Portrait of An Arrogant Master - Chapter 158

Though he had expected it to some degree, as soon as he opened the door, he lost his mind, and he threw anything he could grab in anger.

“I’m sorry…”

Eren, with a stiff expression, stared out the window before shifting his gaze to her. Without speaking, he just stared, so Macy opened her mouth again.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble… I told you I won’t make any trouble… I was wrong.”

What was she apologizing for? Even though he just acted cold for a moment, her eyes welled up with tears as she admitted her mistake, and it was only frustrating.

Before leaving, Rubens had told Macy to use his name if anything happened, but he knew she wouldn’t follow through with it. She was uncomfortable with her role as a mistress, and she found the position shameful.

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

Rubens clicked his tongue briefly.

Right, it wasn’t her fault.

“We shouldn’t have wasted time rolling around in bed. You should have been seen in public long ago.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

Macy blinked in confusion.

“People must have thought you were just a one-night affair since we disappeared after the engagement banquet. That’s why this nonsense is happening.”

“Ah… so that’s what Mr. Bayanen meant…”

“What did he say?”

“Ah, never mind.”

Macy quickly looked away. She seemed quite startled, her face still pale.

‘Why are you so stupid and weak, tsk.’

Her wrist was so tightly gripped that red handprints remained, making her appear suddenly frail, as though she might collapse at any moment.

“Macy.”

“Yes?”

“Sit here.”

Rubens gestured for her to sit beside him. Macy hesitated, then cautiously stood and walked over. As she approached, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him. She ended up stumbling into Eren’s chest, her forehead bumping into him as she collapsed into his arms.

“Ah!”

Macy rubbed her forehead where it had hit. Rubens sat her down on his thigh and gently stroked her wrist, which still bore the marks. He lifted her hair, inspecting the nape of her neck where Lance Bayanen had buried his face, and even lifted her skirt, probing deeper.

“Wait a minute!”

“Stay still.”

Macy quickly tried to stop him, but his tone was so firm that she slowly let go of her resistance. Her eyes were filled with fear, as if she were afraid Rubens might get angry.

He didn’t want to get angry, but the image of her in the arms of a strange man kept replaying in his mind, making it difficult to control his fury.

He had only been gone for a short time, and yet some man’s lips were rubbing into hers and she was nearly ending up in a place swarming with men, almost being assaulted. The thought of what might have happened if Rubens had been any later made him shudder.

That little thing would have likely been assaulted, her innocence taken away in a filthy act.

“Ugh, this is annoying.”

His mood was already sour, and he hoped there would be no other signs, but as he lifted her skirt near her knee, he discovered a fresh red scratch. It looked like it had been scraped against a sharp edge. Rubens’s expression immediately darkened in anger.

“That… that’s from the easel…”

“You got this from struggling, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes…”

He should have hit him with the cue stick a few more times. No, he should have broken a leg or two. How dare anyone lay a hand on what was his.

Rubens’s fingers gently traced the edges of the wound, where a drop of blood had already dried and hardened.

“Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Then, were you scared?”

Macy seemed to hesitate, unsure of what to say. As if giving her permission to speak, he gently stroked her cheek. Only then did she speak in a small voice.

“Yes, a little.”

Soon, her eyes filled with tears, and one by one, they fell, despite her efforts to hold them back. A single tear fell, but before she could wipe it away, others followed.

“No, I was scared. I was really scared. Huh, h-huh…”

Macy sobbed quietly, trying to suppress her tears. It seemed like once they started, they couldn’t stop. Rubens hugged her, letting her cry freely, and her tears soaked his shoulder. These were hot, damp tears, long held inside. It was silent yet all the more heart-wrenching for it.

“Don’t regret it like I did.”

Why did Arzena’s words come to mind now? The words about not regretting it.

It was as if she had spoken about Macy having a profound impact on Eren’s life, as if she was not just some fleeting name but someone Eren loved.

‘What nonsense.’