Chapter 26
Watching Elisa grit her teeth and keep her mouth tightly shut, he twisted his lips.
He had never liked this woman, not from the beginning.
Elisa was never the type he would like. No, most noble ladies were the same. How were they all so good at painting themselves to be victims?
Lowering his gaze, he briefly recalled the past, then let out an open sigh.
“Haa, how troublesome.”
Thinking of the increased workload lately, he swallowed down an irritated sigh. He wanted to avoid creating extra matters during the harvest season, but it couldn’t be helped. He fixed his gaze steadily on Elaria, who stood beside him. She was as pale as a sheet.
She probably had no idea how many letters and invitations had come for her.
She didn’t even know what kind of place she had stepped into, so how could she know anything else?
She had always looked only at him, never sparing a glance elsewhere. It couldn’t be helped. That was why he had chosen Elaria, and no one else.
“Hm, let’s put this in order.”
After giving the brief command, he took her hand and left the sitting room. Elaria couldn’t say a word and was quietly led along. His pace was so fast she almost had to run to keep up, and they soon reached her room.
She entered, breathing hard. The sitting room was still filled with interior samples that hadn’t been cleared away. He had been heading toward the sofa, but after seeing the cluttered sight, he changed direction.
Entering the bedroom, he didn’t loosen his grip as he pushed Elaria onto the bed. She dropped onto it with a thud and looked up at him with startled eyes. His red gaze stared down at her, sharp and cold.
“Lu, Luci…”
“Quiet, Elaria.”
He had always been a man who didn’t explain himself properly, but he had never been this forceful. Elaria’s heart pounded as if it would burst. The atmosphere made it feel as if he might say he regretted everything and wanted to cancel the marriage.
Her face turned pale with fear as she lowered her head, but his hand immediately slid under her chin. Forcing her face up, he spoke.
“Elaria, no matter how lovable you are, there’s a problem.”
“……”
“You may think it’s enough that you simply love me, but the world doesn’t work that way.”
“Lu…”
“Mm. I told you to be quiet.”
The small mouth that had begun to open closed at once. He found her very endearing, the way she listened first whenever he spoke. She had always been like that since childhood. She didn’t have even a trace of greed, and it was almost ridiculous how easily she was used by others.
And yet, there was one thing she would never let go of.
Him.
If it was a secret about him, she looked as if she would keep her mouth shut even under torture. Other playmates had asked her how she had become close to Lucian, but she never told them.
Instead, she would give away the things Lucian had given her. Most of the time Elisa took them, but her friends had taken many as well. As if offering them as tributes, as if asking them to take those instead and leave Lucian alone.
That pitiful and foolish sight had made it impossible for him to look away.
And not only him. The other him had felt the same way.
Yet even though she had been chosen by both of them, she never showed any greed during their time as lovers.
She was satisfied simply with being his lover. She wanted nothing more.
That was what provoked him.
When they were playmates, she had been so possessive, wanting him all to herself. But once they became lovers, she stepped back. She watched him from a distance and behaved as if she might leave at any time.
How suffocating that was. Elaria, you will never know.
So he had decided to make her experience it once herself, and without even consulting the other him, he had announced their breakup. The look on her face then was something he would never forget. As if it were something she had always expected, she accepted the separation calmly and left without resistance.
Even so, she didn’t take another lover or seek another marriage match, and that had reassured him.
Then one day, two years later, he heard an absurd piece of news.
A family had appeared with a proposal for her.
After he had blocked everything so thoroughly, what kind of lunatic had dared to propose?
He tapped lightly at her chin as he looked down at Elaria. Just recalling the past for a moment left him irritated. His life had been damned since the day he was born, and it was almost impressive that his mood could still get worse.
“Haa, Elaria…”
Our dense, foolish Elaria.
A foolish rabbit who doesn’t even realize she has already stepped into a snake’s den.
A den where two snakes have sealed both the entrance and the exit.
He rolled his dry eyes behind his lenses, then muttered,
“For now, you need to be punished a little.”
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