Chapter 06
The Brother Who Became a Stranger Is Trying To Become My Husband
“They say that sometimes unidentified corpses are found at the Duke of Edmore’s castle, and everyone blames Milian Edmore for it.”
Prea said nothing. She couldn’t make sense of what the two of them were talking about.
She couldn’t understand where anyone had heard that corpses were being found at the Duke of Edmore’s castle, or why anyone was so certain it was Milian’s doing.
Whether it was rumor or fact, it felt malicious.
Someone said he’d killed people. That was not a topic for a ten-year-old boy.
True, Milian could be prickly and violent at times. But he didn’t seem like the kind of child people would spread such vicious rumors about. If anything, once you got to know him he was cute and dependable.
“Is that for sure?”
Prea snapped, sharp. She wanted to find the source of the rumor. If it was a lie, she would make sure justice was served immediately.
She would stand up and confront anyone who dared slander her brother.
When Prea pushed back harder than usual, Rena’s voice quivered. Apparently Rena thought Prea was looking down on her.
“I’m not lying! Our castle’s maid once worked at the Duke of Edmore’s house, so I know it for sure.”
“Is that so? Then bring that maid here.”
“What?”
Rena looked at Prea in disbelief. She was offended that Prea didn’t believe her.
She’d even given what she thought was solid evidence, and now Prea—who had just become part of the family—was taking Milian’s side. That stung.
Plus, Prea’s unusually stern manner had thrown Rena off. The girl who usually smiled all the time suddenly had a hard expression; it made her look intimidating.
Rena felt wronged. Prea’s interrogation was an unbearable insult.
Rena was the daughter of a count—her rank was naturally below Prea’s. For someone of her status to be questioned so directly felt like being ordered around. It was deeply humiliating to her pride.
Prea watched Rena clench her fists in silence. She didn’t want to force the matter, but the rumor about Milian bothered her too much to let it pass.
This was an opportunity to clear things up properly; that would be best for everyone.
Besides, a maid who had worked at a duke’s household—normally, when a servant moved to another house, there was an unspoken rule not to spread gossip about the family. If servants went around broadcasting what happened in their old households, they’d lose credibility.
Prea’s heart pounded.
It was the first time she had openly opposed her friends. But she couldn’t stay quiet after hearing such things. It wasn’t even a rumor about her; yet it made her uneasy.
Milian wasn’t like that. At least Prea believed so.
“Stop it, Prea. You’re making Rena cry.”
Maria stepped between Prea and Rena. More precisely, she shoved Prea aside and moved to comfort Rena.
Maria scolded Prea in a slightly stern, grown-up manner.
“I’m really disappointed. Isn’t that a bit harsh after a friend told you that for your sake?”
“Who’s being unreasonable?”
Prea snapped back, outrage rising. She wanted to ask Maria how she could be so unfair. Maria knew how happy Prea was about this marriage, and yet she accepted a maid’s hearsay as if it were fact. That angered Prea.
“So you think we’re being unfair?”
Maria looked incredulous. She seemed to think the maid’s claim that she’d worked at Edmore was enough proof.
Prea felt wronged.
She only wanted to confirm the facts. She had no intention of fighting with her friends.
‘Honestly, isn’t this something I could be angry about? They insulted my family.’
Prea glanced between Maria and Rena with a shocked expression. She felt betrayed by them.
She had thought they were close, but now they had taken sides and turned on her; she felt like crying.
“Do you know what day it is today?”
Prea said, voice choking. Maria flinched—she seemed to understand the meaning behind the question.
Maria sighed.
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate that something like this had to be said on the very day your family was formed.”
“Lies.”
“What?”
Prea cut Maria off at once.
Maria looked at Prea in disbelief—apparently offended that her kindness had been brushed off.
Prea swallowed her tears and said firmly, “If you really felt sorry, you would at least have checked whether it was true before you told me.”
“Where is there a more solid fact than that? She said she worked at Edmore.”
Maria scolded Prea as if exasperated.
Suddenly Rena burst into tears. Her crying stirred the surrounding murmur. Rena clung to Maria and sobbed even harder.
Prea felt like the bad one.
She wanted to cry, but now that Rena was crying, she couldn’t afford to. If she started crying too, she would lose face completely.
So Prea held back her sobs and gripped the hem of her dress.
Someone spoke coldly behind her.
“I really can’t let this stand.”
“…!!”
Milian had been watching them from the back. Prea’s gaze wavered violently at his sudden appearance.
Had he heard everything?
Prea worried he had. It wasn’t pleasant news, and she feared he might be hurt. He was already under stress because of being associated with Edmore; if he found out people were gossiping about him, he’d be upset.
When Milian appeared, Rena immediately stopped crying as if nothing had happened. Perhaps “held it in” would be more accurate; Milian’s expression was so fierce it silenced her.
Maria also looked more than a little taken aback; she had not expected the person involved to show up.
“You there—the brown-haired one.”
Milian jerked his chin towards Rena. He looked so haughty and intimidating that it made an impression.
Though he was a boy likely younger than many there, he carried himself like the heir of a high-ranking ducal house. The bluntness of speaking informally to strangers was rendered nearly irrelevant by the overwhelming presence he projected.
Rena flinched as Milian pointed at her.
Milian’s red eyes regarded Rena matter-of-factly. They were so cold and frightening that Rena’s hands unconsciously trembled.
“I don’t know what that maid saw,” he said, “but what she saw wasn’t a human corpse—it was a monster’s corpse.”
“Huh?”
Rena blinked blankly at the claim that it wasn’t a corpse but a monster’s remains. She had no idea what he meant.
Milian clicked his tongue low and snarled.
“She apparently quit after doing menial work, but if something is found ripped beyond recognition so the identity can’t be determined—that’s a monster.”
“Ah…!”
Rena made a short sound. Maybe the maid had never seen such a creature before and had mistaken it for a corpse.
“A monster? Are you saying there are monsters even in the capital? That sounds a bit far-fetched.”
Maria challenged him, incredulous.
Maria was the daughter of the Marquis Razli. Though her rank was below Edmore’s, she had enough standing to argue with a rude boy like Milian.
Milian looked at Maria as if she were bothersome—too much suspicion for no reason.
He sighed briefly.
“That’s because they were deliberately brought in.”
“Excuse me?”
Maria, caught off guard, blurted the question and then clapped a hand over her mouth in shock.
They hadn’t come to avoid the monsters—they had been brought in? It was hard to grasp. The idea of bringing dangerous monsters into the capital sent a chill down her spine.
Milian gave a sly smile, amused by Maria’s bewilderment.
“Ah, there’s some truth to what the maid said. I tore those things apart myself.”
“Gah!”
He had ripped monsters apart. Monsters are the kind that even many knights struggle to handle. Their hides are tough and coarse; weapons would break without an aura to support them.
Aura itself—he implied—required innate talent and training.
Even to claim someone killed a monster would be startling; to leave it so shredded that identity couldn’t be confirmed was unbelievable.
Prea had known the Edmore ducal house had special power, but she’d never imagined it extended to a ten-year-old boy.
Rena trembled even more violently with fear.
As if to underscore her point, Milian stepped closer to Maria and Rena. The nearer he came, the whiter their faces grew.
He leaned in close enough that Prea couldn’t hear, and whispered to them.
“You haven’t heard those rumors, have you?”
“Ru—rumors?”
Maria forced herself to meet his gaze and asked. If she lowered her eyes in the face of his presence, her pride would be wounded beyond repair.
Rena clung to Maria, trembling.
Milian’s eyes glinted red as he gave a cold smile. His mouth curved, but his eyes were ice-cold.
“I don’t like people talking behind my back. If you haven’t heard, ask the Cohen Marquis family. I nearly killed their son.”
