Chapter 48
“……Pardon?”
“If not, I don’t know why you’re telling me this.”
Cecilia cocked her head and smiled.
“Otherwise, why would you mention the Grand Duke’s past like a jealous rival…. I don’t quite understand, perhaps because I’m so unsophisticated.”
“W-what… me? I’m the Lady’s rival?”
“If not.”
The amusement in Cecilia’s gray-violet eyes vanished, and they turned coldly calm.
“Then it only makes me think you’re still sulking because you lost the shooting bet to me last time.”
“W-what…!”
“A shooting bet? No, are you saying the Lady made a shooting bet with Viscount Lenard?”
“Baron, don’t ask! Why bother with such trivial things!”
Just as I thought. He was still holding a grudge over that.
Cecilia scoffed inwardly at the man’s pea-sized heart. Then she smiled smoothly at Viscount Lenard.
“If it’s neither of those, please explain directly what you mean. Please, bestow your teaching upon my lacking self.”
“Eek, eek……!”
Viscount Lenard’s face completely twisted. He just gaped, unable to move or speak.
He would have nothing to say since his twisted intention was completely exposed. It was only natural.
The nobles who had been mocking Cecilia moments ago now turned their gaze toward Viscount Lenard. Their eyes were purely driven by interest, with no trace of sympathy for their colleague.
Cecilia snorted internally.
‘He’s poor quality and disloyal. No better than a common thug.’
It was rather fortunate.
If they had been a truly refined group, they would have been harder for her to handle.
“…It seems you misunderstood my words, Lady. Ahem! I merely wanted to congratulate you on becoming Grand Duke Raphaeli’s lover.”
“Ah ha.”
The excuse Viscount Lenard managed to squeeze out was childish. Cecilia nodded without feeling any emotion, and her gaze shifted behind him.
Because the person who would add fun to this incident was approaching.
“Wow, I have a lover and I didn’t even know it? Is that true?”
“Heeek! Gr-Grand Duke Raphaeli…!”
David, though standing apart and talking, had kept his eyes fixed on this side all along. Walking over with his arms wide open, he looked like an actor in a play.
David clapped Viscount Lenard on the shoulder. As the weight of the large man suddenly fell upon him, Viscount Lenard stumbled awkwardly.
“Viscount Lenard, so is Lady Cecilia Cissil my lover?”
“Ah, ah… I-I thought the two of you were on good terms…….”
“Does it look that way? That’s good to hear, but you know.”
David’s voice, which had been grinning, gradually deepened.
“Do you think I’m easy to mess with?”
“Pardon?”
“You were so rude to the Lady you thought was my lover?”
“Ah, no, that’s…….”
“Look at Lady Cecilia’s expression. It’s hardened, because of you, Viscount.”
His blue eyes were looking down at Viscount Lenard very coldly. No one could even let out a breath. The overwhelming pressure David radiated was that immense.
Before he knew it, Viscount Lenard was trembling, as if crushed by a giant beast.
“Ah, no, I just…….”
“An excuse here? Really?”
“Ah, no, Your Grace, Grand Duke.”
However, Cecilia felt little emotion.
‘If he keeps shrugging his shoulders like that, his body might just fold in half.’
The scene of someone being pressured felt strangely familiar. While she was lost in thought, Viscount Lenard’s gaze suddenly returned.
Shrunken, he bowed his head.
“P-Pardon my rudeness. I was overstepping.”
“It’s fine.”
Cecilia gave a light nod.
At that, the overwhelming pressure David had been vividly radiating vanished like a lie.
The atmosphere changed instantly. He took his arm off his shoulder, then smiled and patted Viscount Lenard’s back hard.
“Good, that’s how you should act. You know how to behave, so why did you do that?”
After a brief silence, the nobles’ forced laughter erupted.
“Hahaha! That’s right. Viscount Lenard, honestly…….”
“He won’t do it again. Don’t worry, Your Grace, the Grand Duke.”
David didn’t laugh. He simply observed the chattering nobles quietly. It looked exactly like a silent threat.
“Viscount. Ah, but you know. Just so you don’t misunderstand.”
As soon as he opened his mouth, the laughter abruptly stopped. David, receiving everyone’s attention, shrugged.
“Lady Cecilia and I are nothing. Just so you know.”
Then he winked at Cecilia as if to say, ‘Didn’t I do well?’
Huh, Cecilia let out a startled, hollow laugh.
***
After that, no one dared to treat Cecilia rudely. No, they were even cautious about speaking to her.
‘This is not even marking his territory, what the hell is this.’
The social gathering, which she hadn’t liked much to begin with, was becoming even more awkward.
But only one person remained unrestrained with Cecilia.
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