Chapter 146
If she couldn’t escape, she at least begged for his love. She begged to be treated kindly.
Had she had a choice, she would never have chosen this path, but ultimately, Macy accepted Eren.
It wasn’t purely blackmail—Macy loved the affection Eren gave her too much.
She couldn’t look them in the eye. Shame and embarrassment twisted her face, and the self-loathing welled up inside her.
Her vision blurred, and despite trying to hold back, tears kept flowing.
“What did your Name master say? Did Eren say it was okay for you to meet Duke Krygen?”
Anna gripped Macy’s hand tightly, asking as Macy cried.
“Yes… sniff…”
What was there for Macy to hate about Eren? After all, he was Duke Krygen.
“What about you? Don’t you still like Eren?”
“I do… sniff… But there’s nothing I can do…”
“What is going on?”
Kieran, who had been listening to Macy and Anna’s conversation, scratched his head in confusion.
They didn’t know that Eren and Duke Krygen were the same person, so hearing this must have been completely confusing to them.
They probably had no idea what was going on, and Macy must have seemed like she was losing her mind.
But no matter how frustrated she felt, she couldn’t tell them the secret about Eren.
Even though she was close enough to share the secret of painting Yannick’s portrait, this was different.
It was a secret that, if even a trace leaked out, would shake the entire system to its core.
Macy’s secret would seem trivial compared to the immense ripple it would cause.
“I know you’ll think badly of me, but I can’t say more. I’m sorry. If you think this money was dirty, you can throw it away. If you’ve started to hate me, from now on…”
Tears blurred Macy’s vision. She didn’t want to say these things, but the words slipped out as if she had finally given up.
“I won’t show myself in front of you again…”
“Macy, what are you saying? Don’t say things like that… it’s upsetting…”
Anna’s eyes were filled with tears as well. She wrapped her arms around Macy, who had curled up.
“I believe in you. There must be a reason you did this. Don’t let it get to you.”
“But… sniff… it’s not something I can be proud of.”
“How many people are in those kinds of relationships and live proudly? Besides, you were blackmailed, right? It’s not your fault. I understand.”
Anna spoke in a soothing voice as she comforted Macy. Kieran, watching the growing tension, suddenly shouted again.
“What do you understand? Anyway, you both like them! You like that Name master and Duke Krygen, don’t you?”
“Oh, just shut up! You don’t know anything!”
“What do you know?”
“I know! You, who’ve barely known Macy, should stay out of it!”
“Well, I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time!”
Anna and Kieran began arguing, growling at each other.
“Ugh, stop fighting…”
Macy sniffled and said, and Kieran, sighing heavily, gave in.
“I’m not saying I hate you or want to cut ties. I’m just frustrated… sigh… I’m sorry for shouting. Don’t cry.”
Hearing him say he hadn’t hated her, Macy couldn’t hold back her tears. She squeezed her eyes shut, and the tears poured out, making Kieran fluster and stomp his feet.
“What’s this? Why are you crying again? Stop crying! You look terrible when you cry, you know? Someone do something about her.”
“If you shut up, it’ll be fine!”
Anna hugged Macy even tighter, and Hills gently patted her head.
“When you’re ready, tell us everything. We’ll always be here to support you, no matter what.”
Their warmth was comforting. Macy felt gratitude, but it also weighed heavily on her, as if she was carrying a burden.
The day would never come when she could share the painful truth with them. Because even if Eren grew tired of her, their Name bond would never break.
The truth about Duke Krygen’s real name, Eren Wood, was a secret that Macy would carry to her grave as payment for being his Name master.
* * *
“You’re not even out now.”
Isabella entered the carriage of Duke Krygen’s family. Rubens was sitting in his seat, looking leisurely into the newspaper.
“There’s a lot of pretty interesting stuff in this week’s magazine.”
“Was there anything written about Duke Krygen’s new woman?”
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