Chapter 10
“So, what is it that you want to do?”
Raymon fell silent for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by the question directed at him.
“Are you asking for my intent?”
The Duke of Castline nodded slowly as he exhaled a cloud of cigar smoke.
Orto Cassian el Castline.
The Demon Beast Slaughterer.
The strongest man on the continent.
The Head of the House of Castline.
The owner of all those titles was a man with the impression of an old, faded tiger.
His hair, which must have been black once, was now a gray as if doused in ash, and a vertical scar crossing his left eye stood out prominently.
“I heard that you went to the mine to confirm it yourself even before reporting to me that the <Insignia of Gloriana> truly exists.”
It was likely because he was flustered. He couldn’t risk it being revealed as a lie after reporting it to the Duke. However, it was a matter far too significant to be handled as an after-the-fact report.
Especially if that information came from the mouth of the Imperial Princess, who until now had been famous for being a half-wit and a fool.
“Why? Did you think I would get angry because your audacious fiancée might have lied? No, no one gets angry at a puppet dancing on the strings of adults.”
At those words, Raymon’s brow furrowed.
“…If I have judged incorrectly.”
“Are you feeling guilt? Because the person you ignored—thinking she would be nothing but a useless stone, or perhaps even a chain that might bind your ankles if you showed the wrong kind of sympathy—might actually be something else?”
Raymon hesitated for a very brief moment.
“……I do not feel guilt. It was a rational choice for the sake of the family.”
“The County of Bradley is the Emperor’s dog. Even if it is a discarded, exhausted mine, touching it carelessly and giving them an excuse would be trouble.”
“I apologize for my rash behavior.”
The Duke of Castline watched his eldest son with a peculiar gaze.
The Duke did not consider himself a good adult, even by empty words.
If one sacrifice could save a hundred, discard the one.
If a hundred sacrifices could save ten thousand, discard the hundred.
On the battlefield, one had to eliminate the enemy and protect allies with minimum sacrifice. Much like taking the life of a heavily wounded comrade with one’s own hands.
He had hoped not to pass down such a life. But reality was too heavy.
Raymon was the son who had shouldered the burden of that reality more heavily than anyone else. Perhaps because of that, he rarely looked elsewhere.
Despite having a fiancée who was practically betrothed to him from the womb, daughters of noble families who knew the circumstances constantly approached and tempted Raymon. Yet, Raymon had never wavered, not even once.
‘…I did think that since the eldest daughter of the County of Orland was so brilliant, it might be a chance for a good match back then.’
Even after his first dance at the ball with a beautiful, witty, and clever young lady, Raymon’s attitude remained as stoic as a stone statue.
At the time, the Duke simply thought he had no interest in women or that he felt it improper to associate with others while being someone’s fiancé.
But seeing that attitude now….
“Yes, it is not easy for a person to change. Especially if they were in a position like a bird raised in a cage. But….”
The Duke thought of his second son, Lisianthus, who had been making a fuss asking if the <Insignia of Gloriana> was the real thing, and Bibi, whose eyes had gone wide.
The reaction of everyone who heard the details of the deal with Titania through Raymon was consistent.
‘Is that Imperial Princess really crazy after coming back from the brink of death?’
‘Could the Imperial Consort be playing some other kind of trick?’
‘If the Imperial Consort knew the information about the <Insignia of Gloriana>, would she have handed it over to us so easily?’
‘Since she likes the Young Duke so much, is she coming on to him in a different way? Some nonsense trick of the Emperor?’
Because what she requested was truly trivial, and because they truly needed the <Insignia of Gloriana>.
They intended to pay the price of the deal.
However.
“It seems the Imperial Princess Titania looked quite different in your eyes.”
“…….”
He was wavering.
If the Duke of Castline were to say that all of this was a shallow trick and that someone must be behind the Imperial Princess, so ignore her… he would listen. He would ignore his current agitation and erase his own feelings as if they never existed.
But….
“…I shall give you a chance.”
A light of immense relief spread through Raymon’s vivid gold eyes.
Watching this, the Duke of Castline closed his eyes.
‘I love you, but this is my duty.’
His wife had said those words to him before she died.
Sustaining the Empire instead of the incompetent and irresponsible Imperial Family was always a grueling task. He had to give up even the things he wanted most.
That was why the Duke wanted Raymon, who would succeed him, to choose the safest person possible.
A choice that everyone would bless upon marriage… a partner for whom he wouldn’t have to give up or endure anything.
the daughter of the Imperial Family, who were like mortal enemies, was one of the worst choices.
There was no way Raymon didn’t know that.
‘…And yet, you have the eyes of someone who is relieved.’
The House of Castline never forgets a grace nor a grudge. How much more so for the lingering attachment that has begun to remain in his heart?
The Duke decided to watch.
Imperial Consort Cleo was quick to act.
To what extent? To the point that the very next day after she left me frozen and stuttering and returned to her palace, she sent a priest and a sword.
While being able to live in a healthy and comfortable body instead of groaning like a sick person on a sweltering summer day was something to be very welcomed, well…….
“Hey, I heard you really went crazy after almost dying?”
“…….”
…The problem was that Imperial Consort Cleo wasn’t the only one who was quick to act.
I scanned the drawing room, which had become a bright, beautiful, and atmospheric place, as if the fact that I had smashed it to pieces the day before yesterday was a lie.
After I had gone on a rampage twice in a row and Imperial Consort Cleo had visited and left. The maids had become outwardly submissive to me.
Though my Head Maid, Natalie, remained exactly the same as before.
In other words, it meant they had obediently restored the drawing room without uttering a single complaint to me. Beautiful flowers in bright glass vases (there were no roses, perhaps because my previous act of swinging a rose was very impressive), and a beautiful tablecloth lined with lace.
A tray with donuts generously coated in chocolate and raisin scones, as if telling me to eat something sweet and calm down.
The breeze drifting in through the open window….
The weather is so nice. Yes. There’s no need to force my gaze upon the bomb, no, the red trash in front of me.
I naturally turned my gaze out the window.
Oh, look, there are two pretty orioles outside the window.
Those flying orioles, how affectionate the male and female are. My lonely body….
“Hey, can’t you hear me? Did your ear holes get plugged up along with your brain?”
With whom shall I return….
“Still, if you have eyes, you should be able to see this.”
Whoosh! A fiery energy gathered from the blade of the sword and rose up like a pillar. I screamed in horror.
“…You crazy bastard! Are you out of your mind?! Playing with fire indoors?!”
“Oh, now you’re looking this way.”
The opponent smirked, revealing his teeth, as he extinguished the flames he had conjured in midair.
His hair was as bright red as if it contained the fire itself, and his eyes were the same color. His skin had a very healthy complexion, which was rare for someone of Northern descent with pale skin.
Despite it being summer and him visiting the Imperial Palace, he hadn’t even worn a suit; he had strolled in wearing a short-sleeved shirt and pants messy with dirt and stains, a look that made his personality easy to guess.
His nickname was the Mad Dog of the House of Castline.
Yes, why hide it.
That guy right there was the second son of the House of Castline, who had always viewed me as a fool he’d be happy to chew up and kill.
Lisianthus Agni el Castline.
Well, I understand. Compared to the calm and responsible eldest son, he was the second son with relatively less responsibility.
His innate nature was like fire, so he never really cared about what others thought.
The youngest, Rasper, had a disposition more suited to being a scholar, so he wasn’t enough to stop his brother (in the first place, Rasper rarely even came up to the capital under the excuse of being young).
The Duke didn’t meddle much with the three brothers to begin with.
Furthermore, Raymon didn’t care whether Titania cried, got angry, or smashed a teacup in front of him. The opponent was likely too insignificant for him to get angry at such shallow tricks.
But the younger brother, who respected and cherished his older brother, absolutely hated Titania’s temperament.
So, whenever they ran into each other, he would openly provoke her. For example.
‘A thing like you dares to think you’ll become the next mistress of the House of Castline?’
He would shatter Titania’s mental state with such harsh truths….
‘Hmph, it would be better for my brother to have one of those straw dolls from the training ground sitting there. At least that wouldn’t talk.’
He would pour out insults that everyone thought in their hearts but no one dared to say directly to an Imperial Princess of high status….
‘Your Majesty, Your Majesty! That insolent thing dared to doubt my qualifications! I am Your Majesty’s proud daughter and the future mistress of the House of Castline. Why can’t you punish such a thing?!’
…And even when the Titania of the past, who had suffered such insults, clung to the Emperor’s pant legs and pleaded, it was no use.
