Chapter 2.3

Today was the day the Ducal Residence of Wolfgallion hosted a victory ball.

In place of Kadis, who was busy catching up on delayed work, the butler, the head maid, and Lyla had prepared the party with utmost care.

Kadis was revered as a hero of the people for his remarkable contributions during the war. The Emperor and Empress were sincerely grateful to Kadis for saving the Crown Prince’s life. In recognition, the Imperial Family had significantly reduced the taxes imposed on the North and had built welfare facilities like clinics and churches free of charge.

As this banquet was in honor of Kadis, it had to be flawless.

After courteously guiding the last guest, Lyla slowly surveyed the hall. Every guest seemed satisfied with the party.

‘Everything is perfect.’

Lyla took a deep breath. Her shoulders trembled slightly with joy and pride.

As the music began, pairs of nobles moved to the center of the ballroom. The sight of them dancing while gazing at each other was breathtakingly beautiful, like a scene from a fairy tale.

‘How lovely.’

Lyla watched their movements with envy. It had been so long since she last wore a dress that she couldn’t even remember.

‘Wait, where is Lord Kadis? Surely he wouldn’t skip the event?’

As she looked around, her eyes stopped abruptly at one spot.

‘There he is!’

Kadis was leaning against a marble pillar, standing at a slant.

There was no one around him.

No, it was more accurate to say that no one dared approach him.

The menacing aura Kadis exuded isolated him from the world.

His radiant silver-white hair, which even the darkness couldn’t obscure, and his blood-red eyes, as if frozen solid, were striking. 

The long scar stretching from his neck to his collarbone was a testament to the brutality of the recent war. Although today, a pristine white scarf concealed the gruesome mark.

The doctor had said that if Kadis had been an ordinary man, he would have died of excessive blood loss before the scar could even form.

But Kadis survived. It was said that he had pressed down on his bleeding neck with one hand and slaughtered every enemy in sight.

‘I remember how shocked I was when I first saw that scar…’

Lyla placed a hand over her chest to calm her racing heart.

Kadis now seemed like a living embodiment of a massive scar.

She wasn’t frightened.

She merely wanted to embrace such a Kadis tightly.

But that was impossible. Recently, Kadis had been quick to retreat whenever she approached.

‘Still, since he attended the victory party, maybe we can return to how we used to be.’

As Lyla held onto her hope, a young lady suddenly approached.

She was a striking beauty with golden hair and blue eyes, a rare sight in the North.

“Isn’t he truly magnificent?”

“!”

The coy voice tickled Lyla’s ears, prompting her to quickly adjust her expression. She greeted the lady with a soft but measured tone.

“Miss Didian.”

Didian Magni.

The only daughter of Marquis Magni, Didian was known for being doted on by her widowed father and older brothers.

Moreover, as both the Wolfgallion Ducal Family and the Magni Marquisate were native nobles of the North, they had long maintained close ties. Given that Kadis and Didian were of the same age, people firmly believed they would eventually marry.

Though there had been no progress between the two so far.

They had no common ground. Kadis utterly disliked women—or rather, he disliked all humans equally, regardless of age or gender.

“Lord Wolfgallion, I mean.”

As if worried Lyla might not understand who she was referring to, Didian added clarification. Lyla nodded with a gentle smile.

She then wholeheartedly agreed with Didian’s sentiment.

“Having experienced war, he has indeed grown even more imposing.”

Lyla looked at Kadis with eyes filled with pride.

Despite being well over 190 cm tall, Kadis’s long legs gave him a lean, agile appearance rather than a bulky one. And his looks were beyond words.

His fierce hawk-like eyes, sharp nose, chiseled jawline, and sensuous full lips all combined to form features so perfect they seemed sculpted. No, his beauty was downright divine.

“He has grown into a truly remarkable man.”

Lyla murmured as if speaking directly to Kadis.

Perhaps annoyed by Lyla’s infatuated reaction, Didian puffed out her cheeks in frustration. Crossing her arms, she even let out a disgruntled snort.

“Indeed. Unlike a certain coward!”

Didian shot Lyla a sharp glance.

A cowardly weakling.

It was a phrase Lyla had grown tired of hearing during her time in the North, but when Didian said it, it somehow didn’t sting as much. It felt more like the playful teasing of a younger sister. After all, she herself had often pestered Lyle in a similar way when they were children.

“Haha. That’s right, someone like me can’t even compare.”

Lyla simply laughed it off, reminiscing about her childhood.

Then it happened.

“I heard that the relations between the Duke of Wolfgallion and Earl Cardia have soured. It seems to be true.”

Ah.

This was the real deal.

The unmistakable hostility of someone mocking and belittling her.

Lyla bit her lower lip hard. Like a guilty person, her gaze dropped to the floor. She couldn’t bring herself to lift her head.

“The Duke is still young, so he clearly lacks discernment.”

“I heard that the Young Earl Cardia saved his life as a child.”

“Hmph. To be imprinted like a duckling because of a childhood incident…”

“But the Duke has now been through the trials of war, hasn’t he? And alone, no less. Perhaps he’ll cast Young Earl Cardia aside now.”

“Indeed. A brat like him is unfit for the Ducal Family.”

The group consisted of distant relatives of the Wolfgallion family.

Lyla stood still, as if she couldn’t hear a word. She tried to ignore them, but Didian, visibly furious, twitched her face in anger. She even crossed her arms and huffed indignantly.

“How dare they talk like that in front of you! They’re saying it loudly enough for everyone to hear! I should go over there and—”

“Oh, Miss, please calm down…!”

As Didian turned, ready to march over, Lyla hurriedly grabbed her arm.

“It seems that over the past year, the Young Earl caused many problems while managing the Ducal Family’s affairs.”

“Exactly. They should have entrusted it to us. Ignoring blood ties and entrusting household matters to an outsider—this is the result.”

Whether there had been any actual mistakes was unclear. Everything they said was mere speculation—or rather, wishful thinking.

Then it happened.

Crash!

With a sharp shattering sound, one of the nobles who had been insulting Lyla fell forward.

“Huh? Wh-what…?”

The fallen noble stared blankly at the floor.

Red liquid dripped steadily down.

Blood?

No, it wasn’t blood. The scent was far too sweet and rich for it to be blood. And there was a faint bitter undertone at the end.

It was wine. The noble’s head was drenched in wine as red as blood. And then, real blood began to trickle down his forehead.

“What happened?”

“T-the Duke struck him on the head with a wine bottle.”

“My goodness.”

The dancers, realizing the situation, stopped one by one. Even the musicians ceased their performance, and a heavy silence descended upon the ballroom.

“What makes you think I’d entrust my household to bastards who might stab me in the back at any moment?”

The angry voice shattered the silence.

It was Kadis.

Kadis knelt on one knee beside the fallen noble and roughly grabbed the noble’s soaked hair.

“You dare.”

“H-hic…!”

“You don’t dare answer when the Duke speaks to you? Huh? Where did you learn such manners?”

Kadis slowly shook the noble’s head from side to side.

At that moment, Kadis didn’t resemble a dignified noble punishing a subordinate but rather a thug picking a fight in a back alley.

Yet, the effect was undeniable.

The noble trembled as if submerged in ice water. Clicking his tongue at the pathetic sight, Kadis threw the noble’s head aside and turned his gaze toward the crowd.

“Listen carefully, all of you. There’s only one reason why my aide, Lyle, didn’t participate in the war.”

His crimson eyes swept slowly across the air.

Like a predator searching for prey, his persistent gaze suddenly stopped at one spot.

So that’s where you were hiding?

Kadis’s lips curled into a smirk as he looked at Lyla. The stark white teeth revealed between his parted lips resembled the fangs of a beast.

“The reason he didn’t join the war is—”

Thud!

Kadis grabbed the noble’s hair again and slammed his head into the ground.

“Because I trust him.”

Kadis pressed the noble’s head against the floor as he added his words.

Lyla quickly lowered her head. She needed to stop him, but Kadis’s murderous aura rendered her speechless.

Her heart pounded loudly. At the same time, a dull ache spread through her lower abdomen.

Lyla clutched her stomach with trembling hands.

‘What’s wrong with my body?’

Does fear cause a pulling sensation in the lower abdomen?

While Lyla was lost in confusion—

“What are you all doing? Start dancing again. Do you think this is a ballroom or a funeral hall?”

At Kadis’s sharp command, the music resumed.

The hesitant nobles forced awkward smiles as they resumed their activities. They paired up to dance, raised their glasses, and exchanged lighthearted conversations—or at least pretended to.

Kadis silently observed the scene.

That was all.