Chapter 3 – That’s too much, Captain! (Part 4)

Lena felt a fog settle over her eyes, as if she were about to faint. Her head spun, and her body swayed uncontrollably.

If Livri hadn’t hurriedly supported her, she would have collapsed shamefully.

“Lena, what’s wrong? Lena!”

“Huh? Huh?”

The woman who received the kiss turned her head coyly and moved her lips. 

What on earth were they talking about?

Like someone in a trance, Lena stepped into the shop. The man, who had been surprised by the woman’s words, burst into laughter.

“Ahahaha! Is that so? Hahaha! Hahaha!”

Even his voice oozed arrogance.

She wanted to believe that he wasn’t in that kind of relationship with that woman, that it was just her own misunderstanding. But the trust that had started to crack soon shattered.

“Lena… why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

Following Lena’s gaze, Livri turned her head. A man and a woman were sitting in a corner of the shop, chatting affectionately.

At first, she didn’t recognize who they were. The woman was, of course, a stranger, and the man’s back was so common that it was hard to remember.

“Galverd…”

“Galverd? Who’s Galverd? Wait, Galverd? Don’t tell me, Galverd Paraton?”

Hearing Lena’s muttering, Livri looked closely at the man and realized it was indeed the guy she had seen fleetingly. Recognizing Galverd, Livri grabbed her by the nape.

“That, that scoundrel!”

Livri, seeing red, immediately dragged the pale Lena towards Galverd. Her angry footsteps pounded the floor.

As they got closer, the man’s voice became clearer.

“Congratulations. Thank you, Canella. I will do better from now on.”

“You need to deal with that woman first.”

“Of course! Canella. For you and our child, I will break off the engagement immediately. I was planning to break it off soon anyway.”

Break off the engagement? Child?

Lena felt dizzy again. A buzzing noise filled her ears.

What did I just hear? It must have been a mistake. Surely it was.

No matter how much she doubted her ears, Galverd’s voice was unmistakable.

“Marriage should be with someone of equal standing, don’t you think? My Canella.”

“Did you continue the engagement all this time?”

“There was no choice. Earl Canabella had promised to sponsor my father’s business. Ah, but now there’s nothing to worry about. The business has stabilized, so we can manage without the Earl’s help.”

“I see.”

Galverd, who said that, was looking at the woman’s belly.

“Of course. By the way, have you decided on our child’s name? If not, I’d like to choose it.”

Lena let out a hollow laugh without realizing it. Since meeting that man, she never knew he could be so affectionate.

Ah, I heard it correctly. My fiancé not only cheated but also had a child.

“Pff, heh heh…”

“Lena…”

Her eyes reddened.

‘How hard my dad struggle because of that debt.’

The Leshuriel barony served the Ferdando earldom. Her father had served the current lord since he was a young master.

Her father had once gone to the territory to pay off the debt and was severely injured.

‘My uncle spent a lot of money helping with the business.’

Though her aunt was family, her uncle didn’t have to treat her like his own daughter. Yet, her uncle had embraced her warmly.

She owed an unpayable debt to her uncle.

‘I… I’ve been…’

How sorry she felt. To her father, to her aunt’s family. Even to that scoundrel Galverd.

She was always sorry for being late to appointments, and she was sorry she couldn’t quit the knighthood work he despised. She had ignored his contempt for her, thinking it was due to her own shortcomings.

She had deceived herself, thinking that he was her fiancé and that they would eventually marry.

Tears welled up, but Lena tried not to cry. Even her tears were too precious to be shed for that man.

So, she wouldn’t cry.

Livri, seeing her trembling in silence, was about to explode in her place. 

How shocked must Lena be!

Just as she was about to raise her voice, taking a deep breath.

Lena desperately held her back

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Livri.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Lena…”

“I’m really okay.”

I’ll handle it myself.

Without taking her eyes off them, Lena forced a smile.

“Am I the woman you said you’d break off with?”

Standing tall in front of Galverd and the pregnant woman, she took a deep breath and steadied her trembling voice.

“Miss Leshuriel?”

“It’s been a while, Galverd. Oh, I guess I should say, ‘I saw you just yesterday, so we meet again.'”

“What brings you here at this hour?”

Galverd’s face twisted awkwardly. Lena, staring straight at him, sneered.

“Did I come to a place I shouldn’t? Is this owned by the Earl Paraton?”

“Huh?”

Galverd was stunned by her completely different attitude. 

Was this the same timid baron’s daughter?

“Is she your lover? It seems she’s pregnant.”

“Ahem, ahem.”

Lena’s cold gaze shifted from Galverd to the woman sitting with him, then back to him.

“The grounds for breaking off the engagement are provided by you, right?”

“What?”

“I will claim compensation for the broken engagement in the name of the Earl Canabella. My aunt arranged this engagement. Right, Livri Canabella?”

When Lena turned, Livri, blinking in surprise, quickly nodded.

“Of course!”

“So, that’s settled.”

It was much more advantageous to use the name of the Earl of Canabella rather than a rural barony when dealing with a household in the capital.

Livri finally remembered that Lena had been the aide to the infamous captain of the imperial Knight Order for three years.

“Ah, wait a moment. Miss Leshuriel. I think there’s a misunderstanding.”

Galverd, who had stood up in a hurry, raised his voice nervously. Folding his arms with exaggerated gestures, he lifted his chin.

His forcibly raised lips trembled.

“What misunderstanding are you talking about?”

“Wasn’t it you who provided the grounds for breaking off the engagement first?”

“What?”

What nonsense was this man spouting?

It was so absurd she laughed. There was a limit to shamelessness. 

How could he say such things with his pregnant lover beside him?

“Miss Leshuriel. Be honest. How did you become the aide to the captain of the Imperial Knight Order?”

“It was the result of a legitimate document review and practical interview.”

“Ah, is that so?”

His expression was full of blatant mockery.

“Are you saying you legitimately got a position that even noble children who received higher education in the capital find hard to enter, coming from a humble baron’s family in the countryside?”

Galverd emphasized the word ‘legitimately.’ People began to notice their commotion and turned their attention toward them one by one.

The situation could become unfavorable depending on the attention of others. Lena calmly took a breath and responded.

“Are you suggesting that I committed some sort of fraud? Against the Imperial Palace?”

“I’m just raising a question. Could it be that you, Miss Leshuriel, joined the Knight Order just to spread her legs?”

Spread my legs?

His vulgar words polluted her ears.

She felt ridiculous for respecting and feeling sorry for this man as her fiancé. She had even thought about marrying this scum.

‘Ha, haha…’

Had this man been thinking such things about me for the past three years? 

She forced down the nausea rising from her twisted insides.

She couldn’t back down here for her own sake. Lena steeled herself even more harshly. She glared at him with wide eyes.

He continued to spout nonsense.

“Why not just be honest now? Every day, overtime, business trips, in a Knight Order full of men. What could a woman possibly have to do until such late hours?”

“That’s…!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Livri flared up. Lena grabbed her arm to stop her.

Livri’s attempt to raise her voice ironically calmed Lena’s raging emotions.

“Isn’t it because your job is to spread your legs for the knights?”

The murmurs around them became even more explicit.

In an instant, Lena became a woman who spread her legs for men despite having a fiancé. Still, she faced Galverd head-on without flinching.

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“What words? That you spread your legs for the knights?”

Her bright red anger ignited into a cold white flame. The raging indignation turned into cold ice, piercing her like a needle. Her eyes flickered lowly.

She gritted her teeth so hard they almost cracked, then took a deep breath to calm herself.

She took a step closer to him, meeting his gaze. She realized that, although they seemed to be of similar height, he was actually a very small man.

It was absurd to think she had been groveling to such a pathetic person.

Lena let out a derisive snort.

“Yes, you mean to say that His Grace, Duke Alhendore Lengester, keeps a woman who spreads her legs as his aide.”

“…”

Galverd, not expecting Alhendore’s name to come up, swallowed hard.

The people who had been listening to their conversation also held their breath at the mention of the man at the pinnacle of nobility.

“Are you saying I spread my legs for the knights? Which knights are you referring to? Lord Hyde of the Marquis Cashetra? Lord Aran of the Earl Radiero?”

Lena intentionally used their family names and titles instead of honorifics.

Since they were close acquaintances, they wouldn’t mind being mentioned like this. They would probably laugh heartily.