Chapter 26
“There’s nothing stopping him from doing that in the Capital, is there? Even if Count Anthony Morin abandoned you this instant and proposed to another woman, he’d lose nothing.”
I spoke without restraint. Once I started, I couldn’t stop.
“…What?”
Demeyra’s pupils trembled violently.
“He’s toying with your pride, your dignity—your heart and body. He enjoys watching you cry, laugh, and dance at the flick of his finger.”
“Y-You wretched girl! Can’t you shut your mouth?!”
Demeyra growled, but I didn’t stop.
“If you were truly the legitimate daughter of a ducal house, maybe things would be different. But Anthony Morin isn’t going to marry the daughter of a minor baron like Penten. He’s not after money—he’s starving for honor.”
“…”
“To a man like him, anyone below a marquis family is just a pet. Something to stroke his ego when he’s feeling low. At best, you’re a bit of gossip to brag about over drinks—‘I had a fling with that one,’ you know? You think you’re special? You’re not the first girl he’s used this way.”
“You…!”
Smack.
Her hand came flying at me, but I caught her wrist without flinching.
“H-How could you say something like that?”
Demeyra’s bloodshot eyes stared at me in disbelief. Her face had gone pale, her whole body trembling, tears brimming in her eyes.
She looked so unstable, it was almost fascinating.
“You… you’ve already realized it, haven’t you?”
Her pupils shook again.
“Somewhere deep inside, you’ve sensed who Anthony really is. No matter how blind you are, if you’ve been glued to him this long, you must’ve noticed he’s not a good man.”
“T-That’s not it…”
She shook her head, but her voice was already trembling.
I let out a deep sigh. At first, I was going to say my piece and walk away. But if I didn’t finish this, I felt like I’d explode.
This frustration had been building since a previous life. And now, in my third life, my patience had finally run dry.
“Want me to prove it?”
“What?”
Demeyra blinked at me in confusion.
I took a slow breath. I couldn’t believe I was about to bother with this idiot—but I looked her straight in the eye and said,
“Demeyra, I really hate you.”
“You little—!”
“I hate you even more today, because you turned out to be even dumber than I thought. So consider this my first and last gift to you in this life.”
Her face twisted with humiliation as I lowered my voice and whispered:
“You have a communication stone, don’t you?”
“I-I don’t! Why would I—!”
“You probably bought it when you were trying to stalk Anthony. Marie told me you bought one while researching love charms.”
“That traitor Marie!”
Demeyra turned beet red and stomped her foot.
“I have it—but I never used it! I still have it!”
“Well, lucky me you only sold your dignity when dealing with me. Now give me one. I’ll keep the other.”
“…”
After some hesitation, she pulled two small stones from her pocket and handed me one.
It was the cheapest and most common kind sold in the markets. Simple, but effective—if you had one, you could listen to conversations through the other.
“Open your eyes and ears wide. This is your only chance to wake up.”
I waved to a servant of House Morin standing nearby.
“Do you have paper and a pen?”
The servant handed me what I asked. I wrote something down, folded the paper small, and held it in my hand. Then, leaving the dazed Demeyra behind, I walked over to Anthony.
“…Lady Iris?”
He looked up from where he was resting against a tree with a few acquaintances, having his injuries tended to.
“I’d like a word with you.”
“Of course.”
He signaled for his companions to give us space, though he looked wary.
“What would you like to say?”
“There’s a way to be chosen by the Pegasus.”
“…Excuse me?”
His eyes widened at my bluntness.
“There really is such a method? Don’t tell me…”
His gaze drifted to where Demeyra stood in the distance.
“Don’t tell me Lady Demeyra actually persuaded you?”
“There was no need to go through her. I planned to tell you myself after the ceremony, from the very beginning.”
“I don’t understand.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“You probably hate me, Lady Iris. But I’ve always held admiration for you. You’re the finest rider in the Empire.”
I gave him a faint smile as I looked up at him. He stared at me, disbelief still lingering on his face.
“…Go on.”
“I only stopped the Pegasus because it was necessary. I only criticized your approach because I wanted to help you grow.”
“But you gave the beast I spent months training to your little brother.”
“That bond isn’t permanent.”
“You’re saying I can really take that monster back? That creature that won’t even submit to brute force?”
He looked skeptical, but hope flickered in his greedy eyes.
“You don’t need force. You just need the right method. And I’ve written that method here.”
I held up the folded paper for him to see. His eyes followed it like a moth to flame.
“Why… why are you helping me? Do you hate me, or… are you interested in me?”
His eyes scanned my face and hair, confused—but clearly intrigued.
In that moment, a memory from a previous life surfaced.
“Iris, you should use your charm more often. If you really tried, it would be more effective than any strategy.”
That was advice from a former colleague at the trading firm I ran in my first life. I hadn’t taken it seriously back then, thinking I had no talent for seduction. Still, I remembered the lessons she tried to teach me.
“Charm is just like business. Figure out what the other person desires—and it’s over.”
This seemed like the perfect time to test it.
“Demeyra has taken a lot from me. So I just want to take something from her.”
Anthony’s eyes widened further.
“I hate it when people call her Lady Apellemeon. The name, the title, the estate, and the dukedom all belong to me—and my future husband.”
I whispered, carefully timing it so I made direct eye contact when I said “future husband.”
“Lady Iris… Are you saying… Are you considering me for that role…?”
His face flushed red. His eyes, meanwhile, blazed with ambition.
I could see his thoughts plain as day: That he could outmatch Bartol, my supposed fiancé. That with House Morin’s power, he could sweep aside Julius and claim me, the Apellemeon heiress. That he could become a duke.
Success.
“If you’re serious about Demeyra, say so now.”
I didn’t answer his question directly. Instead, I pressed him.
“Otherwise, I’ll have to look elsewhere.”
“L-Lady Iris!”
“I could just give you the paper. So please be honest. I don’t want to waste time.”
I added that intentionally. If I handed over the note because he agreed to dump Demeyra, she might later blame me for everything she overheard. So I had to make Anthony reveal his heart.
“I… I like women who challenge me.”
Anthony finally answered.
“It’s a thousand times more thrilling than breaking a horse.”
He nearly drooled as he spoke.
“I think that woman… is you, Lady Iris. I couldn’t take my eyes off you when you tamed the Pegasus.”
“And Demeyra?”
“There’s nothing between us.”
“Truly?”
“Not for a single second. I’ve never felt anything for her like I feel for you.”
He held my gaze as he spoke.
“Not as a lover, not as a wife. I’ve never even considered it. She’s just a clingy, annoying bug that won’t go away.”
There it was.
The most important line.
I flicked a glance toward Demeyra, who stood frozen in the distance, and raised an eyebrow.
