150

“…What do you mean by that?”

Lawrence barely stopped laughing. Still, a faint trace of amusement lingered in his voice.

“I mean it literally. Vespera came to see me. He asked me to save the Chancellor’s younger sibling. They were right — I did it. If you claim to be lovers, you shouldn’t call priests under the names of the Duke’s house and the Archduke’s house to treat your sibling.”

Lawrence slowly approached me with a crazed look and bowed his waist.

“I mentioned maybe going to my father. The moment I bring this up to His Majesty, the divine power flowing into the Chancellor’s sibling will be cut off. No — it will stop the relief priests’ treatment activities for the empire’s people altogether.”

“…!”

“Aren’t you curious how many citizens of the empire will die in that instant?”

His eyes glittered like a madman.

“After sleeping with a worthless bitch like you, the Duke’s prestige is going to hit rock bottom now? For a Next Archduke to kneel so easily — it’s unbelievable.”

My hands trembled though I hadn’t done anything. He stood up with a satisfied smile and looked down at me.

“It’s a shame I can’t oblige even after the two of them came in person. These things aren’t fun if you give in at once. If I meekly agree and the sibling recovers, who knows what they’d do to me afterward.”

“…”

I could only listen silently to his babbling.

“Make me change my mind. Someone as clever as the Chancellor should know quickly how to change me. Show me with your actions.”

He surveyed me for a moment, then immediately issued the command to escort me out.

“I’ll be expecting it, Chancellor.”

I managed to stand up and leave the sitting room. When the door thudded shut, my strength left me without my realizing it.

“Chancellor.”

A guard of the Crown Prince standing at the door supported me.

“Are you all right?”

My mind went blank; I couldn’t form a single thought.

“Chancellor?”

All I could think was that I had to go home.

“…Call a carriage.”

The butler and Marcella were startled to see me come home but I firmly refused and shut themselves in a room. In my head all I could picture was Ren kneeling and bowing his head before the Crown Prince.

‘Because of me…’

How on earth did he find the Crown Prince before me? Why did he go without saying a word?

Even after returning home my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I buried my face deeply in both hands.

‘The person I love knelt before someone who hates and despises me all because of me.’

It was a different kind of shock and pain. Instead of gratitude my heart ached. It felt choked, like my throat was blocked and I couldn’t breathe.

‘What do I do now?’

What should I do? How can I face him? Even though he went that far, the high priest didn’t come. I was desperate. Everything went dark before my eyes.

It would have been enough for me to be miserable alone, to bear that humiliation by myself — so why are we both drenched in filth? Is this what’s expected of lovers?

No. I never wanted that kind of sacrifice or consideration from him. I wanted him to be proud and happy by my side.

‘Yes, he changed after meeting me.’

He was a cold, rational Duke. Yet now, despite being busy, he made time to look after me, risked catching the plague to come to the barracks, even stood guard all night to protect the Chancellery. He kept sacrificing himself for me.

When I thought about it, I realized I hadn’t done much for him. And now he’s gone so far as to take care of Rio as well… The more I thought about it, the less I understood and the angrier I became.

Knock knock.

“Coco, you need to eat dinner. Shall I bring it to your room?”

It was Marcella’s voice. Seeing my face, he must’ve been worried.

I got up, prepared to go out, and opened the door.

“Coco, where are you going for dinner?”

He was probably surprised to see me leaving with eyes reddened. But the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t stay still. I had to see him first.

“I’m going to the Duke’s residence.”

Marcella’s face hardened in an instant.

“What? Is the Duke the reason your face looks like that?”

“Yeah, so I’m going to confront him. I’m mad.”

He stepped aside without protest.

“Go and punish him. Do it for me too. For the record, I won’t object if you break up.”

I slightly lifted the corner of my mouth at his ignorant encouragement and hurried toward the Duke’s residence.

“Co-Count!”

The Duke’s steward, startled by my appearance, quickly ushered me inside.

“Ren, where are you?”

I forgot I should be humble and my tone reverted to its usual self. The people at the Duke’s residence already knew about us even before it came out, so he was very polite. For a moment I remembered the time I asked for a partner at the Duke’s residence, but I pushed that thought aside. This wasn’t the time for that.

“The Duke is currently in his study. Shall I fetch him?”

Sensing the unusual mood, he responded briskly. I shook my head.

“I’ll go up myself.”

“Please wait a moment. I’ll tell the Count that you visited.”

“I’ll take responsibility for what comes after.”

I brushed past the steward and went up to the second floor where the study was.

“Coun-Count! You can’t do that!”

“The steward did nothing wrong. It’s my fault for barging in, furious and disregardful of manners.”

I strode up and stood before the door. My quiet heart began to pound. Even I couldn’t guess what words would spill out when I saw him.

Throwing manners aside, I flung the door open.

“Ria?”

Ren, who had been sitting at the desk reviewing documents, sprang up.

Bang!

I slammed the door and strode toward him. Seeing his relaxed, unbothered face — as if nothing had happened — made my simmering anger surge again.

“Are you insane?”

Sensing my unusual mood, Ren left his desk in quick strides and stood close to me.

“Who are you… who are you… to kneel because of me?”

“Ria.”

“You are my lover, not my family’s protector! How could you go to the Crown Prince without even telling me…!”

The more I spoke, the more heat rose to the top of my head and despair pressed down on me.

I knew my words were contradictory. If Rio could live, I should have begged on my knees. Yet while I wanted the Crown Prince to be bowed to for Rio’s sake, I didn’t want Ren to do it. He couldn’t kneel so easily because of me for something that wasn’t even his affair. I’d seen how much he’d endured and been wronged by the Crown Prince.

“I, I… what kind of heart did I go to the Crown Prince with…! How can you do this, why would you act like that!”

I shouted so hard my chest and shoulders heaved for breath. I felt like I might faint from dizziness. Yet Ren’s voice remained calm.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you beforehand. But I had no choice. You would have certainly opposed it.”

That only fanned my anger.

“You knew! Knowing it, why…!”

“Calm down, Ria. It’s only been a short time since you recovered from the plague!”

He, panting, tried to grab my trembling shoulder. I stepped back to avoid his touch.

“…!”

He looked hurt by the rejection. But if he touched me, I felt I’d immediately weaken.

“I don’t want you to throw away your pride and bow to the Crown Prince just because you’re my lover. If you can’t accept that, then we…”

I was about to say it would be better to stop there. No matter how I thought about it, this wasn’t right.

“I think you’re mistaken about something.”

With a stern face he stepped closer and gripped both my arms tightly. His perfectly styled swept-back hair and navy suit as usual, his brow creased slightly.

“I’ve never once thrown away my pride.”

I suppressed my sadness at that absurd excuse and shook my head at him.

“Don’t sacrifice yourself for me anymore. It’s a burden. I haven’t done that much for you, nor can I repay you. I’ll handle this matter myself…”

“You say I gave you nothing? Huh, you seem to have the talent of completely forgetting what you’ve done.”

Even his previously composed voice grew louder.

“Why would you say you haven’t sacrificed anything? You left your original world and came to me!”

“…!”

“How could I stand by and do nothing about your family’s affairs? You went through this all because of me. If you hadn’t been involved with me, the Crown Prince wouldn’t have gone this far.”

“But…!”

“Kneel? For you I could kneel a hundred times. It’s something done for the person one loves — what’s hard about that? Ria, I’ve never once abandoned my pride.”

“Ren!”

“I kept my pride.”

There wasn’t a trace of remorse on his face.