CH 16.6

How dare you hit Michael?

“Don’t you think you’re being too harsh?”

Charlotte actually saw this as an opportunity and deliberately put on a pitiful expression.

She wanted to expose Lila’s true colors in front of all the nobles, but Lila was not to be trifled with.

“Harsh? I guess I have heard worse… Ah, didn’t you say that I smelled like garbage before? I thought it was more wholesome than that, but now that you’re calling it harsh, I don’t know how I’m supposed to take it. And if you did push the Little Duke of Montefeltra, you owe him an apology.”

Charlotte pursed her lips at Lila’s unwillingly firm demeanor. Her eyebrows drew together as she tried to hide her indignation.

“I apologized, but it must not have reached his ears.”

She turned back to Michael.

“I’m sorry, my lord.”

Lila was genuinely angry. The fact that Charlotte was trying to take advantage of this situation made her sick to her stomach.

If it were just her, she might not have been this angry, but her persistence in trying to take advantage of Michael was offensive and distasteful.

‘Just a little longer,’ Charlotte thought to herself as she watched her shoulders slump and her brow furrow.

Just a little more. Just a little more. Just a little more so they can hear you.

People glanced disinterestedly at Charlotte, her lips quivering, a pitiful expression on her face, and Lila’s face hardened in anger.

Lucas was going to be the one to speak up this time. But once again, his turn was stolen by someone else.

Michael turned to Charlotte and spoke fiercely.

“You don’t just apologize with your mouth, you apologize with your back, or on your knees.”

The words were so clear and sharp that Charlotte wondered if it really was a child speaking. Charlotte looked deeply puzzled.

“Are you that upset? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“You’re angry? I’m sorry, Little Duke. You’re making things difficult for yourself. Your head doesn’t look very smart, you know.”

Michael said coldly, cutting her off at the knees. Then he continued.

“Sometimes there’s an asshole who confuses ranks… Did you know? Ranks don’t just happen, they’re passed down for a reason, right? First of all, I don’t know who you are, but I don’t think you’re higher in rank than me. Why? Because there is no noble family higher than the Dukes of Montefeltra. And even Duke Frederick, who’s standing right next to you, pays me respect. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Charlotte was speechless, unable to control her expression. Anger flared at Michael’s obvious mockery of her.

She turned to Heinrich for help, but there were too many eyes on her to keep her temper in check.

Heinrich watched the watery golden eyes wordlessly, then let out a small sigh and took a step forward to look at Michael.

“What are you all doing here?”

That’s when Alfonso casually interjected.

“You’re still very clever, Little Duke, but I think we should move on, it’s been a while since they went first, and with the two dukes still here, I can’t let the others go first, do you understand?”

Alfonso was being very friendly with Michael, which Lucas didn’t like, but he wasn’t wrong, so he looked at Lila and Michael.

Michael noticed first, grabbing Lila’s hand and giving it a gentle tug. Still glaring at Charlotte, she gave him a look.

“Auntie, let’s go.”

“… It’s very unpleasant, but I can’t help it.”

At her words, Alfonso smiled wryly.

“My Charlotte hasn’t always had the best head on her shoulders. She has a stupid side, you must understand, madam.”

Lila was puzzled by his demeanor, so different from the one she’d seen at the Academy.

But Lucas’s arm around her waist made her answer moderate.

“I suppose I should understand, then.”

Charlotte’s eyes sparked as she turned away from the stroke. She glared at Alfonso, her voice small.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Pfft, you look good.”

Charlotte bit back a giggle at the cynical look on Alfonso’s face, not his usual playful one.

“Marquis.”

It was then that Heinrich broke the silence between them with a frown.

“Yes, yes, I understand, but I’m not of the same mind as the Duke, it’s different.”

Alfonso left the room with a questioning look on his face. Heinrich put his arm around Charlotte’s white-faced shoulders and spoke softly.

“This is not a good attitude to have, and if something untoward happens again, I won’t be able to help you.”

Charlotte snapped back at Heinrich as he escorted her away.

“Why, you’re the same Duke, why didn’t you say a word!”

Heinrich’s body shook with uncontrollable rage. He couldn’t understand why he deserved this.

Why had no one stood up for her? In the past, others would have taken her side.

Heinrich gave her a sympathetic look.

“For now, let’s get moving.”

“…”

Charlotte bit her lip tightly. Her fingernails dug into her fists and her eyes widened.

‘It’s all because of that bitch…’

She hadn’t forgotten what the man had said. Charlotte smiled wryly as she remembered him telling her to be the protagonist here.

‘Do you really think there should be two main characters on the same stage?’

* * *

Lila took Michael’s hand and led him out of the greenhouse. The conservatory, named in honor of the night, literally looked out through a glass ceiling to the night sky.

It was tradition to drink and float all night there.

So the children were taken elsewhere and left to their own devices, and after midnight, the maids and servants escorted them to their respective beds.

As she walked Michael to his bed, Lila said to him.

“Don’t think too much about what happened earlier.”

Michael snorted at her comment.

“I thought my aunt cared more than I did.”

“… Is that so?”

Michael chuckled when she nodded at the child in agreement.

“If that girl ever treats my aunt badly again, you tell me, because I’ll punch her very hard on the nose.”

Michael was unbearably angry.

What, smelled like garbage?

Lila felt both grateful and sorry for him, hearing him say something like that and seeing him flip out at the slightest push.

“And be careful.”

Michael was well aware that the woman was the one who had harmed Lila. He’d asked Lucas about it.

Lila’s cobalt eyes widened at the child’s words. Then they narrowed, and she replied sweetly.

“Don’t worry.”

“… The more you say that, the more I worry.”

Reaching the front of the hall, Lila paused at the rounded entrance and peered inside.

Servants and maids came and went, and the lack of a door meant that children could still be seen playing inside.

Lila hugged Michael, looking a little relieved.

“Go to bed early if you’re sleepy. If anything happens, you can call me, or contact the Duke with your communication device. Okay?”

“Am I a child? I think my aunt is worrying too much.”

Placing a light kiss on Michael’s cheek in response, Lila released her grip.

“You go in first.”

Michael wrapped his hands on his kissed cheek and pouted his lips.

“I want to do the same for you, kiss.”

The corners of Lila’s eyes twitched at his words. Leaning back again and sticking out her cheek, Lila said, her voice full of anticipation.

“Please do.”

Michael blushed shyly and cupped Lila’s face in his hands, planting a lopsided kiss on her cheek and turning his strokes away.

“Okay, here we go.”

Lila watched the chocolate-colored hair disappear down the hall with a quick wave of her hand.

‘Awww, he’s so cute!’

* * *

Michael frowned as he entered the hall, feeling pathetic whenever he saw kids his age.

It was even more so when he saw them self-consciously stare or flirt as soon as he entered.

“Hey!”

John had been waiting for Michael to come in, and he’d seen him kiss Lila in the doorway.

He felt a pang of envy, but didn’t want to show it. Instead, he saw it as an opportunity to tease him, and he called out in a booming voice.

“Oh, are you ashamed, is that what you and your aunt are like?”

Michael stopped dead in his tracks, trying to ignore John, who usually criticized everything Michael did.

“What?”

“Why are you kissing your aunt?”

When Michael responded, John became even more vocal in his excitement.

Around him, children who were depressed because they were separated from their parents approached him with curiosity.

John loved these moments, the attention.

“Well.”

Michael glared at him, and after a moment of embarrassment, John blushed and shouted.

“That’s embarrassing! Why are you kissing your aunt’s cheek? She’s not your mom! Oh, come to think of it, your mom never came to visit you, did she? Not even at the academy…”

“So? So what you’re saying is, it’s okay to kiss your mom, but not your aunt? Why?”

“Why, of course not, because…”

Michael crossed his arms and tilted his head at an angle. If Lila had seen him, she might have commented on how he looked so much like Lucas.

It was John who was left speechless by Michael’s confident demeanor, and he couldn’t put his finger on why.

“Because…”

Because, he just wanted to tease.

Unable to come up with a good reason, John blurted out.

“Oh, why do you need a reason, you’re embarrassed, you’re embarrassed!”

With a knowing look on his face, Michael stomped off.

“Hey, where are you going!”

John sulked, feeling ignored, but the other kid stopped him.

“Hey, don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?”

“What am I doing!”

“This isn’t the Academy, and Michael outranks you.”

“So what! We’re all classmates at the Academy!”

“You’re being silly.”

“What?”

John replied, annoyed at the child’s outburst.

“An academy is an academy, after all, when you graduate you’re back to where you started, so what advantage does that give you, and why are you provoking Michael so much?”

“Well, he’s ugly.”

“That’s why?”

“Uh.”

John’s simple answer made the kid look pathetic.

“I don’t think so, because I think you’re even uglier now.”

“…What? That’s a false face, come on.”

Just then, another child, who had been listening to the two children, walked up and said.

“Michael’s aunt said that she wore ugly makeup on purpose.”

“Did you hear that too?”

“Yeah, I heard my parents talking about it.”

“So, do you think Michael wears freckles on purpose?”

“You mean like his aunt?”

“Yeah.”

The kids were busy talking amongst themselves, even as the now-alienated John sulked.

“That could be it. It makes sense.”