“Don’t you wish to speak with anyone else?”
“My presence would only make things awkward,” Arnald said, unfazed. He drained another glass.
Byletta couldn’t bring herself to agree with his casual assertion.
How could he have never developed a relationship with his subordinates, even though they’d been at war together for eight whole years?
She found herself concerned for Arnald.
“Byletta Holland?”
Up to this point, Arnald had been the only one to be addressed by name. Byletta braced herself, surprised to hear someone calling out to her at all—let alone using her maiden name. No one in the military that she knew would refer to her that way. Most people just called her “Colonel Holland’s daughter.”
This couldn’t be good.
Byletta turned to face the source of the voice and found an elegant-looking young man dressed for the party. He appeared quite the dandy, as was befitting of a man who belonged to one of the most distinguished lines of the old empire. His luxurious jacket had been fringed with gold thread, his colored tie made of the finest, softest fabric, and his clothes perfectly tailored—just one glance, and Byletta knew he was a customer of the finest tailor in Gaihandar. He was certainly not the kind of person to purchase anything mass-produced in a factory.
His name was Emilio Gracche.
He was the heir of Marquis Gracche and an aide to the Speaker of Parliament. He was the same age as Byletta and a former classmate of hers at Stacia Academy.
With his pale golden hair tied back at the nape of his neck and his sharp ice-blue eyes, he was a different kind of handsome than Arnald.
His attitude was arrogant and haughty, his personality sly and spiteful.
This wasn’t going to be good after all. Byletta had spied him from afar at noble faction parties, but this was the first time she had seen him up close. He looked much more manly than she remembered from her academy days, and yet he was cloaked in the same unpleasant aura.
Why would he greet a woman he hated so?
“My, what a long time it has been, Lord Gracche.”
“Do you two know each other?” asked Arnald, looking Byletta in the eye.
He seemed more curious than probing. He most likely thought it strange that she had a young acquaintance in the noble faction. No, wait. It seemed more likely her husband was interested in knowing whether she and Emilio had a deeper relationship. She had no idea how to answer.
Should she call him an old acquaintance? A fated nemesis?
In the end, she chose to simply nod.
“Yes… He was one of my classmates at the academy. Do you know him as well, husband?”
“I do. He’s the aide to the Speaker of Parliament.”
Emilio loved his title more than anything, so the fact that Arnald knew it would surely put him in a good mood. Just as Byletta had expected, the corners of his mouth curled up as he turned to her with a passive-aggressive look on his face.
“The Honorable Speaker couldn’t make it this evening, so I am here in his stead.”
The Speaker of Parliament was the head of the noble faction, so it was no surprise that he was absent from a party held by the military faction, especially one being hosted on their own turf. Given that the emperor was scheduled to attend, the speaker had only been invited as a matter of courtesy. The speaker probably knew that, too, which would be why he’d sent a young aide in his place. In other words, attending was a work task. But despite that, Emilio seemed to be puffed up with pride even though he thought everyone in his vicinity was below him. It was odd, given that he shouldn’t have even wanted to be there.
“I understand the bonuses have been delayed. Is that why you’re here?”
“Bonuses?”
Emilio’s expression turned stiff as soon as Arnald mentioned the word, as if he’d hit a nerve.
An article in the newspaper had mentioned bonuses were in the process of being negotiated between the military and the legislature. It was reported that, although enough money had been acquired from neighboring lands, the bonuses were yet to be paid.
“I have no authority in that matter, but my lord will address it at a later date. Now, I’m a busy man and I don’t have the time to steep in the stench of gunpowder with the lot of you. I do, however, have a piece of advice for you, Lieutenant Colonel.”
Emilio was as haughty and tactless as ever.
What was he hoping to achieve by insulting the military in a room full of service members? Byletta knew that there was no love lost between the noble faction and the military faction, but she would’ve thought they would at least keep things civil in public.
“I was surprised to find out the colonel had taken you for a wife,” Emilio said to Byletta. “That explains a lot of the rumors.”
“And what rumors would those be?”
As Byletta tilted her head questioningly, Arnald turned his sharp eyes on Emilio.
“Do you have business with my wife?”
The low pitch of his voice warned of his displeasure.
“No, I just couldn’t stand by and watch this woman deceive the colonel who was so instrumental to our victory. Perhaps you didn’t know, but this witch toyed with all the boys in our academy. In the end, even the teachers took up against her.”
Emilio spoke smugly, not even looking to gauge Arnald’s reaction. It appeared that they’d found the source of the rumors, and it had all started because he was jealous that a woman, and a woman from a military family no less, was smarter than he was.
There was nothing as unsightly as a man’s jealousy. Their feelings were much more deeply rooted than those of women—although this instance had nothing to do with gender and everything to do with a rotten personality.