Chapter 102
As his warm hand gently rubbed hers, Philome smiled faintly.
Seeing them completely lost in their own world, Johannes cleared his throat to draw attention.
“Ahem, cough!”
Kaien turned to Johannes with a frown, annoyed at the interruption.
“What’s all the noise?”
“It’s just that, didn’t you see our saint’s remarkable efforts, Duke?”
“Remarkable efforts?”
“Yes. The people of the territory must know all about it! Everyone must have a deep sense of gratitude towards our saint.”
“So what of it?”
Kaien replied dryly, causing Johannes to roll his eyes. He had tried to show an imposing demeanor by receiving Kaien’s praise in front of others, but it seemed to have failed. So, he had no choice but to change the subject quickly.
“W-well, she is such an amazing saint. But Lady Philome speaks informally to her just because they were friends in the past!”
Johannes shook his head vigorously and continued.
“I initially let it slide, but it seems we need to address this properly.”
“Address it? Fine, let’s address it.”
Johannes was a bit taken aback by Kaien’s willingness to comply.
‘Wasn’t he supposed to cherish his fiancée?’
Nadia felt the same as she tried to stop Johannes.
‘Could it be… he no longer loves Philome? Has he realized that I’m truly his destiny?’
Filled with anticipation, Nadia even forgot that Kaien had just affectionately kissed Philome’s cheek.
“It’s just that the ceremony hasn’t been held yet, but His Majesty has approved our marriage. So, Philome is technically the Duchess of Wintbell now.”
“Who’s supposed to show respect to whom when Philome is practically the Duchess of Wintbell?”
Kaien turned his gaze from the blinking Johannes to Nadia.
“Speak directly, saint.”
Naturally, Nadia couldn’t say a word.
She bit her lips tightly and looked down.
“Isn’t it enough that Philome has treated you more than well? It’s quite commendable, considering you were a friend who’s had an affair with her fiancé.”
“That’s…!”
Nadia gasped in shock, unable to fathom that Kaien would expose her past.
“Why?”
Kaien tilted his head in confusion as he observed the stunned Nadia, whose eyes were wide.
“Was it an unpleasant past? I thought you’d want this to be widely known since you ran away with Philome’s former fiancé on the day of their engagement.”
“…I was naive and fell for it! I was deceived too!”
“By whom? Emon? That’s the exact opposite of Emon’s story. He claims you seduced him first.”
“H-how could he say such a lie!”
Nadia jumped up in disbelief.
So angry and wronged, she didn’t even have the mental space to mention that she had been deceived by Philome’s plan.
“Is that really what he said? Huh?”
As Nadia shouted in an agitated voice, Kaien narrowed his brow.
“Don’t take it out on me; talk to the person involved.”
Realizing too late that she had overreacted, she hesitated and looked around.
It wasn’t an urgent situation, as they had just dealt with the approaching monsters and were preparing for the next round. Therefore, there were many territory residents around, and Kaien’s voice was certainly not quiet.
The expressions of the residents looking at her were cold. It felt like sharp thorns to Nadia.
‘I just wanted to see the territory residents think I was amazing…’
In that case, she just wanted to embarrass Philome as well.
Really, there was no particular intention behind it.
Nadia was breathing heavily.
“Duke, what do you mean by that? Can you truly take responsibility for those words?”
Johannes suddenly interjected.
“That statement is a grave insult to the saint. You claim the saint had an affair with Philome’s former fiancé? Saint, please speak up. At this rate, you’ll be falsely accused!”
As he said this, Johannes turned back with no trace of doubt towards Nadia.
Instead, he was angry at Kaien.
Seeing that, Nadia felt a chill run down her spine.
She had no idea how Johannes would react if the truth were revealed.
“Saint?”
When Nadia could only tremble her lips without saying anything, Johannes called her in confusion.
Watching this, Kaien let out a small laugh.
“Alright, let’s put the past aside for now. Even excluding that, does Philome really need to use honorifics?”
Kaien continued to gaze at Nadia and asked again.
“Go ahead and say it, saint.”
Nadia swallowed hard, closing her eyes slowly before opening them again. Her mind was filled with the wish that time would stop right there.
‘Why do I have to go through this? I’ve become a saint; why?’
Despite becoming a saint, she couldn’t surpass Philome. Frustrated, Nadia reflexively rolled her eyes, looking around.
But the person she was searching for was nowhere to be found.
‘Where on earth is the Third Prince?!’
If the Third Prince were here, he might have stopped Kaien. But with Winston absent, there was no one who could intervene with Kaien.
Nadia ultimately squeezed her eyes shut.
“…I’m sorry… I got a bit… confused.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about to me. Isn’t that something you should say to Philome?”
Nadia opened her eyes wide at the reality she couldn’t accept. Tears began to fill her eyes, and they turned red around the edges.
She shifted her gaze to Philome, who was standing next to Kaien.
“…I’m sorry, Lady Philome.”
Philome smiled.
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
With her nonchalant response, Nadia found it hard to suppress her anger.
She could feel her tightly clenched fists trembling.
“…Excuse me.”
“W-wait, Saint! Saint! Are you feeling alright now? Saint?”
Ignoring Johannes, who was anxiously calling for her from behind, Nadia ran into the castle.
She then wiped away her flowing tears and headed to her room.
‘Why do I have to endure this humiliation?’
Nadia had worked hard over the past few days to help eliminate the monsters. Despite feeling like she was suffocating, she overcame her fear of the monsters and killed many of them.
Of course, it wasn’t purely out of a desire to protect people. Nadia wanted Philome and Kaien to see her as impressive and to admire her.
She hoped they would regret their past mistakes and beg for her forgiveness.
But it was Nadia, not them, who was apologizing and seeking forgiveness.
‘I can’t forgive them.’
Bursting into her room, Nadia immediately dropped to the floor and pulled out a box.
Then she took a bottle from inside the box and drank it straight down.
As she poured it all in without leaving a single drop, the smell of blood filled her mouth.
“Haah…”
Now, drinking blood felt like nothing at all.
“I’ll make you regret it, no matter what it takes…”
Muttering about revenge, Nadia gripped the bottle tightly as if she would shatter it.
* * *
“Why? Are you worried about Nadia Alice?”
At Kaien’s question, Philome snapped out of her thoughts. They had just returned to Kaien’s office after finishing their respective tasks.
“Ah, yes. A little.”
“Do you think I pushed too hard?”
“No, that’s not it. If anything, it was a relief. But the problem is…”
Philome recalled Nadia, who had apologized to her with formalities.
“…She had a look on her face as if she was about to cause an accident.”
Having seen Nadia for several years, she could tell. That gaze was definitely one that indicated a huge problem was about to arise.
“Don’t worry. I’ll tell the maid to keep a close watch on Nadia.”
Kaien didn’t dismiss Philome’s words, but she had a gut feeling that it wouldn’t be enough.
However, since there was nothing more she could do, she eventually nodded.
“So how about you focus a little more on me instead of Nadia Alice?”
Kaien murmured, pressing his lips against Philome’s temple.
Philome let out a small laugh and leaned her head against Kaien’s chest.
“How can I pay more attention to you when we’re this close?”
Kaien’s eyes sparkled as if he had been waiting for that response.
“Will you tell me? If I do, will you really do it?”
“…Did I just say something wrong?”
“It’s already too late.”
Kaien lowered his hand, which had been playing with Philome’s hair, and wrapped his arms around her waist.
