Chesterfield Mansion: The House of the Man Who Hates Me - Chapter 26

It’s okay.

A button that had been barely hanging on by a single thread finally came off. She could follow it with her eyes as it rolled away, but it soon disappeared, swallowed by the darkness.

It was just one button. Celian repeated to herself again.

It’s really okay.

Celian raised her hand to smooth her hair. The hair that should have been sleek without a single snag was a tangled mess.

As she combed it with her hands, strands that had been pulled out came away. Her sky-blue eyes, blinking while holding the hair in her hand, wavered and finally crumpled.

“Hic……”

It’s not okay.

As the woman struggled to get up, something fell with a thud from beneath her. It seems that after all that pulling, not a single button remained intact.

It was fortunate that she was good at sewing, at least. The sobs she had forcefully swallowed down silently headed towards the opposite end of the corridor.

* * *

When Izer returned, Celian was gone. A brooch that was presumed to have been attached to her dress was all that remained of her presence.

Izer picked up the blue brooch. By now, he too had developed an eye to gauge the price just by looking at appearances.

It wasn’t extremely high-end, but as expected, it wasn’t cheap either. Since she wasn’t in a position to spend money on such accessories, it seemed likely that she had received it as a gift from someone. Probably — Doctor Owen.

Izer was about to throw the brooch out the window but changed his mind.

Why bother with the effort of throwing it far? If he just tossed it somewhere on the floor, a maid would find it while cleaning and dispose of it.

The brooch he had been holding fell to the floor. Izer thought as he turned towards the bed.

It was true that he desired this woman, but that was merely the result of physical instinct. There was no way Izer would crumble under stress as his vile adoptive father hoped.

What stress could this be? He had been given such a beauty, he should just freely indulge his lust.

Relieving the stress received from his adoptive father with the woman he had provided — it didn’t seem like a bad exchange.

It was purely coincidental that the man stepping towards the bed crushed and broke the brooch underfoot.

* * *

June.

Bang– The ball hit by the racket flew quickly to the other side.

The man running while watching the ball swung his racket. It was a miss.

A young servant ran to retrieve the ball that had gone out of bounds.

It was break time. Izer put down the racket he had been holding in his left hand and walked towards the edge of the court. The sun was hot.

The prince of Treven, Edmond Tervis, cheerfully put his arm around Izer’s shoulder. The smell of sweat wafted strongly.

“Izer, you don’t give me a single break.”

“Wasn’t it Your Highness who said we should compete fairly?”

“That’s right. This is why I like you.”

Rulers need frank words rather than flattery. To Edmond, who would one day become the supreme ruler of Treven, someone like Izer was precious.

The two moved to the shade. People who recognized the prince and the young duke of Chesterfield began to watch from a distance. Knights were blocking them, so they couldn’t approach too closely.

Edmond whispered.

“I’m dying here, Izer. I can’t just lie down on the grass, can I?”

“If you lie down now, it will be front-page news tomorrow. The citizens will unanimously worry about Your Highness’s health.”

“It’s so accurate it’s annoying.”

“Then why did you come out when there’s a perfectly good tennis court inside the palace?”

Edmond sat down in a chair and answered nonchalantly.

“Because I won’t be able to come out once I become king.”

“……”

“I have the largest land, but the only places I can go are the palace and the capital. If I’m unlucky, I might go far. When war breaks out, or when there’s a severe drought somewhere and I need to inspect it.”

“……”

“The narrow range of activity for a king signifies peace in the kingdom. As a ruler, it’s welcome, but as an individual, it’s stifling.”

“……”

“That’s why I envy you, Izer. I heard you just returned from patrolling your entire territory? They say you went almost alone, with just a couple of servants.”

Izer replied calmly.

“You’re saying dangerous things, Your Highness. There are so many who disapprove of me associating with you.”

“Like Count Winston, for example?”

Edmond asked playfully. He didn’t know about what had happened between Izer and William, but he knew William disliked Izer.

The nobles simply, but reasonably, thought that William, a count, was jealous of Izer, who had risen to a higher position than him despite being a commoner.

Edmond brought the water bottle to his mouth. The tree shade hid the harsh early summer sunlight.

“I don’t like Winston. I didn’t like his father either. His Majesty the King greatly favored the previous Count Winston, but well, if it were me, I wouldn’t have entrusted him with important tasks. Just a feeling, you know.”

“You shouldn’t discriminate against people, Your Highness.”

“It’s not discrimination. One must be careful in handling talent. You know how things are going in Fairville these days, don’t you?”

“You’re referring to Grand Duke Letters, I presume?”

“From Treven’s perspective, he’s someone we’d like to kill, but he’s a hero to Fairville. If that man were from Treven, I’d be willing to readily abdicate the throne to him.”

Izer, who had been drinking water, called him in a low voice.

“Your Highness.”

“Ah, don’t react so sensitively. I’m speaking freely because it’s impossible anyway. That’s how outstanding a talent he is. Anyway, what I’m saying is that Grand Duke Letters is not someone who deserves to be mistreated in Fairville.”

“…I agree with that.”

Izer reluctantly responded.

Ferbien Letters, the illegitimate son of the King of Fairville, was the main figure who led Fairville to victory in the Treven-Fairville war.

Until he fully entered the war, everyone was certain of Treven’s victory. Marquis Berienne skillfully commanded the soldiers. He divided and continuously supplied troops and resources.

However, when Grand Duke Letters entered the war, the tide turned. The captured castles fell back into Fairville’s hands one by one, and even some areas that were Treven territory were subjugated.

Treven’s strategists claimed that Grand Duke Letters must be an incredible tactician. Otherwise, he couldn’t have known Treven’s tactics so accurately.

Edmond muttered, looking up at the sky.

“To have such a capable person and yet name an eight-year-old child as heir? The King of Fairville must have gone senile.”

The reason Fairville was currently unstable was due to the uncertain succession structure.

He had heard that the noble society was in an uproar over who would succeed the current king between Ferbien, the illegitimate son over thirty, and Romeo, the eight-year-old legitimate son.

The king’s choice was Romeo, the current queen’s son. The obvious inference followed that the influence of the young, charming, and ambitious queen had played a role.

Izer continued Edmond’s words.

“The queen’s family is quite solid, isn’t it? With both family background and legitimate bloodline, Grand Duke Letters must have anticipated that he would be pushed back in the line of succession. He might not have been as shocked as expected……”

“You’re too rational, Izer.”

“……”

“People in this world don’t live by reason alone. More than half of them commit acts they themselves can’t understand.”

Well, Your Highness. Izer thought, bowing his head.

If you knew what he was doing to the woman passing behind the prince every night, you would withdraw your thought that he was rational.

* * *

“Celian, it’s really okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“But… I’m sorry.”

“I’ll tell you now, that brooch wasn’t even that expensive!”

No matter how much Owen said, her drooping shoulders showed no signs of lifting. Unable to bear it any longer, Owen took a big step to block Celian’s path and bent down.

“Lian, it’s just a cheap brooch. If you keep acting like this, I’ll think you really liked it and buy you ten more exactly the same.”

“There’s no need for that, Owen.”

“If you’re serious, that’s a bit hurtful.”

At his hurt voice, Celian suddenly raised her head. The thought that this wasn’t something to say to someone who had given her a gift belatedly crossed her mind.

Finally meeting her eyes, Owen smiled good-naturedly. Seeing the hazel eyes of the young doctor wrinkle, Celian suddenly realized how much he had grown.

Owen seemed to have decided not to bring up the troublesome topic anymore. Matching Celian’s pace with a dance-like gait, the man suggested a new activity in a cheerful voice.

“There’s a crowd gathering. Looks like there’s something to see. Celian, want to go check it out?”

He said this because she kept glancing to the right while walking forward. Judging by the crowd, there did seem to be something worth seeing.