TCBCVF 98

~Chapter 98~

Evangeline had an excuse—

This wasn’t just anywhere, it was her duchy.

She was the only daughter of the ducal house, and Laritte was her close friend whose identity she could vouch for.

Who would have imagined they’d be harassed for identification here of all places?

Just then—

“If it’s identification you want, here it is.”

A cold voice rang out.

Laritte pulled an identification badge from her coat and handed it to the vigilantes.

They took it awkwardly, looking displeased, and examined it.

“Barony of Ansy?”

“Where’s that?”

“Never heard of it.”

These were men who had lived their whole lives in the countryside.

There was no way they’d know every noble family in the Empire.

And so, things only got more tangled.

“Is this badge… real?”

“It could be forged.”

Suspicion filled their eyes.

In truth, they weren’t completely without reason.

Not all nobles were equal—there were landholding nobles and those who only had titles without any fief.

That alone created a difference in standing.

And among the common people, fake identification badges weren’t unheard of.

After all, there was a big difference in rights between nobles and commoners.

If caught by the security force, it brought heavy punishment.

Still, some people carried fake badges, unable to give up the sweet benefits they offered.

The vigilantes assumed Laritte was one of those people—

One of those vain, foolish women who fancied herself a noble lady.

One of the young men glared sharply and roughly grabbed Laritte’s wrist.

“Stop talking and come with us!”

“Let go of me!”

Laritte tried to shake him off, but his grip was like iron.

“L-Lari!”

A flustered Evangeline raised her voice.

And in that moment—

Tak!

A long, elegant hand gripped the young man’s wrist.

At the same time, a cold voice rang out.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

A man with an expressionless face looked down at the vigilante who had been threatening Laritte.

He was beautiful enough to make not only women but even men turn their heads.

Facing that fine, marble-carved face, the young man frowned in irritation.

‘What the hell is this pale-faced pretty boy?!’

A man ought to look like a man!

Still, he felt a twinge of tension—

For a man to have such refined features meant he was rich enough to never work outdoors.

‘Still… probably just a low-ranking noble.’

High-ranking lords wouldn’t be wandering around in this backwater.

In all his life, the highest-status person he’d met was a minor official from the ducal capital.

And that badge the girl showed earlier? Just from some unheard-of barony.

But strangely—

‘What is this?’

His whole body stiffened like a mouse before a predator.

He clenched his teeth.

“And who the hell are you?!”

Annoyed at his own shrinking back, he barked louder.

“Me?”

The man—Dietrich—jerked his chin toward the frozen Evangeline.

“I’m her brother.”

Evangeline swallowed hard.

…Her brother looked very on edge.

Normally, Dietrich wouldn’t provoke someone so openly by speaking down like that.

He preferred to handle things quietly.

“So, who exactly are you—threatening my sister and her friend, telling them to ‘come with you’?”

His grip on the man’s wrist tightened.

The vigilante tried to shake him off, but the hold only grew stronger.

The pain shot up like his wrist might snap.

“Ghhk…!”

His face turned red, then blue, then pale.

“L-Let go!”

He flailed, and Dietrich’s lips curved slightly.

“Let go?”

“M-My wrist’s going to break!”

The young man writhed in pain, foam at the corners of his mouth.

But Dietrich didn’t seem about to release him.

“When Lady Ansy asked you to let her go—”

Dietrich tilted his head slightly, the gesture dripping with mockery.

“…Did you?”

At this point, the other young men watching couldn’t stay still.

“Alright, that’s it! Let Peter go, now!”

One of them lunged, swinging a fist.

Thud!

But instead of being hit, Dietrich twisted, and the man’s jaw snapped to the side—

Because Dietrich had yanked the first vigilante forward and used him as a shield.

It was lightning-fast reflexes.

Then he shoved the man forward.

“Urk!”

“Ugh!”

The charging men toppled over like dominos.

“You bastard…!”

One man tried to get up, only to be mercilessly kicked in the stomach and sent rolling again.

“Ugh…”

“Grhh…”

The groans of pain filled the air.

The vigilantes writhed on the ground like insects.

Dietrich looked down on them like trash, pulled a small square badge from his coat, and tossed it onto them.

“The badge you were so eager to see.”

His voice dripped with contempt.

“Go ahead—check it.”

One man snatched it up with trembling hands, then his eyes bulged.

“Wha—? Wh-What?!”

“What is it?”

“This… this is…!”

He couldn’t even finish his sentence, shoulders shaking violently.

The golden badge bore the Claudius name and the family crest—

A sword and a rose.

The symbol of Claudius.

“My land. My people.”

A voice like ice dropped over their frozen heads.

“And you dare threaten my sister and my guest?”

My land? My sister?

…Was this man really—

The Duke of Claudius?!

Cold sweat ran down their backs.

“S-Sorry!”

“We were wrong!”

“Please, mercy, just this once…!”

They begged, crying and sniffling.

Dietrich’s gaze was as cold as a winter gale, sharp enough to kill.

But then—

“Your Grace.”

A soft voice called him.

In an instant, the killing intent in his blue eyes vanished.

Dietrich closed his eyes, opened them again, and turned.

“…Are you alright?”

“Yes, thanks to your concern.”

Laritte quickly nodded.

Her face was pale from the scare, but she didn’t seem hurt.

Dietrich let out a sigh of relief, then turned sharply to Evangeline.

“Eva, you?”

“Uh, y-yeah? I-I’m fine too.”

“Good. I’m glad… but—”

His face twisted dangerously.

“You went around without your guards? Are you insane?!”

The roar shook her eardrums.

“What if something had happened?!”

Evangeline felt wronged—

This had all been for the sake of pushing him and Laritte together!

But she knew better than to blurt, It was for you!

“I’m sorryyyy…”

She shrank down.

Dietrich glared at his troublemaking sister for a moment, then shook his head.

“Let’s get back to the villa.”