AFRPR 55

Episode 55

“Matthias?”

“Do you even… hic! know how much I’ve been looking for you?”

The smell of alcohol was pouring off him.

“Why are you looking for me?”

“Because you! Won’t meet me! So I came to you myself.”

Annoying.

Matthias grumbled.

“You have money, right?”

“…”

“Come on, give me some.”

“I don’t have any. Why would I have money right now?”

“What? Hic! How can you not have money? You spend so much every day.”

Estelle glanced at his hand.

The liquor bottle he was holding looked dangerous.

“If you had just given me half of what you spend, I wouldn’t have to come here like this.”

Her father must have sent Matthias since she’d been ignoring his letters.

Of all times, she had to run into him when she was alone.

Bad timing.

“Are you even listening? Ha! You’re ignoring me too now, aren’t you?”

Matthias grabbed Estelle’s shoulder and shook her.

Even though he’d once fainted after seeing her use magic, it seemed that memory had been erased by the alcohol.

“Don’t touch me.”

“I told you, all I need is money and this will be over.”

“I’m the duchess, I can’t move freely. Wait until I get divorced.”

“Wait a few more months? I’d rather make sure you get divorced quickly! Once you’re divorced, all that money will be mine.”

“Stop talking nonsense and go back. I’ll speak to Father myself.”

Matthias had come too far to return empty-handed.

“I wasn’t going to do this, but… I’ll tell the Duke of Winterlen that you’ve been cheating.”

“That I cheated?”

“I just saw you with a blond man! I saw it with my own eyes!”

Matthias didn’t seem to know the man was Helios.

So he probably hadn’t heard their conversation.

“Fine, tell him if you want.”

“What?”

“I said go ahead. I don’t care.”

Why is she so confident?

Matthias, who thought he had caught her red-handed, looked flustered.

“Don’t regret it! You may be called ‘duchess’ now, but you’re still just filthy commoner trash.”

“That’s right. I was born a commoner. Which means you—begging from me—must be worse than trash.”

“I… I just need money for a new business!”

Such a noble cause, apparently!

“Oh, really? I thought it was just another way for you to throw money down the drain.”

Matthias’s face flushed red with anger.

“What do you know about men’s business, you’re just a pretty face?”

“I can see with my own eyes. Even Father has no expectations for you anymore. That’s why he didn’t leave you a single coin.”

“…!”

“Pathetic…”

“You… you dare look down on me?!”

Matthias raised the liquor bottle threateningly.

Estelle instinctively stepped back—

“Stop.”

A deep, cold voice cut through the air.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Your Grace.”

Lennox stared at Matthias without expression.

“I asked what you were doing to my wife.”

In that instant, Matthias understood why his own father had been terrified into silence in front of Lennox.

‘Is… is this man even human?’

It was like standing before a giant monster that could crush his neck at any moment.

“Ah, ah! Your Grace, I’m Matthias Bellonsa. Estelle’s older brother.”

He emphasized their family connection.

Even so, Lennox’s eyebrow twitched in distaste.

A bad sign.

Gulp.

Matthias swallowed hard.

“I… I actually have something important to tell you!”

He had no choice but to use his last resort.

“Just now, my sister was having an affair! With a blond man!”

“An affair?”

“Yes! I saw them alone together in a secluded place!”

Matthias became more confident as he spoke.

“As her brother, I couldn’t just watch, so I tried to scold her—”

Thud!

Before he could finish, Lennox’s fist smashed into his face.

“Ugh!”

“Disgusting.”

Matthias collapsed, rolling on the ground from the direct blow.

Lennox looked down at him with icy contempt.

“You need to speak like a human for me to listen.”

He stepped lightly on Matthias’s hand as the man tried to push himself up.

Crack.

“Aaaagh!”

It was a light step, but the force was crushing.

The pain stole away even the ability to beg for mercy.

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

Watching a bug squirm would have been more merciful.

“Get lost.”

Only after making sure Matthias’s left hand was useless did Lennox lift his foot.

“Y-yes!”

“If I see you again, I’ll break your neck next time.”

“Y-yes!”

Matthias scrambled away like a terrified animal, afraid Lennox might grab him again.

Lennox ground his teeth, watching him flee.

Even after breaking his hand, his anger hadn’t cooled.

“Thank you.”

“…What?”

At those words, Lennox’s rage vanished in an instant.

He turned, eyes wide.

“Say that again.”

“I said, thank you.”

Thinking he hadn’t heard, Estelle repeated it a little louder.

‘So she’s not even going to scold me for hitting her brother?’

Did she have a bad relationship with him?

She looked exhausted, maybe even resigned.

It felt like she’d been through situations like this many times before.

‘Why? Doesn’t the Count care for her?’

The Bellonsa family and Estelle were supposed to be united—after all, she’d married multiple times for their sake.

Five times was too many for it to be against her will. Surely her father supported her?

Then why…?

Was she resigned to it?

A sudden thought struck Lennox.

Estelle was being exploited by her family.

The realization froze him.

Then her voice broke his thoughts.

“In the future, if something like this happens again, please pretend you didn’t see it.”

“Pretend I didn’t see it? How—!”

He raised his voice but caught himself.

He spoke more calmly.

“How can you ask me to ignore something like that?”

“Because it has nothing to do with you. Especially family matters… My father knows this marriage is just a contract, so you don’t need to pretend in front of them.”

“Pretend?”

“Yes. Just now, you were pretending to be a normal husband.”

Lennox was speechless.

Pretending?

She thought what he felt just now was an act?

“Where’s Duren? Let’s go home.”

Lennox stared at her silently, but she brushed past him.

Or tried to—

“It wasn’t an act.”

Estelle turned.

She was met with his crimson eyes burning with real anger.

“I did it because I wanted to.”

“…”

“If something like this happens again, I’ll react the same way—no matter who it is.”

Ha.

Estelle laughed softly.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, I wasn’t trying to mock you. I just feel safer knowing you’re on my side.”

“…”

“When this contract ends, I might miss you a little. No… I think I will.”

She muttered the last part to herself.

“Oh! But don’t worry—it’s not because I have feelings for you or anything.”

She waved her hands quickly, desperate to make that clear.

Lennox felt a sting in his chest.

When she’d told him before that she had no feelings for him, he hadn’t minded.

But now, for some reason, it bothered him—and he didn’t know why.

The next day.

“Sis.”

“…”

Lennox called out to Glesia.

But she pulled the blanket over her head, ignoring him.

She clearly didn’t want to talk.

“If I cheated on my wife…”

“Are you crazy?”

Glesia shot upright.

Finally, she was talking.

Before she could hit him, Lennox continued.

“If I cheated, what would you do?”

“Kill you.”

“Who? Me or her?”

“You, obviously! Is that even a question?”