WMCT 06

Chapter 06

He only found those words amusing. If they had been spoken in front of him, he would have wanted to tear that mouth apart piece by piece.

It was not a curse. It was simply the price of that damned family. He had just been lucky to avoid it, and Adrian had simply been unlucky.

Yes, that was all it was.

“Are you heading to the temple now?”

At the sudden question, Calypso glanced sideways briefly before returning his gaze forward.

“Yes.”

“Because of your nephew.”

“That’s correct.”

He didn’t bother denying it. If it hadn’t been for his nephew Adrian, he would never have visited a place like that, never prayed, and never thrown away money there.

But even if he went to the temple and donated large sums of money, Adrian did not get better. In fact, there were more times when his condition worsened—vomiting what he ate, vomiting bitter fluids, vomiting blood, then collapsing after repeating it all. That fragile body looked like it could die at any moment. And yet he could only watch helplessly. Even so, he could not stop doing that foolish thing.

“He’ll get better soon. My daughter also couldn’t tell why she fell asleep or when she would wake. One priest even said she might wake up but never be mentally sound again. That damned bastard—I should have hit him more back then…!”

Duke Kalin stopped mid-sentence, realizing himself, and closed his mouth, awkwardly pretending to grab something in the air.

“A mosquito in spring.”

Calypso could clearly see that Duke Kalin was deliberately changing the subject. He could guess why. It seemed Kalin wanted to hide it, but the story of him punching the priest who spoke recklessly had already become a widely known incident.

“Ahem. Anyway, our Ivlea also woke up fine, didn’t she? Good things will happen soon.”

“Thank you for your words, Your Grace. They are a great comfort.”

“Not at all. But if I may add something, don’t trust the temple too much. It’s better to find a skilled physician instead. Those priests are nothing but money-hungry scammer bast— cough. What I mean is, I used to go to the temple myself, but it didn’t help my daughter at all.”

Kalin Duke himself had once, when his daughter was unconscious, donated money to the temple and prayed earnestly—unlike before, when he had never gone there at all.

“Still, when a family member is ill, people don’t think rationally. In fact, the fact that our Ivlea suddenly got up and walked again might even be…”

He stopped himself mid-sentence, but Calypso could guess what he had been about to say without asking. After punching the priest who insulted him, Kalin Duke had stopped visiting the temple for a while, but he never completely cut it off—perhaps because of that lingering “what if.”

“By the way, please think carefully about what I mentioned to Your Grace.”

Calypso glanced briefly but did not respond. Kalin Duke did not seem to expect an answer either. In fact, Calypso’s silence seemed to satisfy him.

‘At least it’s not a rejection.’

Not outright refusing, with that personality, meant he was at least willing to consider it.

In truth, Kalin Duke’s reason for meeting Calypso today was officially business-related—but his real intention was something else.

He was trying to propose marriage to Ivlea.

Ivlea had only recently awakened, but she was already twenty years old. In the Empire, twenty was the age when one began seriously considering marriage partners.

What good were noble birth, beauty, or status if the marriageable age was missed? The excuse “she was sick all this time” didn’t work in the ruthless marriage market of nobility. So as soon as his daughter woke up and he confirmed she was fine, Kalin Duke began searching the marriage market with burning determination.

But most decent young men her age were already engaged, and those who weren’t were often unsuitable. After carefully filtering through them, only a few remained—but even they had flaws he disliked.

However, Calypso Ayders was different. House, status, wealth, appearance, even reputation with women—everything was flawless. There was nothing to dislike.

Once Kalin Duke had “picked” Calypso Ayders, no other son-in-law could even be considered. Even if he hadn’t known him before, now that Calypso was already fixed in his mind, no one else could compare.

Of course, any family with a daughter would want Calypso Ayders. But that didn’t matter.

‘My daughter is the most beautiful anyway.’

Men naturally fell for beautiful women. And his daughter had a strong noble background too. So he confidently pushed the marriage suggestion and openly praised Ivlea.

“She’s my daughter, so I might be biased, but she’s not only beautiful—she’s polite, graceful, truly elegant beyond words.”

…And just as he finished praising her, Ivlea opened the door without knocking and started talking in a shockingly vulgar and absurd way that he never could have anticipated.

After she left, the room fell into an awkward silence.

And worse—

“Do you perhaps have another daughter?”

When he heard that from Duke Ayders, Kalin Duke truly wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

Why did he have to show up at that exact moment!

But it was fine. That little mistake could be fixed. The first button might have been misaligned, but the outfit wasn’t ruined. It could simply be rebuttoned from the start.

As long as that damn mouth stayed shut, Ivlea’s stunning appearance alone would carry half the impression. Moreover, she was the jewel of House Kalin. That alone could turn today into nothing more than a minor incident.

Of course, he had no intention of letting it go easily.

‘If Duke Ayders leaves… I’ll make sure he never dares to speak like that again.’

He had let it slide while she was sick, but she didn’t know proper behavior. This wasn’t a marketplace—she was a noble lady. And didn’t he specifically tell her not to leave her room today?

‘And yet how long has it been since I said that, and she’s already out?’

It was obvious why she came out. Wasn’t that why she barged into his office in the first place?

‘Technically I did let her out to check…’

But that didn’t mean she should have opened the office door with such dramatic profanity. Today was supposed to be a controlled meeting between Ivlea and Duke Ayders—or at least a walk together.

‘I told her to stay quietly in her room!’

His entire plan had been ruined by his own daughter. The enemy was within. That was exactly it.

So Kalin Duke planned to thoroughly discipline Ivlea. Of course, she would probably already be trying to avoid punishment or think of ways to lessen it—but it was pointless.

‘From today, whether it takes weeks or months, I’ll properly educate Ivlea and then arrange another meeting with Duke Ayders.’

Then the two would naturally grow closer. Kalin Duke was convinced everything would go according to his plan.

Perhaps it really would have—if his daughter had been less beautiful, and if she hadn’t known how to use that beauty to its fullest extent.

“Your Grace! If Lady Ivlea also has business at the temple, could she go with us? It’s on the same way anyway!”

“There’s still space in the carriage!”

“Lady Ivlea said she’s afraid of people! She’s such a pitiful person! We will protect her all the way to the temple!”

“Please allow it!”

As soon as Kalin Duke stepped outside, he was met with a scene that left him speechless. And Duke Ayders beside him was equally stunned.

The knights of the duke’s household stood in front of the carriage with determined faces, loudly requesting that Ivlea be allowed to join them to the temple. If not for the content, one might think they were heading to war.

And beside those knights, Ivlea stood with her hands clasped, wearing an emotional, moved expression.

“Oh my… knights…”

The knights became even more passionate in response.

Her gaze then shifted toward her father, Kalin Duke.

“May I go to the temple?”

Kalin Duke’s eyelids trembled slightly.

That innocent face—beautiful enough that half of any impression was already secured. But he knew what lay beneath that face. He could see through her true intentions.

She was trying to avoid getting punished by using her brain.

He was exasperated, but in a way, this wasn’t necessarily bad. In the end, she would be spending the entire trip to the temple with Duke Ayders.

‘And I’ll have to bring her back too.’

Kalin Duke looked at his daughter again. She really was beautiful. That face alone was enough.

He nodded despite seeing through everything.

“…As long as Duke Ayders allows it.”

At those words—essentially permission—Ivléa turned her gaze to Calypso.

Their eyes met.