“……It seems best to clear up the misunderstanding quickly.”

At Evie’s words that she had called him earlier than expected, Cassard answered with a smile in his mouth.

At that moment, Cassard’s appearance was lighter than usual.

His hair was half disheveled without careful grooming, and shiny jewels or flashy accessories were hardly seen.

Of course, the silks wrapped around his body were still there, but it was an appearance quite unlike him.

“I was really surprised yesterday. I didn’t know our Evie had such a side.”

Cassard chattered, out of place for such an unadorned occasion. Then he added affectionately towards Evie.

“Do you understand? You were upset because you heard I was going to promote you to a saint?”

“No, I’m not upset about that.”

“Then?”

“I was disgusted by the look of Your Grace’s mind.”

To the Duke’s question, Evie answered in her usual restrained voice. However, the content was quite dismal.

Even as she said so, Evie laughed lightly, and Cassard’s eyes, which had been trying to be magnanimous, eventually flashed with anger.

A shout rose to Cassard’s throat. But with remarkable restraint, he swallowed it back down.

“……Anyway, the important thing is to clear up the misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“Yes, a misunderstanding. Anyway, there are many ears here, so it’s scary to say anything.”

As Cassard repeated the word misunderstanding, Evie cocked her head. At her adorable appearance, Cassard clenched his teeth with a smile.

He was pretending to be generous, but in fact, he was dying to hold back his anger. He was almost going crazy in this situation where he was catering to Evie’s mood.

But Cassard Montra was frivolous, not a fool. Rather, he was cunning, and so he reached the right conclusion for the situation.

Despite last night’s humiliation, he concluded that he had to coax Evie now.

‘Damn it, why do I have to do this…….’

Cassard clenched his fist under the table in fury.

In fact, just two hours ago, he had planned to crush Evie.

Last night, Evie had sat on Cassard and said this.

―Born pretty and living so easily.

―You’re going to keep getting scolded by me now.

―You filthy housepig!

Cassard Montra, with a messy private life, was originally used to being cursed at.

He was a gentleman who knew how to embrace the resentment of the ladies and a brute who regarded the abuse and curses of women as medals. So, he had never been hurt by the words of lovely young ladies.

However, the words Evie had burst out the day before were like the blade of a guillotine, stabbing his heart and still remaining there.

Because it was not a resentment out of anger but a mockery that looked down on him endlessly.

A lowlyborn from the lower continent, who just flirted and acted like a noble, dared to look down on whom.

Cassard was infuriated just by recalling the expression on Evie’s face as she looked down on him.

So, he resolved to pay her back several times over. Otherwise, he felt he would not be able to contain his anger.

But Cassard soon realized a startling fact.

It was a very unexpected fact that he couldn’t retaliate against Evie.

‘Is this a joke?’

The first thing Cassard did after realizing this was to deny reality.

He had confidence in bringing down even a considerable noble family within half a year. There were hardly any nobles who wouldn’t kneel if he wielded his power and wealth with malice.

So, he thought he could easily crush Evie, but upon closer inspection, it was not so. Because of Evie’s miserable and unfortunate situation, without family, fortune, or family, there was nothing to crush.

If she were a noble, he would have shaken her family and shown her hell, but with that girl who didn’t even have a handful of ashes, his power and wealth were utterly useless. And he couldn’t even beat the girl without any shield to his heart’s content. Because of the protection of the tower.
In the end, all Cassel could do to strike at Evie was to propose her punishment to the tower lord, but even this was a minor thing, and he had to be prepared to be disdained by the tower lord.

Not even the great Duke Montla could blame Evie’s underhandedness, let alone control her weaknesses.

Just like the greater Duke Laurel couldn’t do anything to Evie, who insulted his brother.

‘……Why didn’t I realize this until now?’

Cassel was utterly taken aback when he realized Evie’s position and his own reality.

It was the shock of someone who had belatedly realized that the cat he had been petting and tormenting was actually a lion, and even that the lion’s cage was wide open.

Cassel felt a chilling sensation climb up his spine as he struggled to understand this nightmarish situation.

He pondered why he had failed to grasp the situation and soon arrived at one conclusion.

He hadn’t been ignorant. He had merely forgotten. No, he had been deceived. By that snake pretending to be a rabbit.

‘Damn, that cunning thing fooled me!’

Cassel sincerely thought this. It was a fairly reasonable claim.