Drushia looked down at Shafri, who was holding his arm and wouldn’t let go. He thought it was unusual for her to be so clingy today.
When he reluctantly nodded, Shafri smiled weakly.
“Please wait a little while. I’ll just change my clothes and come back.”
With those words, Shafri hurried to her bedroom. Watching her walk away with a lifeless demeanor, Drushia reflected on the Maiheller family relationships.
‘Neither the Marquis Maiheller nor the Young Marquis are particularly warm people.’
Thinking about it that way, Shafri’s attitude was understandable.
Her mother was sickly so she couldn’t be with her from a young age, and her father and only brother were exceptionally aloof. Drushia, her fiancé in name only, wasn’t much different.
‘My presence probably isn’t helping.’
Perhaps it would be better for her to find someone to confide in as soon as possible.
‘I should take the initiative to look into it.’
A maid brought tea to the reception room, and shortly after, Shafri returned. She had changed out of her black funeral dress into a blue dress with minimal decorations. The dress, lacking volume, revealed the elegant curves of her body.
“Dru, your hair and clothes are wet. If you take off your coat, I’ll tell the maid to dry it.”
“They’re not that wet.”
“Then at least dry yourself off.”
Saying this, Shafri approached Drushia with a towel.
“No, it’s fine. Just…”
As Drushia tried to push away Shafri’s hand, her legs tangled and she lost her balance.
“Ah!”
“Shafri!”
Shafri’s body fell directly onto Drushia. He reached out to catch her, but upon feeling his hand touch her chest, he quickly withdrew it. Pushed by Shafri’s weight, Drushia collapsed onto the sofa.
The two lay on the sofa, completely pressed against each other. For a moment, a strong fragrance stung his nostrils. Not perfume, but the scent of incense that women apply during baths.
Drushia’s hands hovered in the air, confused.
“Shafri, this is…”
Drushia thought Shafri would get up on her own. However, instead of rising, Shafri wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body even closer.
“How long…”
Shafri whispered as she raised her head.
“How long do I have to wait for you to look at me?”
“What are you saying? No, let’s get up and talk.”
“Ha, Dru. Why are you so dense?”
Realizing that Drushia was avoiding touching her body, Shafri became even bolder. A shadow fell over Drushia as he tried to retreat.
“Did you drink something? Why are you acting so unlike yourself…”
Drushia’s eyes widened in shock.
It happened unexpectedly. Shafri’s lips descended onto his face. But soon Shafri also opened her eyes wide. She realized her attempt had failed.
Shafri’s lips were blocked by a calloused palm. Realizing what had happened, Drushia was shocked.
“You…”
Drushia pushed Shafri, who was on top of him, toward the inside of the sofa and raised himself up.
“Dru!”
Shafri’s hands tried to grab him. But Drushia fiercely shook off the hands wrapping around his arm. Drushia’s expression, having instantly moved away, was colder than ever before. The consequence of crossing a line that shouldn’t have been crossed was quite painful.
“You, what are you…”
He was perplexed. No, more than perplexed, he was disappointed.
The deep green eyes persistently staring at him glistened unusually. Both her gaze and her strangely distorted face were unfamiliar.
“Dru, I’m sorry. I was too hasty.”
“No, I think I was mistaken. You’re of age now, and we shouldn’t drag this relationship on any longer.”
Drushia stroked his face with one hand and then let out a deep sigh. He even shook his head as if trying to shake off thoughts.
“Listen to me, Dru.”
“Let’s end this formal relationship here. It was an engagement we were going to end anyway.”
“No! I wanted you because I love you!”
Drushia, who was about to leave the reception room, stopped walking.
“Love?”
Drushia narrowed his brows and examined Shafri’s face. The teal eyes brimming with tears were beautiful. Beautiful enough to make most men’s hearts skip a beat.
But to Drushia, they evoked a strange aversion. He felt discomfort at the sudden display of affection in eyes that had been dry all along.
‘Is this another whim?’
Before their engagement, Drushia had dated quite a few women. He wasn’t dense enough to not notice the other person’s feelings for so long.
But in Shafri’s eyes as she confessed her love, there was a strange heat. Something uncomfortable to call affection. That trace disappeared like smoke before it could be grasped.
“I’ll take responsibility for breaking it off. That will be better for you too.”
“Dru! You can’t end the engagement like this!”
Despite Shafri’s desperate cry, Drushia remained cool.
“I’ll send the annulment document soon.”
This engagement didn’t have many complications. Since there was never any intention to proceed to an actual marriage, just a few documents needed to be sorted out.
Having said what he needed to say, Drushia immediately turned to leave. He felt an urgency to leave, not wanting to stay there any longer. He didn’t even hear Shafri calling after him.
‘Why do I feel so bad?’
Although he had drawn the line at friendship, Shafri was a beautiful woman. Beautiful enough that a healthy adult man would find it difficult to ignore. Yet he couldn’t shake off the unpleasant, uncomfortable feeling.
‘How can she be so different from that woman?’
He had lost his mind and rushed to a woman he had always thought he disliked, yet he felt a physical aversion to a woman he had been close to for 14 years.
He couldn’t understand this ridiculous situation himself. He just wanted to return to the Duke’s residence and wash away this discomfort as soon as possible.
****
Slap.
A sharp, flesh-tearing sound echoed through the study. The slender body, unable to withstand the man’s strength, tumbled to the floor.
“Pathetic.”
A cold rebuke fell upon Shafri’s head as she lay on the floor.
“What have you been doing all this time? You couldn’t bring down one man in a year, and now you’ve caused talk of breaking the engagement?”
Shafri pressed her lips together tightly and covered her smarting cheek with her hand.
It had been less than an hour since Drushia left the Marquis’s residence. She knew there were watching eyes and ears, but she hadn’t expected such an immediate response.
“Breaking the engagement, breaking the engagement!”
Erwin shouted, unable to contain his anger.
Excuses wouldn’t work. Knowing this, Shafri lowered her head and simply waited for this time to pass. But Erwin wasn’t going to let it go so easily.
“Fix this.”
“…Brother.”
“If your body won’t do it, sell your life to capture Duke Talion!”
Tears fell from her trembling green eyes. Her flushed cheek and pale face might have appeared pitiful, but Erwin remained unmoved.
Shafri’s gaze shifted behind Erwin. To Marquis Maiheller, who sat silently in his chair looking down at her.
The Marquis was relaxed. Even at the sight of Shafri crying, he simply leaned back in his chair, exhaling cigarette smoke.
When her eyes met the Marquis’s, Shafri hastily lowered her head. To her, the Marquis was a dark figure like the Grim Reaper and as massive as a mountain. A figure too frightening to even dream of resisting.
Erwin raised his hand again but clicked his tongue and withdrew it.
“To think I’ve cherished something so useless.”
Shortly after, two maids entered the study in response to Erwin’s bell. Without specific instructions, the maids routinely supported Shafri and took her outside.
“Rest well, Father, Brother.”
Even as she staggered out, Shafri didn’t forget her greetings. Watching this, Erwin’s face showed exasperation.
“Looking at her like this, she’s not completely hopeless. How can she not ensnare even one man with that beauty and body?”
Erwin turned to the Marquis, who had blond hair and teal eyes just like him. He felt a heavy pressure from the gaze quietly observing him. Even the slow gesture of tapping cigarette ash into the ashtray seemed to slowly constrict his breathing.
“Father.”
In response to his anxious son’s voice, the tightly closed lips opened.
“Duke Talion was never an easy target to begin with.”
“Still, he’s just a man. What’s so difficult about it?”
“He’s someone who never keeps a woman for more than a month. That means he doesn’t let anyone get close.”
“But hasn’t she been by his side for 14 years? Why couldn’t she use that advantage?”
“From the beginning, it was a task too difficult for Shafri alone.”
“I apologize, Father. I’ll try to reason with her.”
The Marquis’s expression remained consistently relaxed, as if this was nothing new.
“More importantly, that child has done something clever.”
“What? What happened…”
“You didn’t know, it seems.”
Erwin took a step back, startled by the Marquis’s gaze.
“I hear Baroness Hennessy tormented that child quite a lot?”
Erwin quickly tried to process what the Marquis meant.
Baroness Hennessy was the person who had been in charge of Shafri’s education and upbringing since she was young. He knew that the relationship between Shafri, who no longer needed tutoring, and the Baroness who continued to try to control her, was not good.
But was it a coincidence that on that particular day, the Baroness visited the poorhouse carrying relief supplies provided by Shafri? The silent gaze felt like a wordless rebuke, making it difficult to speak.
“And you say you’ll try to reason with her?”
“I…surely not.”
“Even a pet cat is only petted when it behaves prettily. Don’t let the cat climb all the way to the top of your head.”
The ominous tone sent a chill down Erwin’s spine. Fortunately, the Marquis didn’t press his son further.
“Have you found someone to replace Baroness Hennessy?”
“Ah, I’m still looking into it.”
“Make sure she’s managed well so she doesn’t get other ideas.”
“Yes, Father.”
He didn’t miss the warning contained in the severe voice. Erwin bowed deeply, taking in his father’s instructions.
Watching the Marquis empty the cigarette ash and refill it, Erwin knew it was time to leave. The attitude of completely forgetting the other’s presence was a sign that he no longer wished to converse.
Erwin quietly left the study and headed to Shafri’s room. In front of the room, the family doctor was just coming out.
“Noah, the treatment?”
“The Lady says it’s not necessary.”
“How stubborn. Come back tomorrow morning to check on her. Tell her it’s my wish.”
No matter how trusted the family doctor was, she likely didn’t want to show her bruised face. Knowing the reason why Shafri refused the doctor, Erwin clicked his tongue silently.
After confirming the doctor had left, Erwin opened Shafri’s door. As he entered, the scent of incense that Shafri had applied to her body vibrated through the air. It was a sweet and stimulating fragrance.
“Shafri.”
Shafri sat demurely on the bed and didn’t turn around. Knowing that she was deliberately not looking at him, Erwin didn’t press her.
Her posture, sitting doll-like and elegant in her nightgown that revealed her figure, along with her hair spread long on the bed, created a subtle disharmony.
“Are you upset? If I hadn’t stepped in, Father would have done it himself. You know that.”
To Shafri, who didn’t answer, Erwin spoke in an even sweeter voice.
“My beautiful sister.”
At the affectionate voice, Shafri finally turned around. As their eyes met, the corners of Erwin’s eyes gently creased.
“Brother.”
A fragile voice echoed in the quiet space. Erwin grabbed the doorknob behind him and quietly locked the door. The eyes looking at her sank deeply.
