Chapter 2 – 【 Misunderstanding 】 (Part 5)

Even though she was standing on solid ground, she felt like she was floating on the sea. He chose her over Cristal. Words she thought she would never hear in her life echoed in her ears like a hallucination.

The gentle sea breeze felt pleasant. She had always disliked the salty wind, but today it felt strangely refreshing. As she tidied her fluttering hair, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly.

“Princess.”

“Lord Edward?”

Before she could scream in surprise, she saw who was holding her wrist.

“W-where are you going?”

“Please, just give me a moment of your time.”

“If you have something to say, say it here, alright? Hey, Lord Edward!”

Cedric would be coming down soon. Yuria tried to resist being dragged away, but it was futile. Edward, with brute strength, dragged her to a secluded spot behind a warehouse.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Did you not see my letter?”

Was he talking about the letter asking her to go stargazing? Yuria shook her head briefly. She hadn’t seen it, but she had heard about it.

“Why didn’t you respond?”

“Lord Edward.”

Yuria couldn’t understand Edward’s behavior. If she had to define her relationship with Edward, it would be that of casual acquaintances at best.

“You’re being very rude. Dragging someone to a place like this and shouting at them. Are you interrogating me?”

“I’m sorry, Princess. I was just so worried about you that I acted rashly…”

Edward let go of Yuria’s wrist and took a step back, indicating he had no aggressive intentions. He had seemed like a ruffian just moments ago, but now he offered an apology with refined manners.

“Worried?”

“I thought something had happened since you didn’t reply.”

He had come to Ritano for a vacation and met Yuria. He immediately recognized the poor Princess who was practically imprisoned in the southernmost territory after marrying a bastard.

Yuria had seemed lonely. The bastard Count was always engrossed in work, and the Princess was said to find amusement with other men. This was an opportunity for him. As the second son of Baron Decker, Edward had no path to success. In the Kingdom of Leusen, it wasn’t just bastards who were discriminated against. Due to the custom of primogeniture, second sons had to find their own way to survive.

While wealthy families might leave some inheritance to the younger sons, the Decker Barony was not that affluent. Edward was left with the choice of clinging to his elder brother, doing as he was told, or marrying the daughter of another noble family. He didn’t want to be treated like a servant under his strict brother for the rest of his life, so when the princess suddenly appeared before him like fate, it was an opportunity. If Yuria divorced Cedric and remarried him, the royal family might grant him something.

Though they wouldn’t grant another countship, they might bestow a barony. They wouldn’t leave a princess as just “Mrs. Decker” for the sake of royal dignity.

“I didn’t think I’d have to explain to you that not replying is also a form of response.”

“Lately, you haven’t been going out at all.”

The first step of his ambitious plan was to seduce Yuria and coax her into divorcing Cedric. Three months ago, Yuria seemed like she would fall for him soon. Though they hadn’t spent time alone, there was a noticeable heat in the glances they exchanged.

He was confident she wouldn’t reject his date invitation. He planned to propose after a few dates. But around that time, Yuria stopped leaving her mansion. How could he date her or propose when she wouldn’t even step outside?

Desperate, he sent letters, but the count must have intercepted it, as he received no reply.

“I thought you were being prevented from going out.”

Edward stayed in Ritano longer than planned, following Charlotte around, waiting to meet the Princess again.

“Prevented from going out?”

Yuria tilted her head at the peculiar nuance.

“What do you mean by that, Lord Edward?”

“I was worried that the Count might not approve of your outings.”

“So you’re asking if Cedric is preventing me from going out?”

Yuria seemed displeased by Edward’s question. Edward was genuinely puzzled. When they last met, Yuria acted like a woman without a husband. He understood that feeling completely.

Born a princess, even marrying a marquis would be seen as a failed marriage, but marrying a bastard and becoming a countess? It wouldn’t be surprising if she fainted three times. Instead of fainting, Yuria scowled at Cedric’s name.

But today, Yuria clung to Cedric and wouldn’t let go. 

Could she be acting under duress?

Edward wasn’t the only one surprised. Cedric’s subordinates and even Charlotte had looked shocked.

“There’s no such thing, so don’t worry, Lord. And that question was very rude just now.”

“I’m only concerned for your safety, Princess. Isn’t the Count a bit rough?”

“Do you realize you are insulting my husband right now?”

Yuria seemed a bit angry now. But wasn’t it true? Even from a distance, Cedric couldn’t follow proper etiquette at royal banquets. A man who only knew how to fight and not manners might imprison his wife in their mansion without realizing it was wrong.

“If it sounded that way, I apologize. But as I said, I’m only worried about your well-being.”

“Your concern seems excessive to me.”

Yuria decided it was time to deal with Edward decisively. No matter how much she recalled, she had never given him any reason to misunderstand, yet Edward was thoroughly mistaken.

This was a good opportunity. She needed to draw a clear line with Edward here. That way, he wouldn’t send more letters to the mansion, causing Cedric to misunderstand her.

“I’ll accept your kindness just for today.”

“Princess….”

Edward, who had believed there was some connection between them, couldn’t hide his dismay.

“Why are you suddenly acting this way?”

“It’s you who is suddenly acting this way.”

“Did the Count threaten you?”

Without a railway, Ritano was a place where one had to travel half a day by carriage from the neighboring territory with a train station. Ritano was tightly knit around Cedric, so the Princess who rolled in from the capital was practically isolated.

In the capital, the idea of a mere bastard threatening a Princess was unthinkable, but in Ritano, it was possible. Edward believed that the Count had done something to Yuria. Otherwise, there was no reason for Yuria to suddenly cling to Cedric.

“Princess.”

Edward grabbed Yuria’s hand firmly.

“Let go of me.”

“Come with me to the capital.”

Yuria stopped in her tracks, astonished by the sudden suggestion.

“I will protect you.”

“What?”

“You are too good for that ill-mannered bastard. How hard it must have been living with someone who doesn’t even know proper etiquette. From now on, rely on me.”

They say when someone is too dumbfounded, they become speechless; that was exactly how Yuria felt. She pushed Edward away forcefully as he tried to embrace her.

“Why should I rely on you? Who do you think you are?”

“Why are you saying this? I know you feel the same way as I do.”

The same way? What same way?

Yuria shook her head firmly.

“I have never felt the same way as you. Even if I had, I would never have gone to the capital with you.”

Edward’s belittling of Cedric was infuriating.

“You would have remained just a passing acquaintance. I will never divorce Cedric.”

“Is it because of honor?”

“No. It’s because there’s nothing to gain by going with you.”

Anyone listening would think Edward was a prominent nobleman from the capital. He was at most the second son of a baron.

“Do you have more wealth than Cedric? Or do you hold the title of a hero who saved the kingdom?”

Edward had not only dismissed Cedric but also underestimated Yuria. He might be under the impression that she would be happy with anyone as long as they weren’t a bastard.

If the men she had met before, with whom she had some emotional exchange, had said such things, she might have thought they were deluded into thinking they were her lovers. But Edward didn’t even have that. His delusion stemmed purely from underestimating her.

If the person standing here was Cristal, Edward wouldn’t have dared to spew such nonsense. He might have even begged on his knees to profess his love instead.

“And are you more handsome than Cedric? Do you have more abilities than him? So why would I run away with you?”

“Princess….”

“Just go, Lord Edward. I hope I don’t see you again.”

Yuria crossed her arms and half-turned away from him.

“I believed we had a connection, Princess.”

“You were thoroughly mistaken.”

Edward hesitated, as if wanting to say more, but then simply brushed past Yuria.

Yuria stood there for a moment, composing herself, before heading to the place where Cedric was waiting. She was wondering how she should explain this to him.

“…There you are.”

“C-Cedric.”

However, before she could even turn the corner, she ran into Cedric. Edward had just passed by, so they must have encountered each other. Facing the towering man at the alley’s entrance, Yuria paled.

“Th-this is, well….”

Caught in a secluded place with another man, it was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.

“It’s not what you think.”