The Price of Pride
Kallen’s words sliced through Canna’s reason like a pair of scissors.
Canna shot up from her seat and strode straight toward him.
“Whoever I choose to treat is my decision. It’s not for you to order me around.”
She spat the words with a murderous glare, but Kallen didn’t back down. Instead, he took a bold step closer.
“So that’s how it is.”
His face suddenly filled her vision. He stopped right in front of her, his eyes boiling like molten lava.
“Is money really that important to you?”
The raw fury in his voice left Canna inwardly stunned.
Why is he this angry?
Kallen was on the verge of losing control. Canna couldn’t begin to guess the cause.
“Five hundred million gold—is that enough to crush your own pride, sister?”
But the reason didn’t matter. He was insulting her; no justification was required.
“You’re going too far, Kallen.”
“Did I say anything wrong? Don’t you despise our brother? Then why should you care whether he lives or dies? Yet here you are, offering to treat him yourself?”
He let out a hollow laugh, his tone dripping with mockery.
“How is that any different from selling your pride for money?”
Canna’s expression cooled into icy calm.
Perhaps she had passed the peak of her anger, because now she felt strangely clear-headed.
“I don’t know how many times I have to repeat myself. Whatever I do is my choice. It’s none of your business.”
“Is that so? I see.”
He smiled crookedly in a way that was entirely unlike him.
“If pride can be bought, then I’ll gladly purchase it.”
“…What?”
“I’ll give you five hundred million gold—no, double that amount. So never treat our brother directly again. Do you understand?”
At those words, Orsini finally rose from his seat.
“This son of a bitch must have a death wish.”
He looked ready to throw a punch, but Canna lifted her arm to stop him.
“Hey, back off. There’s no reason to put up with this kind of bull—”
Splash!
Orsini’s sentence was cut short.
Canna had snatched the vase from the table and hurled its contents straight into Kallen’s face.
The flower petals fluttered down weakly.
“Feeling any clearer now?”
Canna asked quietly.
“I have no interest in talking to someone who’s lost their mind.”
“……”
“If you have something to say to me, come back when you’ve regained your senses.”
Kallen didn’t answer.
Instead, he wiped the water dripping down his face with his hand, then swept his soaked hair back.
When he lowered his hand again, his eyes had settled somewhat.
“I apologize. That was rude of me.”
“Good that you know it.”
He’ll apologize properly now, she thought. But…
“There are five physicians in this mansion who have received formal medical training at the academy.”
She had been mistaken.
“There’s no need for you to step in, sister.”
Embers of anger still flickered in Kallen’s eyes.
“Therefore, do not practice medicine without permission.”
“Are you calling me a quack right now?”
Canna was speechless. He had watched her treat Lucy with his own eyes. He had even entrusted Lucy’s ongoing care to her—yet he dared to say such a thing?
“Orsini is a valuable asset to the Adis family. He is not someone who should be treated with unknown drugs.”
Orsini snorted at that, but he no longer seemed inclined to charge at Kallen. Instead, he crossed his arms and settled in to watch the spectacle, clearly enjoying the prospect of Kallen’s downfall.
“…Unknown drugs?”
Kallen’s words had struck her pride with devastating effectiveness.
“Then why don’t you just throw me out?”
Canna whispered softly.
“No matter what you say, I will do as I please. Even if it goes against your wishes, I won’t hesitate. So throw me out of this mansion.”
For the first time, Kallen was rendered speechless.
“Get me out of your sight. That would solve everything, wouldn’t it?”
“……”
“What will you do if I refuse to obey you? Will you force me? Are you planning to issue a house arrest order like you did with Isabel?”
Her voice grew louder.
“Are you going to tie me down so I can’t leave the house, just like Isabel? All because I won’t listen to you?”
“…That’s—”
Kallen bit his lip.
“Isabel is different. She never apologized to you.”
“Don’t make me laugh. You’re only saying that because she ignored your demand for an apology.”
“……”
“I never wanted Isabel’s apology, and I don’t need it.”
An apology was meaningless.
Words like that couldn’t change anything.
“If you thought you could treat me the same way you treat Isabel, you’re wrong. If I’m such an eyesore, then throw me out. That’s the only way you can force me.”
The next moment, Canna’s gaze shifted toward the door. For some reason, Princess Joanna and Isabel were standing there, hovering.
Why are they here?
She had no idea why they had come, but they had clearly witnessed the entire chaotic scene.
Canna felt a flicker of satisfaction at Joanna’s shocked expression.
The more of this mess the princess witnessed, the easier it would be to use her. However…
Why is she looking at me like that?
Isabel was staring at her with tear-filled eyes and an expression of deep emotion.
That evening, Kallen sat at his desk attempting to handle the pile of overdue documents.
Or rather, he tried to.
But he couldn’t do anything. The fountain pen in his hand had long since stopped moving, its purpose forgotten.
A few hours earlier, Princess Joanna and Isabel had come to see Canna, and their conversation had been left unfinished.
What had they talked about?
Why had they come to see his sister?
Because he had stepped away to give them privacy, he had no way of knowing. No—more than that…
I said some terrible things.
She must have been hurt. He hadn’t meant to.
He should apologize.
Even as he thought that, the memory of Canna touching Orsini’s thigh made rage surge through him like wildfire.
A violent urge rose within him—the desire to peel off the skin where her hand had touched his brother.
At the same time, resentment toward Canna bloomed. Why had she fallen for such an obvious ploy?
She must have done it on purpose.
Because that bastard Orsini had tried to seduce her with money.
Money. What was so special about it?
The family would provide her with anything she wanted. So why was she so obsessed with increasing her personal wealth?
What on earth did she want?
What could she possibly desire that made her so desperate to earn money?
Surely she isn’t…
She couldn’t still be dreaming of leaving the family, could she?
Father had not given permission. And Kallen had no intention of agreeing either.
As long as they opposed it, Canna would have nowhere to go.
She knew that fact very well.
Could she be planning to run away?
The suspicion flickered through his mind but quickly vanished.
His sister was no fool.
She knew it was impossible to escape the Adis family’s pursuit.
Then why was she hoarding money?
Why had she abandoned him? Why…
After countless questions swirled in his head, he finally stood up. He intended to go apologize to Canna.
He didn’t want her to hate him any more than she already did.
Kallen ran into the maid Leah in front of Canna’s bedroom.
“Where is my sister?”
“She is asleep. I just checked on her.”
“You may go.”
When Kallen gave a slight nod, Leah stared at him with anxious eyes.
After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke.
“Young Master Kallen, the young lady is sleeping very deeply right now.”
Kallen stared at her intently. Unable to withstand his gaze, Leah eventually lowered her head.
“…I’m sorry.”
Once the obstacle had disappeared, Kallen entered Canna’s bedroom without hesitation.
Inside the dark room, Canna lay asleep on the bed.
Kallen approached silently and carefully sat down beside her. As if her words about sleeping deeply were true, Canna did not open her eyes.
He gazed down at her quietly.
Asleep, she looked like a child. Her face was so innocent that he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
She was devastatingly beautiful.
And terrifyingly captivating.
Kallen studied every detail of her face as if committing it to memory.
Before he knew it, his hand reached out toward her. The moment his fingertips brushed her cheek, a dizzying current shot straight to the top of his head.
The texture was as soft as silk. It was so smooth that he thought it would be fine if his hand simply melted away.
And then his imagination flowed naturally onward. If her cheek was this soft, what about the rest of her?
For example… her lips…
Suddenly Kallen squeezed his eyes shut. Just imagining it felt like stepping into the realm of sin.
He quickly withdrew his hand. But soon after, he let out a hollow sigh.
No matter what he imagined, the day would never come when any of it became reality.
Because this woman hated him.
She despised him, loathed him, and saw him as nothing more than a tool she could discard at any moment.
The truth was so painfully clear that he couldn’t even entertain foolish hope.
The cruel reality crushed his chest with pain. It felt as if a burning stone had lodged in his throat, making it impossible to breathe.
He simply felt endlessly sad and hopeless. Like he was struggling inside a pit he could never escape.
It would have been better if I had never known.
If that were the case, he would have spent his life worshiping her as his sister forever.
A perfect life would have unfolded. He would have become engaged to Joanna, and he would have found Canna an excellent husband for her remarriage…
“Mmm…”
At that moment, Canna shifted in her sleep.
And she pressed her cheek against the back of Kallen’s hand, which had been resting on the pillow.
In that instant, Kallen’s vision blurred.
The soft flesh filling his palm, the warm body heat, the brush of her lips.
It was an ecstasy incomparable to when he had only touched her with his fingertips. His entire body trembled. And then, like a lightning strike, realization hit him.
No.
Thirst blazed through him like fire. Kallen swallowed hard. He stared down at her with burning eyes—at Canna, who slept peacefully with her cheek resting against his hand.
No. This was always going to happen eventually.
He had hoped she would remarry?
What a joke. A hot, bitter laugh escaped his lips.
This was always how it was going to end.
Kallen listened to the sound of his own heartbeat. The loud, pounding rhythm cooled his mind to icy clarity.
He brushed his thumb gently beneath her eye. The feel of her thick, luxurious lashes beneath his finger was unbearably lovely.
What if she opened her eyes?
No—perhaps it would be better if she did.
He wanted her to see him in this moment.
She would be shocked, wouldn’t she?
Would she hate him even more?
So what? She already hated him anyway.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Kallen heard something inside his head shatter with a deafening crash.
The last remnants of morality, guilt, self-loathing—those useless things that had done nothing to help him obtain what he desired—shattered into pieces.
At the same time, he realized he could no longer stop himself. He didn’t even want to.
Kallen now knew exactly what he had to do. The answer had become so clear that his heart felt light.
He was no longer sad or angry.
He had never once failed to obtain what he wanted.
“Have sweet dreams.”
Kallen whispered softly as he withdrew his hand from beneath her face.
The moment her warmth left him, an intense emptiness tore through his chest.
But he accepted it willingly.
To obtain something greater, he needed to prepare.
A great deal of preparation.