Chapter 23
“Renee, your face is red.”
“Pardon?”
Edwin’s worried voice made my face red even more. Feeling the heat of my face burning, I quickly cupped my hands around my cheeks.
Raynan’s small laughter could be heard from the left, and Edwin’s worry could be heard from the right.
“I see. Roman is the reason Renee is sick today.”
Roman, who was taking a moment to catch his breath, was startled by the return of the arrow again.
“How scared Renee must have been when he chased after her with that face.”
Edwin said with a sullen expression, pointing to Roman’s face.
When I saw Roman unable to hide his surprise unlike usual, I felt a little sympathy for him.
“Young master Edwin, it’s not polite to point fingers.”
“Yes.”
But it was also true that there was little I could do for him. All I could do was gently lower Edwin’s finger toward Roman.
Edwin smiled kindly at my words and placed his hands on his lap.
“You mean you chased her with a face like that?”
My small efforts were in vain due to Raynan’s blunt question. Roman’s face turned pale in an instant.
“My face usually looks like this, why are you like this all of a sudden!”
Did Raynan’s words bring another fear to him? Roman shouted urgently.
“You knew it was a scary face.”
“There’s no way you wouldn’t know.”
Even if Edwin’s words were true, I didn’t expect Raynan to agree.
But Roman lowered his head as if he knew that would happen. It seemed like he hoped this time would pass quickly.
“He’s good at his job, but his personality has a bit of a problem.”
“Isn’t that right? Although he is nice to me too…”
Roman’s shoulders twitched, as if to show how he felt.
I was pretty dumbfounded by the natural flow of the conversation, even though Roman was flustered.
Have these two people ever talked so naturally?
The father and son’s conversation, although not good, sounded quite friendly.
Did my desire for the two of them to become closer come true?
I felt a little sorry for Roman, who was caught in the middle, but I was glad that things had gotten better between them.
Moreover, she seemed to see the possibility that they could become closer now that they had more time together.
With a proud heart, I carefully looked at Raynan and Edwin in turn. Unexpectedly, both people were looking at me.
Although the two people’s smiles were not directed at each other, they were quite natural, and they were quite similar, so I smiled along with them without realizing it.
Edwin smiled a little wider when he saw my face and took a bite of the cake that was placed in front of him.
Raynan also raised his teacup with his usual expressionless face.
“Duke.”
The servant voice pierced the peaceful time I had finally found.
“Lady Bella Krause would like to see you.”
“She’s here?”
“Yes.”
In response to the servant answer, Raynan looked at Roman.
“I thought you said it wasn’t urgent.”
“I didn’t know it would be this reckless.”
If it’s Krause, is it the girl Erin mentioned earlier? She said she was going to marry Raynan soon.
For that matter, Raynan’s reaction was too cold, and Roman’s attitude was light.
Well, anyway, Raynan’s marriage doesn’t have any resemblance to what I think of as an ideal marriage.
“But the timing is not bad. Let’s meet first.”
Raynan looked at me after hearing Roman’s words.
No, why me?
I had no idea what the situation was and there was nothing I could say to him. Feeling burdened by the gaze that rarely left, I slowly averted my eyes.
As I was wiping the cream off Edwin’s mouth, I felt Raynan standing up.
“She’s a rude young lady.”
There was a faint hint of displeasure in Raynan’s voice.
*****
Click–
When she heard the door opening, the blonde woman who had been pacing around nervously quickly took a seat on the sofa.
The woman, who was sitting with her back straight with a haughty face, slowly stood up as Raynan approached.
A gorgeous smile appeared on her face as she approached Raynan. It was her pride that everyone praised.
“It looks like Krause doesn’t know any visiting etiquette.”
Bella froze in her bent position at the cold voice.
What kind of etiquette is it to say what you have to say without greeting or offering a greeting?
Bella cursed inwardly, but outwardly, she spoke without the slightest hitch.
“I thought you’d have news by now, but you didn’t, so I came myself.”
“News? I don’t think Krause and Loerian are close enough to share the news.”
Raynan sat on the sofa without even looking at Bella. Bella smiled and sat down next to him, although her hands were strained as she held on to her dress.
“I think it would be better for Krause to learn some manners and come back.”
Before Bella’s weight could be placed on the sofa, Raynan got up from the seat as if he was displeased.
“It would be a shame for the Duke to miss Krause like this.”
Instead of getting up after him, Bella sat up straight and picked up her teacup.
A little interest appeared on Raynan’s face at her confident words.
“A shame. Me?”
“If the Krause family and the Loerian family join hands, wouldn’t the fortunes of the two families, which have been similar for a long time, tilt to one side?”
“So Krause can do more than just keep Schneider in check and make the Loerians the most powerful family in the Empire?”
“I think that’s quite possible, so why don’t you, Duke, let the rumors spread like that?”
“So?”
Raynan turned around again and approached Bella. As he got closer, the smile on her face gradually deepened.
As if she were trying to block his view with her gorgeous smile.
“It means that my visit will be of benefit to the Duke, and it is not something that will make him angry like this.”
“How can Krause become Loerian’s sword?”
Raynan had already come to the side of the sofa.
The way he crossed his arms and tilted his head was as cool as a painting, so Bella forgot what she was going to say and looked up at him blankly.
Bella was startled and opened her mouth only after feeling the cold gaze.
“The most prosperous land in the Empire is the Marquis. I’m sure you’re not asking because you don’t know that there is no family as outstanding as Krause in terms of materials and wealth…”
A small, breathy laugh escaped from Raynan’s mouth.
Bella didn’t realize it was a mockery. She was mesmerized by his looks.
“I guess it’s time for Krause to fail.”
“… I beg your pardon?”
It took time to understand the meaning of Raynan’s cold voice.
The smile on his face was dazzling, as if he was ridiculing her for just a faded imitation.
While Bella was bewildered by the disparity between his cheerful face and his sarcastic words, Raynan spoke with a chuckle in his voice.
“I wonder if Loerian will be in trouble for not having a Krause.”
“To deal with Schneider, we will need to increase the number of families that can support the Duke.”
“If Krause were an easy opponent to deal with, your vaunted supplies and wealth would be under Loerian in the first place.”
Bella’s face lit up at Raynan’s words.
As he said, Krause was not from an ordinary family.
They might be marquises, but they were as wealthy as any Ducal family.
“You’ve suffered a lot from Schneider so far for you to shout that loudly.”
Bella trembled in humiliation, but did not lose her smile.
“Now that I think about it, the Duke’s older brother…”
“Bella Krause.”
He just called her name. But the coldness in his voice made Bella shiver.
It felt like something heavy was pressing down on her body. She felt like she had to run away, but she couldn’t move.
The sudden panic wiped away her smile, which had been unaffected by any emotion until now.
“If you want to enjoy that wealth a little longer, you’d better watch your mouth. I’m giving this advice in light of all the effort it took to get here, so listen carefully.”
Raynan left the living room without any hesitation, leaving only those words. The energy that threatened Bella also disappeared.
But she remained frozen for a while and could not move.
This was because the memories from a little while ago still remained in her body.
Bella’s face was wrinkled as she slowly stood up for the first time in a while.
Bella was an ambitious and greedy woman. She had been given a lot since birth, but she wanted more.
Everyone wanted Krause’s wealth and coveted her beauty.
There were so many mans who wanted Bella, and it was Bella who chose them.
It didn’t matter to her that the family name would be left behind.
Because there was no family better than the Krause family to overcome the long-standing competition with the Schneider family.
As always, Bella had no doubt that her choice was right. The reason she chose Loerian over Schneider was solely because of Raynan.
If possible, a more dominant family…
“No, apart from the family name, there is nothing to see about Schneider.”
More than anything, I wanted a young and attractive Raynan.
Schneider was older, but not in a mean way, a small physique, and a petty personality. He had no better charm than Raynan as a man.
I didn’t expect Raynan to welcome me with open arms, but I never imagined I’d receive this kind of look.
Bella’s body trembled as she remembered his eyes that seemed to be looking at an insignificant inanimate object.
It was the first time I felt humiliated. I never thought the rejection I experienced for the first time in my life would be in such an insulting way.
“I want to see that handsome face distort.”
Her voice was muffled by her teeth, and the words died in her mouth.
It was a shock to Bella, who was so used to being supported. Anger and arousal welled up inside her at the same time.
Bella, who was accustomed to hiding her emotions, left the room with a smile on her face as if she had always done so.
But before she could take a few steps, the smile on Bella’s face disappeared.
*****
After a brief meeting with Bella, Raynan headed straight to the office.
Roman had no idea what was going on inside, but he followed Raynan without saying anything.
“Why? Are you disappointed?”
Roman, who was about to close the office door, turned around. Raynan was just sitting at his desk holding up the papers with a calm expression on his face.
He would have kept his mouth shut if he hadn’t asked.
“I told you before, but there is a rumor going around that young master Edwin will be the next Duke.”
“So?”
“Of course, there is still half of the opinion that the Duke treats young master Edwin like he doesn’t exist. But it’s true that people are already showing interest.”
“It’s half…”
“We had tea time together today, so it won’t be half anymore.”
“That’s difficult. It’s too early.”
“Yes. It would be best to delay it as much as possible, but if you send Lady Bella away like this…”
“Do you really think marriage will be the solution?”
“Aren’t there always stories of powerful men who are bewitched by women and lose their minds?”
“Yes.”
“Everyone knows that she has a very greedy personality, so everyone will be sure that if Lady Bella becomes a Duchess, Edwin will not succeed the Duke.”
Roman continued his persuasive words, but Raynan only made a sour face.
“You’re saying they can’t come to their senses because they’re obsessed with a woman? Will anyone believe that?”
Roman laughed and shook his head at the absurdity of it all, but Raynan was serious.
“It already seems like there’s a lot of potential.”
I looked at the growing sprout in front of me and realized that he didn’t believe in my potential.
He spoke from the bottom of his heart, but Raynan, as usual, brushed it off.
“Anyway, we have to find a new method. Schneider will also be keeping an eye on it.”
“New method…”
