Angela chapter 7

“What……?”
Angela couldn’t hide her dazed expression as she looked at Kalian.

“Didn’t I tell you not to test my patience? This is my limit. I can’t do this anymore.”

Kalian’s tone was calm, as if he had made up his mind.

Angela unconsciously grabbed the tips of Kalian’s fingers. However, Kalian did not allow it. He pulled his hand back, firmly severing the weak connection between them.

“We’ll see tomorrow.”
“Kali……”

Before she could finish calling his name, Kalian had already turned away. Angela watched until his familiar back disappeared before finally pushing open the nearest door and stepping inside. She leaned against the doorframe, pressing her fist tightly against her chest.

“It’s because of the tricks of the light. That’s why it hurts. There’s no other reason. It’s just the light. Just the light.”

Angela repeated the words like a spell. She brainwashed herself, deceived her own heart. It was the curse of the light that was making her suffer. It was absolutely nothing else.

—

The next day.

Angela dismissed the maids who had helped her dress and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Ironically, the dress she had prepared for the banquet today was unlike her usual style—far more reserved.

The high neckline that covered her up to the middle of her neck felt suffocating. Even if it had been a gift, it was the kind of design Angela would never have chosen for herself.

And yet, she had deliberately ordered this dress because she had anticipated that Beatrice, with her conservative taste, would wear something similar. The price of her pettiness had come back to bite her.

“Haha……”

Angela let out a quiet laugh, unable to believe the situation she was in.

For Kalian to mention breaking off the engagement… Such a thing had never even crossed her mind.

“Hah, as if I’d let that happen.”

Angela had no intention of breaking off the engagement with Kalian. Even if Kalian Florence was an indifferent fiancé. Even if he had no affection for Angela Bilton.

He was a man she had only been able to have after giving up something of her own entirely. What she had given up could never be returned. And so, returning Kalian was also an impossibility.

Angela slowly unclenched her fist. The hair ornament she had been gripping so tightly appeared, leaving behind deep red marks on her palm.

She glared at it as if it were some disgusting insect before reaching up to touch a neatly pinned section of her hair. Then, with an air of indifference, she carelessly shoved the accessory into place.

By now, Kalian was probably preparing for their separation. He must have been certain that Angela, with her pride, would never appear in a crowded place wearing such a cheap ornament.

But he was wrong.

“Did you think I’d let you go so easily?”

Angela checked her reflection. The gaudy ornament, covered in bright red feathers and cheap jewels, made her look no different from a woman of the streets.

Still, Angela held her head high and smiled.

“It looks just fine.”

Murmuring to herself, she steeled her resolve to shatter Kalian’s ridiculous prejudices.

Kalian was hers. A breakup? That would only happen over her dead body.

No—if she had to set a date for her own death, she would kill Kalian first and take him with her. Did he think she would stand by and watch someone else have him in her absence? Not a chance.

Determined, Angela ignored the sharp, abnormal pain in her heart and strode out the door.

—

As soon as Angela entered the banquet hall, silence fell over the room as if prearranged.

All eyes turned toward her brilliant golden hair.

Some people rubbed their eyes as if they were seeing something impossible. Others, though accepting the reality before them, couldn’t stop their jaws from dropping. Some gasped aloud, only to be smacked by their companions for being too loud.

The reactions were varied.

Angela ignored them all and walked past them with an indifferent expression, making her way to a corner of the hall.

At the center of the ballroom, couples were twirling and dancing. Angela only gave them a brief glance before casually beckoning a passing servant carrying drinks.

She picked up a glass of champagne, her usual preference, and elegantly took a sip.

Her demeanor was confident, as if nothing was amiss.

Yet, even as she emptied her glass, the stares clinging to her refused to wane.

“Haa, how persistent.”

Not a single one of them had the courage to ask outright.

Angela swept her gaze across the banquet hall, her expression sharp. She intended to crush the first person who dared meet her eyes. That way, the rest of those prying stares would scatter immediately.

Unfortunately, the first person she locked eyes with happened to be Kalian, who had just entered the hall.

Perhaps he had been delayed by work—he was still dressed in the formal uniform he wore when visiting the imperial palace.

Kalian handed his gloves to his attendant and, without blinking, stared straight at Angela.

Angela found it strange. The man who always looked at her with displeasure now had an unusually blank expression.

She wasn’t sure what he was expecting, so she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

Like a perfectly sculpted statue suddenly coming to life, Kalian finally snapped out of his trance and moved.

His sharp gaze flickered toward the Duke and Duchess, who were still dancing and had yet to notice Angela. Then, without hesitation, he strode toward her at an alarming speed.

“…….”

In an instant, Kalian was standing right in front of her, staring down at her golden hair without the slightest movement.

Angela grew uneasy. She couldn’t decipher the meaning behind his silent gaze, so she spoke first.

“I dressed exactly as you wanted. What do you think? Does my fiancé really like this sort of thing?”

“……”

“Your taste is quite vulgar.”

“……”

“Ah, but I suppose that’s understandable, given your lowly origins.”

Angela had deliberately spewed insults, fearing that Kalian might think she looked cheap.

Yet, even after hearing such biting words, Kalian remained still for a long moment.

Then, his Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably as he swallowed something down.

Judging by the storm brewing in his eyes, it was most likely rage.

Even so, perhaps because of the watching crowd, his outward composure remained impeccably controlled.

“I would like to have a word with you outside, if you would permit it.”

Kalian extended a hand toward Angela.

Judging by the burning intensity in his gaze, he was barely restraining himself from yanking her away by the wrist.

It was commendable patience.

“As much as you want.”

Angela smiled as she placed her hand atop his.

—

As soon as they were free from the prying eyes, Kalian seized Angela’s wrist and pulled her forward with an urgency that made his strides swift.

He didn’t stop until they were outside in the garden.

Then, as if casting her aside, he backed her into a corner and glared at her with an expression as fierce as a raging storm.

He had been the one to mock her, yet now he looked as if he were the one who had been wronged.

Before Angela could even process her frustration, Kalian spat out his words in a low, biting voice.

“You, Lady Bilton, have quite the talent for making people angry.”

“Why would my dear fiancé be angry? I did exactly what I was told.”

“That—! That’s not what I meant!”

Kalian’s words were cut off by the sound of his teeth grinding together.

It was the sound of his patience finally snapping.
Kalian grasped Angela’s chin with his large hand. Her head tilted back involuntarily, forcing her to meet Kalian’s gaze without even the slightest misalignment.

“What exactly is going through that head of yours? Should I split it open to find out?”
“Didn’t you want me to be humiliated? If that’s what you ordered, then just enjoy watching me be disgraced. You won’t get another chance to see it.”
“Were you humiliated? Do you even know what shame is?”

At his barrage of questions, Angela’s eyes burned with fury. As if she wouldn’t know what shame was. She had simply endured it because she could not allow their engagement to end.

What was going through her head? Angela wanted to scream into Kalian’s ear: “I refuse to break off our engagement!”

But instead, she bit down on her lips, suppressing the truth struggling to escape.

At that moment, Kalian let out a sigh so deep it seemed to sink into the ground. He then lowered his head, bringing his face so close to Angela’s that their breaths almost mingled.

Yesterday, he had recoiled from even the slightest touch. Now, he was acting entirely on his own whims.

“Even when I was cornered on the battlefield, things weren’t this difficult. I’d rather fight a million soldiers alone. What am I supposed to do with you, Lady Bilton?”

It didn’t seem like he expected an answer, as Kalian stepped back before Angela could open her mouth. This time, his voice was firm.

“Take it off.”
“The engagement…”
“nothing will happen, so take that thing off. Right now.”

As Angela hesitantly reached up and removed the hair ornament, Kalian snatched it from her hands as if to tear it away. His next words were both a plea and a warning.

“Don’t do anything. Please, just stay still. I don’t… I don’t want to hate you anymore.”

Kalian hesitated briefly before turning away, only finishing his sentence once his back was to her.

As always, he was the first to leave.

Angela silently grumbled as she watched him walk away.

Don’t do anything? Why, should I stop breathing too?

And yet, despite everything, she felt a small sense of relief that Kalian hadn’t left her in that disgraceful state.

Kicking the ground lightly, Angela muttered under her breath.

“He said he’d break off the engagement properly… bastard.”

—

Late at night.
Emmet, the butler of Count Florence’s estate, followed his master Kalian with bated breath.
He had already sensed his master’s foul mood the moment he stepped out of the carriage, but tonight, his steps were particularly aggressive.
With each stride, barely restrained fury radiated from him.

Kalian was a man of etiquette. Perhaps because he had risen from nothing to the rank of Count, he never treated people poorly, regardless of their status.

When Emmet had first been introduced to the newly established Florence family through the Bilton duchy’s butler, he had assumed that Kalian, a knight decorated with countless war achievements, would have a rough demeanor and an intimidating appearance.

But he had been gravely mistaken.

Kalian Florence was a man who looked more suited to playing a harp than wielding a sword. Moreover, he was far more respectable than the nobles who had been born into privilege and carried themselves with arrogance.

And yet, seeing him struggle to contain his anger like this, it was clear that something serious had happened at the Bilton couple’s wedding banquet.

Emmet quickly ran through a list of soothing teas in his mind.

Just then, Kalian suddenly stopped and reached into his coat. After rummaging through an inner pocket, he pulled something out and handed it directly to Emmet.

Confused, Emmet accepted the object and examined it. This is…?

It was a hair ornament, the kind typically worn by women—specifically, women from the backstreets.

It was utterly unthinkable for his master, who was almost obsessively clean in his dealings with women, to be in possession of such an item.

Unable to hide his bewilderment, Emmet glanced at Kalian.

“This… why…?”
“Throw it away. And while I wash, prepare some liquor in my bedroom.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes, of course.”

Kalian’s aura was so menacing that Emmet dared not ask further questions, simply nodding in compliance.

Still, his curiosity remained. As he watched Kalian head toward the bath, Emmet tilted his head, wondering where on earth such a thing had come from.

But then— Kalian suddenly turned back and approached Emmet once more.

“That.”

He motioned with his chin toward the hair ornament in Emmet’s hand.

“Yes, sir?” Emmet quickly responded, waiting for further instructions.

But Kalian hesitated. He chewed his lip before finally speaking again, his voice heavy with reluctance.

“That thing.”

Again, he gestured at the ornament before forcing the words out.

“Burn it.”

He had just changed his previous order.

“Make sure it’s burned.”
“Understood. I will see to it.”

Kalian’s tone was so firm that even Emmet found himself nodding forcefully.

As he turned away, Kalian’s back still carried the weight of suppressed fury.

What in the world happened tonight?

Emmet tilted his head even further, puzzled.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───