“I heard that Mother came by.”

Casian, who had rushed to the County in a carriage as soon as his work was finished, tugged at his cravat with his index finger and asked, looking frustrated.

“Yes.”

Rihana answered calmly and lifted her teacup to wet her lips.

“You should have just given him to her.”

He let out a mildly irritated voice and muttered about whether there was any need to protect and defend a castrated b*stard anyway. Rihana’s face immediately twisted.

“The first rudeness could be a mistake.”

Rihana put down her teacup and looked directly at Casian.

“But the second rudeness is inexcusable.”

“Rihana.”

“He’s my property. He belongs to Countess Ariella’s household. How many times must I tell you before you understand?”

“…”

“You cannot tell me to give away or not give away someone who isn’t yours to command, Your Excellency.”

“Why are you protecting him so much? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that pretty face?”

“Your Excellency.”

“What, isn’t my face enough to satisfy you anymore?”

“Your Excellency.”

“Did I say something wrong? You like pretty faces, don’t you?”

“…”

“But unlike me, that pretty boy is a slave b*stard who can’t even function as a man.”

“…”

“Ah, of course, since you don’t know men yet, that wouldn’t matter to you.”

That’s quite fortunate, he muttered, and Rihana’s mouth itched to tell him that she had already slept with Raiden several times.

“Well, if he had been someone who could function as a man, I wouldn’t have let you keep him by your side like this. I would have gotten rid of him by any means necessary. I can’t stand having some bug attached to my fiancée’s side.”

But she pressed her lips tightly shut at his words.

This was unbelievable. While engaged, he was doing all sorts of things with the Princess and running around, yet here he was being so brazenly hypocritical. She wondered why she had never seen this pathetic side of Casian before. 

She seemed to have been so enchanted by his handsome face that she hadn’t looked at his character at all. Rihana sighed inwardly, once again scolding herself for her rashness.

“Anyway, even if you gave him to Mother, she’d quickly lose interest. There’s no need to cause such a disturbance. How tiresome…”

“Marquis.”

Rihana called Casian in an ice-cold voice. Casian found himself swallowing dry saliva at her chilly gaze, which he had never seen before.

“You seem to be mistaken that everything in the Count’s household belongs to you just because we’re engaged, so let me make this clear: everything belonging to the Ariella family belongs to the Ariellas. Even if I marry, I will be called Countess Ariella, not the Marchioness.”

“…”

“Even if you become my husband, it means you cannot lay a finger on my family, my mansion, my wealth, or my people.”

“…Do you see me as someone who would covet your wealth that you’re saying this to me?”

“It’s not that you seem like someone who would covet it—you’re already coveting it.”

“What…”

“Why are you giving my person to your mother? Why are you urging me to do so?”

“Rihana.”

“Why do you speak like it’s your natural right?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I just find it bothersome that that slave is by your side…”

“What useless concern. When I saw you tangled up with Her Highness the Princess, I didn’t tell you not to meet Her Highness like it was my natural right, did I?”

At Rihana’s words, Casian’s eyes widened to the point of bulging.

“Ah, is it because Her Highness the Princess and my person have such different statuses—heaven and earth apart—that I can’t even exercise such rights?”

“Rihana.”

“Don’t be mistaken. I’m not closing my eyes and ears, pretending not to know, acting like nothing’s happening because I’m some fool.”

“…”

“And I’m certainly not enduring it because I love you, so don’t harbor such ridiculous misunderstandings either.”

Casian’s Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly. He had never imagined his fiancée would speak such harsh words to him so unhesitatingly.

Those around them had disparaged her since childhood, saying she was rough beyond measure from wielding swords and rolling around battlefields, but the woman he had seen was far from rough—she was dignified. 

Especially in front of him, she had been endlessly quiet, calm, and a woman of few words, so he had never thought she would sharpen her blade toward him like this. 

She had been a woman who flinched at the mere reach of his hand, consistently stiff and treating him like a superior, so this reaction was actually welcome.

Was that why? Why his lower body was stirring like a madman?

Casian unconsciously let out a long sigh. He was flustered by his own reaction to this situation. He wondered if his l*st for Rihana was growing that much internally.

She was the only woman he had never touched among all the women he desired and had embraced. The woman he would have to live intimately with for life once married—someone he was eager for yet still couldn’t rashly reach out to, the only difficult woman for him.

Since the woman who had never shown the slightest dishevelment in front of him was now openly displaying her emotions, it seemed natural that his lower body would ache. Casian had to clench his fists tightly to suppress the urge to embrace Rihana.

Rihana lowered her gaze to pick up her teacup again and was shocked to see his center prominently risen. She couldn’t tell when it had grown to such size. No, she questioned whether there had even been anything to excite him like that.

He had never once become excited like this in front of her before. Far from excitement, he had been surprisingly courteous. He seemed reluctant even to kiss her hand, replacing even greetings with just light nods.

She had understood. Surrounded by women in gorgeous dresses with bright makeup and fragrant perfumes, there was no reason for his heart to be moved by her—someone whose daily life consisted of stiff knight uniforms, makeup-free faces, and neatly tied hair.

Unable to understand where such a man had found excitement, Rihana picked up her teacup with a stiff expression. A wave of unpleasant emotions engulfed her completely.

She was merely facing a man’s er*ect member hidden inside his clothes, yet thoughts of wanting to flee this place kept surging up. He had been someone she had fallen for at first sight as a child and had secretly nurtured love for until now, yet she found it curious how not a trace of that tender emotion remained.

Perhaps that was the nature of the heart. Now that both her body and mind were entirely focused on Raiden, Casian, who had been intimate with the Princess right before her eyes, could feel much more uncomfortable than before. While drinking tea, Rihana found herself thinking she missed Raiden.

“Right now, I can’t say anything, but when the time comes, you’ll know everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything. I’ll explain everything later…”

Hah. Rihana let out a low scoff. Seeing her like this, Casian pressed his lips tightly together.

“I don’t want to know, and I don’t want to hear it.”

“Rihana.”

“Is that the end of your business?”

“…”

“I have no intention of giving my people to your mother in the future, just like now. No matter who it might be.”

“…”

“Not just people—I will never give your mother anything from the Ariella family’s assets.”

“Rihana.”

“We’re engaged, not married, Your Excellency. So I hope you won’t come to scold me like this in the future, saying I was rude to your mother.”

“Riha…”

“Honestly, the one who was rude wasn’t me but your mother.”

“It’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“And I think I mentioned this before, but I hope you’ll stop dropping by unannounced like this in the future. Both you and your mother.”

“…Hah. Fine, I won’t. I understand that much. Let’s say I was thoughtless.”

Not just thoughtless, but “let’s say” he was thoughtless…

“My real business is something else. Tomorrow, His Majesty the Emperor’s permit will arrive at the County. You need to temporarily delegate your position to the vice-captain and go to the frontier within this month.”

At Casian’s words, Rihana’s face openly twisted. This was a matter she had clearly refused, yet he was determined to drive her to the frontier by even obtaining the Emperor’s permission. 

The Emperor’s easy consent must have involved the Princess’s influence. She couldn’t understand why they were so desperate to chase her to the frontier, but if it was going to be like this, wouldn’t it be better to just call off the engagement?

“You don’t need to worry. You won’t have to go to the field. You’ll just need to handle paperwork at the frontier fortress…”

“Why don’t we just call off the engagement instead?”

Rihana spoke to Casian with a rigidly hardened face. At her wounded expression, Casian’s heart dropped to the floor with a thud.