CH 35

It must have been a very difficult decision to approach first in this way as a woman who was afraid of the gaze of others. Eugène felt sad when he noticed that her hand on his arm was trembling lightly. He tried to comfort her on the back of her hand, but when he found traces of something on the back of her bare hand, he stopped moving.

She looked at Eugène with trembling eyes. When he looked straight into her eyes, just in case, tears welled up in her big eyes like that of a young child. Eugène looked into those eyes and realized that she knew the truth. 

She was utterly terrified now.

It was so unexpected that he was befuddled. What in the world is going on here? He thought about it for a while, but there was no answer on the spot. First of all, there were too few clues. He didn’t know any details about her current situation, so how could he deduce the whole case from a single spot on the back of her hand?

However, when he saw the woman in front of him trembling with fear, he couldn’t act like he didn’t know. It was partly because of sentimental reasons, as he had once lived with her, and also because of the pity that she had no one else to turn to since she asked him to help of all people.

Eugène placed his hand on the back of her hand and gently patted it a couple of times. Louise’s eyes widened a little, perhaps because she had properly understood the signal he was sending. 

It was then. Suddenly, aggressive footsteps were heard behind his back, and someone ran after him and pushed him violently. However, there was no way Eugène would be affected by the attack of someone who did not even know how to hide their presence.

He hid Louise behind his back and grabbed his opponent’s wrist. The man, whose wrist was caught in the instant he was trying to hit him, tried to shake off his hand in anger, but Eugène’s strong grip did not let go and held it as tightly as if it were handcuffed.

“What do you think you are doing right now?!”

The man who came up with a bright red face that didn’t suit him was none other than the Duke of Fernand. The Duke repeatedly tried to shake off Eugen’s hand, but when he failed, he shouted as if he had blundered.

A look of frustration crossed Eugène’s face when he realized who his opponent was. Louise, hiding behind his back, was frightened out of her wits and shrank away in shock.

“Calm down, Your Highness, Duke of Fernand. I will let go.”

It was quite difficult to calm down a young man who was agitated about his lover. Eugène pacified the other person in a poised persuasive manner and slowly released his wrist. The Duke of Fernand’s face flushed red and he pulled away his hand as soon as he felt the fingers relax. Eugène’s grip was not so strong, but the Duke’s wrist was already swollen.

“You dare to sexually harass a lady despite knowing where you are right now? Who do you think you are to dare show your filthy habits here? Does this garden look like the tavern you used to frequent to kill time?!” 

He wondered under what illusion he came dashing here, and how the words the Duke was throwing out were of an abusive language in every case as he continued to pick a fight. But Eugène had no intention of foolishly quarreling with the young fledgling who was heated to the top of his head. He did not disturb his composure and calmly responded to the man who was going at him without understanding the prior situation.

“Since you saw it from afar, you must have misunderstood the situation. However, fortunately, nothing as disgraceful as Your Highness had suspected happened. In broad daylight, with each other’s companions nearby, how could I be so discourteous to Baron Dumont’s esteemed daughter? I hope to clear up any misunderstandings as we only happened to meet by chance and exchanged greetings for a while.”

“Hmph. Misunderstanding? Did you just call it a misunderstanding? If it is not sexual harassment to force a lady to take off the gloves she is wearing and caress her hands, then what else could be considered sexual harassment?”

He looked up at Eugène, who had a higher view than himself but refused to back down till the end. Eugène was dumbstruck. No matter what distance he looked from, he couldn’t be unaware that Louise has taken off her gloves on her own, but seeing the way he was quarreling, it was clear that he had decided to pick a fight from the beginning. 

“Pa-Pa lr cba ilxf atja.”

Ufgtjqr yfmjerf rtf atbeuta atf wjaafg kjr ajxlcu j aegc obg atf kbgrf yfmjerf bo tfg, Obelrf, fwyjggjrrfv, mjwf bea ogbw yftlcv Seuècf klat j oglutafcfv ojmf. Ktf cbyifr, ktb tjv bcis yffc uijcmlcu ja atfw ecali j ktlif jub, rajgafv ab yijajcais ubrrlq ktfc atf Gexf bo Mfgcjcv’r lcagerlbc mjerfv j ugfja mbwwbalbc. Qtfatfg la kjr atf wjgxfaqijmf bg atf mbega ujgvfc, la rffwfv ab yf tewjc qrsmtbibus kjamt, olgra jcv obgfwbra, ktfc atfgf kjr j oluta.

“The Duke is mistaken. That is not what happened.”

“What do you mean, Louise? I surely saw you get harassed!!” 

“I said that is not what happened. It truly was not. Baron Amieux did not do anything to me. For the help I received at the last party, I caught hold of him first to pay my gratitude. The Baron only stopped because of me.”

The Duke of Fernand’s eyes became fierce after she defend Eugène twice in a row. There were people all around watching the scene, and even Baron Amieux was watching them next to her.

What the hell was this situation where a woman who was his fiancée was not on his side, but on the other person’s side? He couldn’t accept Louise’s misbehavior at all, so he turned to look at her with a bewildered expression.

“… What are you doing right now? Are you siding with him, instead of me?” 

“I am not taking sides, I am simply stating the truth. Baron Amieux was truly kind to me.”

Louise said earnestly and grabbed the Duke of Fernand’s arm. She intended to calm the overly worked-up man, but the Duke of Fernand’s anger exploded decisively at the gesture that looked as if she were soothing a child. The Duke momentarily shook off the hand and stepped back. It was as aggressive as when he was trying to shake off Eugène, but unfortunately, Louise was not Eugène.

“Aah!!”

No matter how agitated one may be, it was outrageously impertinent to shake off a lady’s arm. The higher the status, the greater the restrictions on etiquette. Even so, Louise, who was not in a good condition, was pushed by the Duke of Fernand and almost fell backward. 

It was none other than Eugène who managed to support Louise. He was stunned, not knowing why he had to go through such a fuss but said nothing because of Louise’s pale, tired complexion.

The Duke of Fernand shook off Louise’s hand because of a momentary divergence, but the moment he shook it off, he regretted it. While it was true that he was currently all over the place, he had been living as an educated aristocrat his entire life.

Startled, he hurriedly looked back. But by that time, Eugène had already caught hold of Louise, who almost fell down. The fragile lady seemed as if she would be blown away any moment, and was hanging from Eugène’s arm with a deathly pale face. Eugène, having a manly and reliable physique, held her lightly in one arm, and looked at the Duke of Fernand with furrowed eyebrows as if he were rebuking him.

As soon as he saw the scene, the Duke of Fernand’s face turned red as if he were doused in charcoal fire. He was mortified. He was insanely embarrassed and so unbearably mad. When had he ever gone through such a humiliating experience ever since he was born as a precious member of the imperial family and had always been held in high esteem? 

He was not unaware that he himself had done something wrong, but that made him feel even more ashamed. The Duke, whose anger was flaring up despite being the guilty one, raised his head stiffly. As he had no immunity to this situation, he could not stand the rising heat and opened his mouth, eventually uttering profane words that should not have been blurted out without hesitation.

“Huh, is that so? Preposterous. If you were dallying around with each other with mutual consent, it certainly was not your fault. Sorry, Baron Amieux. I was wrong. I must have expected too much regarding my fiancée’s virtuousness. I have caused you an outrageous amount of trouble.”

When he spat out the ridiculous vituperation in the presence of the lady, the surroundings instantly turned cold.

Eugène was truly dumbfounded. Generally speaking, as a member of the imperial family, his words and deeds required dignity and character commensurate with his position. However, looking at what the Duke of Fernand was doing right now, he was not even as good as a wastrel. Nowhere else, but in the imperial family’s garden, furthermore, no one else but the Duke of Fernand had insulted a noblewoman who was even his fiancée to such an extent. 

Eugène briefly looked down at Louise, who was so startled and horrified that she was gasping for breath, and then looked back at the Duke of Fernand. The Duke of Fernand was still angry and obstinately kept his chin up with a flushed face.

Apparently, even though he realized he had done something wrong, he seemed unable to apologize because of his pride.

Bloody aristocratic scums.

Eugène spat out profanity that would have been uttered by his work peers in his mind and gritted his teeth. In any case, these ill-mannered people did not know how to take accountability and apologize on their own, even if they were in the wrong. 

“Apologize.”

Eugène demanded it in a strict tone as if he were rebuking a subordinate for making a serious mistake. He had a good physique from the beginning, but when he was enraged, standing with his back straight, chest out, and shoulders back, he looked even more daunting.

“Your Highness does not have to say anything to me. I could not care enough. But apologize to your fiancée, the esteemed daughter of Baron Dumont.”

He said in a cold tone that had absolutely no room for respect for the other person. When a nobleman with a lower rank than himself pressured him with a clear command line, the Duke of Fernand, who had not yet given up his pride, said with a burst of anger. 

“Wh-What did you say? Who do you think you are to dare order me to do this and that?!”

“I am a nobleman who has witnessed an innocent lady being insulted right before my eyes. Even if she and I have nothing to do with her, it is my duty to protect her honor because I have witnessed this level of disrespect. Apologize to your fiancée, right now. If not, do accept my gloves.”

The Duke of Fernand, a beautiful young man with a fair complexion, was about two fingers shorter than Eugène, and was overall, of a slender figure. On the other hand, Eugène was a well-trained man with sharp angles on his shoulders and was a highly experienced soldier who showed his life’s struggles on his face.

As Eugène received the Emperor’s blatant favor, rumors about him also spread throughout the court. This is because there was no aristocrat who was ignorant of the fact that the Emperor would not have even remembered Eugène’s name if he was not fairly competent. 

The story of defeating the pirates of Hertha, who were rumored to be wild enough to even eat human flesh, the story of decapitating the infamous privateer with a single stroke of the sword after besieging and exterminating the privateer ship that terrorized the west coast, or the story of how even the Confederation of Five Nations’ navy, who were famous for being elite, would run away if they found the flag of Vice Admiral Chastan’s 4th Fleet from a distance had already reached the court.

There is no one who did not know that he was an outstanding swordsman who sparred daily with the Emperor and was also an expert at using the pistol.

Even if he was a member of the imperial family, he could not protest against his death in a legitimate duel. Moreover, the Duke of Fernand was clearly aware of the wrongdoing he had committed, so he was not in a position to be hastily hopeful.

The insult he inflicted on the Baron was not something that could be easily forgotten. If Eugène had waged a duel with what had just happened in mind, it was impossible to ask for his mercy. 

The Duke of Fernand could not dare to say that he would Eugène’s gloves head-on because of all those possibilities. For the first time in his life, he found himself in a terribly helpless position.

The Duke of Fernand shook his chin with a face darkened by humiliation. He was aware that he had to apologize, but he couldn’t bear to open his mouth in front of so many people. Louise, barely standing and still being supported by Eugène, sighed as if she was about to die. There was even a sign of resignation on her tired and sad face.

“I apologize for my fiancé’s discourtesy.”

“… It is not a matter for you to apologize.” 

Louise tried to shake off the support despite struggling to keep herself steady and apologized to Eugène. Eugène avoided her apology with a troubled look as she bowed her head deeply.

“No, I am to blame for speaking to the Baron in the first place. Even when it is not what I intended, I always make you suffer such troubles that I am apologetic about. Please forgive my fiancée and I for the disrespect.”

When she stepped forward like that, even Eugène had nothing to say. Louise staggeringly took her steps forward as her legs had barely any energy. She struggled to get close to the Duke of Fernand and placed her hand on his arm.

“The matter with my fiancé will be resolved by the two of us privately. So, Baron, please do not worry too much and go back.” 

Eugène wanted to chastise the Duke of Fernand, who acted as lawlessly as he pleased like a foal. But when Louise pleaded with him like that, he could not ignore her request.

He had no choice but to respect the lady’s will. Eugène quietly showed his respect to Louise by slightly lowering his head, then took a step back and turned around. Then, he walked to the other side, making sure to turn a blind eye to the people watching the scene around him.

The only person who followed him was Prince Cyril, who had been full of curiosity since earlier. He barely opened his mouth until they reached a distance where no one could hear their conversation.

“Who was that earlier?” 

Prince Cyrill asked, thoroughly refining his expression of ‘What was with that moron?’. Eugène hesitated, not knowing exactly how to describe the Duke of Fernand, then he sighed and answered.

“The fiancé of my former wife.”

Prince Cyril’s eyes widened at Eugène’s answer. He looked at Eugène and the Duke of Fernand alternately, as if he was flabbergasted, shook his head from side to side, and shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn’t understand what Eugène had said no matter how much he thought about it.