“Again, Celly, it’s been a while.”
Franz smiled, putting emphasis on each letter of the word ‘long time.’ When he first saw her, he was dazzled by her beauty, but after seeing her a few times, he could see past her fake smiles to the hidden thorns underneath.
In a hurry, Mueller led Franz to the reception room where he had been with Laila just a while ago. As he walked into the mansion, his presence seemed comfortable and natural, as if he owned the place. How familiar he seemed in this environment. It made Mueller uneasy.
“What brings you here?”
Mueller greeted him as usual, pouring tea for Franz slowly as if he were serving an honored guest.
“Oh, you’re giving me that precious flower tea.”
“It’s a pity, Celly. We don’t need reasons to find each other, do we? If you’re keeping your distance on purpose, don’t do it.”
His tone was gentle like speaking to a child, yet somehow it carried an imposing presence.
“Well, first…”
What is he trying to say? Franz chuckled, hiding his smile behind the teacup.
“You’re getting married? Congratulations, Celly. I can’t believe our Celly is getting married.”
“Wait, but why do you keep calling me Celly? Have we been that close?”
Franz’s eyebrows twitched.
“Are you really pretending to have lost your memory? Or do you want to pretend you’ve lost it?”
“Why would I bother pretending to be forgetful? I really have lost my memory. That’s why I’m asking.”
Celly may have lost her memory, but what about her emotions? The odd feeling she got when she saw Franz—she couldn’t pinpoint its source. Maybe it was why words kept slipping out uncontrollably. While she couldn’t remember, it seemed the previous Celly’s emotions towards Franz were anything but positive.
“Looks like you really hit your head hard, Celly. The way you speak so arrogantly.”
The smile that was always hanging on the corner of his lips disappeared. It was the first time I had seen that man with such a rigid expression on his face. He seemed almost unrecognizable compared to the person I saw just moments ago.
“Well, it seems like you want to pretend not to know our relationship under the excuse of losing your memory. I understand that feeling, Celly. Like all slaves in the world, they must want to break free from their masters and seek freedom.”
Slave? Master? What is he talking about? Each word he chose felt uncomfortably foreign.
“But that is not the way, which is why I have come to enlighten you personally. My dear Celly.”
“I don’t quite understand what you are saying, Your Highness.”
I remembered the history lessons at the royal palace. How Franz and his mother, with no backing, managed to build such influence to resist Karl, and why Count Louisette was involved with Franz, and so on.
Knowing that, I could understand why Franz was now veiling threats and warnings under a facade of laughter.
It seemed he was worried that I might break ties with him, using my betrothal to his enemy Karl as a shield. Perhaps he was more anxious than I thought, given that he had come here in person without sending a messenger as before.
“You can’t just claim to have forgotten the terms of our contract. Even though you may not have personally agreed, as the Count’s property, you cannot be free from that agreement.”
Marina seemed to be referring to the contract made for the exclusive rights of mining, processing, and distributing magical stones of the Louisette Count. The contract that had ensured the Count’s position of power so far.
I did not know the exact terms of that contract, nor did I have much interest in the benefits the Count gained from it. I was curious about why Franz was so enraged about the details of the contract, but that curiosity only went so far.
“What happens if the contract is broken?”
It was pure curiosity. I had no interest in the benefits of upholding the contract, but I wondered about the potential losses if it were violated. What dreadful consequences were promised to provoke such intense threats?
“Celly. Enough, it’s not amusing. Stop the act.”
He did not believe that I truly had no memory of Celeste. Franz was convinced that I was putting on a repulsive act.
What more could I say to someone who had already made such firm judgments? Frustrated, I decided to keep silent.
“If you break the promise, the only thing that follows is death. Isn’t that the basic principle of all dark magic contracts?”
Dark magic contract? That’s a term I’ve never heard before. Wasn’t the contract made by Celeste’s father and Franz’s mother just a typical written agreement, not something involving dark magic?
“Above all, we must not forget that we are accomplices.”
Franz was speaking more and more cryptically. I couldn’t understand why he suddenly brought up dark magic, and what did he mean by being accomplices?
“Accomplices…?”
“Are you saying that you will marry that Karl on such a subject? Even if others don’t know, you, and your family, should not be involved with him. If he knew everything, tears of blood would flow from his eyes. Oh, but that could be fun to watch in its own way.”
As Franz spoke, his sneering expression made him look truly malicious. Perhaps, how could someone look so evil with such a kind face?
Strangely, to me, Franz’s appearance seemed intentionally made to look bad, like a mischievous child picking only mean words.
“Did you go to see your mother?”
The question that unexpectedly popped out of my mouth.
“What?”
In the original work, after his mother became so sinister that she ran away like a fugitive, Franz would visit her once a month, or every other month, came to see Celeste after meeting her.
“Today, I saw my mother again. Damn, she just won’t stop. I don’t know how far her greed goes. It’s driving me crazy.”
While building a relationship with Celeste and committing evil deeds, Franz was exhausted by Marina’s endless greed.
Feeling sorry for Franz, Celeste tried to help him as much as possible, while being in deep agony over loving Karl. That’s how the original story went.
Whether taunting Celeste with only harsh words, or venting the stress he received from meeting his mother to Celeste, I felt like Franz was throwing a tantrum like a troubled child, wanting to be acknowledged for being in distress.
“Intentionally picking on the bad sound now, his appearance was strikingly similar to that of the original, and the casually thrown question seemed to hit a nerve as Franz completely transformed into a malicious state.
“How dare you.”
Just uttering the word ‘mother.’ The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant. Franz glared at me with a fierce expression.
It’s terrifying when someone who was always a laughingstock suddenly glares at you with a hostile look. I didn’t expect him to get this angry. Should I have not asked about his mother? I was taken aback.
“Oh, no. Just… um… just asking about your well-being, as a form of greeting…?”
“Why do you ask about my mother’s well-being?”
I couldn’t find the right words to reply. Meanwhile, Franz’s anger was escalating.
I felt a sudden unease. It wasn’t just surprise at Franz’s angry face, but a twisting feeling in my stomach, like something was churning inside.
“Are you tailing me?”
“Tailing? No…”
“Or are you daring to threaten me by talking about your mother?”
“What are you talking about?”
The uncomfortable sensation intensified rapidly. Assuming something completely wrong alone and then getting angry, Franz finally stood up abruptly.
Even sitting, the imposing presence of a huge man looking down at me was truly overwhelming. As Franz rose from his seat, he came closer to me step by step. As he approached, I felt overwhelmed by his coldness. Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Forgetting everything was all an act, right? Always acting aloof and proud, pretending to be some highborn lady, playing games, and suddenly acting like a fool, I almost thought you really had lost your memory. I almost believed you really forgot it.”
Despite always being so nonchalant and spouting nonsense, he pounced as if ready to kill just because I mentioned ‘mother’ once. Isn’t this almost like having a split personality?
“No matter how much you might want to hold hands with that guy Karl, you can’t escape from me.”
Just looking at the lines alone, it seems like a very romantic confession, but…”
“Angry.”
In the threatening aura filled with what seemed to be boiling rage, I felt like I could spew out something from deep within me at any moment.
