Chapter 10.2

The engagement between Helion and Lady Obelir was broken off in a rather absurd manner—Lady Obelir changed her mind. She realized that Helion, whom she thought was similar to her, was far worse, and she decided to give up on marrying him.  

“He’s even more of a trash heap than I thought. At least I stick to one person at a time, but three at once? Isn’t that too much?”  

Lady Obelir, unable to communicate with Helion, complained to Rexion.  

“There doesn’t seem to be much of a difference, though.”  

Of course, from Rexion’s perspective, they both seemed the same, but Lady Obelir apparently thought otherwise.  

“No, I restrained myself because we were discussing marriage. But he doesn’t seem to have any intention of doing so. Isn’t he just a beast driven mad by l*st? I don’t know how Duke Radner managed to hide it so well, but I wouldn’t count on that image lasting long.”  

Lady Obelir hurled curses, but Rexion didn’t care.  

“If you’re not planning on marrying him, I’d appreciate it if you stopped meddling.”  

“So, the older brother is a womanizer, and the younger brother is a cold-hearted man with no blood or tears. You brothers are truly opposites. It would’ve been better if you had inherited the Radner family instead.”  

Lady Obelir moved so close to Rexion that he could feel her breath. She pretended to kiss him but stopped short.  

“No matter how much I try to seduce you, it seems you won’t fall for it. Even if you inherited the family, nothing would change.”  

With a sly smile, she winked at him.  

“Don’t worry; I’ll keep your secret.”  

“I appreciate that.”  

Even if Lady Obelir exposed Helion’s secret, Rexion wouldn’t have cared much. Still, she kept her promise. However, Helion’s pride was thoroughly crushed as a result.  

“What is the meaning of this?! You should’ve persuaded Lady Obelir better!”  

The Duke’s pride was equally damaged.  

Both came to Rexion to vent their frustrations. Even though Helion was the one at fault, they always found a way to blame Rexion—it was natural for them.  

“I’m tired of cleaning up after a womanizer. Shouldn’t he take responsibility for his own actions?”  

For the first time, Rexion defied Duke Radner.  

He had put up with everything so far to avoid getting involved in troublesome matters, but cleaning up Helion’s messes had become too tedious.  

Helion’s pride was deeply wounded, and he began plotting revenge, leading to the incident.  

“I apologize. I couldn’t stop him from secretly searching the rooms.”  

Rexion learned of it through the butler’s apology—Helion had found the marriage proposal sent by Earl Mansfield that Rexion had hidden.  

Helion discovered that Rexion secretly harbored feelings for Claire. Of course, he didn’t know about their intimate relationship.  

“I should’ve torn it up….”  

Rexion murmured softly, lamenting his mistake.  

Finding the marriage proposal from Earl Mansfield had been pure coincidence. Among the many letters, that one had caught his eye, and he had hidden it while avoiding others’ gazes.  

Originally, he should have destroyed it, but he couldn’t bring himself to tear up a letter related to Claire.  

After that, Helion used his connections to meet people close to Claire and tried to get closer to her through them.  

“D*mn it!”  

Rexion grew increasingly anxious, fearing that Claire might fully give her heart to Helion.  

He wanted to reveal Helion’s true nature immediately, but he doubted Claire would believe him. This was all due to the rumors surrounding Rexion himself.  

‘You’ll have to make a sacrifice.’  

When it became impossible to cover up Helion’s reputation, Duke Radner proposed a solution to Rexion. He asked him to sacrifice himself for the family.  

‘What do you mean?’  

‘We can’t contain the rumors about Helion anymore. Since he keeps changing women and bringing different ones to the mansion, I want the rumors to say it’s your doing instead.’  

‘I don’t mind.’  

Since Rexion had no interest in any women and didn’t care about his reputation, he agreed to the Duke’s proposal without hesitation.  

But after getting closer to Claire, Rexion regretted taking the blame for Helion’s rumors. He knew that even if he confessed his feelings, Claire wouldn’t take them seriously.  

As a result, Rexion could only watch from afar as Claire and Helion grew closer, constantly worrying that their relationship would blossom into romance.  

Helion seemed to notice Rexion’s nervousness, and his actions became increasingly bold. He didn’t stop at merely approaching Claire. Eventually, he spoke to Duke Radner about moving forward with an engagement.  

Imagining Claire happily receiving a marriage proposal from the man she adored was unbearable for Rexion, and he finally grabbed his brother by the collar.  

“Are you planning to marry her with such shallow feelings?”  

“She’s better than Lady Obelir, isn’t she? Or is she not? Since you’ve already slept with her, I guess there’s no difference to me. Did you think I wouldn’t know? Did you think I wouldn’t find out what you two were doing in your office?”  

“I don’t think that’s something you should be saying, brother.”  

“I don’t care about women you’ve slept with, but what can I do? She likes me.”  

Helion’s confident gaze and words, asserting that Claire liked him, left Rexion unable to refute. After all, he knew it was true.  

Unable to bear hearing Helion belittle Claire, Rexion finally punched him.  

“So, you wanted to see me angry, huh? Do you know how annoying it’s been watching you act all high and mighty, pretending to be so perfect?”  

Helion threw a punch in retaliation, but it didn’t land. He had nothing over his younger brother, and the fight quickly turned into a one-sided beating.  

Fueled by years of pent-up anger, Rexion didn’t stop until Duke Radner arrived to break it up, leaving Helion bloody and battered.  

“I won’t let this go! Do you hear me? I’ll marry Lady Mansfield no matter what, and you’ll see! I’ll make sure you shed tears of blood!”  

“…”  

Rexion couldn’t respond to Helion’s curses. The likelihood of Helion’s threats coming true was far greater than the chance of Rexion winning Claire’s heart.  

“D*mn it!”  

All he could do was mutter curses under his breath, frustrated by his own helplessness.  

At this rate, he couldn’t bring himself to approach Claire. He couldn’t face her, knowing she would be happy to receive Helion’s marriage proposal.  

So, immediately after Helion sent the proposal to Claire, Rexion deliberately distanced himself from her.  

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason for keeping his distance.  

He also hoped that Claire would feel his absence. He wished she would choose him over Helion.  

Though Claire had never responded to his pleas to choose him, Rexion couldn’t help but cling to that faint hope.  

At the same time, he wished Claire would realize Helion’s true nature on her own. He hoped she would reject the proposal herself.  

But Helion’s anger was relentless, and he stubbornly pursued the engagement, pushing Rexion’s patience to its limits.  

Driven by pure revenge, Helion approached Claire with the intent to ruin her life. Rexion couldn’t forgive his brother for that.  

Helion had crossed a line he shouldn’t have, and now he would have to face the consequences.