CH 32.2

“I can take care of myself too. I never ask for help from my family.”

“You’ve been looking only at books that you’ve lost your mind. What will happen to our family if you leave . . .”

“Do you think I came here for you? For the family? No, it’s for me. That family . . . I threw it away.”

As she cut off his words and spat out the promises she had made with herself, Robert’s face burned with anger.

“Such an ungrateful bitch!”

Angered all the way to the top of his head, he raised his hand.

Anne flinched as the man’s large hand reached over her head, but she did not step back. She rather sticks out her right cheek, as if provoking Robert.

“Are you going to hit me again? Do I still look like a crying child trembling at Brother’s hand? Even this hand of yours won’t change my decision.”

“Ha . . . crazy bitch. You are completely out of your mind. How dare you talk about betraying your family in front of the heir of Libelois?”

Cursing, Robert’s face contorted in a strange way. Soon, his hand, lifted in mid-air, parted the cold air without hesitation.

Just before Robert’s ruthless palm touched Anne’s face,

Bang!

Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from behind. A cold wind blew in through the open door, and Anne’s hair flew in a mess.

She hurriedly grabbed her hair and turned around, and the Grand Duke, with blood-red eyes flashing, was standing in front of the door.

As the chilly silence descended, the sound of shoes hitting the marble floor resounded eerily. Robert, who later moved his hand, gathered his expression and bowed his head hurriedly.

“Your . . . Grace. What brings you all the way here?”

“Why are you making such a fuss?”

A dark voice that transcended the atmoshpere sullenly broke through the room. His hard expression was similar to his usual one, but he seemed to be uncomfortable somewhere with a ferocious atmosphere. Like Anne, who read the unusual energy, Robert carefully looked at his eyes.

“What were you two talking about?”

“It was nothing. I was disciplining my sister because she didn’t seem to understand a wife’s duties.”

“Angroanne.”

The Grand Duke, who had been staring at Robert the whole time, tilted his head and urged her to answer.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

Anne swallowed a gulp as the red pupils terribly narrowed, and spoke the same like Robert’s answer. The tip of the Grand Duke’s red lips curled up and his jaw muscles hardened.

“It would be better to answer my question directly what kind of discipline it is.”

It was then that Robert realized that things were going wrong. His face turned blue as he sensed that the Grand Duke dreadful energy was squeezing his neck.

“That is . . . a wife has to . . . be dealt with strictly, kugh . . .”

The Grand Duke’s thick hand, which reached out in an instant, grabbed Robert’s neck tightly.

The strong force was about to block the passageway through which Robert breathed, he tightened his grip, and at the same time, Robert’s legs flailed in the air. It was unbelievable for a human being to be able to lift an adult male as it is.

“So . . . Did you dare lay those dirty hands on what’s mine and in my house?”

“Kugh . . . Your . . . Grace . . .”

A cold sweat ran down Robert’s back as the Grand Duke’s ferocious eyes seemed to be aiming for his heart. The predator-like eyes glared at him as if to devour him. The hairs all over his body stood up, and goosebumps ran up from the tip of his toes to his face.

“She said she didn’t want me to kill, but . . . I can’t help it.”

The Grand Duke’s voice, implying that he wanted to kill Robert immediately, was dangerous. Anne held her breath at the sight unfolding before her eyes. She has seen him get angry a few times, but it’s the first time she’s seen him threatening someone’s life like this.

Anne, who instinctively realized that Robert’s neck would be shattered if the Grand Duke just twisted his wrist a little, spoke up.

“That . . . It wasn’t like that, but there was some misunderstanding.”

“Angroanne, you think I’m a fool. Don’t get involved if you don’t intend to deceive me anymore.”

Anne took hold of the Grand Duke’s arm, wanting to stop him, but he insisted on her to not intervene without looking back.

“No matter how . . .”

Anne wasn’t strong enough to bear watching her brother’s neck fall off in front of her eyes. She knew that if the Count lost his one and only heir, his eyes would turn to her and Anne would be in trouble.

As Anne struggled to calm her expression, she chose her words carefully.

“Please stop your anger. Brother misunderstood for a moment because he thought he was in the Libelois mansion . . .”

“Ha . . . Did you do this in that house too?”