Chapter 11

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A few days have passed since then. After that, Yuri felt like sitting on a cushion of thorns.

The first Young Master seemed completely uninterested in her, but the second Young Master did not leave her alone. By the way, Vanessa seems to have been uncomfortable with Yuri these days.

‘….It has become difficult to go to the library.’

The second Young Master, Adres, was very displeased with Yuri. There were times when he threw forks and knives out while eating, and each time Yuri was terrified.

‘It’s like a few months ago.’

Aslan has been treating her kindly these days, and she felt so comfortable. When she thought about her daily life, there was nothing new to me. She knew from a young age that the comfort she gained from relying on other people’s power didn’t last long.

“Hey, half.”

Adres’ harsh voice filled the dining room. Mealtime was a torment each time. Since the employees did not bring meals directly to her room, she had to come to the dining room to fill her stomach.

“Yes! Yes … .”

Yuri hastily responded to his call. It took some time to answer because she hadn’t swallowed all the food yet.

“They said you were almost assassinated?”

It was a story Yuri didn’t want to talk about. In the first place, the story of almost being assassinated was not a pleasant story for the person concerned. Yuri didn’t like it, but Adres seemed to enjoy this story.

“Did they catch the culprit?”

“Oh, no.”

“What?”

“Ha, but soon, he will be caught.”

“Wow, pu-ha-ha-ha!”

The sound of laughter rang loudly in the dining room. Adres laughed until tears came out as if Yuri was telling a funny story. Yuri looked at him with a face that didn’t know what he meant.

“Hey you idiot. You think you can catch the culprit?”

“…”

“Idiot.”

The fork that was used for the salad fell from Yuri’s hand.

She still suffered from that day. That was the first time in her life she was threatened with her life. Yuri has been threatened a lot in her life. Among them, there were quite a few times when she almost died.

‘…It can’t be.’

However, it was the first time someone had maliciously and intentionally tried to kill her.

“Oh, no… His Excellency said so!”

“Why? Did he say he was sure to catch the criminal?”

Yuri couldn’t say anything. There were many suspicious things. Yuri told them quite a few clues. The culprit had red hair and was a strong man. And he was capable of moving short distances in an instant. There was no way the duke’s intelligence team could not identify the culprit.

“The two Young Masters have returned!”

“Are they coming in time for the lady’s wedding?”

Yuri wasn’t stupid. She knew that the story of marriage that the darkness had talked about and the reason her father suddenly came to her was related.

“We’ll catch the culprit. Don’t worry too much.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Can Yuri make a promise with me?”

“Yes, I’ll do anything.”

No one had told Yuri, but Yuri knew that she was going to get married soon. Aslan brought her here simply because he did not have a daughter for marriage.

“Yes, when I come back from the capital…”

“…”

“It’s too early to get married… First of all, how about living together here. You can stay as long as you want. I’ll find a good person for you.”

Aslan certainly said so before he left for the capital. Yuri believed him. So, she had been dismissing the postponed question as just a bad imagination.

“I feel sorry for you.”

“…”

“Now you’re going to die in the hands of the northern monster.”

It didn’t take long for Adres to realize that the person Yuri was marrying was the man who had come to kill Yuri.

“Ah, no, His Excellency, me……”

“You?”

“Ah, he cherishes me….”

Perhaps those words were the catalyst, and Adres soon picked up the fork Yuri had dropped and threw it over her salad plate. The sharp sound of the bowl and the fork collided pierced her ears.

“Then why do you still call your father ‘His Excellency’?”

“Yeah, that’s… I, I can’t call him ‘father’, uh, I can’t.”

“You just don’t have the courage?”

As Adres’s hand approached, Yuri closed her eyes tightly in surprise.

He only lightly held Yuri’s long hair in his hand.

“When you first came here, you had pretty short hair….”

“…”

“You already have long hair now.”

“…. … … … No, please let me go.”

“But you still don’t know your father?”

Adres’ eyes turned cold again. Yuri glanced at him and lowered her eyes.

“Your father just brought you here for the marriage.”

“…”

“Because the Emperor wants it.”

“… …I know.”

“My father just didn’t want to get his hands dirty. you idiot.”

Yuri’s stomach hurt. It was a fact she had already known, but hearing it in her ear again was a different feeling.

“Your father cares about you?”

“….”

“Sounds stupid.”

Adres patted Yuri’s head with his fingers. It felt like those fingers were saying, ‘You idiot, you’re not enough’, and her heart ached.

“The northern Count doesn’t want you.”

“…”

“His cruel nature is famous.”

“…”

“See? He has already failed to kill you once.”

“…”

“If you go to the north, you will probably be killed in less than a month.”

Yuri’s heart dropped. Now and again, she felt ridiculous. She didn’t even know what she was hoping for or what she was expecting. 

How can her father truly love her?

“What a fool.”

His laugh was justified. There wasn’t really anything wrong with it either.

‘There’s no way he loves me.’

Aslan asked Yuri to live together for the rest of his life. She hoped that Aslan’s words would be true. It was a ridiculous thought, but she wanted him to love her. She knew it was greed.

‘I didn’t try anything.’

People liked Yuri when she worked in order to receive affection, like 

wiping the stairs, cleaning the streets, etc.

‘So it’s unavoidable.’

Aslan’s words were quite calm, so she wanted to believe that it was true. She wanted to believe that he was never going to make her marry someone who tried to kill her.

“… Why do you look so sad?”

“I knew, I knew, but….”

Yuri tried to deny it for the rest of her life if possible. If her husband didn’t try to kill her, she was confident of living with him without knowing even after marrying someone who didn’t even know her name.

That was the reason why she couldn’t call  Aslan ‘Father’ and insisted on calling him ‘His Excellency’. She was aware of that fact, so she kept her distance so that she wouldn’t feel hurt. 

“……You know?”

“Yes…”

“But…… .”

Yuri covered her mouth. If she continued to talk like this, she really felt like she would confess all her true feelings. Yuri briefly organized her thoughts. There was a price for affection. If Aslan’s price of affection was this, Yuri wanted to accept it.

Although he didn’t love her, Yuri liked Aslan.

‘It’s okay. Let’s think like that.’

Whether it was fake or real, she didn’t want to suspect her father for doing her a favor. She felt like her head was clearer than before.

“It’s okay.”

“What?”

“I, it’s fine now…”

Yuri closed her eyes comfortably. She decided to think it was really good. If she kept thinking it was okay, it would be really okay someday. Until it was all right, she had to think it was okay.

“They said… I am incompetent.”

Yuri but her lips. Actually, she didn’t want to get married. Marriage to the person who tried to kill her was not unpleasant. It was clear that the end of marriage with such a person would be death.

“Hey, who said so?”

“Well, if that’s all I could do…”

“…”

“I should do it.”

“What?”

“If His Excellency tells me to marry….”

“…”

“I will.”

Yuri said with a soft face. After admitting it once, she felt more at ease.

Adres looked like he didn’t like something very much. He soon kicked a chair in the dining room, the. he slammed the dining room door and left.

‘He’s a scary person…’

Yuri looked at the place he had left. She sat down and grabbed a new fork, and put another piece of salad in her mouth.

If the Duke returns, they’ll talk again. Thinking so, Yuri shoved the salad inside her mouth.

“Woooooooo…”

Perhaps it was because she ate the salad too quickly, and Yuri felt nauseated. Eventually, tears flowed slowly.

It was because of the nausea, it wasn’t because she was sad.

Yuri decided to think so. If she thought about it that way, this really was not a big deal.