Marriage with the Younger Brother of the Man Who Betrayed Me (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 6
Ernant’s voice, coming through the communication orb, carried a faint note of irritation.
He seemed bothered that the connection hadn’t gone through immediately.
I was just as annoyed, but carefully concealed my feelings before replying to him.
“I’m sorry. I was asleep for a moment.”
—Fine, I understand. But how is Martin?
“…There’s nothing worth reporting. He’s the same as always.”
Every time Ernant contacted me, he always asked about the Captain like this.
He wanted to know if the Captain showed any suspicious behavior—specifically, signs of “plotting for the throne.”
Yet the Captain himself was too focused on monster eradication to care about the throne at all.
Ernant, full of suspicion and overactive imagination, constantly worried that his talented younger brother might be eyeing his position.
Back when I genuinely liked Ernant, I used to report every little detail of the Captain’s actions to ease his worries—but I no longer wanted to do that.
Now, I loathed Ernant.
I loathed the man who poisoned me.
Even if I had no intention of wasting my precious life on revenge, I absolutely refused to keep acting for his sake.
So when I gave him a vague report, Ernant pressed me further.
—You say he’s been the same as always? Is that really all you have to report?
“…”
—Report properly, Yulia. Before I send someone down there.
His voice sounded a bit angry.
My half-hearted report had evidently irritated him again.
Though I hated working for him, if he truly sent someone to spy on me and the Captain, it would only cause headaches for me in the end.
Reluctantly, after some internal deliberation, I tossed him one more piece of information.
“We’ve decided to enter the Rift. Just Captain Martin and me—only the two of us.”
—What? Wait, you’re going in alone together?
Ernant sounded unexpectedly surprised.
That surprised me.
I’d assumed he wouldn’t care whether two or three of us entered the Rift.
But contrary to my expectations, Ernant was concerned about me entering the Rift alone with the Captain.
—Isn’t it a bit dangerous to go in just the two of you?
“…Are you worried?”
I barely managed to hide my astonishment as I asked.
Wasn’t it absurd? The man who would try to kill me five years later was now expressing concern for my life.
Yet, absurdly enough, Ernant wasn’t worried I’d be hurt or killed by monsters.
—Of course I’m worried! What if that scheming bastard Martin harbors ulterior motives and tries something on you?
“…”
—If he tries to overpower you while you’re alone together inside the Rift, you won’t be able to resist him.
I nearly sighed out loud in sheer disbelief.
Didn’t he care at all if his own knight got injured or killed by monsters?
Was he more concerned about another man laying hands on a woman he considered his property?
I’d never realized before how repulsively ugly possessiveness could be…
Suppressing the turmoil of shame and anger swirling inside me, I snapped back at him.
“He’s not the type to do something like that.”
—Hmph? Are you defending Martin to my face now?
“I’m not defending him. I’m simply stating the fact that he wouldn’t do such a thing.”
—…
For a while, Ernant’s voice went silent beyond the communication orb.
Just as I was about to say I’d end the call since he seemed to have nothing more to say, Ernant finally spoke again.
—Yulia, your attitude seems oddly different lately… Did Martin pull some trick on you?
“He hasn’t pulled any tricks on me.”
—What sweet words did that scheming bastard use to lure you in…?
“…”
He wasn’t listening to me at all.
Still indulging his overactive imagination, Ernant had already decided on his own that the Captain must have charmed me into joining his side.
It was absurd—the very man who killed me with a smile was now brazenly making baseless assumptions about the man who’d grieved at my death.
Even though I’d initially tried my best to tolerate Ernant’s rudeness, by this point I found it increasingly difficult to control my emotions.
Then, right at that moment, Ernant said something that shattered the last thread of my patience.
—Anyway, absolutely do not enter the dungeon alone together. That’s an order.
“I’m sorry, but according to the Special Law on Rift Management, I must prioritize the orders of my superior, Captain Martin, over Your Majesty’s commands. In all matters concerning the Rift, my superior’s orders take precedence over any other.”
—You dare…!
“I’ll end the call now.”
Before Ernant could unleash his fury, I quickly tapped the communication orb twice and cut off the conversation.
Ernant tried contacting me again through the orb, probably with more to say, but this time I didn’t answer.
The orb kept vibrating for quite a while, finally falling silent after about five minutes.
“Hah…”
Though I’d angrily cut off the call on impulse, now that it was done, a bit of worry crept in.
Did I push back too hard all of a sudden…?
But I quickly dismissed that thought.
I couldn’t possibly send the Captain into the Rift alone just to appease Ernant’s feelings.
Even if I’d acted a bit emotionally, it was still the right decision in the end.
Above all, it was true that Captain Martin’s orders took priority over Ernant’s in Rift-related matters.
Handling Rifts was a matter of utmost importance, one that could determine the fate of the Empire.
That meant, even if I’d come across as arrogant, Ernant couldn’t easily punish me under charges like disobedience to imperial command.
Let him suspect me or send people if he wanted—he had no grounds to accuse me of wrongdoing.
Reassuring myself thus, I pushed the worry aside.
After all, I was one of only three top-tier Awakeners in the entire Empire—a crucial asset to the current regime.
Therefore, even Emperor Ernant couldn’t act against me recklessly.
Perhaps once all the Rifts in the Empire were sealed and I became useless, he might finally decide to deal with my “arrogance”… but then again, he’d tried to kill me even when I wasn’t being arrogant.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue once and closed my eyes.
Remaining still with my eyes shut, I soon drifted off to sleep, and the rising tide of drowsiness neatly erased all my tangled thoughts.
[This is the timeline separator]Crash―!
The communication orb Ernant hurled struck the floor with a loud, shattering crash.
Hearing the noise, the imperial attendants and guards rushed in, only for him to immediately lash out in fury.
“Get out! All of you—stop interfering!”
Normally, he never revealed his emotions, not even before his subordinates—but right now, he had no patience left.
Once the attendants and guards hastily withdrew, leaving the office completely empty, he fumed silently, grinding his teeth in anger.
His mind was filled with only one thought.
Is he daring to disregard me—his own emperor—just because I’m a Non-Awakener…?
Awakeners, those blessed with extraordinary powers,
could be born into any social class, regardless of noble or common blood.
Thus, despite being of unquestionable imperial lineage, Ernant was a Non-Awakener—lacking any supernatural abilities.
Because of this misfortune, he constantly brooded and overthought everything.
If only I’d been born with even a fraction of their power… then neither Martin, nor Yulia, nor anyone else would dare look down on me.
Given the Empire’s current chaos from monster attacks, the Emperor’s influence was notably weak in certain matters—especially those concerning Rifts.
And Ernant, who understood this all too well, found it utterly intolerable.
Abruptly, after gnawing mindlessly on his nails, he murmured in a quiet voice.
“…This can’t go on.”
He couldn’t allow Yulia to keep disregarding him like this.
He began pondering fervently,
more desperately than ever before.
Soon enough, an idea struck him.
He’d found a way to force Yulia back under his control.
“Franz!!”
Ernant immediately pulled the summoning cord to call his aide, Franz.
The aide rushed in, sweating coldly, and bowed deeply before Ernant.
“Y-You called, Your Majesty?”
“Prepare a carriage.”
“Ah, are you planning a brief outing? Then I’ll arrange it quickly―”
“No, I don’t intend to return quickly.”
Confused by those words, the aide looked up, and Ernant elaborated.
“I wish to visit Rift No. 4 in the County of Harkenstain. It will be a long journey—prepare thoroughly.”
Yulia was indeed a powerful Awakener beyond Ernant’s control, but he still held one weapon capable of bending her to his will.
A weapon known as “affection.”
Ernant knew well that Yulia harbored romantic feelings for him.
And that very emotion was the sharpest blade a Non-Awakener like him could wield against an Awakener like Yulia.
Thus, he decided to go see her in person.
To wield “affection” effectively and make her submit, distant communication wouldn’t suffice.
He needed to meet her face-to-face again, share warmth with her.
Only then could he gradually, subtly, and without her even realizing it, make her emotionally dependent on him.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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Yulia is exceptionally intelligent and always finds creative solutions to difficult problems.
Took you so long!! I suspected him when he sneek up on you at the river and finally confirmed my suspicion of him since the Ball!!