The Male Lead’s Father Refuses to Break Off Our Engagement

Chapter 47 

 

“I want us to have some time to ourselves for a while, until the Duke can sort this out.”

Evelia disappeared after saying those words. Cassis washed his face with mixed feelings.

It was my first time seeing Evelia so angry.

The fact that she reacted like that clearly meant he had done something wrong.

But Cassis still couldn’t figure out what he did wrong.

He still thought Alex Marc had taught a fair lesson.

Because…

Cassis recalled an old memory that he had tried not to remember.

 

*****

 

Alex Marc was Cassis’ swordsmanship teacher before he was Ruth’s swordsmanship teacher.

Cassis was seven years old, like Ruth, when he first met him.

All the swordsman teacher told Cassis to do was to slash the wooden sword from top to bottom.

But as he repeated the simple motion over and over again, his arm became weak.

Naturally, the sword’s trajectory faltered and its speed slowed.

The swordmaster lifted Cassis’s arm with the tip of his wooden sword.

“It has slowed down. Swing harder.”

“But, Master. it’s hard.”

Cassis couldn’t stand it anymore and started complaining. Although Cassis is indifferent and sometimes cynical now, he was full of emotions when he was young.

So much so that if Julia had seen it, she would have said, ‘Ruth looks like you.’

However, the swordsman teacher did not accept his complaints. Instead, his face hardened and he scolded him even more harshly.

 

―The Duke, your father, did it with ease; how can you claim to be Adelhard’s successor if you can’t even get this right?

-But…

 

This was when Cassis was about to protest.

The swordsman struck down the wooden sword Cassis was holding with all his might.

Cassis lost his balance and fell to the floor. The wooden sword flew far away.

When I fell, my arm that hit the floor was bleeding. My ankle was bent and I felt a sharp pain.

Tears quickly fell from the corners of Cassis’ eyes.

Rather than comforting Cassis or helping him up, the teacher repeatedly struck the wooden sword on the ground in a threatening manner.

“Don’t cry. Are you crying because you did something well? So, will you be able to lead the Adelhardt family in the future?”

“But….”

“I won’t listen to any excuses. Get up quickly.”

Cassis barely got up, wiping his face covered in tears. But he couldn’t concentrate in class.

His swordsmanship teacher had noticed every time he lost focus and struck him with his wooden sword, causing Cassis to fall to the ground each time.

When he showed tears, he clicked his tongue and said it was pathetic. Cassis had to clench his teeth and hold back tears to avoid being scolded by his swordsman teacher.

The class ended only when this was repeated about four times.

“That’s all for today. I hope you can show a better side next time.”

The teacher left the training ground, leaving Cassis alone.

The knights who were practicing on one side of the training hall looked at Cassis and whispered.

Their conversation couldn’t be heard properly. But Cassis felt as if they were laughing at his weakness.

He picked up the sand-stained wooden sword and tried to quickly leave the training ground.

However, I had no choice but to limp because of the pain in my ankle. The speed was also slow.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. The child, who was only seven years old, wanted to be held by someone and cry loudly.

But no one comforted him. No one asked where I was hurt.

His father, Duke Adelhard, had sternly warned them not to treat Cassis as a child.

It was when Cassis entered the mansion, limping alone.

“What’s wrong with your ankle?”

His father, Duke Adelhard, who was leaving the door to go out, asked in a cold voice.

Cassis’s heart sank again, his emotions rising as soon as he saw those same red eyes.

Tears welled up in his barely dry eyes..

“I fell while taking class….”

I was hurt, father. I wanted to be held in his wide arms and be silly.

The swordsmanship teacher was so strict that I wanted to change to another teacher.

But his father just clicked his tongue as he looked down at Cassis.

“Pathetic.”

“Fa-father…?”

“The child who is said to be Adelhard’s heir is not even able to keep up with a single swordsmanship lesson and he throws a fit. Did I teach you that?”

“…….”

“If I had another son, I wouldn’t have chosen you as my successor.”

Those words pierced Cassis’ heart as coldly as an ice pick.

Am I not suitable for Adelhard? How can I become a person worthy of the Adelhard family?

Cassis quickly wiped away his tears with his sandy hands. But the more I did it, the dirtier his face got.

The Duke frowned and turned his head. He whispered as he passed by Cassis.

“Useless.”

Cassis stood still until his father left completely.

The employees passing by looked at him and whispered. I couldn’t hear what they were saying this time, but I guess they were laughing at Me again.

Because I am a useless child. How could a child like me be born into the Adelhard family?

Cassis limped up the stairs. I missed my mother.

However, he was rejected by the head maid in front of the Duchess’s room.

“Madam is sleeping.”

“Then I’ll just look at her face.”

The head maid sighed. Cassis shrugged his shoulders.

“Madam was suffering from a fever and was barely able to fall asleep.”

“I’ll be quiet…”

“Stop being a fool, young master. Aren’t you seven years old now?”

“Ah….”

He also showed a behavior that should not be seen as a successor.

But I’m sick, so shouldn’t I act like I’m sick in my mother’s arms?

That was when Cassis pursed his lips and lowered his head.

“Why did you speak like that to the young master?”

His nanny came over and put her arm around Cassis’ shoulders.

The nanny, who had held and raised Cassis since he was a baby, on behalf of the Duchess who was not well, had a warm embrace.

She was the only person who treated Cassis warmly despite Duke Adelhard’s threats.

The head maid looked at the nanny and clicked her tongue.

“Margaret, how long do you think you’re going to be coddling him?”

“He’s only seven years old.”

“Yes, he’s seven years old.”

“You…”

The nanny was about to say something when she saw Cassis looking at her and smiled.

“Would you like to go to your room first? Lady Julia is waiting for you. I’ll bring snacks.”

“Yes.”

Cassis limped back to the room.

It was before he even opened the door. Julia, who was inside, suddenly opened the door and came out.

“Cassis!”

It was Julia, as lovely as she had been when she was a child, hugging Cassis, who was still smaller than her, tightly.

Cassis wriggled desperately in her arms.

“It’s dirty. I fell.”

“It’s not dirty. You can wash up. The nanny has prepared the water.”

Until Cassis came out after washing up, Julia waited for him without even eating a snack.

As soon as she saw Cassis limping, her eyes lit up and she ran to him.

“Cassis! What’s wrong with your feet?”

“No-Nothing.”

“If it’s nothing, Why on earth is it like that?”

“I fell while practicing swordsmanship.”

“Sir Alex! How dare you do that to my brother!”

Julia acted as if she was going to chase Alex at any moment.

Cassis grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“It’s not because of Sir Alex. I just fell while practicing swordsmanship.”

Julia didn’t seem to believe it, but she wasn’t angry anymore.

Instead, Cassis’s favorite sweet dessert was presented in front of him.

It was something that his father had forbidden, saying that the heir shouldn’t like sweets.

Even though no one was listening, Julia lowered her voice and whispered.

“I brought it because you said you wanted to eat it. You can eat it.”

“But what if father…”

“It’s just us, how can father know? Eat quickly.”

At Julia’s urging, Cassis brought the chocolate cookie to his mouth.

I liked the feeling of it crunching and falling apart in my mouth. I was excited by the sweet taste lingering on the tip of my tongue.

But the best part was spending time with Julia.

When he was with Julia, he was not Adelhard’s successor, but rather her younger brother, Cassis Adelhard.