"Stop—!"
"When you step on a bug, it writhes. And when you see it squirm like that, it's so disgusting you just want to crush it completely."
"Ugh…"
"So stay still."
The count's face twisted grotesquely—he couldn't even cry, couldn't even scream properly.
What he was facing now was pure terror.
"Why so silent? Weren't you about to protest against me—the one who ruined your son's hand?"
"Ghhk, u-ugh…"
The count shook his head desperately.
Estelle, whom he had so easily struck before, he could not utter a single word against Lennox.
"Like father, like son."
Gazing indifferently at the count's ruined face, Lennox murmured:
"Perhaps the matching crippled hand will complete the resemblance."
Crunch.
Estelle did not avert her eyes—she watched it all unfold.
The count thrashed like a fish out of water.
His desperate eyes lifted toward Estelle, silently pleading for help…
"Estelle, do you still have something left to say?"
"No. Nothing."
She turned her head away.
Just as you once turned away from me on that day—when I said I didn't want this marriage.
"Your cheek."
"…Pardon?"
"Your cheek. You were struck. Shouldn't you return the blow, double? That would be a fair trade, wouldn't it?"
It was the first time anyone had ever urged Estelle to take her revenge.
She glanced at the count's face—he was clutching his hand and sobbing—and shook her head.
"I think this is enough."
But the truth was, it wasn't enough.
A single slap could never wash away the bitterness of her resentment.
Still… better that I deal with the count myself.
Lennox had brought the man to his knees, and Lennox had handed her this chance for vengeance.
Perhaps that was why—striking his cheek now wouldn't bring her any satisfaction.
"I think I understand the situation well enough."
Hearing Estelle's answer, Lennox was convinced.
The count never cherished Estelle. They weren't partners—never a family. It had always been one-sided.
From the very premise, everything had been wrong.
If she didn't even have the resolve to return a slap, then to call them partners? Family?
It was laughable.
Lennox pulled off his glove and flung it against the count's cheek as though throwing away trash.
"Estelle, return home at once."
"But Duren—"
"Once Duren sees your face, he'll want to go home too."
Still rubbing her stinging cheek, Estelle gave a small nod.
"Duren should be over that way."
Leaving Count Bellonsa behind, Estelle and Lennox set off to find Duren.
·····
"It's all just bluffing, if you ask me!"
As they neared the tea-time gathering, the lively chatter of the ladies drifted to them.
More precisely—the voice of Lady Alt, gleefully gossiping in Estelle's absence.
"You mean to say Duke Winterren actually carries people around in his arms? That's pure exaggeration. Even the most lovesick men wouldn't go that far."
"But the duchess didn't seem like the type to lie…"
"You can't know that. Just look now—she's still not back after all this time. The child was only an excuse. She must have slipped away because she couldn't keep up the lie."
"..."
"And this—I actually heard it from Her Highness the Princess…"
"If you have something to say, say it in front of me."
Unable to bear it any longer, Estelle stepped forward.
"Don't stoop to whispering behind my back when I'm not here."
"Oh my! What are you accusing me of? I hardly said anything. But… oh, the duke came with you as well?"
Caught off guard, Lady Alt tried to change the subject.
"I wasn't told he'd be arriving."
"I came to fetch my wife. I didn't want to cause a stir, so I instructed the butler to keep quiet about it. Naturally, you wouldn't know."
"O-oh, I see. How thoughtful of you to come all this way for your wife."
"That isn't the important part. Lady Alt—you were the one who admitted my father, Count Bellonsa, into this place, weren't you?"
"Y-you met him?"
Lady Alt's eyes flicked nervously to Estelle's cheek, which bore the clear mark of a slap.
"Yes. So why didn't you tell me? He is my father, after all."
"Well…"
Pressed by Estelle, Lady Alt rolled her eyes as though scrambling for an excuse. Finally, she pulled out the one she had prepared in advance.
"It was meant to be a surprise! You mentioned you hadn't seen your family recently."
The truth was, she had simply wanted to see Estelle in an uncomfortable position.
If Estelle met her adoptive father, it would give the princess fresh gossip to enjoy.
That was why she had eagerly accepted the count's request to slip in during the gathering.
"But the conversation didn't go well, did it…"
Lady Alt, trying to hide her smirk, never managed to finish the sentence.
Because Estelle upended her teacup right over Lady Alt's head.
Drip, drip.
Soaked through with tea, Lady Alt let out a shrill scream.
"Kyah! H-how dare you humiliate me like this!"
"It's a surprise gift."
Estelle spoke without blinking an eye.
"W-what? You call this a gift?"
"You seemed to like tea so much—I thought you'd be pleased."
"Who in their right mind would be pleased with something like this?!"
"At least you, Lady Alt. I thought you would."
Struck by her own twisted logic thrown back at her, Lady Alt couldn't muster a single rebuttal. Especially not with Lennox standing right there.
"I hope we won't have to exchange any more surprise gifts in the future."
"..."
"I'll be taking Duren home now."
"Y-yes, of course."
Everyone awkwardly bid Estelle farewell.
"Duren, come here. It's time to go home."
"Mm? Okay!"
Surrounded by his friends, Duren obediently ran over.
As she gathered him up, Estelle lowered her voice so no one else could hear.
"How much did you hear?"
"..."
"Or… did you see?"
Lennox stayed silent.
His lack of an answer only made her more uneasy.
A quick glance.
Estelle looked up at him and blurted out hastily:
"I… I killed my former husbands with—"
"Enough."
Lennox spoke without taking his eyes off Duren.
Estelle squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.
So he had heard.
He heard everything.
Lennox knew—he knew she had killed her former husbands with the curse.
Her head spun, the world tilting.
"Please…"
Her voice trembled.
"I beg you. Please… just don't report me. I'm not asking you to overlook it forever—"
Estelle's tone turned pleading.
"Just until this contract marriage ends. Only until then…"
"Estelle."
"Mom!"
Lennox caught Estelle as she swayed.
Half-collapsed into his arms, her face had gone visibly pale.
He had forced himself to keep expressionless, so as not to heighten her anxiety—but the moment he saw her like this, a sigh escaped him.
His arms tightened around her on their own.
"Please…"
"Don't say another word."
Estelle kept whispering please, please until at last her eyes fluttered shut.
The world seemed to tilt and collapse around her.
And there, held firmly in his embrace, Estelle lost consciousness.
***
Bang—!
With a loud crash, the door burst open.
"Your Grace, you've returned early. But… Madam?! What on earth—?"
Pipin froze at the sight of Lennox, who had come back carrying the unconscious Estelle in his arms like a princess.
"You had an informant planted in Bellonsa, didn't you?"
Instead of answering the question, Lennox immediately brought up the subject.
"Y-yes? You mean Aubrey Silva? The one who was caught falsifying ledgers on our side, but Your Grace granted him another chance?"
"That one."
"Why are you bringing him up now?"
"Set him off."
"…What?"
"He should've gathered evidence of Count Bellonsa's tax evasion. Tell him to hand it over to the Imperial Court."
At the time, Lennox had given Aubrey Silva two orders.
First—just as he had done in Winterren, to falsify the ledgers and siphon off Bellonsa's wealth.
Second—to deliberately induce tax evasion.
"Aubrey Silva hasn't been in charge of Bellonsa's accounts for long. Even if we report it to the Imperial Court now, the evidence won't be that devastating."
"Is that what matters right now?"
"..."
"Because of those bastards, Estelle collapsed."
"Pipin."
Lennox had lost all reason.
"…Understood."
Pipin did not press him further and simply accepted the order.
He had served Lennox for many years, yet it was rare to see him so completely unhinged.
Even when exposed to the curse for long stretches, Lennox had always fought tirelessly to keep his sanity intact.
"And summon the Tower Master. I don't care how much it costs—get him here as quickly as possible."
"Yes, then what about the young master…?"
"I want to stay with Mom!"
From behind Lennox, Duren cried out, clinging tightly to him.
His eyes were still red and puffy, evidence that he had already cried his heart out.
"Ah… young master."
A quick glance.
Catching Lennox's expression, Pipin knelt down and gently coaxed the boy.
"Madam will be better very soon. Have we ever lied to you before, young master?"
Duren shook his head.
"When Madam wakes, she'll want to see your smiling face. Shall we wash up first?"
At that, Duren let himself be led away quietly by a maid.
Lennox carried Estelle into the bedchamber and laid her carefully down on the bed.
As Lennox waited anxiously, the Tower Master finally arrived.
"Really now—do you think I come running just because someone waves money at me? If you summon me like this, it puts me in a difficult—…what's this?"
Though he grumbled, the truth was he had rushed over the moment he heard the words generous payment without even asking what the matter was.
But his complaints trailed off mid-sentence.
Because there before him—he saw Estelle, unconscious.
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