Slap—

The sharp sound of friction echoed across the first-floor lobby. The company employees who were busy with their tasks, as well as the guests who had come to visit, looked at Lily in shock as she slapped Fredrick’s cheek.

“P-President.”

Robert was no exception. As Robert, who was rarely flustered, tried to approach, Fredrick raised his hand to stop him. Then, he wiped his burning cheek with that hand and looked down at Lily. His eyes, shrouded in darkness, were fierce.

“I didn’t know you had a habit of hitting people.”

His monotonous voice without any inflection was chilling, but Lily did not falter or back down. Rather, she glared at him even more fiercely and parted her lips.

“I also didn’t know you were such an unreasonable and rotten person. How could you… how could you…!”

The more she thought about what Fredrick had done, the more dumbfounded and angry she became, her words getting stuck in her throat. Feeling powerless that she could only slap the face of the scoundrel who had desecrated her father’s grave, her eyes also became hot with tears.

Not wanting to cry pathetically in front of Fredrick, Lily bit her lip to hold back her tears. She bit down so hard that the wound that had just healed opened again, but she didn’t care.

“Why… did you do such a thing?”

Lily had no intention of understanding or forgiving him, no matter what reason Fredrick gave, but she still wanted to know. Why, for what reason, did he dig up a dead person’s resting place? She was so curious about what was going on in his head.

“Is this revenge for me not choosing you yesterday?”

Fredrick had shown interest in her father’s grave long before. So it didn’t seem like he had done such a crazy thing simply out of revenge, but she couldn’t think of any other reason, so she asked.

At the prickly question, Fredrick smirked and leaned his upper body towards her. As he unnecessarily closed the distance, Lily flinched and stiffened her shoulders. The terrible memory of him trying to do something strange while talking about children came to mind.

Surely he wouldn’t do anything weird with so many eyes watching. Not only the company employees but also other guests were present.

Lily tried to reassure her anxious heart and firmly planted her feet on the ground, which were unconsciously trying to take a step back. She put strength into her trembling hands, intending to push him away if necessary.

“It’s not revenge.”

Fredrick whispered in her ear as if rubbing his cheek against hers.

“If I simply wanted revenge, it wouldn’t have ended with just that.”

His words were tantamount to admitting that he was the one who had dug up her father’s grave, and Lily’s eyes widened. The hot tears that had been precariously gathered in the corners of her eyes flowed down with the anger that surged to the top of her head.

“Are you… still human after doing that?”

Her lips trembled as she spoke those words. Lily glared at Fredrick with eyes that trembled even more, but he remained calm. He only looked down at Lily with indifferent eyes, not feeling any guilt.

Seeing his brazen face reminded her of the miserable first night of their marriage, and her anger exploded. The string of reason she had been holding onto snapped completely, and Lily’s left hand rose high.

However, instead of slapping his cheek, her hand was caught. Lily tried to break free, but it was in vain. No matter how much she struggled, Fredrick didn’t budge. Instead, he laughed as if Lily’s writhing was ridiculous and mercilessly clawed at her pride.

What made Lily even more miserable was that this situation was similar to their relationship. It was wretched to see her own situation overlapping with the present, where she could do nothing even if her husband did unreasonable and strange things.

“…We agreed not to interfere with each other.”

Lily glared at him with vengeful eyes and parted her trembling lips.

“We agreed not to interfere with each other’s work… Why are you doing this to me! What did I do wrong for you to do this!”

Her resentful voice echoed miserably. It was enough to startle a guest who had just opened the door and entered, making them turn around and leave.

“Even if I did something wrong… this is not right. If you want to take out your anger, do it on me. Why are you tormenting an innocent person? Why, why…!”

Seeing Lily screaming with a voice mixed with sobs, the people around her began to whisper.

“I wonder what the president did to his wife…?”

“I know, right.”

Even the company employees who had unconditionally taken Fredrick’s side, thinking it was all Lily’s fault, began to have a change of heart one by one. Fredrick’s eyebrows rose slightly at the sound of the employees whispering. He seemed more bothered by people’s whispering than Lily’s loud screaming.

“I need to hear the reason.”

Irritation began to seep into his eyes as he looked at Lily.

“Why did you dig up my father’s gra—!”

As Lily tried to bring up that topic, Fredrick grabbed her arm and pulled her strongly. Her center of gravity collapsed helplessly at the powerful force. Lily’s body, which had accidentally fallen into his arms, stiffened like a log.

“Let go of me right n—!”

“It would be best for you to stay still, wife.”

As Lily came to her senses late and tried to scream, Fredrick wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer to his body, speaking in a low voice.

“If you keep getting on my nerves here… then even I don’t know what I’ll do.”

His voice, which pierced her eardrums, sent shivers down her spine like nails scratching a chalkboard. The threats Fredrick had made over the years came to mind one by one, along with her mother’s face. It was natural since he had always used her mother as a hostage.

Thinking of her sick mother, the anger that had erupted like an active volcano subsided a little. Fear and worry filled that space, and emotions were projected in her trembling green eyes. Even so, Fredrick chuckled softly at the sight of her still glaring at him defiantly.

“Robert.”

Fredrick pulled Lily even closer to him and spoke to his loyal assistant.

“It seems I’ll have to spend the entire afternoon trying to appease my wife, who is thoroughly upset, so cancel the remaining schedule.”

Judging by his words alone, he sounded like a caring husband who sincerely thought of his wife, making Lily smile wryly. Yes, this was the kind of person he was. The memory of marrying him thinking he was a gentleman left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“As expected of the president, you’re so affectionate.”

Those who didn’t know what Fredrick had done praised him. When a husband is praised, a wife should be happy, but Lily wasn’t pleased at all. In fact, she felt even more unpleasant than when she was directly insulted.

Lily wanted to tell them in detail what a bastard Fredrick Benjamin was, but she held back because it would only be like spitting on her own face. She didn’t know what Fredrick, who had completely lost his mind, would do. If he was someone who could recklessly dig up his wife’s father’s grave, what couldn’t he do?

It was a famous saying from a book. It was also a common phrase people used.

Lily fully agreed with those words and pushed against Fredrick’s chest. She thought he would resist this time too, but he readily stepped back. Although he was still holding her arm, there was enough distance for her to breathe.

“I’ll take care of my own mood, so don’t worry about it and do what you have to do.”

Fredrick curled up the corners of his lips and smiled hypocritically.

“Knowing that my wife is in such a bad mood, how could I possibly work?”

He looked so pretentious as he said he wouldn’t be able to work even if he wanted to, making her stomach churn. Feeling like all the delicious food she had eaten with Herald would come up, Lily covered her mouth with her hand and turned her head away.

“I’m still worried about sending you back alone, so let’s go back together.”

A cold and creepy hand rested on her shoulder.

“I have something to do when we return to the mansion.”

At his added words, Lily turned to look at Fredrick with a sharp turn of her head. Surely he wasn’t going to do what he couldn’t do last night. The devil who met her terrified green eyes smiled eerily.

It was nothing short of an affirmation. The color completely drained from Lily’s face as she confirmed the truth. She had to say no, tell him not to do it, but her frightened voice was tightly hidden and wouldn’t come out.

“Then let’s go.”

Fredrick was about to turn around with his arm wrapped around Lily’s shoulders as she opened and closed her mouth like a carp.

“Get your hands off her.”

At the sound of a deep and heavy voice, like darkness that devoured everything, Lily was startled and turned her head.

“…!”

Her green eyes that discovered Herald widened beyond their limit. Fredrick also looked at him with a slightly perplexed expression, furrowing his brows.

The onlookers were all surprised and stared at Herald, who had suddenly intervened in the fight.

Herald, who had strode over, forcefully removed Fredrick’s hand from Lily’s shoulder. The hand that wouldn’t budge an inch when Lily tried to shake it off fell off so easily. Judging by the crumpling of Fredrick’s face, it seemed that none of his will was contained in it.

“Even if you’re a married couple, you shouldn’t forcefully take a woman who says no, Viscount Benjamin.”

Herald smiled brightly and spoke. His lips were smiling, but his eyes looking at Fredrick were fierce. If looks could stab, he would have stabbed him countless times, but Fredrick was not shaken at all.

“You’re like a prince from a fairy tale. A prince who has come to rescue a princess in danger.”

Rather, he smiled as if he found the situation interesting, lifting the corners of his lips. His light brown eyes that held Herald sparkled innocently like a child’s.

“In fairy tales, it’s usually a coincidence when the prince discovers the princess in danger… I’m very curious if it was also a coincidence that the Count came here.”