Chapter 120. Shock Therapy

“Enoch.”

Ellen, who had hurriedly come out to the garden, called out to Enoch just as he was about to mount his horse.

When their eyes met, he grinned widely and spread his arms as if inviting her to embrace him. Ellen let out a sigh of exasperation and looked him up and down.

As expected, he looked just like that.

She approached him quickly, holding a thick cashmere coat.

“If you go like that, you’ll be cold. The night air is chilly.”

“Ellen, do you think I would feel cold in this weather?”

“Summer colds are scary, and autumn pneumonia is dangerous. Just in case, wear this.”

“You’re so considerate, wife.”

He lightly kissed her cheek and smiled. It was a boyish, fresh smile that seemed out of place with his appearance, causing the retainers who were watching to awkwardly avert their eyes. The sight of their Grand Duke acting so unlike himself was beyond embarrassing, it was almost frightening.

“…I wish I could come with you.”

“Why? Because you’re worried about me?”

“…No? It’s the delegation from Katar. I thought there might be something I could do.”

She didn’t even bother to say something cute like she was worried about him, even as a pretense. Clicking his tongue briefly, Enoch roughly draped the coat Ellen handed him over his shoulders and mounted his horse with a slightly regretful, sluggish motion.

“…I’ll be back.”

“Yes, be careful.”

The two exchanged goodbyes like any other couple. For now.

Soon, Enoch rode off, and Ellen watched his receding figure for a moment before turning away.

Enoch arrived in the capital at around 5 AM the next day.

* * *

It takes about eight hours by train from Rheinfelden to Schleswig.

Having slept on the train, Enoch went straight to the palace after a bath and change of clothes, skipping breakfast.

Schlossbern Palace, as always, was bustling with people even in the early morning and heavily guarded. The busiest person, of course, was Henry Frederick, the master of the palace.

As soon as he saw Enoch, who had just arrived, Henry jumped up from his desk chair with a relieved expression. Enoch’s face crumpled, sensing he was about to be burdened with something troublesome.

“I heard a delegation from Katar has arrived. Earlier than scheduled.”

“Yes, and it’s driving me crazy.”

Henry sighed deeply and gestured to the head maid. She quietly bowed and instructed other maids to set up refreshments at the tea table.

Enoch sat down with Henry but wasn’t in the mood to eat, so he only sipped his tea, thinking it would be better if it were alcohol.

“Roelyn caused an incident.”

“I heard. She made a rude remark to a member of the Katarian royal family.”

“Not just any royal member. The first legitimate son of King Homer. The first in line to the throne!”

That’s certainly a big deal, Enoch muttered indifferently, his expression showing little interest.

“The first legitimate son of King Homer… Is it Ikram Halmatiya?”

“Yes, you’re acquainted with him. So please, help me out.”

King Homer Halmatiya of Katar has seven wives and sixteen children. Ikram, the first legitimate son born to the queen, is the undisputed next king of Katar.

For Roelyn to have insulted Ikram was a significant diplomatic incident. It could potentially ruin the friendly relations built with Katar.

“What about Roelyn?”

“She’s locked herself in her room as usual, refusing to see anyone.”

“Keep Angela Besnard away from Roelyn. She only has a bad influence on her.”

“…Angela Besnard is Roelyn’s only friend. She won’t listen when we tell her to make friends with other noble ladies…”

Tsk, Enoch clicked his tongue. Knowing these facts, he had once suggested to Ellen to get closer to Roelyn. That way, they could keep Angela Besnard away from Roelyn, and Ellen would also become close to a member of the royal family, killing two birds with one stone.

But later, he reconsidered and decided not to mention it to Ellen anymore… He never imagined Roelyn would cause such a major incident.

Perhaps I should have brought her to my estate and paired her with Ellen. If she had spent time with Ellen, she might have been influenced and reformed a bit.

“Let’s go to Roelyn’s room.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Henry asked, bewildered, as Enoch stood up. While Henry and Roelyn didn’t have a bad relationship, they weren’t particularly close either, and Henry found it difficult to deal with his sickly younger sister. Unlike Enoch, who showed no mercy regardless of her frailty.

“Roelyn needs to apologize properly in person.”

“…Do you think she will?”

“What if she doesn’t? This diplomatic incident could wreck our relations.”

Sighing heavily, Henry stood up to follow Enoch. There was no room to argue against Enoch’s logic.

“What’s this? A sibling meeting after a long time?”

When Enoch and Henry arrived at Roelyn’s room, they found Julian lounging on a sofa.

Roelyn was curled up on her bed like a shrimp, indifferent to the presence of guests. But upon seeing Enoch, she quickly got up and hurried over to him.

“Brother Enoch!”

Enoch frowned, pushing Roelyn away with one hand as she tried to embrace him. Hurt by his reaction, Roelyn looked wounded, but Enoch, with a cold expression, looked down at her and spoke.

“Roelyn, I heard you called Ikram Halmatiya ‘a lowly, dirty, and uncivilized Katarian.’”

“T-That’s because… he said something that irritated me first! It was just a slip of the tongue…!”

“Ikram may be free-spirited, but he’s not rude. If he said something to irritate you, it was likely because of your attitude from the start.”

“I just… felt uncomfortable facing a Katarian at that moment…”

“Regardless of the reason, your remarks were highly problematic. Change your clothes and get ready. You need to apologize in person.”

“What…? Me, personally? No way! Why should I…!”

“Get a grip, Roelyn.”

Enoch grabbed Roelyn’s shoulders with both hands and growled menacingly like a beast. Roelyn’s face turned pale, and her platinum eyelashes trembled.

“Do you think you’re something special, being a powerless princess stuck in a room? You’ve insulted a friendly nation of Freuden. If you want to drive this country into a worse situation amidst the chaos caused by Atreos’s threat, do as you please. But remember, if you don’t apologize to Prince Ikram personally, I will petition Henry and the noble council to expel you from the royal family. A princess who can’t fulfill her duties is unnecessary, Roelyn. If you can’t even apologize for your mistakes, you’re just a parasite wasting the royal family’s money.”

It was a harsh warning. Roelyn, deeply shocked, trembled all over and collapsed on the spot.

Clap, clap— Julian’s applause followed. Watching everything as if it were someone else’s business, he spoke as if he were an audience member.

“Bravo, well done. Our Grand Duke, you’re truly merciless. I think you did great, brother. Little Roen needed some shock therapy.”

Tapping his head with his fingertips as if mocking her… Seeing this, Roelyn finally burst into tears.

It took 30 minutes for Roelyn to calm down, and she went to apologize to Prince Ikram about an hour later.

* * *

Enoch Bayern returned to Rheinfelden on the morning of the 26th after a short trip to the capital.

Ellen, who had been waiting for him, approached him with a calm and expressionless demeanor, but her brows furrowed slightly when she saw the people who got off the carriage with him.

Julian, Roelyn, and… an unknown person who appeared to be a Katarian.

The Katarian must be one of the delegates who arrived this time… Julian Bernstein would be attending the hunting competition, so that made sense, but why was Princess Roelyn here?

“Ellen.”

Enoch, who had spotted Ellen, approached her with a kind smile, once again spreading his arms wide.

With a bitter expression, Ellen glanced at the guests before reluctantly running into his arms. There was no other choice. It was beneficial in many ways to portray themselves as a loving newlywed couple…

“Did you miss me?”

“N… Yes.”

She almost answered no but managed to change her words at the last moment. Enoch, who keenly noticed this, squinted his eyes and sneered coldly.

Then, he grabbed her nape and pulled her in for a sudden kiss.

“……!”

The kiss, which was more like a punishment, was rough and oppressive. Ellen, who barely escaped after a long ordeal, shed tears and gasped for breath. She wanted to kick Enoch hard, but it was frustrating that she couldn’t do so in front of the guests.

“You must have missed me so much to give me such an intense welcome, wife.”

“……”

‘This man…’

Ellen thought she must tell Lucy about this. That mystical cat, who undoubtedly understood human speech, often avenged Ellen against Enoch.

“Let me introduce you. This is my wife, Ellenore Bayern. And this guest here… is Prince Ikram Halmatiya of Katar. Let’s exchange greetings.”

At Enoch’s introduction, the man called Ikram approached Ellen with a charming smile. As soon as she heard his name, Ellen knew exactly who he was.

Ikram Halmatiya, the first in line to the throne of Katar!

‘…Oh my god.’

Roelyn, who looked downcast and kept glancing around nervously, and Julian, who seemed to be having a great time smiling broadly…

Combining all this information, there was only one conclusion.

‘The person Roelyn insulted gravely… was the future king of Katar?’