North x Northwest

Chapter 326

Enzo, who had been staring at Mireille without knowing what to do, looked up at Ed.

“H… how did this happen?”

Lil, however, intervened before Ed could answer.

“He tried to molest me. How filthy. I thought the Duke of Mireille had a wife and son, so I am completely baffled as to why he did this to me… What are all those flowers for? It is making me uncomfortable.”

Enzo’s eyes widened so much that they seemed to almost pop out.

“…Really?!..”

Before they knew it, the rest of the onlookers, who had been passing the stairs and stood in front of the door, were now buzzing. Even Ed seemed surprised by the fact that she publicly declared that the Duke had tried to molest her. Lil then lifted the red, swollen back of her right hand as if to show it to their audience.

“I only hit his chin lightly when he deliberately pressed his lips towards me. I never expected that he would fall to the point where he could not even speak. If I had known that the Duke would be this weak, I would have held back a little.”

As panic struck him, drops of sweat appeared on Enzo’s forehead like rain. Meanwhile, his master was still unable to regain his voice.

“Oh, no… what to do…”

“Enzo, take good care of him, for your master seems to have gotten a bit old.”

Lil grabbed Ed’s arm and walked out of the room. Roahn’s soldiers surrounded them, but the audience’s curious eyes remained persistent.

‘Somehow, it feels like everything’s ruined… At this rate, the rumours will reach Sesbron before we do…’

Lil scanned the crowd to see if she could spot a familiar face, but there was none. She was in a hurry to leave this sight as quickly as possible, but she couldn’t hasten Ed’s pace. She could only support him as best she could.

The moment they reached their room, the door was slammed shut, making it impossible for the soldiers to follow any further.

Initially, Lil wanted to shoot at him right away when they entered the door. However, taking his condition into consideration, she first pushed him towards the table, knowing that his leg wouldn’t hold out if he had to stand for too long.

Ed, walking backwards as she pushed him, eventually sat down on the table. In retrospect, her action also benefited her, as they were now on eye level. Lil crossed her arms and began her interrogation.

“What did you do?”

“…What?”

“Did you announce my name to the government post here in Simena?”

“Liloa, you said you wanted to live as you were born. The reason you’ve kept your name hidden is because of me. You’re worried that I might get caught up in something…”

“You almost died because of me… you!”

“And as a result you have to bear the disgrace people bestow upon you. I never wanted you to just stand behind me while you’re being exposed to shame in the first place, how long do I have to stand back and endure it? Do you think I have no clue about how hard you’re trying not to leave any traces of yourself on me? I won’t allow this anymore. It’s okay.”

“I said I would think about it. Couldn’t you have been a bit more patient, why did you decide this on your own?”

Ed looked away from her and exhaled calmly.

“If you’re going to get angry, go on get angry.”

“..?!”

Unlike Lil, who was enraged by his words, Ed’s expression remained collected. It was the attitude of someone willing to endure anything. Ed had never been this persistent in front of her. Moreover, there was nothing to gain from questioning a man who openly declared he was proud of what he did. Lil’s heart was filled with inexpressible frustration.

“But before we fight, I want to know if you’re okay.”

“…Why?”

“Because that bastard did something preposterous to you.”

Lil touched her forehead.

‘That, too, is a problem. What a mess.’

She spoke honestly.

“It’s annoying. I actually feel really dirty.”

“What do you want to do?”

“What do I want to do? What can I do? It’s not like I can just kill him… Luck is on his side somehow… Still, I chipped his chin, so it’s okay for now.”

“Is that really enough?”

“Enough? You also hit his neck and wrists. I don’t think he’ll be able to use his hands for a while.”

“So, should I say it’s a good thing that your hand is a bit swollen right now? Or…”

“I’m fine. It’s actually the first time I could hit him as hard as I did today… Rather, I’m just more appalled by his words and those creepy bouquets…”

Ed, who was still looking anywhere but her, nodded.

“It was certainly different from what I expected.”

“That’s what I was going to say. That bastard comes out of nowhere and does something absurd, and we don’t even know why, right? So why would you expose me when we don’t even know what’s going to happen from this point onwards?”

As Lil tried to get back to the point, Ed gave an unexpected answer.

“I’ll tell you why. The Duke said he’s still your fiancé, hence the flowers.”

“…What?”

Her narrowed eyes looked straight at him.

“I guess he was planning to propose marriage.”

“What the hell? What were you two talking about exactly?”

“It’s literally what I just said. He said ‘Her fiancé wants to meet his fiancée. Do you need any further explanation?’ And that’s why he wanted to meet you.”

“..?!”

Lil gasped before pursing her lips. She couldn’t get her voice to come out.

‘What the hell?’

“I think…”

Ed stopped talking after seeing Lil’s shocked face. Lil was clearly beyond embarrassed and barely managed to keep up with the absurdity.

“…Say… it.”

“…Perhaps the Duke intends to apply to His Majesty for an annulment of his current marriage. He may be planning to use the engagement he had with you four or five years ago as an excuse to reason with His Majesty. Saying that he could make you a duchess.”

In her daze, Lil suddenly remembered something and said the first thing that came to mind.

“…Because Venua is looking for me.”

“Exactly…”

“For a child.”

“Is the Prince Regent infertile?”

“I… don’t know.”

Although Lil said she didn’t know, deep down she could affirm Ed’s words.

‘Otherwise, Venua’s desperation cannot be explained… Shit… I barely know or understand what’s going on… Invalidate his marriage? I never wanted to have anything to do with such a troublesome matter.’

Ed looked at her again as though their problems hadn’t ended yet, so Lil asked out of desperation.

“What else do you have to tell me?”

“…Just know that I never intended for our conversation to flow in this direction, nor that I’m happy to discuss this topic with you…”

“What is it?”

“According to the news that came through Sesbron, the Archduke of Obernyu, who is said to be ill, is strangely frequenting mistresses…”

Lil frowned reflexively.

“Then, what about the Archduchess?”

“The Archduchess has only given birth to a daughter.”

“Why on earth is everyone like this? Is there something going on in the family? Just tell the Archduchess’ daughter to take over!”

Lil couldn’t overcome the psychological burden and rubbed her face roughly. Her cheeks and nose were crushed in her palms and pushed up and down. After waiting for her to calm down, Ed continued.

“Liloa. Do you remember the second time I met the Prince Regent?*”

“What you told me in the forest?”

“That’s right. At that time, I casually mentioned the Princess of Sassel, but the Prince Regent snapped. I said I was just concerned about the princess’s health, and when I told him that I knew a good doctor specialist in treating women, he cut me off so hastily that I couldn’t even finish the sentence. Of course, it may be because he simply wasn’t comfortable talking about it, but it made me think of something else. Maybe he thought I might be able to find something out about the princess’s physical condition…”

“…For example, the fact that, contrary to popular rumours, she is not the infertile one?”

As she finished her sentence, Ed, grinning, nodded at her.

“Furthermore, I personally let him realise the humiliation he would suffer if he didn’t reveal his identity right away. I told him he had to undergo a trial with flogging as a possible outcome, but even so, he didn’t budge. How can a person as proud as the Prince Regent remain quiet when being threatened with flogging? It’s probably because he’s preoccupied with something even more shameful than that.”

“That’s right, he’s not the kind of person who just endures something like that. Also, even after his identity was revealed to both me and you, he didn’t make a fuss and instead just accepted he was being locked up. He could’ve used the royal guards to kidnap me again or something like that. In other words, Venua travelled to Roahn discreetly and without telling anyone for a reason. Why? …Because if it became known that he had put in this much effort, people would definitely wonder why…”

Lil and Ed nodded at the same time. Their reasoning gradually interlocked like clockwork.

The long-winded story that began with Ed being sent to the southern Sea of ​​Ingres and ended here in Simena was finally unravelling.

“With Mireille making a move today, declaring he wants to resume your engagement, it’s clear that the Prince Regent is infertile. And since he has probably received an official diagnosis, the Archduke of Obernyu is belatedly trying to have another child. The Archduke doesn’t seem to have any intention of abdicating to his infertile eldest son. That’s why your brother was trying to find you. And Judging from his obsession with pure bloodlines, he might be…”

“…Planning to adopt my child as his own…”

– – – – –

Reference:

“…Do you remember the second time I met the Prince Regent?..” = Chapter 296 – 298, volume 8.