Chapter 5
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Episode 5
The serene atmosphere froze over in an instant. Grace clenched her teeth slowly and steadied her breathing.
"Grace, is that really you there?"
"...Yes, Father. It's me, Grace."
Suppressing her panic, Grace hastily extracted herself from the Duke's embrace.
As Grace emerged—her eyes rimmed in crimson, her appearance somewhat disheveled—a glint of lethal intent flickered across Capren Oellin's gaze.
"What in blazes is this scandalous behavior...!"
Grace bit her tongue, struggling to maintain her composure.
"The truth is..."
Before she could utter another word, the Marquess's voice thundered forth.
"What kind of woman gallivants about in her nightclothes! After twenty years of etiquette training, you've squandered it all like this?"
"Father."
"Silence! You should keep your mouth sealed as though dead, yet here you are, attempting pathetic excuses!"
Grace's face had drained of all color, turning a sickly pallor as she hung her head.
Lucas, observing her, felt a hairline fracture form between his brows, yet none present noticed that subtle shift in his expression.
Grace bit her tongue in silence. This was undeniably her own fault.
She had rushed out like a fool, unable to distinguish heaven from earth in her haste.
Moments ago, she had wanted to bury her face in the washbasin and perish; now, she genuinely wished to bite through her tongue and die.
'...What do I do now.'
Swallowing a sigh, she racked her mind to defuse the situation as gracefully as possible. But the elderly Marquess would not grant her a moment's respite.
"Is this how I raised you! How dare you bring such disgrace upon your father's name! A noblewoman behaving like a common streetwalker! Vulgar!"
Capren Oellin, the Marquess, was a rigidly obstinate old man—an antiquated nobleman who clung to the archaic notion that women should obey quietly and provide domestic support for men.
And the one he scrutinized most harshly was his own daughter, Grace Oellin. He was particularly displeased whenever she deviated from his exacting standards.
To him, Grace was always an inadequate daughter who wore a submissive face while committing transgressions.
Though her features were passable, her frail constitution made it difficult to forge advantageous alliances with distinguished families.
He resented that she, a mere woman, had received a title and dared to boast of her accomplishments.
Women existed solely to serve the men of their house and strengthen bonds with beneficial families—yet she carried herself as though she were exceptional, making her an insufferable burden in his eyes.
When fortune smiled and the Black Family's connection resurfaced by chance, he resolved never to squander this opportunity.
Capren cast a sidelong glance at Lucas Black, his eyes burning with resentment. The young man's composed face revealed nothing of his thoughts. Despite his youth, he was skilled at concealing his expressions.
Truly, the Black Family wielded power for good reason.
'Hmph, but he's merely a hidden power broker after all. I'll exploit this sordid blunder to push the marriage through all the more forcefully.'
He concealed his bitter intentions beneath his wrathful facade and pointed an accusatory finger at both Grace and Lucas.
Though his noble rank was lower, the Oellin Marquessate boasted a lineage just as venerable as the Black Family.
And while the Black Family had once been founding contributors and architects of great deeds, they were now merely a toothless tiger clinging to past glory and influence.
A mere fledgling who had inherited the Dukedom only a year ago, with scarcely any political significance.
As Capren Oellin gazed upon Lucas Black's handsome visage, contempt welled up within him.
Among the fair-faced, none possessed true substance.
Vulgar creatures who wielded their pretty exteriors as weapons.
Moreover, the sight of him locked in Grace's embrace had truly turned his stomach inside out.
It was a fragment of the past surfacing in my mind.
The Marquess spoke in a frigid voice.
"Duke Black, regardless of the marriage negotiations between you and my daughter, to display such mockery before her father's study is nothing short of an affront to my daughter and to the honor of my house!"
At the Marquess's words, Lucas narrowed his eyes and fixed them upon him. Grace rushed to interject, but it was futile.
"Father, this isn't what you think—!"
"How dare you insert yourself, Grace!"
The Marquess Oellin, who had spoken so sharply to Grace, continued with a pallid complexion, grinding out his words.
"To think the Black Family, who claim to protect the realm, could be such a shameless stallion!"
Grace was deeply alarmed. Her father's words had crossed a line.
Certainly, what had just transpired was susceptible to misunderstanding, and her own appearance was hardly proper, but there was no cause to turn such a blade against the Duke.
"I never imagined you would so carelessly tarnish the reputation of a noblewoman. I have been gravely insulted!"
Grace felt the atmosphere around Lucas Black shift. A dark, heavy presence enveloped them both.
This was dire.
Her father's words had certainly provoked him. Father seemed unaware of how terrifying this man could be.
When he finally broke the long silence and spoke quietly, Grace felt a chill so sharp it made her skin prickle.
"Marquess, I did not realize you were such a vulgar and shameless nobleman, quick to wag your tongue without verifying the facts."
As expected, Lucas Black's voice toward the Marquess was glacial.
He made no effort to conceal his contempt.
"What did you just say? Vulgar?"
Lucas let out a soft laugh, then muttered in a bored tone as though there was nothing more worth hearing.
"I held great expectations for the master of such a renowned house, and for the father of such an exquisite lady, yet it has all proven hollow."
"Ha! Are you insulting me now? You are the one at fault, and yet—! It seems the Duke holds our house in contempt!"
Lucas let out a low chuckle, as if clicking his tongue in disapproval.
"I shall disregard everything I have heard today. I have no further desire to exchange words with you, Marquess."
Without hesitation, Lucas turned and walked away.
"Stop! Are you dismissing me?"
The Marquess, his face flushed with anger, demanded in an enraged voice. This was not what he had anticipated.
Ordinarily, when young nobles heard such a tone, they would shrink back in fear.
But this man neither flinched nor wavered.
Lucas did not respond to the Marquess; instead, he glanced briefly at Grace standing beside him. His topaz-like blue eyes rippled with complexity.
Yes, I had to admit it honestly.
I felt a genuine affection for Grace Oellin—an intensity so profound it felt foreign even to myself.
Yet that did not mean I would tolerate a black-hearted man who insulted me, no matter how much I regretted that such a man was this woman's father.
Deep blue eyes and transparent violet eyes met in the empty space between them.
Gazing at those violet eyes, confused and searching, I felt something twist strangely within me. Those clear eyes, fixed upon me without so much as a blink, were damnably beautiful.
It was a shame that we had exchanged so few words.
'...Damn it.'
I tore my gaze from Grace, swallowed the curse that rose to my lips, and turned away.
My footsteps descending from the Oellin Estate felt heavy with every step.
* * *
Grace Oellin stared blankly at the broad back descending the staircase before snapping to attention as though struck by lightning.
'If I let him leave like this, there's no telling what catastrophe might unfold...!'
That murderous glint in his eyes as he looked at her one last time.
Ah, it was as though he were saying he would slit the throats of both her and her father without hesitation.
And that suffocating weight she felt in his final sigh!
'No, this won't do. This won't do.'
The image of Lucas Black severing her father's ten fingers without a moment's hesitation came to mind all too easily. No matter how distant her relationship with her father might be, she could not simply stand by and watch such a thing come to pass.
'That look in his eyes just now was unmistakably the gaze of someone intent on killing.'
And that someone would almost certainly be a member of her own household.
'I have to stop him.'
Having regained her senses, Grace hurried down the staircase.
"Where are you going, Grace!"
"Just a moment, Father."
Grace descended the circular staircase Lucas had taken as though flying down its steps. Though she had gone only a few paces, her breath already caught in her throat.
Her lungs, stretched taut with stale air, swelled painfully as though they might burst through her chest, and a metallic, bloody taste rose in her throat.
'Curse this frail body!'
Vowing to herself that she would take better care of her health this year, she sprinted with all her might toward Lucas, who was about to board the carriage before the Lobby.
"Your Grace! Wait, please!"
Did he hear her desperate voice?
Lucas Black, who had been about to board the carriage, stopped.
He then turned slowly to face her as she came rushing toward him.
His sharp eyes widened noticeably in surprise.
Regardless, Grace rushed toward Lucas and gasped out her words between heaving breaths.
"P-please, just a moment! *Gasp* *Pant*! How, how can you walk so, *gasp*, so quickly! *Pant*!"
Her weak constitution meant she had never engaged in strenuous activity. This was the first time in her life she had run so breathlessly—a testament to her desperation.
Grace bent over, experiencing a dizziness she had never known in all her years. Beyond her ragged, labored breathing, she felt the sickening taste of blood.
"*Gasp*, *pant*. *Gasp*!"
She discovered for the first time that merely running could make her feel as though she might retch.
"Easy now... Breathe slowly. Slowly."
Lucas steadied her wavering form and helped guide her breathing.
"Don't speak. Just focus on exhaling and inhaling. That's it."
"*Exhale*, *inhale*. *Exhale*...! *Inhale*!"
As Grace's breathing steadied, she glanced up to study Lucas.
She had expected him to be angry, but fortunately his expression was not as grim as she had feared.
Once she could speak again, Grace straightened from her bent posture and stood upright.
Even then, Lucas Black did not rush her, simply waiting.
'*Exhale*.'
Grace drew in a deep breath and calmed her trembling heart.
Though her eyes were unsteady as she looked up at him, she could not read his expression.
It would be a lie to say that expressionless face wasn't terrifying.
Yet Grace Oellin found herself unable to retreat.
'I have to smooth this over somehow and send him away. I can't let this man leave while he's angry.'
Grace Oellin regarded Lucas Black with a somewhat tense expression and spoke.
"Allow me to apologize first, Your Excellency."
At her words of apology, Lucas Black's head tilted slightly.
He raised one eyebrow and spoke.
"I'm not certain what you believe you should apologize for?"
"All of this has occurred due to my recklessness, so I consider it my responsibility."
At her courteous words, Lucas Black regarded her with an expression caught between amusement and indifference.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org