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Chapter 9
“Ghk…!”
Logan turned his head.
There were deep, pitch-black eyes that were unpleasantly intense.
It was the Grand Duke of Winterheim.
Logan’s hand trembled.
It felt as though he had been caught by a bear rather than a human.
The pain was so intense that his grip gradually loosened, his hand turning white.
Smack!
Unable to endure it any longer, Logan jerked his hand away.
Lumiere, who had been held by him, staggered backward.
“Ah!”
Axid instinctively caught her by the shoulder from behind.
“Are you all right?”
“…I’m a little dizzy.”
Still feeling dizzy from the shock, she naturally leaned her head against his chest.
“……”
Axid was briefly surprised that she leaned against him without hesitation.
Then he wrapped one arm around her protectively.
“You seem to have a habit of using your hands carelessly.”
Logan’s brow twisted harshly.
He had clearly sensed the contempt in the ominous black eyes.
Not only had he been overpowered by some barbarian, but he was now being humiliated like this as well.
His pride wounded, Logan spoke through gritted teeth.
“Her Highness threatened my fiancée first.”
Axid’s cold gaze turned toward Clora.
He was a man who had cut down hundreds, even thousands, of monsters on the battlefield.
His sturdy build could not be completely hidden even by his perfectly fitted formal clothes.
His sharp eyes seemed to see straight through a person’s thoughts.
He wasn’t even openly threatening her, yet his gaze was so heavy that it felt as though it were crushing her throat.
“T-That’s… I mean, it’s all a misunderstanding…”
Clora stammered nervously.
Roselyn quickly stepped forward.
“That’s right! Her Highness threatened the Duke of Trovitan’s fiancée, and she even slapped me in front of everyone!”
She had to speak before Clora could tell the truth.
If she didn’t get an apology from the princess now, while Duke Trovitan was here, she might never get another chance.
Roselyn glanced at the mysterious man.
Judging by his ordinary appearance, he was probably a guard the Grand Duke had assigned to the princess. If Duke Trovitan stepped in, this man wouldn’t be able to do anything to her.
Surely an envoy from the Grand Duchy wouldn’t seriously risk a conflict with a duke just for the princess they had taken as their future Grand Duchess.
But then—
“What exactly is the problem?”
“Pardon…?”
“If the princess wishes it, there would be no problem with cutting off not just your cheek, but your head.”
“W-What…?”
Roselyn, who had been so confident only moments ago, took a step back.
His firm attitude was as though he were simply stating an obvious fact.
Standing before him, she felt like nothing more than a bug that could be crushed beneath his foot.
Just then, several huge men entered with stern expressions.
They were the knights of the Grand Duchy.
“Your Highness, what happened?”
They had apparently sensed that something was wrong, and their eyes were sharp and alert.
“…Just a moment, Grand Duke.”
The princess, who had been holding onto his arm, straightened herself and stepped forward.
Grand Duke?
He was the Grand Duke?
Roselyn’s eyes widened.
“Lady Belleno.”
“Eek…”
“Now that you understand what happened, apologize properly. If you do, I will overlook the disrespect you showed me here.”
Roselyn looked desperately toward Logan, but he showed no sign of stepping forward.
That meant the man’s identity was genuine.
But even so, shouldn’t a duke step in when some barbarian was threatening an imperial citizen?
Especially when Roselyn was Clora’s close friend?
Roselyn called out in a trembling voice, as if begging Clora to do something.
“C-Clora…”
But Clora only looked away awkwardly.
“Ugh…”
She was being forced to apologize to the lowly princess whom she had casually bullied whenever she felt like it.
Humiliation, shame, and a sense of betrayal toward Clora made Roselyn’s face burn as her entire body trembled.
But the cold gazes of the knights were too much for an ordinary noblewoman to withstand.
Roselyn’s trembling body slowly collapsed.
“I-I’m sorry… Your Highness. P-Please forgive me…”
Lumiere watched her indifferently.
Roselyn would no longer be able to participate in high society.
Once this incident spread, that would be the end of her social life.
It was entirely the result of her own actions.
Lumiere turned her gaze away from Roselyn, who was sobbing on the floor.
“I’m sorry for causing this disturbance unintentionally. Please accept this as compensation for the trouble I’ve caused.”
“N-No, Your Highness!”
The shop assistant repeatedly refused, but Lumiere forcibly placed a gold coin into her hand.
“Let’s go, Grand Duke.”
She could feel Logan and Clora staring at her from behind, but she had no desire to exchange goodbyes with either of them.
“Haa…”
Once she got into the carriage, fatigue finally caught up with her.
She let out a tired sigh and closed her eyes.
Then she heard Axid’s voice.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Mm… no…”
She slowly lifted her heavy eyelids.
“If the princess wishes it, there would be no problem with cutting off not just your cheek, but your head.”
She had never realized how reassuring it could feel to have someone take her side.
“…Thank you, Grand Duke. For standing up for me.”
“I only did what was natural.”
She smiled softly at his blunt response.
The fact that he didn’t even seem to think he had done anything special filled her heart with a warm feeling.
She wanted to properly thank him, but right now she was exhausted, as if she had a heavy weight tied to her body.
“…Grand Duke, I’m sorry, but I’m tired. I’ll close my eyes for a little while.”
She whispered softly and leaned her head against the carriage wall before gently closing her eyes.
Rattle, rattle.
After a while, the carriage began moving slowly along the road in the quiet silence.
Clora called out to Logan.
“Duke, how can you just leave like this?”
Logan stopped walking abruptly.
He took a moment to steady his breathing and calm his anger.
“…I can’t stay in such a chaotic place.”
“Even so, we can’t just leave Lady Roselyn like that.”
“Why should I take care of that woman?”
“What…?”
Only after the princess had left did Logan learn the full story from the people who had been there.
He learned that Roselyn had approached the princess first and deliberately picked a fight with her.
Apparently, they even said it was fortunate that she had only been slapped.
Hearing how disrespectful Roselyn had been made his blood boil.
If that woman hadn’t started an unnecessary fight, Logan would never have had to suffer such humiliation at the hands of that barbarian.
When he suddenly felt the pain in his wrist, he had the urge to grab the viscount’s daughter by the throat.
“Your friend not only picked a fight with the princess first, she also insulted her in front of the Grand Duke.”
“But Her Highness said she would let it go.”
Clora’s carefree response made the anger he had barely managed to suppress boil up again.
“It nearly caused a diplomatic dispute. Just because the princess forgave her doesn’t mean what that woman did was acceptable.”
“Her Highness was only angry because of what she did to me in the past. She only did it for my sake…”
After being tormented by a woman like the princess for so long, Logan had once found Clora’s understanding nature and easygoing personality attractive.
She was beautiful, came from an excellent family, and had a good reputation.
She was, in every way, an ideal woman to have by his side.
But if the princess hadn’t let the matter go, he himself would have been forced to make a humiliating apology.
Didn’t Clora even feel worried or sorry about that?
He suppressed a sigh and said bluntly,
“If she had truly been doing it for your sake, she wouldn’t have deliberately caused such a commotion.”
“……”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can spend time with you in this mood.”
Clora looked disappointed, but she quietly accepted his words.
“…Yes. I understand.”
“…I’ll take you back to your estate.”
As Logan walked while holding Clora’s hand, he recalled the past.
“Duke, please… accept me. You know that too, don’t you? That you’re the only one I have.”
The princess of the past had desperately clung to him with her emaciated face and body that was little more than skin and bones.
He had only pitied her because her condition was so miserable that it was painful to look at.
He had once regretted even showing her that pity, thinking that if he had known she would mistake it for love and chase after him for three years, he would never have pitied her in the first place.
Yet the princess had boldly spoken her mind even before the Emperor to protect the Grand Duke’s dignity.
While Clora hadn’t even been able to say a single proper word for him when he was in trouble.
The two women couldn’t help but be compared.
“……”
Logan clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw ached as he remembered the princess naturally leaning against the Grand Duke’s arms.
‘Does she really think I’d become jealous after seeing something like that?’
He turned his head and looked at Clora.
Beneath her long, delicate eyelashes were beautiful, lake-like eyes clouded with concern.
To compare Clora with a woman who behaved so carelessly over such a trivial matter…
Even if it had only been for a brief moment, he couldn’t help feeling displeased.
He tightly squeezed Clora’s soft hand, trying to clear his mind.
But for some reason, the image of the princess that lingered in his mind refused to disappear.
