Chapter 2

The Life in the Noble Family (2) Chapter 2 (2/177)

#2

Akid pushed me back and created some distance between the viscount and himself.

The viscount, already in a highly agitated state, seemed to see nothing but red. He issued a high-handed command.

"Step aside, Prince."

"I won't. Don't touch a single hair on my wife, Viscount Lorque."

"Her Highness the Princess has insulted me. Didn't you see it all?"

"Are you calling it an insult when she revealed your incompetence with her own words?"

"What do you mean by that…?"

"I knew. I knew that you deliberately forced me to study excessively."

"…What!"

Viscount Lorque jumped as if to deny it.

I stared blankly at Akid standing up to the viscount.

'Good job, my boy!'

Why was I so happy to see Akid stand up to the viscount?

But he must have been scared, as his shoulders were trembling slightly.

I wanted to give him courage, so I firmly held his hand, wanting to tell him that he wasn't alone.

Fortunately, it seemed to help, as he mustered the courage to continue.

"I've endured enough. You've only treated me this way."

"What do you mean?"

"It's fine to treat me this way, but not my wife."

Akid's voice carried a sense of authority. Indeed, he had the makings of a future prince.

Viscount Lorque flinched. Given that Akid was usually docile and never defied him, he seemed even more surprised.

The viscount seemed to be trying to calm down. He must have realized that losing his temper in front of the young prince and his wife would only make him look bad.

'Pfft, it was a chance to end it all at once.'

In fact, I had planned to scream and make a big fuss if he touched me.

Unlike Akid, I wasn't the type to endure such treatment.

As I was about to speak, Viscount Lorque responded with a sly smile.

"I didn't know that you, Prince, had such a misunderstanding about me. This must be due to my failings as a teacher."

"…"

"I apologize for my somewhat harsh words and actions."

The viscount bowed elegantly like a gentleman.

I wanted to push his head and knock him over, but Akid was in the way, making it impossible. The viscount continued.

"I'll leave for today. I hope there won't be any more disruptions to the lessons next time."

"I'm sorry for calling you a moron, Viscount."

"Yes, I'll accept your apology…"

"Originally, no matter how much you talk, a moron won't realize they're a moron. Right, Hannah?"

I smiled innocently and asked, and Hannah bit her lip to suppress a laugh.

But the viscount must have heard everything.

"Y-You…!"

The viscount's anger flared up again, grinding his teeth. However, he didn't act rashly as before.

With Akid standing up, he must have realized that the situation wasn't in his favor.

He roughly flicked his jacket and left the room.

He was probably going to sneak off to his younger sister.

'Hmph! Just as I hoped!'

I snorted. Then Akid turned around and asked.

"How long do you plan to hold on?"

"Ah."

I flinched at his cold attitude and let go of his hand. Akid then said,

"I don't know what sudden whim made you help, but you've done something unnecessary."

"Is helping my husband a waste of time?"

"Husband? Have I ever been your husband?"

Akid turned away with a bitter expression, looking conflicted.

I shouted at his back as he was about to leave.

"Make sure to get your wound treated! If you don't, I'll come looking for you!"

Akid paused for a moment and said in a low voice,

"Yes. I'll hide it well so as not to cause any trouble. Don't worry."

I stared blankly at the empty space where Akid had been and muttered,

"That's not what I meant…"

It seemed I would need more time to win back Akid's heart.

* * *

As expected, Duke Hadelus summoned me in the evening.

I headed straight to the duke's study. When I entered, three people greeted me. Akid was standing with his head bowed, silent.

Duke Hadelus looked very displeased, probably due to the complaints of Lady Lorque beside him.

Lady Lorque, upon seeing me, sniffled even more, pretending to be a pitiful victim. After quickly assessing the situation, I said calmly,

"I heard you called for me."

"Yes. I have something important to discuss with you."

Duke Hadelus, with his legs crossed, nodded and gestured for me to sit next to Akid.

I lifted the hem of my dress slightly and sat next to Akid. He whispered quietly,

"I'll handle it."

He meant to take the duke's anger upon himself.

'Why is he being so dependable? Heart, calm down!'

I was pleased that Akid was looking out for me, but I didn't want to shift the blame for my actions onto him. I carefully gauged the duke's mood and whispered,

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

Akid, who had been whispering, stared at me blankly.

Feeling a bit smug, I smiled, and he bit his lower lip and looked away.

Then Duke Hadelus spoke,

"What are you whispering about?"

"Nothing much. What did you call me for?"

I changed the subject, and the duke's eyebrow twitched.

But not wanting to nitpick, he got straight to the point.

"I heard you disrupted Viscount Lorque's lesson today."

"Ah."

I feigned surprise.

"Even as the Princess, Viscount Lorque is still the Prince's tutor. It seems you've acted rashly again."

Duke Hadelus emphasized "again" and clicked his tongue.

It seemed he was referring to the constant complaints and incidents since I joined the family.

In fact, I felt wronged. Those were all the actions of the previous Roena Hadelus before I possessed her.

But no one would believe that, so I just had to clean up Roena's mess.

'Well, it's nothing compared to welcoming my favorite character.'

I straightened my back and smiled.

"Lady Lorque, did Viscount Lorque only talk about me disrupting the lesson?"

Lady Lorque, surprised by the question, reacted sharply.

"Are you saying my brother is hiding his mistakes and only mentioning the favorable parts?"

"Well, I didn't exactly say that, but it seems you feel guilty."

"Th-That…"

Lady Lorque trembled and couldn't continue. But I had already gotten the reaction I wanted and turned my gaze to the duke.

"I did disrupt the lesson, but it was justified, so I had to be rude."

My overly confident attitude made Duke Hadelus tilt his head in confusion.

"What do you mean by justified?"

"Because Viscount Lorque was using punishment as an excuse to abuse my husband."

"…Abuse?"

The duke's eyebrow twitched at the word "abuse."

"Yes. I heard a loud noise from Prince Akid's study today."

"…"

"Concerned that something urgent might have happened, I asked for the key."

"Then?"

Duke Hadelus urged me to continue, and I sighed.

After a brief pause, I shuddered slightly as if I didn't want to remember and continued,

"When I entered, I found my husband lying on the floor, bleeding from his head. There were sharp quills and an ink bottle nearby."

Of course, this was a slightly exaggerated account from an all-knowing fan's perspective, but that didn't need to be explained.

"Out of shock, I did argue with Viscount Lorque, but anyone who saw that would have acted the same way."

"…"

As my eloquent speech ended, the duke's gaze naturally turned to Akid's forehead. He reached out and lifted Akid's bangs.

The wound, which had been stitched and treated, was visible.

"This is…"

The duke's voice trailed off as he saw the wound, seemingly surprised that Viscount Lorque could have done such a thing.

After all, he had never cared about what his son did, so he wouldn't have known about the injury.

"…"

As Duke Hadelus's expression hardened, Akid said,

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. Blood was dripping! He couldn't even get up from the floor."

As I made a fuss, Akid looked at me as if wondering what I was up to.

I was exaggerating to make the situation more serious, but Akid seemed to want to keep it low-key.

However, I had a different plan, as I had deliberately waited for the right moment to disrupt Viscount Lorque's lesson.

'I'll make sure Viscount Lorque never touches my husband again.'

As I resolved, a sudden sob was heard. It was the sound of Lady Lorque crying.