Chapter 37

Thud.

After deliberately sending Beatty away, Duke Aslan entered his office and thought to himself.

“I can’t show my anger in front of the girl.”

There would be many things to hold Count Siurus accountable for in the future, and he didn’t want to make the situation worse by showing his frustration now.

His adjutant had said,

"Your Grace, just your presence alone is enough to intimidate the enemies into fleeing!"

With a fierce expression on his face, the Duke did not want to leave Beatty with a terrifying impression of him.

“Hah.”

Trying to control his anger, the Duke picked up the document the adjutant had prepared, which was supposed to be given to Beatty’s protector, and exhaled deeply.

The golden strands of his bangs shifted with the movement of his breath and then settled again.

“...He’s a rude man, but his face is truly remarkable.”

Pirina, watching the Duke’s profile like a painting, became transfixed once again.

“I hope my hair isn’t a mess.”

Pirina brushed her hair with a slight motion, exposing the back of her neck.

The Duke, paying no attention to Pirina’s gestures as she adjusted herself, spoke up.

"Siurus."

"Yes, Your Grace?"

Unlike Pirina, who tried to sweeten her voice with a tone that sounded like a half-purr, the Duke's voice was dry, unyielding.

"Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that...?"

Pirina blinked innocently, feigning ignorance.

Thinking about the danger Beatty could have faced, the Duke’s expression hardened with fresh anger.

Pirina flinched.

The Duke’s imposing aura and the cold glare he gave her made Pirina’s legs go weak.

Unable to contain the chill seeping through the room, she slumped back into her chair, shivering.

"Do you know you sent Aslan's daughter down to the capital, alone and unprotected?"

"That’s... as I said, the child... ran away impulsively..."

"'Impulsively,’ huh?"

The Duke’s low voice sounded like a lion’s growl.

Pirina froze instinctively, feeling an undeniable threat in the air.

"You should be more careful about who you speak to."

"Th-that’s not what I meant..."

"You’re not only shirking responsibility, but you’re trying to shift the blame onto the girl for your own mistakes!"

This time, it was clear.

The Duke’s voice rumbled, shaking the air as if it were a growl of a beast. Pirina felt as though she were trapped in the jaws of a lion, her throat constricting.

"How uncomfortable must she have felt there?"

‘I can’t breathe!’

The air was thick with tension.

Pirina’s chest tightened painfully, as if it were being strangled by the weight of the Duke’s fury.

“Now I see what kind of protector you’ve been for the child.”

The Duke’s voice was dripping with contempt, so cold it sent a shiver down Pirina’s spine.

With trembling lips, Pirina managed to shout,

"B-but after I realized the child had left, I did my best! I used the royal communications tunnel to inform everyone!"

She had even managed to get permission from the royal family to use the valuable long-range communication tunnel to send the message.

Emphasizing her own efforts, Pirina defended herself.

But the Duke’s cold fury only sharpened.

Pirina felt the prickling cold in her spine as she fumbled for an excuse.

The Duke turned his attention to the next matter.

"Didn’t I instruct you to report anything concerning the child?"

"Yes? Of course, I did. I’ve been sending regular updates..."

"Hah."

The Duke looked over the brief, almost non-existent reports from the capital and asked sharply,

"Then why is there no mention of the child’s remarkable talents?"

"Eh?"

"She’s supposed to be a genius, right? Even before anyone met her, your subordinates were singing her praises. Yet, not a single mention of that in your letters?"

This wasn’t just ignorance.

Pirina, genuinely confused, asked back,

"A genius?"

‘What genius?’

She hadn’t bothered to educate the child properly, knowing the girl hadn’t received formal lessons after her mother passed.

There hadn’t been any tutors since then, and the child had barely any books suitable for learning at the estate.

‘I never bothered to teach her properly. How could she be called a genius?’

As Pirina hesitated, unsure of what was happening, the Duke continued.

"More importantly..."

The Duke set down the documents detailing Pirina’s failures, his eyes burning with rage.

"What gives you the right to arrange a marriage for my daughter?"

"Th-that's..."

This was one thing she couldn’t explain away.

Pirina had acted, assuming that the Duke, being busy with the war, wouldn’t be involved, but now everything was falling apart.

‘I never expected the war to end so soon! This has all gone wrong...’

As Pirina’s thoughts spiraled, she nervously bit her lip, trying to avoid the Duke’s cold stare.

‘I don’t need to ask who’s behind this.’

It was obvious.

The royal family’s greed for the blood of beastkin, especially from the Aslan family, was no secret. The Duke knew the royal family had pushed for it. But Count Siurus had been complicit as well.

"..."

The Duke’s eyes were calculating, trying to figure out the best way to handle this.

Pirina, feeling as if she were trapped, started desperately squeezing out tears.

"Sniff... Ah... Tasha...!"

The Duke flinched.

At the mention of his late wife’s name, Pirina’s eyes filled with false emotion.

"Sniff If only my sister were alive... I wouldn’t be treated like this by my in-laws..."

As Pirina brought up his deceased wife repeatedly, the Duke’s expression soured.

"Didn’t she ask you to take care of me?"

"..."

The Duke fell silent, his mind drifting back to his late wife.

Tasha...

He remembered the letters she used to send him from the battlefield, the words of love and longing she wrote.

‘She asked me to take care of her sister... I never thought that letter would be the last...’

But then, the Duke’s face hardened again, his eyes sharp and piercing.

"So, how does Count Siurus know about that?"

Pirina, sensing her words had struck a nerve, became bolder and more confident.

"My sister told me herself. She said you’d take care of me, so I shouldn’t worry."

"That request was only valid before you sent my daughter away from her home."

The Duke’s voice was cold as ice, and Pirina felt an icy chill running down her spine. She clung to the memory of her sister’s words, desperately trying to justify her actions.

"My sister... before she died, she asked me to care for the girl personally—"

"Don’t even dream of it."

This time, the Duke’s anger was overwhelming. Pirina stood frozen, her mouth agape, unable to respond.

"If it weren’t for my wife’s dying wish, you wouldn’t even be standing here in front of me."

The Duke’s tone was final, and Pirina could not argue back.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.

The Duke, no longer wanting to deal with her, signaled for his attendants to escort her out.

***

In the room given to Pirina, she clenched her jaw and muttered to herself.

"My sister’s face... I get treated like this in my in-laws’ house... but at least I got a guest room."

Pirina’s face contorted as she recalled the Duke’s cold expression.

The Duke’s glare had made her spine chill, but she quickly threw her frustration aside and angrily threw her fan onto the sofa.

"Hmph. Who would want to take care of a child like that!"

As she fumed, Pirina’s eyes landed on the luxurious furnishings of the room.

"Even a guest room has decorations this exquisite."

It was evident even from just walking through the Duke’s corridors—the wealth of the Aslan family radiated from every corner.

"If only I could be the mistress of this household..."

Pirina’s mind wandered, imagining herself as the Duke’s wife. Her eyes gleamed with a dark, ambitious light.

"Yes, I just have to complete the task they gave me."

A perfect family, a perfect husband. Pirina was ready to do whatever it took to make that fantasy her reality.

"If only the girl hadn’t ruined everything by running away..."

Pirina scowled, thinking about her niece who had ruined her perfect plan.

"Why did she do that? Is she out of her mind?"

Pirina had noticed something strange in the girl’s behavior just before the incident, but she had never anticipated this. The unease grew within her, but she quickly pushed it away.

"No, no... I’ve trained her well."

In Pirina’s mind, "training" meant something completely different than actual education, but she had no guilt about it.

"Just keep listening to me, niece."@@novelbin@@