If things continued like this, that ‘savior representing Cardel’ would be that woman.
No, perhaps the Cardel family itself, with its history spanning hundreds of years, could collapse because of that one person.
‘No, not yet.’
No matter how impressive her purification ability was, it was still limited to the North.
Garwin clenched his fist.
The veins on the back of his hand stood out stiffly.
“……I will finish what I failed to finish. I will attend the wedding.”
The Duke stared at him silently for a while, then sighed and spoke.
“Move with Belloa.”
Those words implied that he no longer fully trusted Garwin.
“……Yes.”
Garwin gritted his teeth.
His answer was obedient, almost as if he had prostrated himself before him, but inside, he was boiling with rage.
A thirst for revenge, wounded pride, an inferiority complex, and even the seed of madness toward Odely…….
Everything was tangled together and boiling chaotically in his eyes.
****
“Can I go back and kill them now?”
Ludville abruptly asked after returning from the meeting.
Odely had been sighing in relief at the news that he had returned safely without causing any major trouble, but she froze completely at those words.
“……Your Highness, the reason I told you to hold back was not so that you could launch a delayed attack.”
It would have been one thing if he had never been able to hold back in the first place.
But he had managed to restrain himself and come back, only to say he wanted to go back and kill them.
“Wasn’t it supposed to mean that I should smile like those hypocrites in public and stab them in the back later?”
“Of course not.”
Why had he suddenly become so aggressive after returning?
No, he had always been somewhat like that.
‘For Ludville to show his emotions this openly…….’
It was the first time she had seen him like this since her regression.
‘Well, I suppose it makes sense after seeing Garwin.’
That man had a talent for dragging out the violence and hatred hidden inside his opponents.
Sometimes he deliberately created situations like that, and sometimes it seemed as though he had simply been born with such a nature.
‘He provokes his opponent little by little until they throw the first punch, then pretends to be the victim and sheds tears.’
And in the end…….
He generously forgave such an opponent and received everyone’s praise.
He was skilled at such tricks.
Even though he was the one who started the mud fight, the blame for splashing the mud always fell on someone else.
‘Considering he caused such trouble in someone else’s territory, it’s impressive that Ludville came back without drawing his sword…….’
Ludville was already going through a difficult time because he was having trouble controlling his emotions.
He must have exercised an incredible amount of self-restraint.
Odely did not know what she could possibly say to calm him down, so she rolled her eyes for a moment before speaking.
“I heard you got seventy-five billion out of them. You did very well.”
“…….”
Was praise really the answer?
He seemed quiet for a moment.
But then, a beat later, he asked in a low voice.
“……Just with words?”
The emotion in those words was clear.
It was neither mockery nor anger nor a joke.
It was expectation.
‘What exactly is he expecting?’
From me, what…….
Odely blinked and remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
“……Do you want me to praise you in a way that isn’t with words?”
Ludville looked as though he had been rendered speechless by her words.
Rarely showing such a flustered expression, he asked a beat later.
“What if I do?”
“I can’t give you seventy-five billion, but I do have quite a bit of personal wealth saved up.”
“…….”
Ludville was silent for a moment before answering.
“Forget it. I was foolish to expect anything from the Lady.”
Is that an insult?
In truth, Odely had a vague idea of what he had been expecting.
She was simply pretending not to notice and deliberately looking away.
‘When did you start becoming this interested in me when you can’t even remember me?’
Since the plague?
Or during those few days when he took care of me?
Or…….
……Had there already been signs of it in that forest, when he almost became a monster?
Even though he had lost his memories, was his instinct endlessly chasing after her?
Odely swallowed the sigh that naturally rose to her lips.
Then she took a long breath.
So that her heart would not grow weak again.
“As you probably expected, the Cardel family has been using people with purification abilities as expendable tools for a long time. It has quite a long history. It seems to have continued for generations.”
Odely returned to the main point.
Her tone was calm, and her eyes were as cold and emotionless as usual.
“It continued?”
Ludville asked while standing with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall.
His expression had become completely serious.
“Does that mean there have been people with purification abilities in the family for generations? You weren’t the first?”
“Yes. In the first place, ancient magic does not exist. All of it was actually ‘purification ability.’”
He had expected it, no, he had been certain of it.
But after hearing the truth directly from Odely, Ludville finally understood what it felt like for one’s blood to run backward in fury.
So…….
The reason the Lady of Cardel had disappeared for the past three months was neither running away from home nor being kidnapped.
She had ‘escaped.’
She had desperately fled with her life on the line, doing everything she could to survive and escape from her family.
Even the reason she had desperately proposed a contract marriage to him.
It was probably not because of some immature young lady’s ‘ambition’ or ‘whim,’ but because she wanted to remove the Cardel name from herself.
Because she had nowhere else to go.
She must have heard the news of the Grand Duke who was obsessed with a woman with blue eyes, and believed that marrying him was her only chance.
Without even knowing that she had been driven to the edge of a cliff, Ludville had pushed her even closer to that cliff.
“……Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
And in the end, he ground his teeth and raised his voice.
“Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning that you had been persecuted by the Cardel family, that you had escaped from that place?! Why talk about ambition and contracts and all that nonsense……!”
But he could not finish his sentence.
Even if she had told him, would he have believed her?
No, absolutely not.
He knew that better than anyone.
Even if she had honestly told him what happened, he surely would have mocked and belittled her somehow.
He would have sarcastically told her to come up with a more original story.
“…….”
Ludville let out a despairing sigh and rubbed his face with his palm.
At Ludville’s reaction, Odely…….
‘He seems to be misunderstanding something.’
She was a little flustered.
It was true that she had been persecuted by Cardel, but she had not run away because she was afraid of them at all.
It was closer to avoiding a filthy pile of shit.
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