I Didn’t Know I Had Two Husbands - Chapter 58

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Baron Silvaris also understood the meaning behind Lucian’s words. His face flushed hot, but if not for today’s banquet, he would have no chance to meet the duke, so he was filled with urgency.

No matter how many letters he sent to his second daughter, there had been no reply.

She had always been useless since childhood.

“I had no choice but to commit this discourtesy, since my child hasn’t responded to my letters.”

As always, he boldly blamed his second daughter. It was a method that had always worked in his household. However, he had not considered that it might offend Lucian.

“Your child, you say…”

The voice that dropped in an instant was deeply ominous. Slowly turning his champagne glass, Lucian looked straight at the baron and continued.

“If you still treat a married daughter as a child, then that means you see me, her husband, as a child as well.”

“…Pardon?”

For a high-ranking noble, Lucian was known to be quite restrained. He had never oppressed lower nobles with his power, nor had he ever picked faults without reason. Because of that, everyone present looked at him with surprise.

After taking a sip of champagne, he stepped closer to the baron. The sound of his fine shoes striking the smooth marble floor rang lightly.

“Do you mean I am childish and beneath your level, or that I may be disregarded like a child?”

“I, I didn’t mean it that way! I was only reprimanding my daughter for ignoring her parents’ letters, I had no intention of referring to Your Grace!”

“Is that so? Then what is your daughter’s name?”

At the sudden question, Baron Silvaris frowned without realizing it.

“Tell me. What is your daughter’s name?”

“…Naturally, I am referring to Elaria. Surely Your Grace hasn’t forgotten?”

For a moment, the baron thought this situation had arisen because Elaria was being treated poorly at the ducal house. No matter what, what kind of husband would ask his own wife’s name?

“I asked for her full name.”

“…Pardon? That is, of course…”

He began to speak her full name without thinking, then suddenly flinched. Realizing that the name Silvaris could no longer follow his second daughter’s name, he hesitated and answered in a very small voice.

“…Elaria de Asiel.”

“That’s right. She is my wife. Not your daughter.”

His clipped words revealed his displeasure. The surrounding people watched in silence, hardly daring to breathe.

“…Even so, she will always be my daughter.”

“Such logic is a commoner’s way of thinking.”

When Lucian rebuked him coldly, the surrounding nobles nodded in agreement. No matter how precious a daughter might be, once she married, she became a member of her husband’s family.

Of course, it did not mean they must cut off contact entirely, but it did mean the daughter could no longer be treated casually. As the lady of another household, she had to be respected and treated with proper courtesy.

That was why the baron’s words were considered unbefitting of a noble.

“…I only meant that she hasn’t been in contact…”

The baron repeated the same words foolishly. In his household, whenever something happened, everyone blamed Elaria. They would say it was because she was slow, that it was her fault for being too dull to read the situation.

The heat rose up to his neck, and the baron could not lift his head. He had come confidently to ask why the duke had withdrawn the investment, only to end up humiliating himself.

Lucian lifted one corner of his lips and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“For the time being, I am personally managing the letters and invitations sent to my wife. She is currently devoting herself fully to fulfilling her duties as Duchess. I cannot tell you how reassuring that is.”

“Your Grace is managing them personally…?”

“That’s right. So if you have anything to say, you will have to go through me for the time being.”

Lucian answered while looking down at the baron with a cold gaze. He had personally opened and checked every letter that the baron, the baroness, and Elisa had sent to Elaria.

The contents had been so outrageous that he never wanted her to see them. He could not understand why they discriminated against the second daughter to such an extent, though in some ways he could understand.

She had endured silently at his side for a long time. Even while hiding their relationship, she had never complained or expressed dissatisfaction. He knew that was the way she loved.

Suppressing her own desires and thinking only of the other person.

That was the reason he had come to covet Elaria.

If only that sincere and unwavering heart could become his alone. Then perhaps, even if she learned his secret, she would still understand him.

Even if she were to learn that the Asiel Duchy was, in truth, an unsightly family that earned wealth illegally behind the scenes, like a swan desperately paddling beneath the surface of a lake, she would still remain by his side.

Lucian had no intention of leaving alone those who had troubled his wife, those who looked down on her, and those who treated her lightly. As if extracting an apology for all the hardship she had endured, he intended to repay them slowly, for a very long time.