dress her, Abelin left her room.
“Sis, did you hear the Duke of Libes is here?”
The moment she stepped outside, she ran into Ares, who was also hurrying somewhere.
“Yeah. You’re going because of that too?”
“I heard he’s arguing with Father right now. Why would he come to someone else’s house looking for his jewel…? Wait, what’s wrong with your hair?”
As Ares nodded, he frowned at the sight of her appearance.
She had rushed out without even brushing her hair.
Feeling embarrassed, Abelin quickly smoothed it down with her hand.
“…Let’s just go.”
As if deciding not to comment further, Ares turned away.
Only then did Abelin notice the pillow marks still pressed into his cheek.
With Abelin’s messy hair and Ares’s pillow-marked face, the twins hurried to Count Herrols’s study.
A crowd of servants had gathered outside, whispering among themselves.
“What’s going on? Why’s everyone gathered here?”
Ares pushed through the crowd and asked.
The butler standing helplessly outside the study brightened the moment he saw them.
“Young Master! Young Lady!”
“Is Father inside with the Duke of Libes?”
“Yes, he is.”
The butler nodded.
Ares looked at Abelin, silently signaling that he was about to open the door.
Swallowing nervously, she nodded back.
“Father!”
The moment the door opened, Ares rushed inside.
Both Count Herrols and the Duke of Libes turned toward the sound.
“What exactly is going on, Father?”
Though he already knew, Ares asked as if he had no idea.
Seeing the twins’ disheveled appearances, Count Herrols squeezed his eyes shut.
“…His Grace claims he has lost a jewel. I have no idea why he’s looking for it here.”
“I already told you,” the Duke of Libes replied gracefully, “I was led here by my jewel.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t understand! Why our house? Our family may not possess as much wealth as yours, but we certainly don’t steal other people’s jewels. You barged into our home without warning and started making accusations. Anyone would think you’re deliberately trying to provoke us!”
Truthfully, Count Herrols was at his wit’s end.
The Duke of Libes, someone he normally only met during imperial council meetings, had suddenly appeared at his home demanding the return of his jewel.
Count Herrols had often heard rumors that the Duke of Libes was an extraordinary man.
But he had never imagined this was what people meant.
No matter how hard he thought back over the past, he couldn’t figure out what he had done to attract the attention of such a mad duke.
As befitted one of the Empire’s Three Great Handsome Men, the duke was astonishingly good-looking.
Even as a middle-aged man himself, Count Herrols couldn’t deny how mesmerizing his appearance was.
In his youth, Count Herrols had never once been considered lacking in looks.
Yet after today, he honestly felt he might never want to look in a mirror again.
However, despite possessing such incredible beauty, the Duke of Libes had an equally incredible talent for making people lose control of their expressions every time he opened his mouth.
‘The gods truly are fair.’
They had given him unbelievably handsome looks.
But they had also given him an exceptionally strange personality.
Count Herrols even found himself pitying whichever woman would someday end up with the duke.
Though, with that personality, he wasn’t even sure the man was capable of loving anyone.
“Ah, I found it.”
At that moment, the Duke of Libes’s eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“Found it? What exactly did you find…?”
As Count Herrols finally came to his senses and asked, the duke gracefully raised a long finger and pointed toward someone.
“My jewel.”
At his words, Count Herrols, Ares, and every servant watching from outside the open doorway all turned their eyes toward the same place.
“My jewel.”
Standing outside the doorway, watching everything unfold, Abelin suddenly felt the atmosphere turn icy.
No—
It wasn’t just the room.
Her own heart had gone cold as well.
‘Is… is he pointing at me?’
For a moment, she even questioned whether her eyes were deceiving her.
“M-Me?”
Looking around to make sure, Abelin pointed at herself.
The Duke of Libes nodded.
“…Why?”
She barely managed to suppress the urge to scream.
“Sis… did you steal something from the duke yesterday?”
Knowing that Abelin had been with the Duke of Libes the previous day, Ares leaned over and whispered quietly.
