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Chapter 10
“Risha! What the hell are you doing?! Are you insane?”
Patrick’s furious voice, soaked in champagne, bounced off the round ceiling and came crashing back down to the floor.
In contrast, Litricia’s voice grew even calmer.
“Insane? No, Patrick. I’m perfectly sane. More than ever.”
She placed the now-light, empty glass on the terrace railing.
Then, with her newly freed hand, she gently touched the lips that had just spoken the words of their broken engagement.
“That was easier than I thought.”
So easy.
Why had she made so many excuses and gone around in circles all this time?
With a short exhale, she looked Patrick straight in the eye.
“I’ll send the formal letter of annulment to your residence soon.”
“Litricia! Stop right there! I’m not finished!”
Ignoring the still-ranting Patrick, Litricia turned to Lorazne with a light clap.
“Congratulations, Lady Appeltz. You won’t have to sneak around anymore to meet your lover.”
“W-What? Congratulations?”
“Since Patrick’s fiancée position is now vacant, you should be able to fill it nicely.”
Lifting her lips into a soft smile, Litricia pulled off her engagement ring and handed it to Lorazne, who was glaring at her like she wanted to kill her.
“Becoming a legal wife rather than a mistress—surely that’s something to celebrate, isn’t it? You’ve managed something quite difficult. You’ll be a great role model for all future mistresses, Lady Lorazne.”
“E-Excuse me? Mistress? Are you saying that to me? Patrick! Say something!”
Lorazne’s face turned ghostly pale, and she turned to Patrick in panic, but he seemed too shocked to respond—his mouth simply opening and closing silently.
“Well, then. I’ll be going.”
She had said what she needed to. There was no reason to stay.
Just as she turned to leave, Litricia paused and turned back.
“Oh, and Lady Lorazne? You might want to buy a new dress and accessories before the wedding.”
“Who are you to say that to me…?”
“Everything you’re wearing—your dress, the pin in your hair, even that fan in your hand—”
Litricia pointed to each item with her hand, then finally stopped in front of Patrick.
“—they were all things Patrick originally gave to me. I’m just worried you’ll end up stamped with the mark of ‘secondhand.’ That’s all.”
Her tone polite, her words cutting, Litricia turned to leave.
But the next moment, a strong grip yanked her back, flipping her world upside down.
The sharp scent of alcohol mixed with peach, coming from Patrick, made her breath catch.
“Where are you going, Risha? You haven’t heard my answer yet. You really think I’d accept this annulment? Don’t even dream it.”
Patrick’s eyes gleamed as he pushed her dangerously close to the terrace railing, as if he might toss her over at any second.
“You know it won’t be official unless I agree to it. So let’s not get dramatic. Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen.”
“…Pretend what didn’t happen? The annulment? Or the fact that I caught you cheating?”
“Both, obviously.”
As she felt his pressure bend her waist further, Litricia burst into clear laughter.
He wasn’t wrong.
In this strictly hierarchical society, unless the Godwin family gave their approval, someone of lower status like Litricia couldn’t unilaterally break off the engagement.
Did Patrick really think I didn’t know that when I brought up the annulment?
What on earth did he think of her? Swallowing her bitterness, she let go of the railing.
“Ah!”
Her feet lifted off the ground, and Patrick instinctively grabbed her in panic. In that moment, Litricia seized his cravat.
With a loud ripping sound, the brooch-adorned cravat fell into her hand.
To others, it looked like an ordinary brooch. But Litricia knew it contained a recording spell.
Patrick had drunkenly boasted to her once:
“Risha, know what this is? Looks like a regular brooch, right? But it’s not. I hired a very expensive mage to put a recording spell in it.”
Patrick had it enchanted to try to catch some dirt on his half-brother, Peter Godwin, the legitimate heir of the Godwin dukedom.
Unlike Patrick, Peter was meticulous and left no openings, making it hard to find any weakness. Still, Patrick recorded their every conversation, just in case.
So far, he’d only managed to record how competent Peter was—but still, he hadn’t given up.
And today, too, Patrick had worn the brooch to this gathering, where Peter would be present.
Normally, such enchanted items wouldn’t pass imperial palace security. But since the Godwin family was part of the Empress Dowager’s faction, Patrick had likely entered without a thorough inspection, like Winston.
“Risha, why do you have that…?”
“It’s working, just like I thought.”
Seeing the emerald gemstone glowing faintly, Litricia shook the brooch just as Patrick once had.
“Patrick, if you keep being stubborn, I’m thinking of letting Duke Godwin listen to this sweet little chat you had with Lady Lorazne. What do you think? Will we still be able to pretend this never happened?”
“What?! No…! Absolutely not!”
Patrick’s face, once full of bravado, drained of color the moment Duke Godwin was mentioned.
Though he had fathered Patrick out of wedlock, the duke considered his relationship with Patrick’s mother the one stain on his perfect life. He abhorred immoral relationships and would never forgive this.
“Risha, give me the brooch!”
Realizing how cornered he was, Patrick reached to snatch the brooch, but Litricia held it out over the terrace edge.
“Don’t try anything foolish, Patrick. I’ll toss it right at the guard’s feet down there.”
“Risha, have you lost your mind?! What is wrong with you today?!”
Patrick stamped his feet in frustration, unable to act as she held the brooch precariously.
Bringing unauthorized magical tools into the palace was illegal. If the guard discovered it, there would be serious consequences.
Ultimately, seeing no way out, Patrick released her shoulders.
“…Damn it. Fine. We’ll break the engagement.”
Litricia, admiring his now-ruined face, calmly pushed him away and stood tall.
“Happy now? You got the answer you wanted. Now give the brooch back.”
“No.”
“…What?”
Patrick looked stunned, as if to say, What’s the problem now? Didn’t I agree to it?
Litricia smoothed out the front of his disheveled jacket and walked past him.
“I’ll return it once the annulment letter arrives with the Godwin family’s seal. I should at least hold on to some proof that you’ll keep your word, don’t you think?”
“Damn it, Litricia!”
***
“Huff…”
Leaving Patrick’s enraged shouts behind, Litricia slipped out onto the terrace and leaned against the wall.
Even in that short struggle with Patrick, her condition had worsened.
And as if to confirm it, blood dripped from her nose once again.
At least Patrick didn’t see it. That was something.
“I’m supposed to lean forward, right?”
This time, instead of tilting her head back, she lowered it, just as Winston had taught her, and pinched her nose.
Then, using Patrick’s cravat, still in her hand, she wiped away the blood.
Blink.
She closed and opened her eyes, trying to shake off the dizziness, then pushed herself away from the wall.
It was clear she couldn’t stay at the banquet any longer.
She thought about slipping away and informing Winston later—but he sensed her before she even got close.
The man, who had been looking boredly at the ground, raised his head.
“Is the conversation over?”
Then, seeing her holding her nose, his mouth set into a thin line.
“Is it bleeding again?”
“Oh, it’s nothing…”
But old habits die hard. She instinctively tried to hide her condition.
Winston’s lips grew tighter.
“‘Nothing,’ my foot.”
He pulled down the cravat under her nose and muttered.
“Judging by the terrible design, this must be your fiancé’s, huh? Or ex-fiancé, I suppose.”
He threw the cravat onto the ground with disdain.
“Even if you’re in a hurry, you shouldn’t use something like this. It’s so tacky, I’m embarrassed to be seen holding it.”
“Pfft…”
His dry tone, whether it was a joke or not, made Litricia let out a breathy laugh despite herself.
He’d said something similar before.
Of all people, only he would dare criticize Patrick’s supposedly trendy style so harshly.
Seeing her response, Kylian—still wearing Winston’s face—looked at her oddly, as if to ask how she could possibly laugh in this situation.
Then, he searched his pockets.
Realizing he’d already given her his handkerchief earlier, he clicked his tongue and pulled down his own cravat, pressing it gently against where Patrick’s had been.
“I’m fine…”
“I won’t count this as a debt. Just hold it.”
As always, calm and composed.
Most people would ask if something was wrong—but Kylian didn’t even seem curious.
That indifference gave Litricia a strange feeling, but she gave a slight bow and tried to end the conversation.
“Once again, I owe you… Thank you for everything today, Lord Hilton. I should go now—I’m not well enough to continue this conversation.”
She began to explain that he could inform her later by letter what favor he wanted in return—but Kylian cut her off mid-sentence.
“There’s no need to wait. I’ve decided.”
At that moment, the waltz playing below ended. A smattering of applause, followed by a hush—and then the emperor’s voice rang out, announcing rewards for Grand Duke Heberus.
“One of the favors is very simple. It won’t take much of your time. I’d like you to agree now.”
“…Alright. What is it?”
Thinking it would only take a moment, Litricia nodded.
Instead of answering right away, Kylian looked down at the banquet hall.
“…Also, as the seat of the Grand Duchess remains vacant, we hereby declare that following this victory banquet, the Grand Duke shall be wed to the daughter of Marquis Luzabeck.”
Down below, the Grand Duke’s marriage was being publicly announced—without the groom’s consent.
As the emperor declared it like a charity gift, Kylian’s lips twisted.
“It’s nothing much. Just be my bride—for a short while.”
