IELNDMH - Chapter 11 < The Devil's backbone >
I Ended Up Living Up Next Door With My Ex-Husband
"I feel this again, but the world has changed a lot."
Duke Bold, dressed in a luxurious suit, politely set down his teacup. I don't know if it's because of his tall height and magnificent bones, or because of his beautifully tanned skin color typical of Southerners. The middle-aged man exuded an arrogant vibe.
"Wouldn't the Roman Kingdom, which was just a small, uncivilized northern country only six years ago, drive out the noble Kathis Empire to an island and build a great Western Empire...?"
"..."
"Isn't everyone desperate because they can't get the goods of the demons, who are even more humble than the northerners...? Haha, if you live long, you get to experience a lot."
Duke Bold, who continued his words, slowly crossed his long legs and leaned back on the sofa.
"Furthermore..."
Duke Bold's face, which had a faint smile on his face, gradually cooled down.
"The day will come when Her Highness will dare to make me, her father, wait."
The problem was that I didn't check the schedule list.
'Somehow, I thought it went too easily for someone who possesses a villain.'
According to Mina, Duke Bold visited his daughter Rebecca once a quarter. Rebecca always wanted to make herself and her grand vision look as perfect as possible. That's why anti-aircraft vision users were so busy from the morning.
It was just a pity that I realized it too late. If I had known in advance, I would have told Mina to stop cleaning and just prepare a cheap tea.
'No, I should have just let the wind hit me.'
The Twins ' Dukes seemed to think that Duke Bold and Rebecca were a sweet father and daughter, but my thoughts were completely different.
'What kind of loving father would so coldly ignore his daughter dying in a tower?'
It was midway through the novel, when Camilla, the villainess, went to the Duke of Bold to ask him to be her confidant.
She said,
'The foxy Lobelia is now coveting Rebecca's empty spot! How upset would Rebecca, who is trapped in the tower, be when she found out about this?'
Camilla risked his own daughter, Rebecca, to win the favor of Duke Bold. In fact, Duke Bold's reaction to Rebecca was extremely cold.
He said, 'I can't believe she was forced to divorce... That stupid bitch! It may not help me in my future, but I don't need it if I'm a good kid!'
Nevertheless, Duke Bold eventually becomes the villainess Camilla's ally, it was to drive out Lobelia and place the second daughter of his mistress in the place of Grand Duchess.
'It would be a good idea to take this opportunity to straighten out my relationship with Duke Bold.'
I slowly raised the corners of my mouth, hiding my hostility.
"The more a culture rises, the harsher its spirit becomes, and when it fades, only useless pride remains."
Duke Bold's brow slowly furrowed at my words.
"Well, I didn't mean to disrespect my father's age. I just thought that the Kathis Kingdom was pushed out by the Roman Kingdom and the mixed-race demons.."
"Kathis Kingdom."
Duke Bold pronounced it with force as if he were criticizing my accent.
"..... It's a big deal. I can't believe the Grand Duchess threw up at my words."
"..."
"It looks like you've become a northerner. Subversive and dangerous values... And even that vulgar accent."
Duke Bold glanced around the living room with a look of disgust toward all things Northern culture.
"But don't forget everything. We are southerners who were the center of the Kathis Kingdom."
Only then did I realize why Rebecca put so much effort into decorating the drawing room every time she welcomed Duke Bold.
'Every time he came, he must have tried desperately to disparage the culture of the place where Rebecca lived.'
Looking at his behavior, one might wonder if the Bold family was forcibly incorporated into the Western Empire.
Duke Bold was a person who chose to become a naturalized citizen of the Western Empire. He is, in short, a renegade from the defeated Kingdom of Kathis. Moreover, as a condition for continuing his dukedom, he even returned half of his family fortune to the Western Empire.
'It's not funny to talk about such a topic as if you were a freedom fighter from the Kathis Kingdom.'
What about that attitude of pretending to be an elegant Southern aristocrat with every gesture or tone of voice?
The illegitimate son of the Bold family. A life of starving in the slums before joining the family. His efforts to hide his sense of inferiority from his past were only imaginable.
It was at that time when I could barely hold back the ridicule that was about to escape. Duke Bold let out a small cough as if he was clearing his throat.
"Anyway, how is your night with the Archduke going?"
"...I beg your pardon?"
I asked back in astonishment.
'Is that what a father would ask his daughter?'
However, Duke Bold frowned as if he was frustrated with my reaction.
"You must have promised me that you would do anything to spend a night with the Archduke within this quarter."
"..."
"No way...... You didn't succeed this time?"
When no clear answer came from me, Duke Bold's face gradually turned into anger.
"This... Such stupid...!"
Duke Bold gritted his teeth and nervously swept the table.
Clink!
With a sharp noise, the broken pieces of the teacup fell miserably on the floor.
"This thing is useless! Didn't I say it would be enough for one night? Just one night! You can't even knock down a man with intact limbs even once?!"
Duke Bold jumped up from his seat and pointed at me with a red face.
"You are now the wife of the most powerful person in this empire next to the Emperor! I'm doing this because you don't know how hard I, a noble from a fallen country, worked hard to put you in that position!"
Rebecca was unable to spend a night with Cedric throughout her marriage. There was no way that Duke Bold, who visited Rebecca every quarter, would not have known this, and he seemed to have been just as polished each time.
"You can't help your father by consolidating your position, but you always end up disappointing me like this! And throughout the marriage period!"
"..."
"How much effort I put into you while you were playing the elegant Princess of the Duke of Bold! How are you going to pay it all back?! Pay it forward! Pay the price!"
I quietly watched Duke Bold run wild. If Rebecca had been before, she might have been scared every time her father frothed at the mouth and ran wild.
To me, Duke Bold just seemed like a pathetic middle-aged man who was blinded by his greed for wealth and only made shallow money-making jokes.
"...father."
I took a sip of tea and then slowly parted my lips.
"Close your mouth."
As I said those words, a huge ripple appeared in Duke Bold's eyes.
"What... What?"
I gently raised the corners of my mouth and continued speaking leisurely.
"It would be difficult if my father's 'true' origins, which you barely hid with your dukedom, were revealed. What can I say about that attitude now..."
"It's so vulgar."
Duke Bold just blinked for a moment as if he couldn't believe it.
'You might have been surprised.'
No matter how crazy Rebecca was, she was too busy trembling in fear or panicking in front of Duke Bold. But even for a moment.
Duke Bold jumped over the table at once with a swollen face that looked like It was about to explode. And without any time to escape, he immediately grabbed me by the collar.
"How dare you..!"
I continued speaking leisurely, looking straight into the red eyes of Duke Bold, who was extremely dangerous.
"How dare you? Did you forget what I told you a little while ago?"
"You are! this....!"
"I am the mistress of the Twins Grand Duke's family, second only to the imperial family in this Empire."
I held onto the back of Duke Bold's hand, who was holding my collar, and slowly dug my nails into him.
"Some southern noble from a defeated country would 'dare' me like that... Do you think you can threaten me?"
My sharp nails gradually dug deeper. The jaw of Duke Bold, who was enduring pain and anger, began to vibrate.
"No matter how much I didn't get to spend the first night with the Grand Duke, I am the Queen of the Twins' Grand Duchy. You have to follow basic manners, right?"
I warned softly as if admonishing a child. Duke Bold then glared at me as if he was astonished and roughly loosened his grip on my collar.
"... Well thought out. Now please go back to your seat and sit down."
Duke Bold laughed at my words.
"How dare you treat this father like a child...!"
"It would be better for a father to sit down quickly and stop making unnecessary excuses. Now it's your turn to listen to me."
When I spoke with a cold look on my face, Duke Bold pursed his mouth in exasperation and returned to his seat.
To these father and daughter, the words 'father' and 'daughter' were just titles. To Duke Bold, the relationship between father and daughter was just a relationship between father and daughter for their own benefit, nothing more or less. I decided to take advantage of that instead.
'Anyone can see that I am the one at the top Of power right now, so there is no reason for me to continue to begrudge Duke Bold.'
I don't know if it's the other way around. In the past, Rebecca would have longed for her father's affection and claimed the position of Eul, but I had no reason to do so. No, rather, I just wanted to reduce these unnecessary meetings and end my relationship with him as soon as possible until her divorce was announced.
'That way, unnecessary sparks won't fly on me later.'
I drank tea and calmly collected my thoughts. Then I slowly put down the teacup and spoke again.
"From now on, don't come to me on your own until I call you."
"Ha, what? Sounds like it makes sense..!"
"The reason I just watched father's behavior until now is because you were my father."
"..."
"Don't make me call my own father 'Duke Bold."
Duke Bold's eyes slowly opened wide at my cold warning.
How much time has passed?
As if he was trying to calm his anger, Duke Bold slowly raised the corners of his mouth. A slight vibration occurred at the corner of his mouth.
"... Yeah, that's not the point. This poor father has been very rude, Your Highness."
Duke Bold nodded his head slowly and let out a long breath...
"Then, please at least maintain your current position until the Grand Duke process passes. Whenever that happens, I just have to get what I can get."
"..."
"However, if you are unable to repair the estranged relationship and end up getting divorced before then..."
Duke Bold's muscles bulged out fiercely over his angular jaw as he suppressed his anger.
"The divorce alimony paid to me, the head of the family, will not go to Her Majesty Rain. Not even a single penny."
I couldn't believe my ears and frowned.
"I beg your pardon? What right do you have to.......!"
"Isn't that the imperial law? If a woman divorces, the alimony is passed first to me, the head of her family. I can also dispose of it as I wish."
Duke Bold, who had said that, stood up as if he was about to leave the drawing room. And he leaned close to me across the table and whispered lowly.
"As the Grand Duchess, I will tolerate as much arrogance as you can."
"So?"
"So, In your place, do what we promised. If not..."
A sad blue glow gradually appeared in Duke Bold's eyes.
"I will definitely make you wander through the mud like a beggar."
Comments
Post a Comment