The Duke of Yurinova was a lord, the sovereign of the dukedom, and Novadine was his vassal. To decide on his daughter’s engagement without the consent of the duke, without regard to his position, was the equivalent of a coup d’état.
Novadine had to have known that Alexei didn’t want to marry Keira. Even if they tried to carry out the engagement properly, or if they had discussed it privately, they could have blocked even Alexandre’s letter. That was what he thought.
And if Alexei’s time came and he took control of the territory, Novadine, a Count, would have no chance. No, he knew that the situation would not end there.
So, they took a gamble by publicizing the letter at this feast to fill the outer moat and bring about an engagement. This way, Novadine’s downfall would be an ugly story for Yurinova, which could save him. That was the plan.
And he lost the bet.
“Don’t be so… mean.”
Keira was shaking with a forced smile.
It was not unreasonable to say that if Alexei rejected her, she would have little chance of finding a proper marriage after this. She would have to live in humiliation as the daughter of a count who was an embarrassment at a gathering of all the dukedom’s major figures.
This banquet was supposed to be the most glorious event of her life. She had even adorned herself with extremely ostentatious jewelry.
“It’s a feast, and if Alexei accepts the engagement to me, there will be no better news for anyone. Please know how much I adore you. For a long, long time…”
But Alexei did not listen and took Ekaterina’s hand, heading for the balcony.
“No!”
Keira shouted, following her to the balcony.
***
“Please don’t go. Please don’t leave me …I adore you!”
There was no one else on the balcony. The other balconies were packed with people anticipating the fireworks, but traditionally, this was a place where only members of the Yurinova family came.
Alexei sighed softly and looked back at Keira.
“You must have hated the color of my eyes.”
“No, I have always thought you were wonderful! It was Alexandra-sama who said she didn’t like it.”
“And you came here to tell me every single time.”
Alexei’s tone was not angry. Just a disgusted, dry tone.
“Oh, I wanted to talk to you! Please remember, Alexei was always alone, and I was the only one who could talk to you… I was happy to talk to you and see even the slightest change in your expression. I adore you!”
She continued.
“I was Alexandra-sama’s favorite, and if only Alexei-sama would accept me, I would show you how to behave in a way that would please Alexandra-sama. My way is really smart.”
Ekaterina reached out and covered Alexei’s ears.
He smiled wryly.
“We don’t want to hear the buzzing of insect wings, Big Brother.”
What a delightful change in expression, and I was happy to have made her look so disgusted.
How could you call it smart when you just wanted to flatter the old hag?
What was even more incredible was that she had no remorse or doubts about what she had done to be able to say that so proudly at this stage of her life.
Roll-chan, vertical. In short, you were the type of person who would harass girls in the hopes of attracting the attention of the ones you liked.
Abusing someone because you like them might seem to be more common in boys, but girls do it as well. And whether it was a boy or a girl, they would despise it if you harassed them. That was a given.
I really couldn’t understand it. I would like to be kind to the person I love. I want them to be happy. No matter what. Wasn’t that what being in love means? Why would anyone not do that?
There may be as many forms of love as there are people.
