Even for King Ruben, who always had an impeccably calm expression, it was difficult to keep his face from hardening at the blatant criticism that the Duke threw. He looked at the Duke of Croix with his golden-brown eyes shining fiercely.

  The king, who had been seated in the chair, straightened his posture and looked at him with a menacing smile.

  The duke immediately softened his attitude but his eyes still burned with hostility.

  The Duke of Croix spoke mockingly and looked at Max with contempt.

  Before finishing his words, Riftan jumped from his seat fiercely showing an angrily distorted face. As if he would be hit at that moment, the duke stepped back out of inertia. Two royal knights stopped him quickly, but Riftan kept casting a murderous glance at the Duke of Croix. As if trying to break the tension, the princess spoke aloud.

  Her father looked at her incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe those words. Max hunched her shoulders, a habit she developed out of fear, but quickly straightened her back. There was no reason for her to be afraid. Secretly, she wiped her cold, sweaty palms on the hem of her skirt and looked directly at her father. He was a skilled man at crushing others with just the look in his eyes and he looked at her with contempt, belittling her with his eyes, and his face immediately grew red with his temper. She had difficulty overcoming his frosty glare, but suddenly Max realized that her father’s height was shorter than she remembered. At the sudden realization, she blinked blankly. She had thought that the Duke of Croix was much, much bigger than her.

  ‘Whenever I was standing in front of those eyes full of scorn, I felt as small as an ant.’


  However, her father’s height was at best a little taller than Princess Agnes, his firm and tall body seemed slimmer than she remembered. Compared to a troll or a werewolf, he looked like a scarecrow. Suddenly, the fear she felt inside her crumbled like sand and she felt a feeling of bewilderment and despondency wash over her. Why was she so afraid of that man? At least after their recent meaning, there was no reason to tremble so much in front of this person. She had the means to defend herself.

  ‘Didn’t I block an attack by a Remdragon Knight? That was much more threatening than his cane.’


  In the midst of her state of liberation, she looked at her father. The horrible monster inside her mind that instilled fear in her shrunk insignificantly.

  Max slowly opened her mouth to speak.

  She felt Riftan’s intense gaze prick her cheeks. His eyes were shining dangerously, but he did not say a single word to question what she was on about: although he looked quite annoyed, he seemed to be determined to keep quiet for that moment. While secretly sighing in relief, she heard the shrill voice of the Duke of Croix.

  King Ruben, who was watching the situation with an interested face, sighed deeply.m

  Princess Agnes coldly refuted. Simon, standing silently next to her, nodded and agreed.

  The Duke of Croix’s face was now red and almost purple. Seeing their situation, King Ruben’s face filled with triumph.

  The duke opened his mouth wide, as if he were about to refute, then closed it again. Even if he was filled with anger from head to toe, it seemed that his judgment as a lord who had jurisdiction over a huge territory for many years made him hesitate to answer. He rolled his eyes in disgust, as if calculating the losses that would result from an unexpected variable.

  King Ruben, who was watching him silently, as if driving a wedge into his enemy, spoke again.

  The complexion of the Duke of Croix was severely hardened.

  King Ruben’s eyes narrowed chillingly.

  King Ruben’s annoyed reply made the Duke of Croix’s mouth turn pale with contempt. When the king saw this, he spoke in a low voice as if to reassure him.

  The duke’s shoulders shook with fury as if he didn’t know what to do, he was unable to accept that his will was about to be thwarted. His bloodshot eyes fluttered eerily, alternating between Riftan and Max. She was nervous that he would react by yelling insults at her. However, it seemed that the aristocratic coldness etched into his bones barely controlled his explosive anger. The Duke of Croix gritted his teeth and shook his anger in despair.

  Then, King Ruben presented them a compromise.

  The Duke of Croix was so overwhelmed with containing his anger that even the unconventional proposal seemed not to be heard. The king added threateningly while the duke kept his mouth shut and continued to say nothing.

  Coming this far, even as the Duke of Croix, he couldn’t back down. The duke gripped his cane so tightly with both hands that it was strange that it did not break. He spoke as if he was vomiting blood.

  Max released the breath she was holding. She couldn’t believe her father had resigned himself, even though she had heard it with her own ears. The duke looked at her as if he was chewing on something stale, then asked the king’s permission and led his vassals out of the room. Only then did it feel that everything had finished. She dropped her shoulders with a sense of relief, but it was too early for her to relax.

  As if watching the ridiculous work of a harlequin, Riftan, who was observing the situation in silence, slowly approached her. Max’s body stiffened as he took her arm with one hand and turned his head toward King Ruben.

  The king responded sarcastically, leaning deeply over the chair as if he was exhausted.

  The king shook his head with a crooked smile.

  Max didn’t know what to do, but quickly bowed to the king. King Ruben shook a hand dryly, as if the gesture was already a norm. Riftan immediately left the meeting room with her, without wasting any more time. Agnes, sensing an unusual atmosphere, followed him cautiously. For a long time they walked in deep silence, then Riftan entered an empty room and finally opened his mouth.

  Note –

  : I am conflicted. Not so happy this ended with the duke not being bludgeoned to death.