Chapter 37

Cecile’s desperate gaze fell to the ground.

She tried to hold it in, but even though she pressed her lips together, the sobs kept escaping endlessly. If she did anything to upset the master, only God knows how worse it might get.

As Anthony chuckled, the person from earlier walked up in front of him. It so happened to be Asella.

Behind her were several maids and servants of the house.

Anthony, who knew better than anyone what the servants had been doing to Asella, opened his mouth in mockery.

“What’s wrong with you, Asella?”

Asella did not answer. Instead, she stared silently at Anthony with a blank face, not showing any real emotion.

“I’m heading to the banquet hall.”

Her gaze shifted smoothly to Cecile, who was standing next to Anthony.

“Just say your greetings and move. Why are you lingering so long?”

Anthony’s face twisted in frustration.

“What’s a newlywed bride doing here leaving her guests behind?”

“I went to change my clothes.”

Asella answered in a low voice.

Anthony looked at her quickly and saw that she was wearing a simple reception dress, not the fancy wedding dress she had been wearing earlier.

“Go ahead since you’re done. Don’t waste your time wandering around.”

But Asella remained standing, her gaze fixed in one place. It was Cecile’s wrist in Antony’s grip.

His grip on Cecile’s wrist was so firm that her hands were completely white with no trace of blood.

Anthony’s patience reached its limit as he hurriedly tried to send Asella to enjoy his private amusement.

“Go!” He yelled.

The servants who were behind Asella flinched in fear.

Anthony’s temper was well known even among the servants of the house. He would often raise his hand on servants, flirt with the maids, and even sexually harass them.

Unlike Philip, who was more interested in flattery, Anthony was reluctant to do anything of the sort.

He was arrogant and obstinate, so it was best not to be seen by him.

This situation was just one of the many accidents that Anthony had caused and would continue to do so in the future.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the maids to be violated by Anthony; she would be blackmailed by Philip and thrown out empty-handed.

(Help me.)

Behind Anthony’s back, Cecile’s sad face formed a small plea with her mouth. But the servants turned their cold gazes away from her pathetic gaze.

It wasn’t like they didn’t feel sorry for what happened, but the other party was a stranger anyway. Their own safety was their priority.

“Didn’t you hear me telling you to go?”

At the sound of Anthony’s angry, hoarse voice, the only person who remained unconcerned was Asella. She stared at the heir to Chartus, whose breath was ragged with anger.

Her brother, Anthony Chartus.

Philip had told her he was a distant descendant of Chartus, but Asella did not believe him.

‘Sounded just like something that Philip would do.’

A fact that even Philip didn’t know was that Chartus was a family that thoroughly oversaw even the illegitimate children born to the Chartus family. The reason behind it was pretty obvious; this was how rare and precious their descendants were.

‘Asella, Currently, the only people who have inherited the blood of Chartus are me, you, and Mariel.’

The last of those illegitimate descendants died out almost a hundred years ago. It was a story that Adele had told Asella directly when she was still alive.

So it was easy to guess the circumstances of Anthony’s birth.

He was probably Philip’s bastard son.

“Get lost now!”

What was so upsetting about this situation?

He could live the rest of his life under the name of Chartus.

He would be called by the name of Chartus until the day he died, and even after death, he would continue to be called by the name of Chartus.

“Please let go of that hand.”

“What?”

Anthony asked back in disbelief. Asella turned her gaze away from Cecile, who was staring at her pleadingly, and repeated the exact words as if confirming them.

“I told you to let go of her hand.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“You’re picking on innocent people.”

Asella answered with a composed look on her face.

Anthony’s face immediately distorted, and he nervously let go of the maid’s wrist.

With a short cry, Cecile was thrown to the floor, terrified, and curled up against the wall in the corner.

Anthony’s mouth twisted up in a comical way.

“That’s ridiculous.”

A grim look appeared on his contorted face. Anthony took a threatening step forward, and the servants backed away.

But Asella did not flinch. She only raised an eyebrow at the unpleasant scent of alcohol coming from Anthony.

Anthony’s sense of judgment was disturbed by her attitude.

He was always alone, always pretending to be noble, dignified…

And there stood the noble and blessed Asella Chartus.

Just standing by her side, he felt as if his shabbiness had been thoroughly exposed.

Despite years of abuse and harassment, he had never been able to defeat her completely. It often felt like she was arrogantly looking down on him from a high place, even when he made her kneel before him.

Each time she did that, he felt dirty. It felt as if he was rolling in filthy mud.

He took everything away from Asella, but he couldn’t get rid of his inferiority complex.

“You’ve been quiet for a while, but now it seems like you forgot your place.”

Harsh words, not lacking in the slightest, came out of his heated brain.

“Why? Just because you think you’re the Grand Duchess, something has changed?”

However, Asella, who was used to hearing worse swear words, calmly replied.

“I. am. the. Grand Duchess.”

“What?”

“The marriage you and father forced on me made me the Grand Duchess.”

Anthony’s raised his eyebrows.

‘What game is she playing now?’

Just as his anger began to rise, Anthony’s eyes caught sight of the servants around her. They were all Philip’s.

He had something on his mind, but he drew a sneaky smile on his mouth.

“You seem to be having the wrong idea.”