Chapter 57

Occasionally, Cassius Brudenell would think… He does not know if there was a center in this world, though his own center was Evelyn Garneid. That was why she was so important to him. However, it seemed that they did not notice at all.

So when he stumbled upon idiots who talked about Evelyn, he could not pass it up.

“I heard that Count Garneid’s Young Lady is crazy, but I guess she’s more revealing than she looks?”

“What a shame. I should’ve asked for a marriage, too.”

Looking at it roughly, it seems that their family is wealthy, although they played and ate without much power. He could not remember his name, so it was not particularly an exceptional family.

“Arthur, do you want to live your life married to a crazy girl like that?”

Cassius’s eyes narrowed coldly. The familiar yet bizarre emotions rumbled deep in his chest. No… it was more of an impulse than an emotion. He wants to tear these people to shreds alive. If that were the case, then no one would ever put Evelyn’s name in their mouths again.

However, he could not.

It was not because he was afraid of the backlash that their petty parents would utter.

‘…Evelyn would hate it.’

No matter how good a gift was, it was meaningful only if the person concerned liked it.

It has been almost half a year since he had known Evelyn Garneid. After various trials and errors, Cassius knew her quite well. She was so tenderhearted that it was difficult for her to see anyone who had harmed her suffer—even if it was just fair punishment.

Was that all?

Even when he gave her all kinds of expensive gifts, she did not show much liking. In fact, there were certain instances where Evelyn was visibly delighted.

Ophelia.

At every word of her sister, the ungrateful, insignificant illegitimate child, Evelyn used to smile, a smile she never showed himself. Whenever that happened, Cassius had to suppress his urge to twist the neck of Ophelia.

The reason he could not, of course, was Evelynn.

Because Evelyn hates it, and he would never be forgiven by her again. It also meant that the hopes that he would one day win her heart would be shattered, too.

So, now as well…

‘I will have to deal with it out of sight.’

Cassius hid himself in the shadows and quietly learned their faces. Regardless, Evelyn does not even know who they were, so he would be able to deal quietly as long as he does not offend her.

‘…What is Evelyn doing now?’

Naturally, Cassius’ thoughts shifted to the most important woman in the world.

The Imperial Palace was not far from here. Even though he would not be able to go in person, he would be able to call her out.

‘She probably does not like it.’

The bitter thoughts came to mind whenever he thought of how Evelyn would feel.

“Lord Cassius!”

It was Princess Hermia.

Seeing that, Cassius frowned.

Recently, Evelyn and Princess Hermia seemed to have become quite close, but he was also not very happy with this situation.

It would have been better for the Princess to be wary of Evelyn and dislike her like before. Had she done so, then Evelyn may not be able to endure it for too long and returned to the Duke’s residence without staying in the Imperial Palace.

However, it was also him who warned Evelyn for fear that such a thing would happen and invited the Imperial Princes and the Princess to the marriage proposal ceremony.

“Lord, could we for a moment.”

“What’s the matter?”

Uttering so, Cassius did not hide his discomfort.

The Princess gazed at him for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.

“It’s about the Young Lady Garneid… Well, I don’t mind doing it here, though I think the situation will be different.”

“…This way.”

While they were keeping each other at arm’s length, their words became shorter and shorter. Cassius had no intention of showing his respect to the Princess. She was a princess who was struggling to survive somehow because she lost her means of livelihood, anyway. Her exchanges with the Empress also proved that.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“Hmm.”

The Princess let out a sound of her pondering for a moment before opening her mouth.

“You know this, right? That Young Lady hates the Lord.”

“….”

From this moment on, Cassius decided to hate Princess Hermia three times more than he did before.

“That face, it looks like I hit the nail on the head. Young Lady Garneid is stubborn and the Lord doesn’t know how to handle her. But, I have a solution… Aren’t you curious?”

Cassius let out a smirk.

“What do you mean, a solution?”

If it was a simple solution, he would have already won Evelyn’s heart. However, it was Evelyn that did not fall through, even after he tried everything.

There was no way that Hermia, who had just gotten to know Evelyn, could come up with a proper solution.

“It’s simple.”

As Hermia leaned her body toward Cassius, she whispered softly.

“Give it to me.”

“….”

“Young Lady Garneid doesn’t hate the Lord for no reason. She hates you because she’s afraid.”

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“That… What does it have to do with what you just said?”

Hermia laughed softly.

“Break off the engagement.”

“….”

“I’ll take care of the mess, so don’t worry about anything. I’ll also guarantee the Young Lady’s position in the social world.”

“That’s not a solution.”

Cassius sighed coldly. He was curious about what she would say, yet she was just trying to get Evelyn and himself apart.

Although to his surprise, it was the sound of laughter that returned.

“If you really think so, you’re more foolish than you look. Does the Lord think you can win Young Lady Evelyn’s heart in this state?”

“…It’s the same even if I break off the engagement. To make the compulsion to have her by my side disappear, no?”

“No way. I really want to help the Lord.”

At those words, Cassius frowned. Princess Hermia was not a fool. She must have a reason to keep saying these things to him like this.

“What’s the reason?”

Immediately, Hermia answered without any hesitation, “If I help you get what you want, you’ll also help me get what I want.”

A light gleamed in Cassius’ eyes. It was because he finally heard a sound that made sense.

“What do you want, Your Highness?”

“The throne.”

Hermia whispered sweetly. It was a voice that could not be helped because it was so precious, as if the name of the lover was being put on the lips.

“You’re not joking.”

He answered thoughtfully for the first time.

Few people noticed Princess Hermia’s obsession with her imperial power. He would have thought of her as just an arrogant princess who was content with her natural status and power had it not been for her own innumerable informants.

“Of course. Are you going to do it or not?”

“Did it include my marriage with Your Royal Highness?”

“Oh, was that too obvious?”

Asking that, she giggled.

Cassius swallowed a sigh. She left traces of trying to get along with him everywhere, so how could he not notice?

“I’m afraid it’s been a while since I gave up on that. Rather, you’ll have to go through a fair bit of hardship.”

He thought for a moment at her words. Since the Duke’s power had already been transferred to him, it was not that difficult to use his power to help Hermia.

However…

“I don’t move unless I’m certain.”

Hermia’s eyes lit up.

“As expected. Are you saying that you need to get the price first?”

“Yes.”

Cassius nodded his head. He had no intention of pushing Hermia to make her the emperor for nothing.

“The next three months. If you can’t win Young Lady Garneid’s heart, then let’s just say that this didn’t happen. Are you satisfied with this?”

“That’s enough.”

“Great.”

Hearing his words, she smiled contentedly.

“Then, break off the engagement within this week.”

When Cassius did not answer, Hermia’s voice lowered as if warning.

“Do you know Lord, your relationship with the Young Lady was twisted from the start? It’s impossible to recover. You’ve no choice but to break it completely and start all over again.”

“…And, what if it fails?”

Suddenly, Cassius realized. It was the first time he feared failure — with his relationship with Evelyn. Until now, he had never been afraid of anything. The failure was even worse… How could he be afraid when he had never failed?

To her surprise, Hermia laughed as if she had heard something very funny.

“The Lord’s saying something funny. If you fail, then it’s a matter of using force to obtain it. Isn’t it the same now, anyway?”

He did not want that.

Even though the answer filled his throat, Cassius could not get it out of his mouth. It was because there was nothing wrong with Hermia’s words. Yes, the current relationship was actually built up by coercion. Evelyn’s reaction when they were locked in the annex was proof of that.

“…I’ll break off the engagement.”

“Well thought.”

Three days later.

Cassius finally prepared all the necessary documents for the annulment and headed to the Empress’s Palace.

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Regardless, he knew enough about the fact that Evelyn had become the Empress’s handmaiden in order to postpone the marriage. Therefore, if the engagement was broken off, there would not be any reason for her to stay at the Empress Palace, and she would not have to abide by the strange rules of the Empress’ Palace itself either.

‘…She will be happy.’

Upon hearing the news of breaking off the engagement, Cassius felt a strange feeling in his chest as he thought of Evelyn, who would be delighted. It felt aching and painful as if there was something that was wrong with him.

However, Cassius did not see Evelyn getting happy.

It was because the very dawn of the day he visited the Empress’s Palace, Evelyn disappeared without a trace.