And when Rachel returned, in front of the Violet Palace—
“You’re back.”
“…….”
Rachel stared at Marquis Ingrave and his wife, who were standing at the entrance. The chief attendant of the Violet Palace stood in front of them, their anger clearly written on their faces.
“Welcome back, my lady.”
“…….”
Normally, when guests arrived, they would be guided to the reception room.
But uninvited guests were usually left standing outside. Seeing Rachel burn the letters sent by the Ingrave family lately, the chief attendant seemed to have decided not to let them in for the time being.
“Well done.”
“It was nothing, my lady.”
The chief attendant’s expression softened at the praise. In contrast, her parents’ faces turned red.
“Did you just praise the chief attendant?”
“Are you saying it was a good thing to leave us standing here?”
Rachel did not answer. Instead, she stood in front of them.
“What brings you here? Please keep it short and leave. I’ve been out since this morning, so I’m tired.”
Flames seemed to shoot from the Marchioness Ingrave’s eyes.
“You!”
“Madam.”
“But……!”
The Marchioness, who had been about to protest, backed down when the Marquis stopped her. Then the Marquis turned his gaze toward Rachel, his eyes shining coldly.
“Rachel.”
“Yes, Marquis.”
“…….”
Her father, who had been glaring at her just as fiercely, gritted his teeth.
“Fine. Judging by your attitude, you really do intend to become independent. What, are you planning to cut ties with Ingrave completely?”
“Yes. Once I receive my title, I intend to give up my position as Lady Ingrave and live as a baroness.”
“You insolent girl! Who do you think made it possible for you to live the way you have until now? It was me and the Ingrave family! And now that things are finally going well for you, instead of showing even greater loyalty to the family, you’re throwing away all the kindness you’ve received and trying to run away on your own?”
The Marquis shouted fiercely as he stepped closer. Just then, someone stepped in front of him.
One was Sir Hoffman, the captain of her guards.
The other was the highest-ranking among the Imperial Knights assigned to her by the Emperor.
Anger flared in her father’s eyes as he looked at Sir Hoffman.
“So you’ve decided to be the head of a snake rather than the tail of a dragon. The knights and the maids, too.”
“Yes. Sir Hoffman, Sir Aaron, Sir Dale, and Sir Parker will all return their knight titles soon. I will also take over the employment contracts for my maids and servants. I’ll send someone, so please send me the relevant documents. Or you can terminate the contracts unilaterally if you prefer.”
“Rachel!”
At last, the Marquis could no longer hold back and shouted. At the same time, his hand rose.
Rachel quietly watched as the hand swung toward her. Getting slapped in such a public place and using it as an excuse to cut ties with them would not be a bad idea.
Just as the knights hesitated—
Thud—
A hand reached in from the side and stopped the Marquis. When Rachel turned her gaze, Nathan Valencia was gripping the Marquis’s arm, his expression cold and rigid.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“……!”
His presence was intimidating. Even though he was keeping himself under control, his eyes seemed to reveal a dangerous fury boiling inside him.
“I, I—”
“…….”
Leaving the frightened Marquis behind, Nathan Valencia immediately turned toward Rachel. The man she had seen again after a month or two looked a little haggard.
Yet his eyes were more fierce than ever as he examined her from head to toe. Only after doing so did he suppress his imposing presence and release the Marquis’s arm as if tossing it away.
“Why were you raising your hand against my benefactor? I believe you owe me an explanation, Marquis Ingrave.”
“…….”
In just a month or two.
The man now carried himself like a high-ranking noble. The trembling Marquis barely managed to straighten himself with the help of his escort knight.
“T-this is a matter within the Ingrave family. It is not something you should interfere with, Duke!”
“That seems to be for me to decide. Lady Ingrave is my benefactor. Besides, there have been discussions about our engagement. As her prospective fiancé and benefactor, would it not be right for me to intervene in a situation like this?”
“……!”
Rachel instinctively stared at Nathan Valencia. But he did not even glance at her, keeping his eyes fixed solely on the Marquis Ingrave.
“His Majesty has already approved Lady Ingrave’s independence. It is not something for you to argue about, Marquis. So instead of harassing her for no reason, go and complain to His Majesty. I will not tolerate any more misconduct.”
“…….”
The Marquis silently clenched his fists. In the end, he and the Marchioness turned around to leave. The Marquis looked at Rachel and added,
“I’ll see you at the ceremony for your title.”
“Yes. Please don’t forget to send the documents I mentioned. I’ll send someone to collect them.”
“…….”
The Marquis hesitated for a moment, and his face turned red again. But this time, he did not hurl any insults at her. The Marchioness followed him away, glaring calmly at Rachel.
“We’ll see about that.”
“…….”
Rachel said nothing. With all the uninvited guests finally gone,
Rachel slowly walked over and stood face-to-face with Nathan Valencia. She was the first to speak.
“What brings you here?”
This was the Inner Palace. Although the Sun Palace was not far away, nobles generally had no reason to pass through this area.
After briefly meeting her eyes, he subtly looked away.
“……I hope you won’t misunderstand. I have no intention of pursuing our engagement anymore.”
“…….”
She could not deny that she felt relieved by those words. He seemed to have intervened in the situation to help her, but she had wondered if there might be another reason.
Of course, there was no way this man would feel that way about her.
“I guessed as much. But that wasn’t what I was asking.”
“I came only to check the security situation. In any case, I agreed to help you become independent. Until you have completely left Ingrave, I suppose this falls under my responsibility as well.”
“…….”
It was an unexpected answer. Rachel hesitated before asking,
“Have all your suspicions been cleared up?”
“……Yes. And I thought I should at least do this much to make up for my mistake, but—”
The man, who had been subtly avoiding her gaze all this time, finally looked directly into her eyes.
“Do you dislike it?”
“…….”
“Even if you do, you will have to accept it. You were the one who agreed when I offered to help you become independent.”
It happened in an instant. The man looked away again and took a step back. By then, his attendants had gathered behind him.
Just as he was about to turn around, the man glanced to the side of Rachel.
“Your name was Sir Hoffman, wasn’t it?”
“……Yes, Duke.”
He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sir Hoffman and the other escort knights.
“You should do a better job of protecting your master. You know she has already decided to leave Ingrave. Have you and Lady Ingrave not come too far for you to stand by and do nothing just because this is a family matter?”
“……!”
Sir Hoffman hesitated before bowing his head.
“I will keep that in mind.”
The Duke nodded and turned around. Even then, Rachel continued to stare blankly at Nathan Valencia.
He truly was an unpredictable man. It was also surprising that he was still keeping an eye on her.
“…….”
His kindness, despite her cold treatment, felt strange. Of course, perhaps he was doing this because he felt sorry for what he had done before.
But even so, he was clearly going out of his way to avoid Rachel. Just now, their eyes had met for only a brief moment before he subtly looked away again.
And the way he had grown angrier than necessary had also strangely drawn her attention.
“…….”
‘It must be my imagination.’
Wasn’t it only natural for him to react that way when someone he had come to accept as his benefactor was about to be struck?
Brushing aside her pointless thoughts, Rachel headed toward the palace entrance. It was a shame she had not gotten a public excuse to cut ties with her family, but she had been prepared to deal with the rumors anyway.
In any case, if Nathan Valencia actively supported her independence, that was a good thing for now.
Meanwhile, Nathan did not stop walking until he had reached a place where the Violet Palace was no longer visible.
He had forced himself to remain calm in front of Rachel, but—
“…….”
Now, as he recalled what had just happened, his expression was so cold that it seemed to have lost all emotion.
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