CHAPTER 59…………….
Rather than love, it was parting—that was closer to human instinct.
“Speaking of which, haven’t all the people you’ve had dalliances with ended up coming from rather extraordinary families? That Xerox bastard was the lowest of the lot, though.”
“Brother, why are you doing this? Today is my sister’s engagement day!”
At last, Noella stepped forward, shaking her head.
Her tearful face was pitiful, but she was no match for stopping Mertel, who was already too carried away.
And since the main figure, Adèle, kept her mouth shut, he grew all the more arrogant.
“It’s not like I’m making things up. Noella, stay out of this. If not for your sister, you’d be living far better than this. She’s the one hogging everything for herself.”
“That’s not true! Don’t insult my sister. She already takes such good care of me—more than I deserve.”
“What a hopelessly naïve girl you are.”
Haa.
When Adèle lowered her head with a red smile tugging at her lips, Mertel’s brows twitched.
He had inherited the black hair and brows characteristic of the family, but where the earl’s direct line carried charisma, Mertel had only savagery.
“You’re laughing?”
“……”
“Let me tell you all something! Do you really think Adelaïde would just marry anyone? Of course there’s something behind it!”
The more he drank, the more his volume swelled. Even his wife could only throw up her hands.
“Of course I’d be suspicious! That girl who can’t resist money, marrying some knight commander with nothing but a face to his name…”
“So my brother is curious why I would marry Sir Killian of San Fidelio?”
At last, Adèle, who had been silent until then, opened her mouth.
She calmly released Killian’s hand and straightened her posture. The atmosphere immediately grew taut with tension.
Ho.
Even the earl crossed his legs, watching his daughter with interest.
“Of course. You’re hardly ordinary.”
“Exactly.”
“……”
“As my brother says, as the heir of House Sergio, I am hardly ordinary.”
Adèle’s refined voice wiped the smirk off Mertel’s face. Smiling faintly, she looked slowly around at those seated.
“Before questioning the sincerity of why I chose Sir Killian, perhaps you all should remember something.”
“Wh-what do you mean!”
“That no man from the South could possibly be richer than I am.”
“……”
“In case you don’t understand, even if every family here scraped together every last grain of wheat from their floors, you wouldn’t reach even the tip of my toes.”
“……”
Each of her words fell like snow, quietly blanketing the table in undeniable truth.
The men who had chuckled along with Mertel turned their heads away in shame.
“My, my. For people who can’t even dare look at me properly to comment on my choice of husband… If this is your idea of a congratulatory gift, then it really is laughable.”
Her painted smile carried the same deadly edge as her father’s.
Ah, truly my daughter.
The earl’s muffled chuckle slipped between his fingers as he propped his chin on his hand. Adèle, unflinching, addressed her father directly.
“I must say I’m disappointed. Father, do you feel nothing at all?”
“Hm? Me?”
“Even those men gave me such an unforgettable gift on my engagement day. Surely my own father wouldn’t just let it pass, would he?”
“…Gift? Why, didn’t I already load you with wagons full? I bled every last vein dry from the Tavanta Isles’ mines—all of it—”
“Donate it to San Fidelio. In the name of the commander, who has already suffered enough indignity through marrying me.”
Adèle traced the sign of the cross and smiled benevolently.
All of it?!
Those who knew the scale and value of the mines gasped, but it was still too early for shock.
Having so easily discarded such a fortune, Adèle turned back to her father.
That was only the prelude.
“In return, I’d like just one modest gift.”
“Oh? And what might that be?”
“Transfer Yuden’s clothing shops and hotels into my name.”
That request was delivered as casually as asking for sweets off a plate.
Adèle, oblivious to the shock she caused, folded her napkin with clean, precise hands. The neatness alone made hearts run cold.
“That should be simple enough for a father to gift his daughter on her engagement.”
“A-Adèle! How dare you demand what’s mine—”
“Be silent, Mertel. This is my party, and I’m not finished speaking.”
She cut him off, her crimson eyes glittering with delight.
Watching her cousin convulse from sobering rage, Adèle leaned her cheek into her hand with a bright smile.
“Think about it, Father.”
“……”
“Surely it’s better than leaving them to be run by some black-haired beast.”
The guests adjusted quickly—too quickly, but none of them were amateurs.
They all knew how money and power flowed. The conclusion was clear.
No matter the chaos, in this room, this woman reigned supreme.
And nothing mattered more than that.
Dragged out by the family guards, Mertel howled, but no one batted an eye. They all rushed instead toward Adèle.
“Indeed, it seems Yuden’s hotels have finally found their true master.”
“Quite so. Truth be told, they were wasted on Mertel. Family ties alone aren’t reason enough—”
“That applies to all of you here as well.”
“L-Lady Adèle, that’s not what I—”
“Mertel was the most brazen, so I corrected him directly. But those of you who laughed, who stayed silent, who sided with him—you are no different.”
Adèle’s gaze swept to those who had sat by Mertel, her eyes curving sweetly.
Feign innocence all you like.
Her soft voice belied the way she dissected each of them one by one.
“I’ve no time yet to personally oversee food supplies, wines, jewels, and flowers. But I do hope you won’t forget one thing—that I am always watching, with great interest.”
“……”
“Well? Why aren’t you smiling?”
“A-ah… ha ha.”
The moment her gentle invitation fell, laughter erupted around the table.
The loudest laugh belonged, of course, to the earl.
Delighted, he drained his glass and raised another, calling for a toast. Before the might of this father and daughter, all bent low.
“Well then! Now that we’ve exchanged our little gifts, let us toast in earnest! Come, Adèle, you too—wait, where are you going?”
“It’s warm. I’d like a bit of fresh air.”
Adèle rose gracefully, bowing her farewell.
To strangers, it might seem she was retreating, but she was the heir of House Sergio. They knew she wasn’t a woman to be worn down so easily. Polite smiles sent her off, and her steps quickened.
“Phew…”
But once she turned the corner, Adèle clutched her chest, leaning against the wall.
Even though she had met the eyes of everyone there, she hadn’t been able to look at Killian sitting beside her.
Why?
It hadn’t been anything shameful, and yet… somehow, facing him then had felt impossible.
‘I’m tired.’
This sort of spectacle was supposed to be her favorite pastime, but tonight, she only wanted to lie down.
Engagement, marriage—they were contracts, nothing more. She thought she could endure any gossip. But the moment Mertel sneered at Killian, she had snapped.
“…How dare he.”
To her husband. To anyone’s husband.
It wasn’t enough to have him dragged out.
If he spread rumors, or refused to surrender the hotels, she would make sure he met a proper end.
“I should’ve killed him.”
“…Killed who?”
“……”
Why was she so sensitive when it came to this man?
She had half-expected him to follow her.
“Adèle.”
No—she had known he would.
That voice, those eyes—impossible to forget.
When she turned, Killian was striding down the path toward her, his hair tousled as if he’d hurried after her. The sight made her laugh despite herself.
“Commander, I can’t tell what doesn’t suit you.”
“You still haven’t answered me.”
Even face-to-face, he seemed unsatisfied, his brow furrowing.
If they’d been closer, she might’ve brushed his hair aside. Instead, she swallowed the urge, curling her hands into fists.
“It isn’t something you need to hear, Commander. You know what my family is like, and I…”
“Were you embarrassed?”
“…I suppose you could say that.”
So blunt a question left her no room to dodge.
Adèle lowered her head, a lock of braided hair slipping loose. She forced a careless smile.
“Honestly, I don’t understand them. Though, in their eyes, I’m no different.”
“No. You are different.”
“That’s only how you see it. You don’t know how dangerous I can be.”
Mm.
The words made the air strangely heavy.
The thought that Killian saw her as different made her heart tremble.
Flustered, she rushed her words.
“I’m not really like that. Even if I truly wanted to kill Mertel for insulting you… if you thought me strange for it, I…”
“It is strange.”
“……”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t just kill him. I’d peel him from head to toe. On a battlefield, I might’ve tied him to a cannon and lit the fuse.”
“…Commander.”
How could someone list ways to kill a man so sweetly?
Pfft—
Adèle stifled a laugh behind her hand.
“I like that.”
“Just that?”
Without warning, Killian reached for her face.
A bold yet careful touch.
As he brushed her loose hair aside, her whole body tingled. Her ruby eyes glowed brighter behind her hand.
“Then, Commander, after what you saw of me today…”
“I’d have been more disappointed if you’d stayed silent.”
“Even when I asked for the hotels…”
“For the first time, I was glad my fiancée was the richest woman in the South.”
“……”
“You’ll never have to bow your head to anyone.”
His hand grazed deliberately along her ear, the air between them heating.
Her hand rose to his face, sweeping his silver hair aside just as he had for her.
“You asked what I liked about you?”
“Adèle.”
“This is why.”
Her touch unveiled his eyes completely.
For not being disappointed in her, for following her instead of turning away, for speaking so honestly—she liked him.
If ever there were proof of a perfect husband, this was it.
“……”
Though perhaps she should’ve added—‘because you show no inferiority complex toward me.’
Too late. His gaze had already deepened, his silver hair glowing like sunset beneath the lantern light.
Wait. No. That’s not what I meant.
She quickly pulled back her hand, blocking the space between them.
“Commander!”
“…Killian.”
“Y-yes, Killian.”
Even repeating his name made her vision prickle with heat.
As he looked down at her, his next words erased everything she had planned to say.
“Are you still… in danger?”
“……”
His hand slid lower from her hair, tracing her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head.
“N-no.”
“That’s a pity.”
“……”
“Because I am.”
His head tilted, lantern light eclipsed. Her hands clutched his clothes as if to anchor herself.
Danger now lay in both directions.
Their lips drew closer—not for anyone else to see, but only for themselves.
At the very climax of the engagement banquet—
“…Big sister?”
Footsteps.
A shadow strode down the forest path leading to the earl’s manor.
The enormous beast slung over his shoulder dropped heavily to the ground.
And a far more dangerous beast bared red eyes, growling low.
“The fuck… what the hell is this scene supposed to be?”
