“First of all, I’m her fiancé. If you don’t like me, what right do you have to stand by her side?”
“…”
“Why do you bother to keep your friendship with her?”
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. Aloken squinted his eyes and glared at his opponent.
Carl avoided his glare for a moment. His relationship with Fanora was very complicated in many ways.
“…”
Carl thought to himself for a moment and immediately told him. “I understand Lord Aloken’s position. However, I still can’t break my friendship with her in this way.”
“Really?”
“Well, Lady Fanora is your fiancée, not your possession. So if you keep her like this… What was it called? Ah, yes! Control! It’s called control.”
“Keep talking.”
“So if you want me to part away with Lady Fanora, I will ask her opinion next time. In person.” Carl insisted that Fanora should decide on the matter.
A shadow fell on Aloken’s face. There was not even a hint of warmth in his eyes as he tilted his head. “Sir Andras, did you think our relationship was like a friend?”
“Yes?”
Aloken put down the long rifle in his hand to the ground. Then he took a step closer and touched Carl’s shoulder with his index finger. “Since I’ve been nice to you all this time, did I look like your brother?”
“…”
“Or do you believe in the military power of the Andras family and view Duke Jalier as a potential threat?”
“No way, Duke.”
Carl didn’t step back. He just put on a straight face. Then Aloken’s behavior changed from the act of touching him lightly to a rougher gesture.
“Well, of course, it’s not like that, right?”
Aloken suddenly raised his hand and slapped Carl on the cheek. With the dull sound, Carl’s head turned to the right, and his eyes widened. After that, Aloken lowered his voice and spoke to him.
“I’m the Duke of Kasius, and you’re the poor third son who fell apart from not inheriting a title in the family.”
“…”
“It’s a relief though.”
Carl slowly swept his smacked cheek with his hand. When he was slapped, a tingling pain ran through his head.
“At least you seem to understand what would happen if you laid your hand on the Jalier family.”
But Carl stood silently, even though he had been beaten. Carl didn’t fight back at Aloken. To be exact, he couldn’t do that.
“…Even if I, a fool, know what the Duke family like.”
“…”
“My sister always told me to be careful how I should be.”
Carl still had something to say, even if he couldn’t pay back the slap.
“But the head of the family didn’t teach me to live as a duke’s dog.”
“…”
“No, since you’re doing this, I don’t want to do you a favor more.” Carl went on to say to Aloken’s cold face. “I will remain a friend of Lady Fanora. Don’t bother her with such jealousy!”
“You’re really mean, you know. I’ll tolerate it once, but if you keep hitting me like this out of nowhere, I won’t join you for hunting in the future,” said Carl.
Carl laid down the wildest threat he could. Aloken, who had been listening to this, quietly murmured. “I don’t even know who the really bothersome person is.” Aloken closed his eyes lightly.
“I wasn’t going to say this, but I… in my life, I’ve never met a woman as ambitious as Lady Fanora.”
“…”
“I don’t think there will be any more. I can’t help it.”
“What are you going to say?”
“This is what I’m saying. Lord is acting out of jealousy because she’s such a cool person. Come one, don’t take it so badly. Don’t listen to them.”
By the way, Aloken said something during this long conversation.
“Lady ‘Haniel’ from the West.”
“…!”
“Is she well?”
Carl reacted furiously at the mention of that woman’s name. He replied, startled like a man suddenly pricked by a needle. “That…! That… Why are you bringing her suddenly?”
Carl let out a hoarse voice in embarrassment, and Aloken began to smile. It was a subtle and elegant smile.
“Why all of a sudden? You answer a question with a question. I asked first if she was well?”
He acted as if Carl’s clumsy behavior was cute. And Carl, realizing the truth of what he said, frowned. He answered cautiously with a doubtful look.
“She’s alright.”
“Then let me ask one more question.” Aloken raised his index finger in front of him and asked in the same voice as before. “I’m thinking of taking Lady Haniel, whom you cherish, as a hostage. If so, would my words make you think of crawling around like a dog?”
“!”
Carl couldn’t help but reach for those words and impulsively made a move. He put his hand around Aloken’s neck but judging by their expression, it was clear who was more agitated.
“How could you? Why would you do that!”
Aloken almost burst into laughter at his honest response. I couldn’t believe it. This was his weakness.
Aloken, who judged alone, soon struck out his hand. And then he straightened his crumpled collar and said, “If we keep talking like this, the sun will set, and all the foxes will go into their dens. So let’s keep it simple.”
“…”
“I just want one thing. Get out of my fiancée’s sight.”
Carl suddenly closed his mouth. Until now, he had been actively refuting his words.
“…”
Aloken was sure that he would accept his offer. The hostage he held was so weak. The man in front of him was in a position where he couldn’t openly protect the hostage.
“Don’t touch her.”
“It’s up to your actions.”
Carl stared into Aloken’s eyes. Aloken didn’t lie. That meant he would hurt the hostage if Carl misbehaved.
“…”
Carl felt like he was driven to a cliff.
“Lord Aloken…”
In this way, there was no other option. But Carl had one last question he wanted to ask him before deciding. “Do you hate Lady Fanora having close friends that much?”
Aloken tilted his head.
“You haven’t been like this so far.”
“…”
“When I annulled my engagement, you said that while comforting me. ‘There’s no true love in the world anyway, and things like marriage are just transactions, so it’s not a big deal.’”
Carl finally said what he wanted to say.
“Why are you being so greedy? How would Lady Fanora react if she found out you were doing this?”
Aloken picked up the long rifle he had dropped on the ground, chose what to say, then looked at Carl and replied. His eyes looked calm, but above all, they looked firm. “Now she won’t be able to do anything either.”
“…”
“Because she loves me.”
Upon hearing the answer, Carl widened his eyes.
* * *
“…”
Again, the story returns to the park one winter day. After the club meeting, Carl, who had asked Fanora not to contact him anymore, recalled the past momentarily. I’m glad this will be the last one. I won’t bother Lady Fanora.
In a little while, spring will come anyway. After spring, it will be summer. With that short period, all contractual relations between the two accomplices would end, but isn’t it just a little earlier?
“If you were dissatisfied with my orders, you should have told me.”
“…”
“If you did, I would have been a little considerate of you.”
However, Fanora thought differently. She wondered if Carl had built up discomfort inside of him without telling her all this time. At the same time, she was saddened by his attitude of trying to cut ties with her suddenly after not showing any signs of it.
“This makes me feel like I’ve become a bad employer.”
And it was only here that Fanora realized. From some point on, I considered him not an accomplice but a real friend. Otherwise, this situation could not have been so disappointing. Why did she have to keep him by her side when he’s trying to stop her from taking revenge?
“I’m sorry, Lady Fanora.”
“…”
“I have a situation too.”
Besides, Carl was quite stubborn too.
“I understand what you mean. I won’t bother you from now on. Thank you for your hard work, Carl.”
“Still, there’s still a deadline left. If you need it, then—”
“No. Now I have enough strength to stand alone.”
Fanora eventually accepted his will with sad eyes. Carl looked at her, who answered with sincerity.
“Lady Fanora.”
He looked into Fanora’s eyes and contemplated something. Then he opened his mouth. What flowed out of the red-haired man was a short question.
“Actually, there’s something I’ve been curious about for a long time.”
“About what?”
“What?”
“Do you love your fiancé”
A cliche word that’s not much different from the question Fanora once brought up to Aloken. But Fanora didn’t know that Carl would bring up such a topic.
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
“No, why suddenly?”
Fanora put the poisoned letter paper in her pocket and hurriedly waved her hand into the air. “Why did you ask such a stupid question?”
However, Fanora soon discovered the expression of the man standing in front of her. Carl was just waiting for her answer with a calm face. Seeing a man who always smiled, Fanora felt that she shouldn’t avoid answering for some reason.
Do I love Aloken? Come to think of it, what kind of person was Aloken to me? That arrogant, rough-behaved, unpredictable, and cold man…
“…”
Fanora muttered for a while, then raised her head. Her expression, facing Carl, was smiling with a somewhat dejected atmosphere.
“…”
In fact, Fanora went on a few dates with Aloken over the winter. It was because he had visited her several times in a weakened state due to her injuries. Whenever he came to see her, he brought a bunch of presents. He made eye contact with her, talked to her, and always treated her warmly. Thanks to that, she didn’t take revenge but laughed a lot from the bottom of her heart.
“I am.”
Now she was no longer tickled by Aloken’s courtship and instead felt secure whenever he looked at her. She even felt lonely when she was away from Aloken.
“…Actually, I’m more confident when someone else asks me such a question.”
“…”
“I guess I love him.”
So, Fanora finally came to a conclusion after a long time.
“Is that so?”
There was no more hesitation in Fanora’s straight eyes. Seeing that, Carl smiled vaguely. It was also a bitter smile for some reason.
“You seem to be happy.”
In fact, whether Carl would follow Aloken’s orders or not depended on her words. If Fanora had said she didn’t love him here, something would have changed.
“Then it would be more appropriate for me to step back.”
“Yes…?”
“Um, that’s what society is like. Even if it’s not a problem with my personality, they will gossip when Lady gets close to someone of the opposite sex.”
“It’s just people who don’t know anything.”
“Hahaha. But is it true that there are quite a few people like that? Right, our head of household also said something strange.”
Carl realized that she really liked Aloken. At the same time, he was happy that she had given up her cruel revenge. So, he decided to walk out cleanly.
“I don’t want to be a nuisance to Lady Fanora anymore.”
“…”
“Anyway, it’s a good thing. From next year I’ll be very busy as the vice commander. I guess it wasn’t much help anyway. Then, can you send me the holy relic by mail later?”
Fanora shook her head at his suggestion. Sending one of the three holy relics in this world by mail? You have to say something that makes sense.
“No. I will bring it to you with my own hands.”
Thus, they set up an appointment for the last meeting.
“First of all, I’m her fiancé. If you don’t like me, what right do you have to stand by her side?”
“…”
“Why do you bother to keep your friendship with her?”
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. Aloken squinted his eyes and glared at his opponent.
Carl avoided his glare for a moment. His relationship with Fanora was very complicated in many ways.
“…”
Carl thought to himself for a moment and immediately told him. “I understand Lord Aloken’s position. However, I still can’t break my friendship with her in this way.”
“Really?”
“Well, Lady Fanora is your fiancée, not your possession. So if you keep her like this… What was it called? Ah, yes! Control! It’s called control.”
“Keep talking.”
“So if you want me to part away with Lady Fanora, I will ask her opinion next time. In person.” Carl insisted that Fanora should decide on the matter.
A shadow fell on Aloken’s face. There was not even a hint of warmth in his eyes as he tilted his head. “Sir Andras, did you think our relationship was like a friend?”
“Yes?”
Aloken put down the long rifle in his hand to the ground. Then he took a step closer and touched Carl’s shoulder with his index finger. “Since I’ve been nice to you all this time, did I look like your brother?”
“…”
“Or do you believe in the military power of the Andras family and view Duke Jalier as a potential threat?”
“No way, Duke.”
Carl didn’t step back. He just put on a straight face. Then Aloken’s behavior changed from the act of touching him lightly to a rougher gesture.
“Well, of course, it’s not like that, right?”
Aloken suddenly raised his hand and slapped Carl on the cheek. With the dull sound, Carl’s head turned to the right, and his eyes widened. After that, Aloken lowered his voice and spoke to him.
“I’m the Duke of Kasius, and you’re the poor third son who fell apart from not inheriting a title in the family.”
“…”
“It’s a relief though.”
Carl slowly swept his smacked cheek with his hand. When he was slapped, a tingling pain ran through his head.
“At least you seem to understand what would happen if you laid your hand on the Jalier family.”
But Carl stood silently, even though he had been beaten. Carl didn’t fight back at Aloken. To be exact, he couldn’t do that.
“…Even if I, a fool, know what the Duke family like.”
“…”
“My sister always told me to be careful how I should be.”
Carl still had something to say, even if he couldn’t pay back the slap.
“But the head of the family didn’t teach me to live as a duke’s dog.”
“…”
“No, since you’re doing this, I don’t want to do you a favor more.” Carl went on to say to Aloken’s cold face. “I will remain a friend of Lady Fanora. Don’t bother her with such jealousy!”
“You’re really mean, you know. I’ll tolerate it once, but if you keep hitting me like this out of nowhere, I won’t join you for hunting in the future,” said Carl.
Carl laid down the wildest threat he could. Aloken, who had been listening to this, quietly murmured. “I don’t even know who the really bothersome person is.” Aloken closed his eyes lightly.
“I wasn’t going to say this, but I… in my life, I’ve never met a woman as ambitious as Lady Fanora.”
“…”
“I don’t think there will be any more. I can’t help it.”
“What are you going to say?”
“This is what I’m saying. Lord is acting out of jealousy because she’s such a cool person. Come one, don’t take it so badly. Don’t listen to them.”
By the way, Aloken said something during this long conversation.
“Lady ‘Haniel’ from the West.”
“…!”
“Is she well?”
Carl reacted furiously at the mention of that woman’s name. He replied, startled like a man suddenly pricked by a needle. “That…! That… Why are you bringing her suddenly?”
Carl let out a hoarse voice in embarrassment, and Aloken began to smile. It was a subtle and elegant smile.
“Why all of a sudden? You answer a question with a question. I asked first if she was well?”
He acted as if Carl’s clumsy behavior was cute. And Carl, realizing the truth of what he said, frowned. He answered cautiously with a doubtful look.
“She’s alright.”
“Then let me ask one more question.” Aloken raised his index finger in front of him and asked in the same voice as before. “I’m thinking of taking Lady Haniel, whom you cherish, as a hostage. If so, would my words make you think of crawling around like a dog?”
“!”
Carl couldn’t help but reach for those words and impulsively made a move. He put his hand around Aloken’s neck but judging by their expression, it was clear who was more agitated.
“How could you? Why would you do that!”
Aloken almost burst into laughter at his honest response. I couldn’t believe it. This was his weakness.
Aloken, who judged alone, soon struck out his hand. And then he straightened his crumpled collar and said, “If we keep talking like this, the sun will set, and all the foxes will go into their dens. So let’s keep it simple.”
“…”
“I just want one thing. Get out of my fiancée’s sight.”
Carl suddenly closed his mouth. Until now, he had been actively refuting his words.
“…”
Aloken was sure that he would accept his offer. The hostage he held was so weak. The man in front of him was in a position where he couldn’t openly protect the hostage.
“Don’t touch her.”
“It’s up to your actions.”
Carl stared into Aloken’s eyes. Aloken didn’t lie. That meant he would hurt the hostage if Carl misbehaved.
“…”
Carl felt like he was driven to a cliff.
“Lord Aloken…”
In this way, there was no other option. But Carl had one last question he wanted to ask him before deciding. “Do you hate Lady Fanora having close friends that much?”
Aloken tilted his head.
“You haven’t been like this so far.”
“…”
“When I annulled my engagement, you said that while comforting me. ‘There’s no true love in the world anyway, and things like marriage are just transactions, so it’s not a big deal.’”
Carl finally said what he wanted to say.
“Why are you being so greedy? How would Lady Fanora react if she found out you were doing this?”
Aloken picked up the long rifle he had dropped on the ground, chose what to say, then looked at Carl and replied. His eyes looked calm, but above all, they looked firm. “Now she won’t be able to do anything either.”
“…”
“Because she loves me.”
Upon hearing the answer, Carl widened his eyes.
* * *
“…”
Again, the story returns to the park one winter day. After the club meeting, Carl, who had asked Fanora not to contact him anymore, recalled the past momentarily. I’m glad this will be the last one. I won’t bother Lady Fanora.
In a little while, spring will come anyway. After spring, it will be summer. With that short period, all contractual relations between the two accomplices would end, but isn’t it just a little earlier?
“If you were dissatisfied with my orders, you should have told me.”
“…”
“If you did, I would have been a little considerate of you.”
However, Fanora thought differently. She wondered if Carl had built up discomfort inside of him without telling her all this time. At the same time, she was saddened by his attitude of trying to cut ties with her suddenly after not showing any signs of it.
“This makes me feel like I’ve become a bad employer.”
And it was only here that Fanora realized. From some point on, I considered him not an accomplice but a real friend. Otherwise, this situation could not have been so disappointing. Why did she have to keep him by her side when he’s trying to stop her from taking revenge?
“I’m sorry, Lady Fanora.”
“…”
“I have a situation too.”
Besides, Carl was quite stubborn too.
“I understand what you mean. I won’t bother you from now on. Thank you for your hard work, Carl.”
“Still, there’s still a deadline left. If you need it, then—”
“No. Now I have enough strength to stand alone.”
Fanora eventually accepted his will with sad eyes. Carl looked at her, who answered with sincerity.
“Lady Fanora.”
He looked into Fanora’s eyes and contemplated something. Then he opened his mouth. What flowed out of the red-haired man was a short question.
“Actually, there’s something I’ve been curious about for a long time.”
“About what?”
“What?”
“Do you love your fiancé”
A cliche word that’s not much different from the question Fanora once brought up to Aloken. But Fanora didn’t know that Carl would bring up such a topic.
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
“No, why suddenly?”
Fanora put the poisoned letter paper in her pocket and hurriedly waved her hand into the air. “Why did you ask such a stupid question?”
However, Fanora soon discovered the expression of the man standing in front of her. Carl was just waiting for her answer with a calm face. Seeing a man who always smiled, Fanora felt that she shouldn’t avoid answering for some reason.
Do I love Aloken? Come to think of it, what kind of person was Aloken to me? That arrogant, rough-behaved, unpredictable, and cold man…
“…”
Fanora muttered for a while, then raised her head. Her expression, facing Carl, was smiling with a somewhat dejected atmosphere.
“…”
In fact, Fanora went on a few dates with Aloken over the winter. It was because he had visited her several times in a weakened state due to her injuries. Whenever he came to see her, he brought a bunch of presents. He made eye contact with her, talked to her, and always treated her warmly. Thanks to that, she didn’t take revenge but laughed a lot from the bottom of her heart.
“I am.”
Now she was no longer tickled by Aloken’s courtship and instead felt secure whenever he looked at her. She even felt lonely when she was away from Aloken.
“…Actually, I’m more confident when someone else asks me such a question.”
“…”
“I guess I love him.”
So, Fanora finally came to a conclusion after a long time.
“Is that so?”
There was no more hesitation in Fanora’s straight eyes. Seeing that, Carl smiled vaguely. It was also a bitter smile for some reason.
“You seem to be happy.”
In fact, whether Carl would follow Aloken’s orders or not depended on her words. If Fanora had said she didn’t love him here, something would have changed.
“Then it would be more appropriate for me to step back.”
“Yes…?”
“Um, that’s what society is like. Even if it’s not a problem with my personality, they will gossip when Lady gets close to someone of the opposite sex.”
“It’s just people who don’t know anything.”
“Hahaha. But is it true that there are quite a few people like that? Right, our head of household also said something strange.”
Carl realized that she really liked Aloken. At the same time, he was happy that she had given up her cruel revenge. So, he decided to walk out cleanly.
“I don’t want to be a nuisance to Lady Fanora anymore.”
“…”
“Anyway, it’s a good thing. From next year I’ll be very busy as the vice commander. I guess it wasn’t much help anyway. Then, can you send me the holy relic by mail later?”
Fanora shook her head at his suggestion. Sending one of the three holy relics in this world by mail? You have to say something that makes sense.
“No. I will bring it to you with my own hands.”
Thus, they set up an appointment for the last meeting.
