Chapter 6.3

She stared blankly at the plate in front of her for a long time.  

“Please have a little, Milord.”  

“Oh. Thank you.”  

Unable to watch any longer, a servant quietly approached and placed food on Lyla’s plate.  

Lyla cut the meat into tiny pieces and took a bite. Though she ate only a few small portions, her stomach felt heavy.  

No, her chest felt tight.  

Right in front of her, Kadis and Professor Charlier were deep in conversation, yet she couldn’t understand a word. It wasn’t just that their discussion was intellectually above her—it was that her mind was too preoccupied.  

“So, this kind of exclusive mindset further fuels the vanity of the capital’s nobles—”  

“Is that so.”  

Kadis responded absentmindedly, glancing at Lyla. Her face was clouded with worry.  

Kadis recalled his conversation with a subordinate.  

‘They were talking in the library.’ 

Though the distance made it impossible to hear, the atmosphere suggested a serious discussion.  

In the end, Lyla had reportedly burst into tears and cried in Charlier’s arms.  

‘And?’ 

‘Pardon?”’ 

‘What about the way Charlier looked at Lyle?’ 

‘His… gaze, Your Grace?’

Already on edge, Kadis’s temper flared at his subordinate’s inability to understand.  

‘Did that bastard make any inappropriate moves on Lyle?!’  

‘Uh, are you asking if Professor Charlier is… interested in men? There didn’t seem to be any improper intentions!’

Realizing Kadis’s meaning, the subordinate stammered nervously.  

Suppressing his murderous intent, Kadis recalled the look in Lyle’s eyes when she had gazed at him with admiration.  

So much for maturity.  

When it came to Lyle, Kadis was still a reckless fool. Even the smallest issues involving her made him lose control.  

No, anything involving Lyle was never a small matter.  

‘Enough. Send a carrier pigeon to the capital. I want a full report on the professor’s past.’ 

‘Yes, Your Grace! Anything else?  

‘Get out. Before I kill you.’  

‘Yes, yes!’ 

From the subordinate’s hidden vantage point, he hadn’t seen Lyla loosening her bandages. As a result, Kadis had to piece together the situation from the fragmented information he had received.  

His conclusion was simple.  

He would deal with Charlier.  

He couldn’t kill him outright with Lyle present, but he planned to beat him just enough to vent his anger.  

Sorry for not being mature, Lyle.  

When it comes to you, I’m still a damned child.  

Kadis downed his drink in one gulp and slammed the empty glass onto the table.  

Bang!  

Startled, Lyla, who had been staring at her plate, finally looked up. Kadis waited until her gaze settled on him before speaking.  

“Let’s stop talking about such dull topics. On that note, Professor, what are your thoughts on same-s*x relationships?”  

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Charlier hesitated. Lyla’s face turned pale.  

“I believe love transcends gender. True love knows no barriers.”  

Charlier answered with a gentle smile.  

Kadis twisted his lips into a smirk.  

“Oh. So that’s why you seduced my aide?”  

His tone grew sharp.  

Charlier and Lyla instinctively glanced at each other but quickly stopped, aware of Kadis’s watchful eyes.  

“You’re exchanging glances right in front of me?”  

Kadis ground his teeth.  

The scar running from his neck to his chest flushed red.  

In Kadis’s mind, Lyle was already his, and this was nothing short of emotional betrayal.  

So much for no improper intentions.  

Are your eyes just for decoration?  

Kadis vowed to punish the subordinate who had reported to him.  

“Haha, what do you—”  

“What are you saying, Lord Kadis?!”  

Lyla, who had been silent until now, suddenly stood and shouted. She raised her voice on behalf of the flustered Charlier.  

“There are things you can and cannot say to the professor!”  

Lyla looked at Kadis with eyes full of disbelief. Her expression was one of betrayal, the kind of look someone gives when they’ve been wronged. Kadis wanted to retort that he was the one who had been betrayed instead.

“Oh, right. As the Duke of the North, I should show proper respect before the Teacher. Let’s try this again.”

Kadis shrugged his shoulders. Then, as if nothing had happened, he began to meticulously debone the fish on his plate while continuing to speak.

“That impudent person, running their mouth in my land, in my house, and in front of me, is my aide, Teacher.”

Thunk.

Kadis stabbed a portion of the neatly deboned fish with his fork. The motion was as threatening as a harpoon piercing through a fish.

The atmosphere in the banquet hall instantly turned cold.

“Do you know what happens when someone touches what’s mine?”

Kadis’s tone grew shorter and sharper.

As he waved his fork, Charlier’s gaze followed it, like a foolish beast eyeing the fish impaled on the fork.

“Anyone who lays a hand on what’s mine…”

Kadis’s hand stopped abruptly.

Charlier’s gaze also froze, fixed on the fork.

Kadis smirked, then popped the fish into his mouth, swallowing it without even chewing. The sound of his large Adam’s apple bobbing as he gulped could be heard clearly.

The beast, having devoured its prey, spoke.

“They die.”

Kadis’s warning was short and concise.

Charlier, who had been frozen in place, hurriedly opened his mouth to speak.

“Y-you misunderstand. There is absolutely nothing improper between me and Sir Lyle, as you fear, Your Grace—”

“There better not be. Otherwise, I’ll debone your ribs just like this fish.”

Kadis growled like a beast, then shamelessly resumed eating his meal.

When he picked up his wine glass, a servant quickly approached to refill it. Kadis downed the red wine, which matched the color of his eyes, in one gulp.

“What are you standing there for, Lyle? I’ve finished speaking, so sit down and eat.”

Lyla said nothing.

“What? Do you want me to feed you? Like last time?”

Kadis smirked provocatively.

The tension in the air was so suffocating that Lyla, who had been unable to speak, finally snapped back to her senses. At the same time, a sharp pain clenched her chest.

“…I thought you’d changed.”

“What? Speak up. I can’t hear you.”

“But you’re still the same.”

Though his body had grown, his gaze remained as it had been in his childhood.

Always arrogant, selfish, and spoiled…

Lyla looked at Kadis, her eyes brimming with tears.

It was entirely her fault that Kadis had turned out this way. Because of her, Kadis had never grown beyond his childhood.

It was time to finally sever this tiresome bond.

“I’m sorry for being such a damn child.”

Kadis, perhaps thinking Lyla was scolding him, softened his tone as he responded. Despite his gruff words, he averted his gaze slightly.

That made him look even more like a child who had done something wrong and was now seeking forgiveness. The sight made Lyla’s throat tighten.

Whenever Kadis showed this side of himself, she found herself softening. No matter what he had done wrong, she ended up forgiving him.

It had been the same when he had overpowered her, and it was the same now.

Who could coldly reject a wounded child, now scarred both emotionally and physically, as he returned seeking affection?

But Lyla knew she had to.

She had to push him away, to make him realize that his feelings could not be directed at her. Yet, she kept hesitating.

And this was the result.

Kadis, hurting those around him, blindly pursuing her.

‘This isn’t right. This has to stop.’

It had to be corrected now.

“I… I’m going to the capital.”

“…What?”

Kadis couldn’t believe his ears.

“Why would you go there?”

His crimson eyes boldly questioned her: ‘I’m here, so why would you leave?’

Yes, because you’re here, I have to leave. So your future can be brighter.

“No. It doesn’t have to be the capital. Anywhere but here… I’ll go.”

“You’re my aide.”

“Even as your aide, I can’t look after you forever.”

“Ha. Anyone would think you’d nursed me or something.”

“Truly, even to the very end.”

“What do you mean, ‘to the very end’? We’re not even halfway there. Didn’t you hear what I told that bastard earlier? I said you’re mine, Lyle.”

Kadis gestured toward Professor Charlier with his knife as he spoke.

It looked as though he might throw the knife at Charlier’s throat at any moment. Lyla scrunched her face and shouted.

“People are not objects that can be owned!”

For a moment, the grand dining hall fell silent, as if doused with cold water. Even Kadis, who had never backed down from an argument, clamped his mouth shut, making the silence almost deafening.

“Ugh.”

Lyla lowered her head.

Despite trying to hold it back, tears spilled over, falling onto her plate. The food left on her plate soaked up the tears.

“Sniff, sob…”

What a fool, unable to hold back tears.

Lyla chastised herself, biting her trembling lips.

Why had I been crying so much lately? Was it because of the woman’s body I inhabited?

It was her limit.