RYL Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Friends? Who decided that?

Well, the breakup was something I wanted anyway.

I didn’t expect it to happen in such a one-sided and disadvantageous way, but in the end, wasn’t this the result I wished for?

So there was no need to care about that bumpkin Claire anymore, no reason to stress over it.

“Friends, my ass…”

Muttering to himself, Mathieu downed his drink in one go and slammed the glass onto the table.

Alex let out a long sigh, stuck between the heartbroken Mikael and the furious Mathieu.

It seemed like another night where he wouldn’t be able to drink in peace…

***

“Go and apologize. Immediately.”

Duke Laurentino barely managed to suppress his anger as he spoke.

Mathieu, keeping his head down, furrowed his brows.

The Duke looked at his son with disappointment and continued,

“I told you countless times to watch your behavior! How do you expect me to face Count Devonshire now, after this disgrace?”

Mathieu, who had been silent, finally spoke up reluctantly.

“We were going to break off the engagement anyway. Can’t we just send the paperwork to the Count’s estate and be done with it?”

“What?!”

The Duke, who had been trying to maintain his dignity, finally lost his temper and threw a thick book from his desk at him.

Mathieu had excellent reflexes and could have easily dodged, but he chose to take the hit.

The book thudded against his chest and landed on the floor in an unsightly heap.

“Do you have to make it so obvious that you grew up without a mother?”

At those words, Mathieu’s expression darkened instantly.

“The Devonshire family has been our business partner for a long time. Do you not understand that you can’t just do whatever you want with them?”

The Duke had always seen him as a hopeless troublemaker.

And yet… it was his fault that Mathieu’s mother had died.

His mouth tasted bitter, but he was used to this pain by now.

To Mathieu, his father was both an object of hatred and someone he feared too much to even look in the eye.

As a child, he had tried to earn his father’s praise by behaving well.

But after realizing that no matter what he did, he would always be seen as a disappointment, he deliberately did the opposite of what his father wanted.

This engagement was no different.

When he was young, he had said he didn’t want to get engaged, but his objections were dismissed as childish whining.

So, he rebelled even more.

He had openly associated with countless women, making sure his father heard about it.

Yet, the Duke ignored him, as if Mathieu didn’t exist.

Only when his reckless behavior became public did the Duke finally step in—to protect the family’s reputation.

How very fatherly of him.

“I must have grown up without proper guidance, so I don’t really know about these things,” Mathieu said mockingly.

“What?!”

Hearing his own son speak as if he didn’t have a living father, the Duke grabbed his forehead in frustration.

For a long moment, the two of them glared at each other.

The Duke, looking at Mathieu as if he were the most useless piece of trash in the world, finally took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

“You can break off the engagement, but you will go to Count Devonshire’s daughter and apologize properly. I have also prepared compensation for the Devonshire family—you will deliver it yourself.”

“……”

Apologize? For what?

In the end, Claire wanted this breakup too.

Didn’t she take advantage of the situation to get exactly what she wanted?

“Mathieu!”

Hearing his father’s sharp warning, Mathieu lowered his head in resignation.

No matter what, the Duke was still the head of this household, and Mathieu had to at least pretend to be an heir.

“…Fine.”

***

“Count, no—dear, how could you say such a thing? You suddenly want to make Claire your heir?”

Ophelia, trying to keep a smile on her face despite her anger, questioned the Count persistently.

The Count responded with a skeptical expression.

“What’s the problem? Why do you think you have a say in this?”

Ophelia’s face twisted in distress.

I sipped my tea in the dining room, calmly watching the drama unfold.

“What about Sophia?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Ophelia raised her voice.

The Count looked at her, puzzled.

“What does Sophia have to do with this?”

“She’s our daughter too! What’s going to happen to her?!”

The Count sighed and clarified the situation.

“She is your daughter.”

“H-How could you say that…?!”

Ophelia clamped her hands over her mouth, looking like she was about to cry.

The Count, rubbing his forehead as if tired, continued.

“Ophelia, have you forgotten why we got married in the first place? You were supposed to take care of my daughter and the household, and in return, I would provide you with the appropriate status and compensation. That was our agreement.”

At the Count’s cold, businesslike tone, Ophelia pressed her lips together in frustration.

The Count softened his voice slightly and added,

“Of course, Sophia will be well taken care of. She’s old enough now—she should be married off soon. I will start looking for a suitable match.”

Ophelia, who had been planning to bring in a son-in-law and hand the Devonshire estate to Sophia, couldn’t argue anymore.

Even if she begged, the Count was too sensible to change his mind.

Realizing that, Ophelia let out a defeated sigh and left the room.

The Count, watching her retreat, then turned toward me.

“You’re meeting the young duke today, aren’t you?”

Amused by my stepmother’s misfortune, I smiled at the Count.

“Yes.”

“If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I can speak to the Duke myself…”

“It’s fine. He’s supposed to deliver compensation himself, after all. And, well… we did know each other for ten years, even if things didn’t end well.”

Hearing my mature response, the Count looked at me approvingly.

He probably thought I was enduring my emotions for the sake of maintaining the relationship between our families.

In reality, I was just looking forward to seeing the proud Mathieu swallow his pride and apologize.

Smiling sweetly at the Count, I stood up.

“Well, it’s about time. I should get going.”

“Yes, of course. If that brat says anything hurtful, don’t hide it from me.”

Hearing the Count’s concerned words, I simply smiled wordlessly.

It seemed like he felt guilty for being too busy to notice what had been happening in my life.

“I’ll be back.”

***

Sitting with my arms crossed, I looked down at Mathieu arrogantly.

For the past twenty minutes, he had been sitting there, staring at me silently.

He didn’t look like he was planning to apologize at all.

“…Didn’t you say you came here to apologize?”

Then Mathieu let out a short, mocking laugh.

“No need to put on an act when it’s just us, right?”

I raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant. He continued speaking with a stiff expression.

“This breakup… you wanted it too, didn’t you? If anything, I should be the one getting an apology. I walked right into the trap you set.”

“Hmm… Anyone listening would think I locked you and Lady Helsing on the terrace myself.”

Mathieu’s face twisted in anger at my words.

I calmly crossed my legs and tilted my head slightly, lazily opening my eyes. It was a pose and expression he often used himself.

“You were the one who went onto that terrace, Mathieu. You were the one who responded to that woman’s advances. No one forced you, no one pressured you.”

As I pointed out the truth with a confident expression, Mathieu was left speechless, looking completely stunned.