Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Ian finally realized the reason for her eccentricity.
Feeling miserable, he swept his palms over his face.
‘So her name was Laritte.’
A classic myth of a goddess, who had a terrible end because of her promiscuity, was the origin of that name. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
He knew, at a glance, how Laritte must have been treated in this house.
Unaware of Ian’s attitude, Rose continued.
“I apologize for changing the bride, Duke. I will do my best to be your Duchess, in return, please forgive me with your generosity.”
She was annoyed when her father had sent such a girl.
However, to Ian, that illegitimate girl was a very important person. She, for his sake, came back to the Empire and safely allowed him to enter the royal palace. Many would admire him for using a girl like her and then, take Rose as his bride to succeed his generations.
Redra was very much aware of Ian’s hardened expression.
“So, Captain, shall we return to the Manor of Reinhardt?”
Originally, it was a virtue for a subordinate to make a move without a special order from his master so that his master could stay in a noble position.
But Redra completely misinterpreted Ian’s idea.
“The bride……” “The circumstances of the Duke…..”
Few words from the conversation between Rose and Redra buzzed into his ears from time to time. It was almost as if he couldn’t pay any attention to them.
Images of Laritte’s serene face kept flashing before him.
He, who was holding his head in his palms, hit the wall with great strength.
Bam!
The silver-plated wall, from the impact of the Swordmaster’s fist, now had a couple of cracks. Crumbles of it fell to the shiny floor.
In an instant, silence filled the room.
He panted, breathing hard in a burning rage.
“Would you…..” “……” “……shut your damn mouth. Both of you.”
He gritted as his eyes scanned both of their faces.
‘Laritte, you were afraid of the name, Rose.’
‘How have you been treated by her?’
The vividness of that first syllable was enough to bring out her tears.
“Where is she? Where is Laritte?”
When Ian asked with unparalleled indignation, Rose’s features almost got crumpled.
“Why are you looking for Laritte, Duke?”
It was hard for her to manage her facial expression as she stood in front of her husband.
‘Besides, he asked me to stop talking? Seems like that child is really a disgrace to the Brumayer family.’
However, even his angry expression was so intimidating that it made her heart flutter.
Trying to maintain a smile on her face, she replied.
“Ah, since the Duke said he received help from her at the villa, I’ll pay her separately—” “Where.is.she?”
When he cut off her words, she frowned, unable to understand the situation.
When Rose kept silent for a long time, Ian strode out of the room himself.
“Laritte!”
He walked past the long white corridor.
“I came, Laritte! I’m here!”
His eyes were searching for her through every door in his path. But Laritte, who was already kicked out of the mansion, could not have been there.
Unaware of it, he climbed up the second floor and kept opening the doors that came into his sight.
“Where are you, Laritte?!”
Her figure lingered in front of him. He promised to find her and ask her why she had to hide her identity from her husband. He wanted to ask her why she couldn’t trust him. Even though he actually could understand her feelings.
If he cleared himself of the false charges against him, it was possible for her to get abandoned by him.
‘Then why did you help me to get into the caste, you foolish woman?!’
Ian wanted to scream at her.
He knew her real name now. But he was badly yearning to call her that….
‘You really think I’m a bear? Did you think I wouldn’t even look for the one who saved my life?’
His chest felt stuffy. It was hard to interpret whether these feelings of frustration and anger were directed to Laritte or himself.
“Laritte!”
Rose turned blue as he shouted again at the top of his voice with blood rising in his head.
“D-Duke.” “Laritte!” “Duke…..!”
Rose called him in a loud voice as she was frustrated by the fact that she was being ignored.
‘Why are you looking for that illegitimate child?’
Eventually, Rose became nervous.
“Laritte isn’t here!”
Ian came to a halt.
“We sent her away. It was too much for us to take care of an illegitimate child……But, what is wrong with you, Duke? Your real bride is right here—”
Turning around, he caught Rose’s petty soldiers. His grip was so hard that the fancy necklace hanging along her neck shook.
Expensive jewels that had been bought from the Count’s fortune were dangling under his appalling glare.
Shocked, Rose flinched as she met his eyes.
“When did she leave?”
The devil could not have been more frightening than him to Rose, who had grown up liking him.
If she was a soldier facing him, her sword would have been shaking under his blazing eyes.
Rose’s breathing became rough in that heavy situation. She tried to suck in oxygen as she felt her slender neck tightening.
Ian squeezed her shoulders harder, his nails seemed to be digging in her flesh through her dress.
Only then did she come to her senses and stammered out, shutting her eyes closed.
“I-It hasn’t been that long! They may have just left the capital! I-I sent her in a carriage, so…….”
He turned around, releasing her without any hesitation.
She flopped down on the spot. Ian turned back and glanced at her.
He wondered if he should utter an apology for recklessly handling her, but he couldn’t waste any more time. All he had to do was find Laritte right away.
Ian stared at her with a look of contempt as if he was looking at a bug.
“Real bride?”
His fist clenched hardly as he said.
“It was Laritte whom you sent to my villa, right?” “……..” “Then it’s only Laritte who has the right to be my Duchess.”
Without a second word, he turned around and went down the stairs.
The Count couple were in a good mood until they heard the uproar on the second floor. Watching Ian climb down the stairs, the Countess hurried up to him.
“Duke! What was the fuss about……?”
As Ian walked out of the mansion, ignoring her completely, she stood there in a daze before she climbed up the stairs.
Rose was still sitting on the floor with a blank expression plastered on her face.
“Rose! What’s wrong with the Duke? Did something happen?!”
But Rose couldn’t speak up.
How could the Duke say that Laritte was more important than her?
‘That low-born wench!’
Rose, who rose from the help of a maid, couldn’t compose herself and began to scream.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
Gabbing the frame from the hallway, she threw it down on the floor, and therefore, breaking it into a thousand pieces.
Unable to control her anger, she stepped on the broken glass pieces.
“Aaah! Aargh!” “Rose! Are you crazy?!”
“She’s so annoying……Aargh!” “Rose! I asked you something!”
But she was in no state to communicate.
“Aaaaaargh!!!”
The mansion shook up with her shrill screams.
Meanwhile, Ian was walking to his carriage.
“Captain!”
Redra rushed after him.
“Is that true, Captain?!” “What is?” “I mean, are you going to take the illegitimate child as your bride instead of Miss Rose?!”
She shouted as she ran to keep up with his quick pace.
“But, that…….won’t do, Captain.” “What if I disagree?”
Ian stopped and glanced back at Redra.