Episode 44
Before the wedding reception began, Hans made a bet with his friends.
The bet was to win the favor of the empress’s younger sibling from Trovancha, and since Hans was very popular among the women in the capital, the topic naturally shifted in that direction.
Of course, Hans wasn’t as handsome as Leopold or François.
They were like stars in the night sky, possessing perfect looks along with wealth and honor.
In contrast, Hans had the kind of good looks that could realistically exist and belonged to a decent family, making him an easygoing dating candidate.
“Trovanchas are known to date a lot. Even if we break up after a casual relationship, they won’t say anything, right? Besides, since she’s the empress’s sister, if it goes well, it’ll be good for me too.”
Even if a problem arose, he could brush it off as a cultural difference.
Hans and his friends discussed which of the twins to approach.
“What about the woman next to her, Emilia or something?”
“No way. She’s the Tower Master’s assistant, so she must know how to use magic. If you approach carelessly, you might end up roasted.”
So they chose Regina as the bet’s target.
Hans wagered 30 gold coins that Regina would dance with him.
‘She’s beautiful, so I won’t even be bored while trying to woo her.’
If she weren’t a Trovancan, he’d even want to date her seriously—she was that beautiful.
But as the heir to a barony, he couldn’t promise marriage to a foreign woman with no status from an island country.
They were the type to date freely and break up without much thought, so he figured he’d just have a bit of fun and move on.
He thought it would be a mutually enjoyable fling—he never imagined she might have realized it was all a bet.
‘H-How did she find out?’
Hans turned red with embarrassment.
Hans’s friends said,
“How would she possibly know about our bet?”
“She said something to me but… Never mind. You wouldn’t believe it even if I told you.”
“Anyway, you lost. Don’t forget to give each of us 30 gold coins.”
At that moment, a man approached the three with a grim face.
He was a head taller than the other men, with an overwhelming physique—the Knight Commander, Duke Baltrahein.
When Leopold released an intimidating pressure that made people shrink back, Hans and his friends tried to hide their fear as they greeted him awkwardly.
He didn’t exude the raw wildness of someone like Marius, but the threatening and heavy presence unique to those who wielded swords was hard for ordinary people to endure.
“Making bets on a state guest from Trovancha…”
A shadow fell across his sculpted face.
“W-We were just…”
Thud. A calloused hand gripped Hans’s shoulder.
Hans gasped.
It didn’t even seem like much force was used, but his shoulder felt like it was being torn apart.
Hans barely suppressed the scream that threatened to burst out.
He didn’t want to be humiliated in front of so many people at the banquet.
But Leopold didn’t seem inclined to let it slide, and added more pressure to his hand.
Hans staggered, unable to remain standing.
“Ugh!”
Leopold grabbed Hans by the collar and held him steady.
Hans, unable to even stand properly and now being held by the collar, turned beet red with shame.
“I suppose I’ll have to send word to Baron Ovitz and your family. How could you commit such disrespect…”
He wanted to deal with them himself if he could, but since it was a joyful occasion, Leopold didn’t want to cause a scene.
Leopold let Hans go, and he clutched his shoulder as he ran back to his friends.
“If you don’t want to see something ugly, leave.”
At Leopold’s warning, Hans and his friends fled in a hurry.
Having memorized Hans’s group clearly, he decided to deal with them another day and found Regina on the balcony.
“…Mr. Leopold?”
Regina’s eyes widened at his sudden appearance.
“Why are you here alone? Where is Ms. Emilia?”
“Emilia is dancing with some colleagues from the Tower. I just wanted to get some fresh air…”
“…Would you like some champagne?”
“Sure.”
Regina gladly accepted the champagne Leopold handed her.
It was almost sunset. The edge of the sky was turning pink.
“…It would be best not to get close to Hans Ovitz. He’s a pathetic man.”
Ah. So you knew too.
Regina’s face flushed.
“I know what kind of person he is. That’s why I warned him too.”
“You knew?”
“I saw his friends giggling at me. People from the Empire often look down on Trovanchans.”
Unlike Emilia, who didn’t pick up on such things, Regina was different.
She hoped, at least, that Leopold didn’t know about what happened with Hans… It was embarrassing and humiliating.
With her pride wounded, Regina drew a sharp line.
“This isn’t something you need to worry about, Mr. Leopold.”
“How could I not worry? It concerns you, Ms. Regina. I wanted to help.”
“I don’t need your help. So please stay out of my business.”
If they were still lovers, Regina might not have pushed him away like this.
Leopold, feeling deeply sorrowful, bit down hard on his molars to keep from expressing his true feelings.
But when Regina’s hair brushed against him in the breeze, he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Even if you don’t need me, I need you, Ms. Regina. I like you… That’s why I couldn’t just watch.”
His voice was unusually emotional.
His large fists clenched tightly.
Startled by his unexpected response, Regina looked up at him.
Leopold spoke with pained sincerity.
“I’ve thought a lot. About what it takes for someone to love someone else. If it were just your appearance that attracted me at first sight, then I should’ve felt fluttered by your sister too. But the one who comes to mind every time is you, Ms. Regina.”
“…”
“Maybe it’s your bright personality that I love. Maybe my feelings deepened because the moments we laughed together were so joyful. What’s certain is that from the moment I first saw you, I fell in love with you.”
He continued, almost not allowing Regina a chance to respond.
“In that brief instant, I was imprinted by the person named Regina Berkio, and now I can neither go back nor forget. Thinking realistically about the future feels meaningless. You are the sun, and I’ve gone blind in your light. I know it’s foolish… But I love you.”
His deep blue eyes, like the clear seas of Trovanca, stared at her in turmoil.
The slight trembling in his gaze was painful to see.
Regina realized she could no longer pretend her lies were the truth.
Because Leopold had shown her his heartfelt confession, she also wanted to reveal her secret to him.
Even if he ended up looking at her with hatred.
***
“Edgar. Are you ready?”
“I’ve waited a month. If we make those two our underlings, Chris Ruman is mine.”
“No way. He’s going to be my donkey.”
“I don’t want Helen Eldridge.”
“They’re both mine. Chris is my donkey, and Helen is my servant. Got it?”
“You greedy brat.”
I stuck out my tongue at Edgar.
At that moment, Helen and Chris looked in our direction, and we quickly ducked under the bushes.
Edgar took out some grapes from his pocket.
I snapped the slingshot’s rubber band as I aimed at them.
When Helen and Chris started playing in the garden, our plan was to pelt them with food using our slingshots and ruin their clothes.
On a day like today, getting their clothes covered in food would surely get them scolded by the adults.
“If we get caught, run to the fountain.”
“Got it, got it.”
Edgar also pulled out his slingshot and fitted in a grape, stretching the rubber band tightly.
Thump-thump. My heart pounded with excitement.
It was finally time to get back at my older sister for scolding me last time.
“Three… Two… One!”
Thump!
Two grapes shot through the air from Edgar and me.
The grapes hit Helen’s skirt and the back of Chris’s head.
“Ah!”
“Huh? What’s wrong, Chris?”
“Someone hit me on the head!”
Helen, who got hit on her skirt, also didn’t seem to have figured out our attack like Chris.
We quickly loaded new grapes.
Thump! Again, the grapes flew.
This time, they hit Helen on the forehead and Chris on the chest.
“Huh? Where did that come from?”
Both of them looked around in confusion.
Seeing their teary faces made me giggle.
Edgar took a tomato out of his pocket.
Since tomatoes were too big to shoot whole, we had pre-cut them into four pieces with a knife.
Thud!
The tomato hit the ground, leaving a red smear.
“Ahhh!”
Helen screamed as her clothes got dirty.
Chris, hit on the hand with a tomato, was on the verge of tears.
“C-Could it be a ghost?”
“There’s no such thing! Someone’s playing a prank! Whoever it is, come out right now!”
Seeing Helen throwing a fit made us both snicker at the same time.
Though we quickly covered our mouths, our hiding spot had already been discovered.
“Let’s run!”
As Helen charged at us with an angry face, Edgar grabbed my hand and ran.
“Stop right there!”
We’d only thrown three times, but seeing them fuming and chasing us was too funny.
Covered in sweat and out of breath, Edgar and I laughed in delight.
“Kya-ha-ha!”
“Puh-ha-ha!”
“If I catch you, you’re dead! Chris! Catch them!”
Even Chris joined the chase.
The fountain was in sight in the distance.
Just past the fountain was the banquet hall.
There were adults there, so Helen and Chris wouldn’t be able to act out.
The problem was my stamina.
“Huff, huff!”
I had only run a little, but my feet hurt and I was out of breath.
As my breathing grew heavy, Edgar stopped running and looked at me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Got you!”
But before we could run again, Helen caught us.
Having run at full speed and stopped abruptly, her body leaned forward with momentum.
“Whoa?”
Edgar and I fell behind the fountain.
As I flailed in the air, my hand caught hold of Helen.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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