Rian, who had been glancing back and forth between the Ventum couple, started walking again. His gaze lingered for a moment on a spot outside the window before moving on. Rian, with a smirk playing on his lips, walked past Count Ventum and called out to him.

“Count Ventum.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Unlike before, Count Ventum’s voice was laced with thorns. His expression was as if he were looking at his wife’s lover.

Rian’s leisurely stroll came to a halt behind Lovia. He placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned down. As Lovia’s shoulder trembled, he deliberately brought his lips close to her ear and spoke to Count Ventum.

“Your wife seems lonely. You should have held her all night. Then she wouldn’t be trying to seduce another man in front of her husband.”

“Y-Your Grace!”

“Oh, I see your belly’s gotten in the way of your little soldier. You should get some exercise. What are you going to do if Lovia spreads her legs for someone else?”

The nobles’ eyes widened. This was the first time they had ever seen Rian like this. Moreover, they were at a loss for words at Rian’s outrageous remarks, openly mocking the Count and his wife.

Count Ventum shot up from his seat, his fists clenched. He was trembling with rage, as if he were about to throw a punch. But Rian’s provocation didn’t end there.

“Lovia?”

“……Y-Yes?”

“Is your husband not satisfying you?”

Lovia’s eyes widened at the man’s mocking words as he continued to knead her shoulder. Lovia, who had been momentarily dazed by his touch, finally came to her senses and slapped Rian’s hand away. She jumped to her feet and glared at him.

“How dare you be so rude?”

“Rude…? Do you even know what ‘rude’ means?”

“Your Grace!”

“I’m talking about being rude.”

Rian stepped closer to Lovia, who was glaring daggers at him. He looked down at her menacingly with his tall stature, making her eyes tremble. Soon, his face stopped right in front of her ear. Even now, Lovia couldn’t help but shudder at his breath. However, his chilling voice sent a shiver down her spine.

“You dare call it ‘rude’ when you insulted my wife, the Grand Duchess, right in front of me, the Grand Duke? Do I make myself clear?”

“……”

Rian chuckled as he looked at the trembling Lovia. He covered his nose with his hand and exaggeratedly wrinkled his face before stepping away from her.

“You reek of a b*tch in heat. Control yourself unless you’re planning on spreading your legs for every man in the empire.”

“Your Grace! How dare you say such a thing!!!”

Rian glanced coldly at Count Ventum, who was glaring at him with bulging eyes. Then, he smirked and sneered as if he found the man pathetic.

“You pathetic fool. You can’t even control your own wife, yet you have the audacity to call yourself her husband?”

The nobles gasped at Rian’s sudden change in demeanor. The always upright and well-mannered Grand Duke was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a man of unparalleled violence.

Rian, who had been scanning the faces of the nobles who were staring at him in shock, let out an annoyed sigh and drove the final nail in the coffin.

“This meeting is over. You’re all dismissed.”

“How dare you treat us with such disrespect! Do you think the Grand Duchy can function without us—?!”

“It will function just fine. So don’t even think about making empty threats and worry about yourselves. I won’t be so patient next time.”

“Your Grace!”

The nobles, their faces contorted with rage, jumped to their feet as if they were about to gang up on him. The smile that had been playing on Rian’s face vanished, replaced by a chillingly cold expression.

“Which one of you wants to be made an example of so the rest of you learn not to underestimate me, the Grand Duke? Hmm?”

He snarled, grabbing a ceremonial sword from its display, and the nobles, who had been glaring at him, flinched. They exchanged glances and, as if they had no other choice, hurriedly left the annex.

Rian pointed the sword at Lovia, who was the only one left, her eyes blazing with venom. He sneered and said sarcastically, 

“Go tell your father this: Grand Duke Royte has gone mad.”

“It seems so.”

“Yes, so get out of here. I’m about to die from wanting to gouge out those arrogant eyeballs of yours.”

“You’ll regret this.”

“By all means.”

As he smirked, revealing his teeth, Lovia bit her lip and left the annex.

Left alone, Rian tossed the sword he was holding onto the empty seat and sat down. He put his feet up on the table, bobbed them up and down for a moment, then closed and opened his eyes. Then he shouted towards the empty air.

“You’ll catch a cold. Get in here.”

A moment later, Belita, drenched like a drowned rat, entered the annex. She had run away in a daze, but couldn’t help but return, worried that he might do something crazy. And as expected, he had caused a huge scene. A very big one, in fact. And because of that, Belita had gone completely crazy as well.

“Are you insane?”

“Yeah, you didn’t know? You knew.”

She wanted to slap his face for shamelessly asking her if she knew, as if it was something new. Of course, she couldn’t actually do it, but she really wanted to.

She had endured all sorts of insults and humiliations, and he had so easily ruined everything. He was even crazier than she thought.

“What are you going to do? How are you going to fix this!”

“……Hmm, what do you mean by ‘this’? You hated these meetings, didn’t you? It would have been better if I got rid of them since that idiot couldn’t say anything, right?”

“They’re important people who are essential to leading the Grand Duchy. The people will suffer even more without them! Do you have any idea how much effort His Grace put into keeping them here? You ruined everything!”

“What does that have to do with you?”

Huh……?

Belita, who had been pouring out words in a fit of rage, stopped with her mouth wide open at his curt question. Her eyes trembled as if struck by lightning.

Rian’s indifferent gaze fell upon her. His bright yellow eyes glinted, and unlike before, he seemed to be in a bad mood.

Only then did she come to her senses. She must have lost her mind because it was daytime. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have even thought about jumping at him like that.

He slowly rose from his seat and approached her with leisurely steps. His gaze alone felt like shackles on her ankles, rooting her to the spot. Belita stood frozen, unable to move, as she listened to him circle her like a predator.

“Why didn’t you talk like that earlier? You’re so eloquent, why were you so foolishly speechless in front of them? Oh, are you afraid of the citizens losing their livelihoods?”

“……”

“Was that the life you wanted? To endure it while your insides rotted and festered, all for the sake of the citizens you’ve never even met?”

“Th-That’s!”

“It’s disgusting. Both you and this bastard. Wallowing in some half-assed sense of duty when you can’t even take care of yourselves.”

“……!”

Rian, who had been prowling around her, stopped in front of her. Belita couldn’t help but flinch as the tall man looked down at her with cold eyes. His sharp, golden eyes stared at her intensely from beneath his long eyelashes. His indifferent expression, devoid of even a hint of a smile, sent chills down her spine.

Her body trembled, and the fear she had momentarily forgotten resurfaced. The terror he had engraved in her forced her to kneel before him. Belita wanted to avert her gaze from his. However, she was once again consumed by the fear that was Rian, to the point where she even forgot to breathe. At that moment, the man lifted her chin and growled ferociously.

“I told you not to be afraid of me. Are you ready?”

……Y-Yes, I’m not afraid. This man is my husband, after all. There’s no need to be scared. And he even did this for me…. Really? Did he really do it for me…?

Belita really hated these gatherings. She had to attend them because she was the Grand Duchess, but she had never once been treated like one.

Besides, could it be that His Grace really didn’t know about my situation? Or was he just pretending not to know? Could it be that he had never heard of it even once?

Yes, Rian was right. She had sacrificed herself in the name of being the Grand Duchess for the sake of the citizens she had never even met. Because she thought that was the right thing to do.

But would the lives of the citizens really improve just because I endured it? As if he would ever understand my situation just because I did this!

She suddenly felt pathetic. It wasn’t like she had done it expecting gratitude, but even so, she had no idea how anything would get better and just foolishly put up with it. She had endured it for the sake of her husband’s pride, but she had never once heard a word of thanks from him.

And what was a Grand Duchess anyway? No one treated her like one. She really was an idiot.

As one question led to another, she concluded that she was just stupid. A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

“It seems like you’re finally coming to your senses. I didn’t make you the Grand Duchess so you could be treated like a fool, so save your big talk for those bastards and be nice to me.”

Rian’s thick arm wrapped around her waist. His hand trailed up her neck, caressing her earlobe and cheek. His actions were possessive, as if he had found something that belonged to him, and his gaze held a clear glint of seduction.

At that moment, she came to her senses. She struggled to break free from his touch as he caressed her suggestively.