Chapter 3

Chapter 3

***

Marquis Acpencia Barrett. He was a young lord of the Marquis family and her fiancée.

Except for the Ducal families, his family was among the first of the second generation to handle the power, finances, and the military power of the country.

Countless people were surprised when the sole leader of the Marquis family declared that he was engaged to the spirit of the Aztane family. It was because they expected that the combination of power, honor, and wealth would finally break down the stereotyped axis. If the two aristocratic families merge, the axis would be much greater.

Moreover, Marquis Acpencia was an ambitious and talented person. He was smart and good at figuring out the matters, so he used to make outstanding achievements when signing contracts. The businesses would also run smoothly without any obstacles.

In addition, he was tall and good-looking. He was well-mannered, well-educated, and the results were devastating when many of his admirers tried to seduce him.

So it was quite a surprise that the Marquis of Acpencia gave her a ring, for the purpose of getting engaged with her. They first met each other at his birthday party at the age of 16.

It was also true that she used to rely on his kindness, manners, and skills. Even after her grandfather passed away when she was not yet ready for him to leave, he was there to help her as she inherited everything from her family.

When she became an adult and finally had settled down with the business matters, she tried to progress their relationship by marriage. But, he had always turned her down and postponed it for 11 years. She despised him for it.

Innocence. No, stupidity. She didn’t know what that man was up to.

Barrett, who had an eye for her sister, used her to buy their family assets at a bargaining price. It took only 5 years for the property to be passed on to him, while Laurentia was busy trying to rebuild a family that was leaning on her shoulders.

She knew that something was off with Erusia. But, she had no idea that it was related to Barrett.

‘But I never thought that Erusia would be the reason for the downfall of my family. This was home to her, just like it was to me. I was willing to be deceived as long as I could hold the family together. But…..’

“It’s an honor to be here, Miss Laurentia. Ah, here, a small present.”

He held up the roses. The color was blue. She remembered reading it in a newspaper that they were prepared with alchemy.

They were ecstatic and beautiful, something countless women wanted to receive. It was worthwhile.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any idea about gifts a woman would like, so I just brought some flowers. I thought the most beautiful flower would suit Miss Laurentia’s beauty…..but unfortunately, it isn’t anywhere close to even parallel My Lady’s beauty.”

She always thought he was romantic. There were many times when she thought his sweet words and smile were praising only her. But those words of him were what made her blind and deaf.

“Doesn’t Marquis Acpencia have any gifts for me? I’m disappointed to see you only interested in my granddaughter.”

“Haha, of course, I brought a gift for you, Mr. Aztane. It’s a popular fedora in the capital these days. I think it’ll look good on you, who is always very neat.”

“Isn’t that for the younger generation?”

“Aren’t you still young?”

Laurentia didn’t miss her grandfather’s smile while he was looking at the fedora. It seemed he liked the gift.

It was a familiar sight. The blue roses that he gave it to her, the fedora to her grandfather, and the red roses that he would give to her sister.

“I’ve also prepared these red roses for Miss Erusia. I think it’ll be a perfect gift for a young girl who’s like a flower bud.”

As she saw Erusia blushing while receiving the roses, she could feel her stomach churning again.

The memories of them exchanging glances that she didn’t want to recall clouded her mind again. From the scene of them kissing to the scene of indulging into each other’s bodies. It was so disgusting.

“Ughh….”

At that moment, she felt as if her stomach was turned upside down and her stomach fluid seemed to flow backwards. Their surprised expression behind her grandfather’s shoulder, who looked at her suddenly, made her feel even more disgusted.

“Ugh-hup…”

She shut her mouth and hurried to the bathroom. She heard her grandfather’s call, but she had no time to care. It seemed as if her body was in a state of draining all of its energy as she suppressed the dry coughs and nausea she felt several times, barely holding on to the feeling of pouring it all out right away.

“Roa! Roa!”

When her grandfather called her name as he knocked on the door, she told him that she was fine. As the cold water touched her skinny face, it helped in holding her complexion and spirit from being scattered away.

But her mind blacked out again upon hearing the voices of those two people, full of hypocrisy and lies.

“Are you all right, sister?!”

“Miss Laurentia, are you okay?”

No matter how worried they were, they came all along to hear her puke. That’s insensitive. Unfortunately, it was only now that she could see their true colors.

“….Yes, I- I’m fine.”

As she spoke in a weak voice, she could hear their cruel voices ringing inside her mind again.

‘My head is spinning! I don’t want to hear their voices anymore! Those two took everything from me!’

After a while, as soon as she opened the door, she met the warm gaze of her grandfather before shifting her eyes to her sister and Marquis Acpencia.

‘Gross.’

She didn’t want to sit at the same table as them. No, she couldn’t even eat with them. She would feel nauseated again if she ate.

“Grandpa, I’m not feeling well enough, so can I please go to my room?”

“Yes, of course, dear. I will inform Mrs. Mesha to get you some medicines.”

She didn’t need any medicine, but she didn’t have the energy to deny him too. As she was advancing to the stairs after delivering a forced smile to the three of them, Erusia clasped her hands tightly and asked in a worried tone.

“Are you sure you will be fine, sister?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about me and eat well, Erusia.”

She turned to her younger sister, who was devoid of any manners. An abominable sister.

***

She fell asleep in her bed for a while. When she woke up, she noticed that her room was covered in deep darkness. She thought they were still busy eating when she heard their shirky voices coming from downstairs.

As soon as she got up from her bed, someone was pushing the door open.

“Were you awake?”

Her grandfather asked, surprised. He put medicine and a glass of water on her table before sitting by the bedside and looking up at Laurentia.

Suddenly, she could get a subtle scent of apple pie. The pie that was made by Mrs. Mesha. The pie that she always liked.

The scent calmed her down. Her grandfather’s eyes weighed down by anxiety and thoughts.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were sleeping, so I came in without your permission.”

“Why would you say that? It doesn’t matter if it’s my Grandpa.”

He gazed at her, giving her a warm smile before passing her the glass of water.

“The Marquis was worried about you, Roa. As he was leaving, he even asked me to greet you on his behalf.”

‘So, the loud noise that she heard earlier was from when he was leaving?’

“I felt a bit lonely without you, Roa, but it was nice to have a meal along with Erusia after such a long time. But, it would have been the best if Roa was there.”

She was also yearning to have dinner with her grandfather after 10 long years, but she couldn’t sit at the same table as them.

“Roa.”

Her grandfather called her softly as she took a sip from the glass.

“The Marquis just told me.”

“What?”

Putting the glass on the table, she tilted her head.

“Roa, he wants to develop his relationship with you a little more. Since most of us are already aware of what kind of relationship you two have, why don’t you make it official?”

“…..”

Her face hardened. In the past, she was happy upon hearing this. But now, here she was.

“Grandpa, I….”

“I know. I don’t want to control your life. So I asked the Marquis to ask permission from Roa again.”

‘My kind and warm Grandpa. Ah, my sweet Grandpa who always cared about me.’

“I have a good opinion of him….but I’m not sure yet. What do you think?”

In the past, her grandfather had positively responded to their engagement. He thought he was the perfect man within the society who could make her happy. Moreover, she liked him too.

“I don’t like him.”

But now she didn’t want to get involved with him. Perfect man? It was only a compliment from those who didn’t know what kind of person he truly was.

He was an a**hole. A trash who was having an affair with his fiancée’s twin sister. On top of that, he was the only one who brought down her family with the support of her sister. Now that she knew what he was up to, she didn’t even want to talk with him.

“Really? I thought you got along very well with him. But I can’t help it if you don’t.”

He smiled at her warmly. Then, glancing at the medicine bag, he said.

“But you should know that Marquis Acpencia isn’t one to give up so easily. He’s an ambitious man.”

A man with ambition and cruelty in his heart. Her grandfather knew him exactly. She laughed bitterly.

“I know.”

‘He’s horrible.’

“Ah, you’ve got an invitation. What would you do?”

“An invitation?”

Invitation? What invitation? Thinking about it carefully, she recalled that after accepting Barrett’s proposal, he declared it officially in a banquet. Clearly, it was….

“It’s an invitation from the Grand Duke of Veridian. Are you going to refuse that too?”

The banquet was to be held by Grand Duke Veridian, who was famous for his navy and debauchery.

She was ready to refuse it too, but suddenly an idea crossed her mind. She was sure that Marquis Acpencia was going to attend the banquet.

“No, I will attend it.”

She said as she smiled brightly.

***

The Lirus Empire. A kingdom with a powerful military force and huge granary and plains located in the south of the continent. A wealthy country that controlled food production for half of the continent.

The Empire was able to achieve its most advanced technological prowess by investing in a huge number of standing troops and commercial and industrial sectors, which was supported by a huge amount of wealth.

The 600-year-old royal family of Lirus had two Ducal families in its grasp, in which both of them were related to each other.

One of which was the Grand Duke of Veridian. His family owned the Western territory, which had produced knighthood and a general commander.

The other was the family of the Duke of Safeldric. It owned the North-eastern territory, which had produced prestigious rewards.

The Empire had enjoyed great power under the absolute protection of both of the families. Recently, however, the momentum began to creak because of the power that supported both sides and the abnormal condition of the Veridian family.

In fact, Ian, the current leader of the Veridian family, was praised for his excellence in both literary and martial arts. As far as she knew, there were dozens of stories that raised his prestige. There have been numerous stories about the fact that at the age of 15, he participated in the first penalty battle and cut off the head of the enemy’s armed forces, and that he was recommended to serve as the chief of the guard post by the age of 18.

Apart from his ability, however, the assessment of Ian was quite poor. As a representative example, there was a rumor that he was in vain while building up the naval forces.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with aristocrats because they were profligate and rich. But enjoying indigo was still a repugnant wall for those who were to see it from a religious point of view.

“He is….”

Sitting on a chair, sipping on an unknown yellow liquor, Laurentia stared at the formal social gathering.

‘He’s the man responsible for the naval force?’

She was surprised.

‘No, he seems underrated.’

His shoulders were wide, and he had strong legs that firmly supported his upper body. He looked half taller than others. Moreover, she could sense cheerfulness from the people who were exchanging words with each other, while he was just smiling calmly.

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