Chapter 7 – Part 8

“That’s Haley’s voice.”

Trevor whispered, his grip tightening on Liese’s forearm. Frowning, Liese glared at him hard.

“Hailey is in the break room right now. Anyone who’s been to this auction house often knows about it. It’s such a secluded spot that it’s openly used as a place for lovers to meet and satisfy their desires.”

Trevor’s mouth curved into a meaningful smile.

“Don’t you want to know who went in there with her?”

Liese, who had stubbornly kept her mouth shut, didn’t respond, but against her will, her heightened hearing picked up someone’s voice.

As she listened more intently, she heard it more clearly. Strange sounds, as if someone was screaming sporadically. The screaming even called out the name Marcus, indicating she hadn’t misheard.

“Isn’t Marcus going too far?”

Trevor muttered, turning back to the sound.

“He knew I was eyeing that sly woman and still had to take her? Even though he’s enjoyed her many times, he can’t share with his friends? He’s got everything, yet he’s so greedy.”

He glanced at Liese, who had gone pale.

“Why don’t we leave those two alone and have some fun ourselves, since we’ve both been abandoned?”

“You’re out of your mind. Let go of me right now.”

Her hand trembled with the urge to slap his grinning face. Trevor shrugged, saying it was a joke, but his eyes were filled with a keen interest as he studied Liese. It was a bad sign.

“You know, Haley Dawson was Marcus’s victory party dance partner. They couldn’t stay away from each other for three weeks. Although she was the one clinging to him, honestly, who could refuse a woman who flirts so brazenly, even rubbing her br*ast against him in the middle of the banquet hall?”

“…….”

“I read the letter she sent to Marcus before this summer. She wrote that she couldn’t forget the last night of the victory celebration. It’s so obvious, isn’t it? Ah, but I guess you’ve also experienced such a passionate night.”

At that, Liese pulled away from him with all her strength. Trevor chuckled, showing both palms. Although they hadn’t physically fought, she was strangely out of breath.

“Look at your face. Are you going to run and tattle? Our duke is busy indulging his instincts right now.”

“Regardless of the duke’s private life, I am his lover. Disrespecting me is also disrespecting him….”

“Let me give you some advice: it’s better not to act like you mean anything to Marcus. He’s never been sincere with any woman.”

“…….”

“You know that, don’t you? Marcus can’t help it.”

Trevor shrugged with a feigned serious look. It was clear what he was implying. She could still clearly remember Marcus’s voice, saying he didn’t believe in love while on a small boat.

Liese rubbed the unpleasant sensation on her wrist and turned to walk away.

She no longer wanted to deal with Trevor, who was always grinning with a half-crazed look, and she didn’t want to hear any more talk about the duke. She also couldn’t stand Haley’s crying anymore.

Her breath caught in her throat from a frustration she didn’t know where it came from. Liese placed a hand over her heaving chest and sighed. It was clear she had no right to feel this emotion. She was nothing to Marcus.

If she was anything, she was his prestige, an ornament to keep him company, a puppet to move as he was paid to move. It was her job to keep his prestige up in his absence.

As she descended the stairs leading to the ballroom, Liese steadied her breathing and straightened her expression. Before facing the crowd, she made herself presentable, then slowly walked forward.

***

It all started in the smoking room.

“Your Grace.”

A staff member of the auction house approached silently and whispered discreetly.

“We have an extraordinary jewel from the Kingdom of Clayton. Would you like to check it out?”

The event was organized under the pretext of raising money for charity, but the nobles were not about to let such a large auction go quietly. Apparently, a rare item had come in that was only shown to a select few.

But jewelry wasn’t what Marcus was interested in. Unless it was a piece of art that had been in the family for generations.

“Not interested.”

He declined flatly, but the staff, hesitant to leave, added more explanation.

“It’s a rare colored diamond necklace, intertwined with a romantic legend. I thought it would make a fine gift for your lover.”

Marcus thought indifferently that the staff didn’t want to lose the highest bidder.

A romantic legend, he mused. It was bound to be a clichéd and silly story, but he found it odd that Liese’s face came to his mind.

Though she pretended otherwise, a woman like her, with romantic illusions about love, would be quite interested. She would probably perk up her ears, eager to hear such a tale, getting flustered at the slightest tease. It might indeed be a suitable gift.

Thinking back, he had never given Liese anything personally.

He had taken her to a department store once to pick out dresses and accessories, but that was to maintain the dignity of the duke’s lover, so it couldn’t be called a gift. She also probably planned to sell them off for living expenses once summer was over.

She’s been a pretty good partner, and she was willing to give her a gift. A meaningful necklace would be fine. She was a woman who respected others’ sincerity, so it wouldn’t end up in a jewelry shop someday.

Even after receiving tasteless poison candy and a cursed waltz from Liese, he still thought of giving her a precious jewel. He must have been out of his mind.

With that thought, Marcus followed the staff to a secret location. He wanted to get a glimpse of the necklace.

Upon arriving, he found himself among men renowned for being doting husbands, huddled together. Marcus, with a reluctant expression, sat in the empty chair at the center..

They seemed startled by the sudden appearance of the duke. Being the only unmarried one there and the most financially powerful competitor, they were tense but also determined, their eyes gleaming with competitive spirit.

Those annoying glances stirred Marcus’s competitiveness.

“Thank you for waiting. This necklace is a platinum piece gifted by King Argyle III to the commoner Isabella when he proposed, defying the world’s opposition to their dramatic love….”

Marcus looked at the necklace as he listened to the long-winded explanation.

It was a graceful, silvery-white necklace, intertwined with dozens of sparkling diamonds. But it was the large gem that jingled in the center that caught his eye.

It was a diamond with a pale green color. It was a beautiful shade of green, reminiscent of the color of Lieselotte’s eyes.

It would look beautiful against her exceptionally white and smooth flesh. She had a slender neckline, so it could be worn with anything.

Marcus didn’t hesitate long and snatched the necklace, brushing off the desperate husbands. It was as expensive as the master’s final work he had won earlier today. Amidst silent sighs, he left the secret auction room.

It seemed Haley Dawson got wind of it.

Apparently acquainted with one of the wives of those husbands, she came rushing to him as soon as she heard, causing a scene as if she had received an unexpected breakup notice.

“Are you serious about that woman? You’re not! How could you do this to me…!”

“Stop screaming. Have you gone rabid?”

Marcus snapped, irritated, as he pushed away the woman clutching his collar.

If she were a man, he would have hit her to knock some sense into her, but even that was impossible, which only increased his frustration. Consequently, Haley lost her composure, crying with her makeup smeared, repeatedly calling out his name.

There was nothing between Haley and Marcus. The crazy count’s daughter didn’t love him or feel betrayed; it was just her pride that was wounded, causing this commotion.

“She was a maid. How could you choose her over me….”

Haley squirmed in her seat. Marcus brushed a hand over the hem of her dress.

“That’s not even funny.”

She had enjoyed the illusion of exclusive ownership, only to feel suddenly robbed. It was a severe, urgent condition.

“Watch your mouth and behave yourself from now on.”

“Hmphhhhh….”

“This is your last warning. If you cross the line, it won’t be a warning.”

With that, he ruffled Haley’s hair and stomped out of the break room. As Marcus trudged down the hall, a strange sensation settled over him.

The feeling of losing something he never had. The expression he had used for the deranged countess oddly resonated with him.

The emptiness that comes when something you take for granted is no longer in your grasp. It was a sensation that Marcus had subconsciously sensed time and time again.

The sudden, inevitable realization that what he could never truly have was slipping away, coupled with a sadistic desire to destroy it if it couldn’t be his. Who could twist him with such irrational emotions?

At that moment, as he entered the banquet hall, he saw Liese, smiling brightly.

Standing across from a dashing man, her face glowing with happiness as she smiled warmly.

He studied her with cold, sunken eyes.

He watched the way her eyes folded, the way her lips parted in a smile, and the way she held eye contact with the stranger without trembling.

Liese was quick to learn and absorbed everything easily. She was blending into high society naturally, making his past efforts to quell her nerves seem unnecessary.

Marcus watched her move as he had hoped she would, then slowly shifted his gaze to the man standing next to her.

It was an unmistakable face. Daniel, the younger brother of Eric and the second son of the Bryson family.

Claudia had quite a fondness for him. He was a studious, gentlemanly fellow. Funnily enough, he and Liese looked well-suited standing together, like a pair of model students.

Well-suited. The unsolicited thought twisted his mood unpleasantly.

After the summer, Lieselotte would leave his side. In other words, soon it wouldn’t be unusual for her to be beside someone else.

Just like he was seeing now. Liese wouldn’t be his anymore.

Marcus crossed the hall to her, not even bothering to hide his displeasure. Liese, who had been smiling prettily, faded her smile as soon as she recognized his presence. Her reaction irritated him immensely. The veins on his hand bulged tightly.

“Your Grace.”