# 2.
Akid pushed me behind him, putting distance between me and the Baron.
The Baron, already thoroughly enraged, seemed to have lost all restraint. He commanded imperiously,
“Step aside, Grand Duke’s Son.”
“I refuse. Do not touch even a single strand of my wife’s hair, Baron Rourke.”
“The Grand Duke’s Lady has insulted me. Did you not witness it all?”
“Do you call it an insult when she points out the stupidity you revealed with your own mouth?”
“What kind of…!”
“I knew it. That you were deliberately forcing an excessive amount of study upon me, Baron.”
“…How dare you!”
Baron Rourke jumped up, denying the accusation.
I stared blankly at Akid confronting the Baron.
‘That’s my boy! So proud!’
Why did Akid standing up to the Baron make me so happy?
However, perhaps intimidated by the Baron, his shoulder was trembling slightly.
I wanted to give him courage, so I squeezed his hand tightly. I wanted to tell him he wasn’t alone.
Fortunately, it seemed to help, as he bravely continued speaking.
“I have endured enough. That was fine as long as you were only doing that to me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What you do to me is irrelevant, but my wife is off limits.”
There was a feeling of command in Akid’s voice. He was truly the man destined to be the future Second Male Lead.
Baron Rourke flinched. He seemed even more shocked because the usual Akid was docile and never defied him.
The Baron belatedly appeared to be calming his anger. He must have realized that losing his temper in front of the young Grand Ducal couple would only make him look foolish.
‘Ugh, that was a chance to end this in one go.’
I had actually planned to scream, cry, and cause a commotion if he touched me.
Unlike Akid, I wasn’t the type to tolerate being wronged.
As I clicked my tongue in slight regret, Baron Rourke responded smoothly.
“I was unaware that the Grand Duke’s Son harbored such a misunderstanding toward me. This is all due to my own shortcomings as a teacher, I suppose.”
“…”
“I apologize for my slightly harsh words and actions.”
The Baron bowed gracefully, like a gentleman.
I wanted to push his head and make him fall over, but Akid was blocking the way, so it was impossible. The Baron continued,
“I will take my leave now. I hope there will be no interference with the lesson next time.”
“I also apologize for calling the Baron an idiot.”
“Yes, I accept the apol—”
“Though no matter how much you talk to an idiot, they probably won’t realize they’re an idiot. Right, Hannah?”
I smiled sweetly and asked innocently, prompting Hannah to press her lips inward to suppress a laugh.
But the Baron must have seen it all.
“Y-you…!”
The Baron ground his teeth, seemingly enraged again. But he didn’t act rashly as he had earlier.
Since Akid had intervened, he seemed to sense that the situation was not in his favor.
He roughly flapped his jacket with his hand, as if venting his frustration, and stormed out of the room.
He was probably scurrying off to tattle to his younger sister.
‘Hmph! That’s exactly what I wanted!’
I scoffed loudly. Just then, Akid turned around and asked,
“How long are you going to hold my hand?”
“Ah.”
I flinched at his cold manner and let go of his hand. Then Akid said,
“I don’t know what whim prompted you to help me, but you acted unnecessarily.”
“Is helping my husband unnecessary?”
“My husband? Was I ever your husband?”
Akid turned away with a bitter expression, looking utterly conflicted.
I shouted at Akid’s retreating back as he was about to leave.
“Make sure you treat your injury! Otherwise, I’ll come find you!”
Akid paused for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
“Yes. I will make sure to hide it well so as not to cause you any inconvenience.”
I stared blankly at the empty space where Akid had been and muttered.
“That’s not what I meant…”
It seemed like it would take more time to win Akid’s heart back.
* * *
Sure enough, Grand Duke Hadellus summoned me in the evening.
I immediately headed to the Grand Duke’s study. As I entered the room, three people greeted me. Akid stood with his head bowed deeply, saying nothing.
Grand Duke Hadellus looked highly displeased, likely because Miss Rourke, who was beside him, had been whining.
As soon as Miss Rourke saw me, she began to sob harder, pretending to be a pathetic victim. After quickly assessing the situation, I spoke calmly.
“I heard you called for me.”
“Yes. I have something important I need to talk to you about.”
Grand Duke Hadellus crossed his legs, nodded, and instructed me to sit next to Akid.
I slightly lifted the hem of my dress, bowed formally, and sat down next to Akid. Akid then whispered quietly,
“I will handle it.”
That meant he intended to receive Grand Duke Hadellus’s wrath in my stead.
‘Why is he acting so dependable all of a sudden? Calm down, my heart!’
My lips twitched because I liked that Akid was looking out for me.
But I had no intention of letting Akid take the blame for what I had done. I observed the Grand Duke’s mood and carefully whispered back,
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
Akid stared blankly at me, forgetting he was even whispering.
Thinking he must feel deceived (by his past life), I smiled sweetly, and he tightly bit his lower lip and averted his gaze.
Just then, Grand Duke Hadellus spoke.
“What are you two whispering about?”
“It’s nothing important. More importantly, why did you summon me?”
When I changed the subject, the Grand Duke’s eyebrow twitched.
But perhaps not wanting to nitpick, he immediately got to the point.
“I hear you interfered with Baron Rourke’s lesson today.”
“Ah.”
I uttered a small exclamation, pretending to just realize what he meant.
“Even if you are the Grand Duke’s Lady, Baron Rourke is the Grand Duke’s appointed tutor. You have acted rashly again.”
Grand Duke Hadellus emphasized “again” and clicked his tongue.
He was likely saying this because I—or rather, the previous me—had been causing nothing but complaints, incidents, and trouble since marrying into this house.
To be honest, I felt wronged. All those deeds were committed by Roena Hadellus before I transmigrated.
But since no one would believe that, I could only diligently clean up the mess Roena had left behind.
‘Well, since I’ve met my favorite character, cleaning up this much mess is nothing.’
I straightened my back and smiled brightly as I spoke. My arrow was aimed not at Grand Duke Hadellus, but at Miss Rourke.
“Miss Rourke, did Baron Rourke only tell you that I interfered with the lesson?”
Miss Rourke looked startled that I addressed her and reacted sharply.
“Are you implying that my brother concealed his own wrongdoing and only reported what was favorable to him?”
“Hmm, I didn’t explicitly say that, but it seems you have a guilty conscience.”
“T-that’s…”
Miss Rourke trembled and couldn’t continue her sentence. But having already gotten the reaction I wanted, my gaze returned to the Grand Duke.
“It is true that I interfered. But I risked being impolite because it was necessary to do so.”
As I adopted an overly confident posture, Grand Duke Hadellus tilted his head and asked,
“What do you mean by ‘necessary’?”
“Simply that Baron Rourke was abusing my husband under the pretext of corporal punishment.”
“…Abuse?”
The Grand Duke’s eyebrows twitched at the word ‘abuse.’
“Yes. Today, I heard a loud crashing sound in Akid’s study.”
“…”
“Worried that an emergency might have occurred, I asked for the key to be brought to me.”
“And then?”
As Grand Duke Hadellus urged me to continue, I let out a sigh.
After pausing for a brief moment, I continued, shuddering slightly as if I couldn’t bear to recall the memory.
“When I went in, my husband was lying on the floor, bleeding profusely from his head. A sharp quill pen and an inkwell were scattered nearby.”
Of course, the description was slightly exaggerated from my perspective as an ultimate fan, but there was no need to explain that.
“It is true that I reacted quite violently toward Baron Rourke because I was so shocked. But anyone who saw that scene would have acted as I did.”
“…”
After my passionate speech, the Grand Duke’s gaze naturally went to Akid’s forehead. He then immediately reached out and lifted Akid’s bangs.
When his forehead was revealed, the stitches and treatment for the wound were visible.
“This is…”
The Grand Duke trailed off upon seeing Akid’s injury. As if he hadn’t expected Baron Rourke to strike him.
Well, he had no interest in what his son did, so he wouldn’t have known his forehead was broken.
“…”
As Grand Duke Hadellus’s expression instantly turned hard, Akid spoke.
“I am fine.”
“How can you be fine? Blood was dripping everywhere! He threw the object so hard that my husband couldn’t even get up from the floor.”
Akid looked at me with an expression that asked what my scheme was, as I made a fuss.
It was because I kept exaggerating the details and making a mountain out of a molehill.
Akid seemed to have wanted to resolve the matter quietly on his own, but I had a different idea.
After all, I had deliberately waited for the moment to disrupt Baron Rourke’s lesson.
‘I’m going to make sure Baron Rourke never dares to touch my husband again.’
As I renewed my resolve, a sudden sob was heard. It was Bestia Rourke’s crying.
