I couldn’t finish my sentence, my hand pressing hard against my chest as I bit my lip.
“Wait, just wait, Askin.”
“My decision will not change. I intend to annul this engagement, no matter what.”
“Hoho, that’s different from the message my granddaughter relayed, isn’t it? Only a short while ago, you were singing a different tune, weren’t you?”
Grandfather stroked his beard. Despite his relaxed demeanor, his gaze held a sharp, icy rage.
“Or was it a case of sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams? Tch, tch. I told you to capture her heart properly, you fool. In the end, this grandfather is forced to hear such nonsense from the likes of a Remut. You are staining the Alzbeit name.”
“Grandfather.”
“Hold your tongue.”
Grandfather glared at me, his eyes brimming with fury. I knew that look—the absolute, crushing weight of his anger.
“Charlize, you go outside.”
It was a dismissal. He didn’t even see me as someone worthy of being part of the conversation.
“I gave you chances, time and time again. But it was that fellow who kicked them away. Consider him no match for you.”
“Wait, Grandfather. This is…”
“What are you waiting for!”
My protest died in my throat as a group of knights came rushing in.
‘What? These are my personal guards…’
Strangely, every one of them wore a mask, as if they had prepared for this moment for days. The realization hit me like a physical blow: they were hiding their faces so I couldn’t identify them and seek revenge later. Before I could move, someone hoisted me into the air.
“Let go!”
I struggled wildly, my heart hammering against my ribs, but the grip holding me was iron.
“Grandfather! Grandfather!”
Over the knight’s broad shoulder, I locked eyes with Grandfather. His face was a mask of cold indifference.
“I will give you whatever you want. Just go and play with it.”
In that moment, I saw it clearly: the way he viewed people as nothing more than tools. It was a cold, cutting realization that finally made me understand.
I bit my lip until I tasted copper.
As I was hauled away, I thought I caught a glimpse of Askin. He looked surprised, but before I could be certain, he was obscured by the press of the knights.
* * *
“Now that my dear granddaughter is gone, let us continue.”
“…….”
“I shall see the end of your insolent posturing.”
Askin furrowed his brow. Duke Alzbeit was still talking, but the words felt distant. The image of the woman being dragged away like luggage refused to fade.
Was she not the woman raised like a precious princess? Was she not the very person the Alzbeit family cherished, showering her with nothing but the finest things in the world?
Yet, when she was taken, she had lacked the authority to even protest. The Duke hadn’t even granted her the dignity of a voice.
A sense of confusion gnawed at Askin.
“I will give you one last chance. Do you truly wish to annul the engagement with Alzbeit? With my granddaughter?”
This was what he had wanted most of all.
Freedom.
Askin admitted a new hurdle had formed in his heart, but this sudden complication could not erode the desire and will he had cultivated for years.
“Naturally, I want the annulment. My resolve remains unchanged.”
“……You are a hateful fellow until the bitter end.”
Duke Alzbeit offered a thin, mirthless smile. He was the head of the noble faction, a man who possessed wealth and assets that rivaled even the Imperial family.
Few would dare act with such defiance before a man of his stature—only his own grandson, the Emperor Loxidian, or this man, Duke Remut.
‘A man who has nothing but a dilapidated territory, a lanky frame, and the ability to swing a sword…’
That was the problem. He had spent years dismissing him, but in reality, the man possessed an inconvenient, outstanding ability.
One could see it in the way he had carried out the Great Subjugation and pioneered the ‘Yellow Road’ at the age of only twenty.
If the Imperial family hadn’t seized the rights to the Yellow Road in exchange for a 2,000-year-old medicinal herb, he might not have been spoken to like a subordinate in this position.
“Fine. If your resolve is that firm, then good. Pay back the full amount you borrowed at once.”
“I shall do so. Would you prefer it in cash?”
“I shall accept it in any form, as a special favor.”
Askin’s eyebrow twitched.
Duke Alzbeit stroked his beard leisurely, his lips curling into a smile.
“I had prepared for this occasion, though I didn’t think I would truly need to use it.”
When the Duke extended his hand, an adjutant behind him quickly produced a piece of parchment. It was a practiced, swift movement—a setup prepared well in advance.
“The engagement between the Alzbeit and Remut families was a contract backed by financial collateral. As you know, your side is the one breaking it midway. Therefore, a penalty must be paid.”
“……I am aware.”
He had expected as much. However, his expression stiffened at the following words.
“Pay an additional fifty percent of the total interest that would have accrued in the future.”
“That is preposterous!”
As Askin raised his voice, Duke Alzbeit smirked, as if he had anticipated the reaction.
“You shouldn’t be like this, Duke. I lent you the money with the expectation of the interest, but since your side is now demanding an early repayment, I am the one suffering the loss. I had opportunities to lend to others at better rates, but because I committed to you, I have incurred a significant deficit.”
Duke Alzbeit pointed forcefully to the parchment. “Put your seal on that document.”
Askin hesitated at the inflated sum. Duke Alzbeit, reading the hesitation, produced a second document.
“Or how about this? This is your original contract. If you cede all the territories you manage, all debts will be extinguished. It is the last bit of consideration I can offer a man who was once to be my son-in-law.”
There was no consideration to be found. Askin shivered at the sight of the Duke, who was now eyeing the very lands his ancestors had built with blood and sweat. How much effort had he poured into breaking free from this man and his pack of wolves?
Askin remained silent, staring at the demand for the inflated sum and the predatory alternative.
Duke Alzbeit chuckled, retrieved the contract, and took a step back.
“Though, no matter which path you choose, the cure for your younger sister will become increasingly remote, won’t it?”
“…….”
A horrific sensation washed over him—the feeling of being an insect trapped in a spiderweb. It was a familiar despair he had endured for years.
“Play your part properly as my granddaughter’s fiancé at the upcoming Imperial Banquet.”
Duke Alzbeit turned away, radiating triumph. “Oh, and I received the interest you delivered a while ago. To pay back four times the amount—your capability is truly remarkable.”
The Duke reaffirmed his resolve: he would never let go of this goose that laid the golden eggs. Annulment? Could he really manage it? Askin Remut would be dragged back into the web, one way or another.
Duke Alzbeit left, feeling satisfied.
‘……The interest should still have been pending, yet he says it was already delivered?’
He left Askin in a state of confusion. Soon, however, the uncertainty on Askin’s face faded, replaced by a cold, sharpened rage.
* * *
Askin headed straight for his horse. Surprisingly, he ran into Charlize, who had come racing toward the stables.
‘Ugh, what do I do? What do I do.’
Charlize, who had been forcibly dragged away, had been spiraling in thought. She had only just managed to escape the knights who were holding her by barking orders at them, channeling the original Charlize’s imperious authority.
“I will hold them off. Please, go ahead.”
The guards, though trembling with the fear of Charlize’s retaliation, steadfastly followed Duke Alzbeit’s orders. Surprisingly, only Zett had taken her side, making it easier for her to slip away.
As soon as she was free, she ran to the window to locate Askin, then rushed to the stables.
The moment Charlize saw Askin’s face, she faltered. The words she intended to say died in her throat. A deep anger, far more intense than before, shadowed his beautiful features.
Confusion and rage were tangled chaotically in the expression he directed toward her.
“……What nonsense have you come to spout now? Or perhaps you’ve come to threaten me.”
Charlize meant to say no.
But the next moment, she lost her voice entirely as she saw a single tear of rage overflow and drip down his cheek.
It was only one drop. Yet the man, who didn’t even bother to wipe it away, was hauntingly, unrealistically beautiful.
‘……Oh my god, even an incredibly handsome man cries.’
It was a wildly inappropriate thought, but he was so stunning that she was left speechless.
“I wondered where you learned such dirty methods, even involving children…… As expected, like grandfather, like granddaughter?”
“Askin.”
“I’ll pay back that dirty money soon. Prepare for the annulment.”
Charlize felt a dull ache in her chest. He was serious.
She didn’t know what her grandfather had said, but it certainly hadn’t been anything pleasant. Charlize understood Askin’s position, yet she felt a sting of resentment and anger.
“Let me ask you one thing. Why did you borrow that dirty money?”
“…….”
“Was it not ‘dirty’ when you were in such dire need of it?”