CH 33.1

The words that were meant to stop Daymond had encouraged him instead. The hand that grabbed Robert’s neck rose up to the ceiling. Robert’s blue complexion as he struggled with his arms wrinkled with pain.

“I think he still doesn’t know what kind of man your husband is. I think seeing blood interest will make this unpleasant feeling better . . .”

“That… That was my brother’s mistake. If you show your generosity, Brother will never forget this grace.”

Anne continued to speak, but the Grand Duke did not loosen his hand. Seeing Robert groaning as if he was about to lose consciousness, Anne spoke out what she wanted without a second thought.

“I won’t speak of ending the marriage for a while, so stop it now.”

The Grand Duke then glanced at Anne, and released the strength from the hand that grabbed Robert’s collar, which was drooping from the suffocation. Robert fell to the floor. Slumped down, his body drooped, and coughed as if he was about to vomit.

“The banquet is over. Don’t ever think of coming to the North again. If I see you again, I will cut off your neck.”

Robert, who still had a dazed face, looked at the long sword on the Grand Duke’s waist and breathed bizarrely. Then he ran out of the room.

Anne was left exhaling slightly. She could feel the Grand Duke’s breath going in and out, as if his agitation had not waned.

Anne, who wiped her chest that had been throbbing with tension, looked at him properly. The red pupils, which held a cold light, slowly returned to normal.

* * *

On the way back to the banquet hall, Ashton, who approached in a hurry, whispered in the Grand Duke’s ear, and his mouth twisted nervously.

“I have a place to go to for a while, so go ahead and wait.”

Without even looking at Anne’s face properly, he followed his aide and walked away. Anne continued alone.

“In the end, the only option left is to give birth and leave here.”

She didn’t think the words that she had spat out in a rush to stop him really worked. In the end, Anne was forced to stay here, but there was no other option in the first place.

“By the way, why did he do that a while ago?”

Anne was worried about his energy again, being so fierce until just before. It was the first time he showed such vivid emotions. He was often angry in the past, but his expression was still dignified and was rarely obvious.

Perhaps it was an insult to the Grand Duchess, and was thus an insult to him, but she didn’t expect such a violent reaction. After all, was it not his usual self that brought disgrace upon her in the first place?

It may have been that he was immersed in his husband’s role, as it was talk about the wife’s duties. Anyway, it was a relief. If the Grand Duke had not arrived on time, she would have been hit in the face. She didn’t want to admit it, but frankly, she was slightly grateful.

“Are you trying to acknowledge me?”

At this point, from officially introducing herself to standing by her side. Although they were just a couple on the surface, it was hard to guess the kindness of his hospitality, albeit it being a formality.

If so, then he must have had a plan.

As Anne, who shook her head, thinking of him as an infinitely capricious man, returned to the banquet hall. The awkward atmosphere had disappeared a lot more than when she started. The long-awaited banquet had changed to a bustle of dancing and drinking as many northerners who were friendly to each other gathered. Robert, who was confused and ran away, was nowhere to be seen.

I don’t think this is going to cause trouble.

Still, the scene where the arrogant Robert ran away made her feel refreshed. She tried to stop the Grand Duke who was trying to take Robert’s breathing away, but it was only a moral act, and it was quite worth seeing Robert’s face, which had reigned over her since childhood, distorted with fear. It was enough to look forward to.

The Grand Duke, who she was not very close to, disappeared. Her position quickly became awkward. She saw some ladies wandering around wanting to talk, but she deliberately ignored them and pretended she didn’t see them.

She stared blankly at the opposite door with a bored face, and this time she saw familiar faces.

“. . . Were they invited?”

It seemed that the Grand Duke had been so considerate of his arrangements that it made her laugh.

It was Lady Sienna Pellimont who handed the shawl over her shoulder to the attendant, brushing the snow that had fallen on her shoulder, and the man was her former fiancee, Salton Whitmore.

Seeing the two people coming straight towards her, Anne got up, feeling very tired. Now that the Grand Duke was absent, she was the one who should welcome the guests, so she had to fulfill her responsibilities.