Ludmila thought Kedilen would certainly be angry. There was no doubt about it.

Kedilen cherished his sister as much as his own life, and that sister always reported to her brother whenever something happened.

This exasperating structure had repeatedly troubled Ludmila, and she thought this time would be no different.

Her sister had been humiliated in front of people, no less. Moreover, the culprit was Aden,

Duke Habertz, who had recently brought shame upon her. Naturally, his anger would be indescribable.

Logically, that anger should have been directed at Aden, but ironically, it was aimed at Ludmila, who had tried to stop the situation.

Unlike the external assessment of him being kind and deep, he might not have been able to get angry at Aden due to his strong petty tendencies.

Or perhaps Celia, who pathologically despised Ludmila, had described the situation in a way favorable to herself.

Whatever the case, it didn’t change the fact that all the tyranny poured on Ludmila was the doing of the Erdi bloodline.

“I must have told you many times. Don’t mess with my sister. I said she’s not someone a lowly person like you can look down upon.”

What a terrible sibling love. Ludmila didn’t personally respect Celia, but whenever she saw Kedilen’s behavior, she couldn’t help but think it was remarkable.

How did she manage to manipulate her younger brother, who was only a few years apart, to become such a blindly devoted sister-lover?

And not just anyone, but Kedilen.

Ludmila lowered the palm she had been holding against her reddened cheek. It was slightly torn, with a small amount of blood forming.

Did he hit her with a hand wearing a ring? He was a man who usually showed excessive consideration, deliberately trying to avoid leaving scars on her face.

Was the fact that he had made his sister a laughingstock so shocking that it made him forget even that?

“Is this how you repay the kindness of trying to make you a person worthy of the Erdi name, squeezing out time I don’t have?”

The rough loosening of his tie and his reddened face clearly showed the anger he was feeling.

But something was off.

She knew that Kedilen usually cherished Celia, but she had never seen him this agitated before.

What could have provoked him? As Ludmila was connecting her thoughts, the bag he had brought came into her view.

A morning newspaper peeking out from the not fully closed bag. That’s it.

Anger at hearing unexpected news from a foreign land. The change in how people would view him because of it.

At the same time, frustration at his plans being disrupted.

Celia was just an excuse in the end.

No, more like the spark that lit the fuse. The real reason was something else.

With that thought, getting slapped once or twice by Kedilen didn’t seem like much.

It would be far better than being pinned down and roughly handled by that man.

The fact that a week’s effort hadn’t been in vain brought a sense of elation. But she couldn’t show it.

Ludmila once again put on the mask she had been wearing since the moment she realized her relationship with this man could never improve.

Lifeless, dry eyes. Slowly straightening up, Ludmila calmly faced the furious Kedilen.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

She always gave the same answer because there was no better solution than this.

Nothing was more foolish than baring one’s teeth at a man with strong pride.

Knowing this, Ludmila had always bowed first.

Even though it wasn’t her fault, even if it was anger based on the petty pride of a man with only a decent appearance, she simply apologized.

Today was no different.

If she hadn’t seen the morning newspaper in his bag, she might have unknowingly said something else.

But now, faced with the results of her efforts, she felt like she could apologize ten times over without caring.

“Always the same answer, the same expression. Ludmila. You never change. You always just look at me with those dry eyes as if I’m insignificant. Trying to maintain dignity and class even in front of me when you should be groveling in a manner befitting your vulgar blood…”

Kedilen trailed off, frowning as he rubbed his face dry.

“Do you know how contemptible you look in my eyes?”

This too was nothing more than baseless blame-shifting. The current Ludmila was almost entirely a creation of Kedilen.

Maintain dignity and class, revere nobility and purity. He even desired the image of a perfect lady of the house.

Yet now, picking on that was just creating an excuse to be angry.

Ludmila was about to apologize again, but Kedilen moved first.

The sight of him heading towards the wardrobe while taking off his shirt was terribly familiar to her. It wasn’t just déjà vu.

It was exactly the scene she had faced before she died. As if to confirm Ludmila’s thoughts, Kedilen opened the wardrobe door and took out a golf club.

Kedilen’s pupils were dilated as he turned around. His eyes no longer held anger.

There was even a strange delight in his posture as he held the golf club, like someone waiting for something.

And this once again made Ludmila feel the terror of death.

‘Why….’

Even though the time of her death hadn’t yet come, Kedilen had taken out the golf club.

I’m going to die. The intuition she had felt that day flashed through Ludmila’s mind.

“I’ll teach you, Ludmila. That begging shamelessly for your life suits you better than such pride.”

The action was quicker than she thought. The moment she judged it dangerous, Ludmila immediately turned around.

As soon as she opened the closed door, Ludmila ran down the corridor, leaving Kedilen’s shouts behind her.

She had no time to check if Kedilen was chasing after her or not. The fear that stopping now could mean instant death engulfed her mind.

Moreover, it was a death she had experienced once. Knowing that pain, Ludmila’s fleeing steps were even more desperate.

Leaving behind the gazes of the servants, Ludmila’s eyes, as she ran, were tinged with bewilderment. Could fate really exist?

Despite running along the path visible before her eyes, the place she arrived at was the familiar entrance.

Following the memory of that day replaying in her mind, she raised her gaze to where the chandelier was emitting a dazzling light.

“Ludmila!”

A voice calling her name echoed from afar. There was nowhere left to run.

After all, this must be her fate. The death and noise from that day filled her ears. Drenched in fear, Ludmila found it difficult even to breathe.

The scattered light seemed to shatter into pieces and pour down over her head.

At the moment when Ludmila’s body, no longer able to endure, swayed and collapsed.

“Are you alright?”

There was an arm gently wrapping around her waist as she was about to fall to the floor.

Raising her blurred gaze, she was met with the color of a beautiful wheat field spread out before her.

“…Why are you here?”

Faced with this unrealistic scene, Ludmila murmured slowly.

The owner of the arm supporting her smiled brightly, unlike her question.

“Clothes.”

Ludmila’s brow, finely creased in confusion, still held the bewilderment at this surreal scene.

“I said I’d compensate you, so I came to give it. But…”

Aden, trailing off, slowly raised his head to look ahead. What was reflected in his golden eyes was a man with a dull face looking at them with surprised eyes.

“It doesn’t seem like a particularly good atmosphere to discuss compensation.”

As the smile faded, what was revealed was the distorted anger of a predator eyeing its prey.

Eyes stationed throughout the vast mansion converged on one spot. The mistress who had collapsed at the entrance and the black-haired beast supporting her.

The master of the house holding a golf club, putting the final punctuation mark on this strange combination.

The servants, oppressed by the air of pervasive silence, dared not move rashly.

Kedilen keenly noticed that this atmosphere and air were more disadvantageous to him than anyone else.

Doubt and suspicion were as difficult to erase as the dust accumulated on a table that had passed through uncountable years.

Most of the servants knew that the relationship between him and Ludmila was not as affectionate as it appeared outwardly.

Even without issuing a gag order, those with a good sense of discretion didn’t gossip.

Even if some did spread rumors, it was no trouble to cover up the stories from the mouths of lowly people as mere gossip.

But this kind of rumor was problematic.

‘Why did she run away from there!’

He had only intended to scare her a bit, but Ludmila suddenly bolting from the room was unexpected.

In his haste to chase after her, he hadn’t even realized he was still holding the golf club.

To make matters worse, he was caught by a lowly freeman who wasn’t even part of the mansion staff, leaving no way out.

“What brings you here, Your Excellency?”

“Before I answer that question, could you explain the object in your hand?”

The direct question pierced like a sharp fang.

As the conversation began, the quick-witted butler tried to dismiss the servants, but even at this moment, Kedilen’s cunning mind was spinning rapidly.

Waving his hand and shaking his head horizontally, Kedilen burst into a hearty laugh.

“Ah, I was on my way to exercise for a bit. Everyone, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

The moment they were alone, suspicion would become certainty. He had to resolve the situation in front of these people as much as possible.

Aden’s eyes slanted diagonally towards the golf club.

“Exercise?”

“Yes. It’s a hobby I’ve recently taken up.”

“Then, why did the Marchioness flee, and why did the Marquis chase after her? With such a monstrous thing in your hand, it looks like you’re intending to use it as a weapon.”

This was the crux of the matter.

Kedilen, pressing down an even more affectionate mask than usual, smiled brightly.

“I’m not sure about that part myself. She ran away as if startled by something, so I was also surprised and hurriedly followed. Having recently suffered from high fever and body aches, and now faced with an unfortunate fact, I think her mental distress must be great. It wouldn’t be strange if she saw things that weren’t there.”

Sending a sympathetic look towards Ludmila, who had suddenly become a madwoman seeing illusions, he calmly approached and reached out his hand.

“It seems we should let her rest and call a doctor for an examination.”

Kedilen wanted to quickly wrap up this sudden encounter.

Nothing good would come from prolonging the conversation. He grasped Ludmila’s wrist, who was still in the arms of the unfamiliar man.

“Thank you for catching my wife who nearly collapsed. Now, from here, I’ll…”

As he applied light pressure, Ludmila’s slender body was easily pulled.

Just when he thought it was over, her body, which had been half-inclined towards Kedilen, abruptly stopped in the middle.

Kedilen’s gaze, which had rolled downward, rested on the thick forearm still wrapped around Ludmila’s waist.

Kedilen sent a silent look to Ludmila, squeezing her wrist firmly as if ordering her to push away the arm around her waist.

But Aden’s arm was not something that could be shaken off so easily, and the more he tried, the more her pale and thin wrist ached.

Kedilen bit his lip with surprised eyes at the unexpected situation. If he pulled roughly, there were too many watching eyes, but if he backed down, he would lose face.

Finally, sighing, Kedilen calmly opened his mouth as if to persuade him.

“Your Excel…”

“Hey, Marquis.”

At that moment, Aden’s mouth, as free as his status, opened, ruthlessly tearing apart the dignity and prestige that Kedilen had been so desperately trying to maintain.

“You’re not seriously expecting us to believe such nonsense, are you?”