Lord Kyros’s expression shifted. His smile fell right off his face, replaced by bewilderment and anger. He turned to his friend and growled, “Luifon!”
“Don’t be mad! You got to show off your cool side to her thanks to me, so it’s fine, right?” the prince replied while laughing.
Lord Kyros glared at him. “It’s not fine,” he shot back, anger thick in his voice. “You can’t just do whatever you want! I didn’t want Marie to see such a gruesome display!”
“I heard she doesn’t like lavish displays of luxury.”
“I know that! That’s why I decided not to force my values or the lifestyle of the nobility on her. I’ll give her what she wants and make sure she lives a comfortable life,” Lord Kyros said, then paused for a moment. “Though I’m still not sure how to achieve that…”
Prince Luifon raised his thin eyebrows. He seemed displeased, and he looked at Lord Kyros with eyes full of disdain. “If she doesn’t need great wealth, it doesn’t need to be you, does it?”
Lord Kyros’s words got caught in his throat. He seemed to have understood what the prince was getting at, but I hadn’t. The reverse made perfect sense to me: Lord Kyros’s fiancée didn’t have to be me. I, on the other hand, had no other prospects. He was the only one to ever say he wanted me.
Lord Kyros still hadn’t said a word, so the prince turned to me.
“I heard of the way your relationship started. The one Kyros proposed to was your sister, not you.”
Oh, um… My body stiffened, but Lord Kyros immediately came to stand in between the two of us.
“I made a mistake because I misunderstood! I explained it all to you already.”
“I know how you feel, Kyros. But Marie only went to you to fulfill her duty, didn’t she? She went to you expecting a marriage of convenience.”
Lord Kyros remained silent once again, and the prince looked at me.
“You accepted the match without knowing or caring who you were marrying, didn’t you?” he asked.
His gaze was urging me to answer, and I nodded.
Prince Luifon was right. It was all true. When my father dragged me to the castle, I didn’t even know what Kyros Granado’s face looked like. All I knew was that I was my sister’s replacement, and that I had to marry her suitor for political and monetary reasons. I’d told myself again and again that that was all it was so I wouldn’t expect more.
But…
“You don’t love or even like Kyros,” Prince Luifon declared accusingly.
I couldn’t nod. I couldn’t say that. It was only when Lord Kyros put his arm over my shoulders that I realized how badly I was shaking. He pulled me close and put his body in between the prince and I in a protective motion.
“That’s not Marie’s fault,” Lord Kyros said firmly. “I don’t know why you’re in such a bad mood, but don’t take it out on her.”
“I’m disappointed in you, Kyros,” the prince said. I could hear in his tone that he was genuinely sad. “When you told me you were getting engaged, I was happy for you. I was looking forward to your wedding day. I thought, ‘Ah, my stubborn friend who’s remained cold as an iceberg no matter how many noble women have spoken to him has finally found the one who made him melt.’ I looked forward to meeting the girl who’d achieved that! And yet, this is just a marriage of convenience. I don’t get how she’s different from all the other noble girls hanging around you.”
“Um… I… I…”
I tried speaking up, but I couldn’t refute what he’d said either. I dropped my gaze to the floor as the prince continued. “She’s even worse than the rest! She doesn’t care for rank or money, hates the way nobles live, and is scared of swordplay on top of it all! That means she sees no value in you, Kyros! So why is she even with you? Because her parents forced her, I suppose. What a boring woman. She’s selling herself like a—”
Lord Kyros grabbed the prince by the collar and lifted him off his feet. His sweet green eyes had turned into the piercing glare of a predator.
“Luifon, just what are you trying to achieve? Did you bring Marie here so you could insult her?”
“No. I did it to laugh at your misery.”
The prince put his hand over Lord Kyros’s wrist and pressed. Lord Kyros’s face twisted in pain. Their struggle lasted only a few moments until Lord Kyros let go and Luifon laughed.
“You’ve become such a coward,” the prince mocked. “You would have punched me for this in the past.”
“We’re in front of Marie…” Lord Kyros replied. “Besides, I’ve never hit you first. Not once.”
“That’s because you’re scared of me. You’ve never beaten me with a sword, have you, coward?”
“I always let you win. Don’t tell me you’ve never noticed, Your Highness?”
Prince Luifon’s face fell. He unsheathed the decorative sword hanging at his hip and swung it at Lord Kyros. The latter still had his training sword on him, and he quickly drew it and parried, filling the room with the shrill sound of metal clinking…but their contest of strength lasted only a few seconds. They both pulled away and sheathed their swords again.
Prince Luifon let out a daring laugh. “There are still spectators. Should we turn the cheers into shrieks of terror?”
“You insulted Marie. I will get an apology out of you for that, Luifon Sandalkia Dilts.”
And with those parting words, the two men turned their backs to one another.
“Please wait, Lord Kyros!” I shouted, doing my best to catch up with him. I weaved through the crowded corridors as best as I could and finally got hold of his black armor. “Lord Kyros, please! I-I’m fine! I really am! So please, make up with His Highness.”
Lord Kyros shook himself free without a word and kept walking. I ran behind him and managed to catch his arm. “His Highness is right! I’m a stupid, cowardly girl who’s always followed her parents’ orders! I deserve to be told I’m…s-selling myself.”
Lord Kyros tried to break free, but I held onto him. I put all of my weight on him as I tried to stop him. “Please! Don’t make a fool of yourself for me! I don’t want anyone to laugh at your expense!”
Lord Kyros finally stopped walking. He didn’t turn around to face me, but simply asked, “You don’t want people to laugh at me? Are you referring to what Luifon said?”
I nodded. That wasn’t all, though. Hanna and Ilsa—no, it wasn’t only them either. I believed the entirety of high society would likely think our engagement was ridiculous. There were countless women lined up to snatch him up, yet here he was, marrying the riff-raff. I didn’t care if people criticized me for not knowing my place, but I never wanted Lord Kyros to feel ashamed. I couldn’t bear that.
“I’m sorry… I keep causing you trouble… I’ll go home, so please…”
I’ll go back home to the Chandelan estate, so please, find a wonderful woman to marry.
I couldn’t get everything past my lips. Instead, I felt tears welling up in my eyes and threatening to escape.
Why? I always knew our engagement could be cancelled at any point. I’ve never allowed myself to forget that, so why? I was still clinging to Lord Kyros’s arm, unable to let go. Tears started running down my cheeks, and Lord Kyros wiped them away with his fingers. Then, he bent down to look into my eyes.
“Luifon wasn’t mocking me because of your appearance or the standing of your house,” he said.
“What?”
“I’ve told him about you, so he knew that House Chandelan was poor before he met you. Besides, I know him. He wouldn’t ridicule someone’s wife because of that. He’s laughing at me because he thinks my unrequited love is pathetic,” Lord Kyros said, a bitter smile on his face.
Seeing him explaining things so calmly, I could hardly believe he was the same man I’d seen fighting with the prince mere moments ago.
“And since he can’t bear to see his rival acting so pathetic, he’s mad. He always tries to make it look like he’s in perfect control, but he’s quite emotional, you see.”