chapter 26
Jeremy looked genuinely happy as he shoved a T-bone steak into his mouth. Watching him, Cerret felt like her chest might burst.
“And that goes down your throat so easily… if only it weren’t for my brother.”
Cerret gripped her knife and looked at Jeremy with a face full of exasperation.
Jeremy had come to see Cerret, proudly announcing that he had recovered his noble title certificate. He boasted that he had managed to put it back in its rightful place without their father finding out.
As Cerret interrogated him about various things, they were caught by Yuan while together.
Cerret tried to send Jeremy away quickly, but Yuan brought him to the duke’s mansion, suggesting he stay for a few days.
Jeremy, perhaps out of courtesy or because he had been tricked, accepted Yuan’s offer eagerly. Not only that, but he also agreed to attend the Emperor’s 30th coronation anniversary ceremony in a few days.
“It’s a family honor! Cerret receiving a medal from His Majesty the Emperor!”
Jeremy said to Yuan with an overly moved expression. So oblivious. Cerret glared at him.
I’m risking my life to get married because of you… and you’re so happy about a medal from the Emperor?
“That’s the price of my life, Jeremy.”
Cerret gritted her teeth while drinking wine. Yuan, noticing her glass emptying quickly, signaled to a servant.
The servant approached and refilled Cerret’s glass with wine.
“After the 30th-anniversary ceremony, we’ll go down to Morshally to meet the viscount together with Cerret. You’ll come along then.”
Yuan spoke to Jeremy after confirming that Cerret’s glass was refilled.
Since Cerret had insisted on rushing the marriage, Yuan’s way of addressing her had shifted from “Miss Inohater” to simply “Cerret.”
In her previous life, being called “Miss Inohater” or “lady” by Yuan had always felt awkward—sometimes even chilling.
“I have to return to Serphiro. I can’t put off my studies any longer.”
Jeremy spoke with an embarrassed expression.
“When you go back, focus only on your studies, Jeremy. Don’t get distracted by anything else.”
Cerret gritted her teeth and warned him with her gaze: if he caused another incident, she wouldn’t stay silent. Jeremy flinched.
“Y-Yes, of course.”
Jeremy laughed awkwardly and resumed devouring the T-bone steak.
“Cerret, have you lost your appetite?”
She was holding her fork and knife but hadn’t touched her food. Yuan’s voice called out to her.
Looking at Cerret’s barely touched plate, Yuan’s expression was unusually serious.
“Yes, seeing my brother after so long completely took away my appetite.”
At Cerret’s words, Jeremy choked on his food. He quickly drank some wine and wiped his lips with a napkin.
“It’s delicious, so eat, Cerret. Don’t worry about your brother.”
“I’m just so happy to see him. My appetite disappeared entirely, Jeremy.”
Cerret smiled faintly at Jeremy.
“It seems the siblings have something to discuss. I’ll take my leave.”
Sensing the awkward tension between them, Yuan rose from his seat.
Jeremy looked at Yuan pleadingly, shaking his head as if to say, “Don’t leave!”
But Yuan either didn’t see or ignored Jeremy’s expression and left.
The servants cleared the room, leaving only Cerret and Jeremy in the dining room.
Once everyone had gone, Cerret glared at Jeremy and slammed her fist onto the table. Jeremy froze, clutching his knife and fork in surprise.
“Is your food going down, Jeremy?”
Cerret’s eyes were fierce, her anger bubbling inside.
“Cerret, a lady shouldn’t hit the table with her fist like that.”
Jeremy swallowed the T-bone steak in his mouth and said.
“I can’t hit my brother with my fist.”
“Y-Yes, a lady doesn’t hit her brother. Don’t worry, Cerret. I safely put the certificate back without Father finding out. So don’t worry.”
“I’m just worried the house might be lost before we have the money.”
Thinking about that kept Cerret awake at night. She feared their father would suddenly be left homeless.
“Ah, don’t worry about that. It’ll never happen.”
Jeremy shook his head, smiling smugly. His confident tone annoyed her. Cerret glared at his infuriating face.
“How do you even know that?”
“Th-There’s an… official system. It prevents it from being lost.”
“You’re so at ease. Meanwhile, I feel like I have a stone in my chest. Jeremy, eat as much as you like.”
Because of Jeremy’s carefree attitude, Cerret’s stomach churned. Eventually, she got up from her seat.
As she left the dining room and climbed the stairs, Yuan appeared beside her.
“You scared me.”
Startled, Cerret stumbled slightly, and Yuan quickly caught her arm. Smiling, he spoke.
“Is the meal finished?”
“I’m not interested.”
Cerret answered somewhat curtly. Both Jeremy and Yuan were people she couldn’t stand at the moment.
“Madame Barne will arrive tomorrow. You’ll need a dress for the coronation ceremony.”
“While we’re at it, summon the jeweler too.”
Cerret’s eyes sparkled at Yuan’s words. She would take everything she could get.
Yuan chuckled lightly at her confident demand. He nodded and spoke.
“Understood.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
Cerret smiled, thinking about picking the most expensive jewelry.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Tears streamed from her blue eyes. Lydia looked up at the Emperor with a face that triggered his protective instincts.
Whenever she looked at him like this, the Emperor’s heart ached. Poor child.
“Father, are you really going to give Yuan the personal letter and the medal?”
Lydia’s voice trembled.
Hearing that the Emperor’s letter and medal would go to Yuan and his fiancée Cerret, Lydia was consumed with unbearable anger.
Why must that honor go to the insignificant Cerret Inohater? That trivial girl got Yuan and now even the Emperor’s blessing.
“Child, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
The Emperor looked at Lydia with a face full of regret. Though she was the daughter of his concubine, Lydia was his precious only daughter.
Though he couldn’t officially recognize her as a princess due to political concerns, he loved her more than the Crown Princess.
“No, Father! Yuan was taken from me, and I don’t want to see that girl receiving the letter and medal.”
Lydia buried her face in the Emperor’s lap, sobbing. The Emperor reached out with his wrinkled hand to stroke her head.
“Lydia, when you cry, it tears this father’s heart apart.”
The Emperor gently comforted her.
“I like Yuan. I want Yuan.”
Lydia lifted her head to look at the Emperor.
Though she wasn’t recognized as a princess, Lydia, having grown up showered with the Emperor’s love, could get anything she wanted.
She could get everything… except Yuan Frechtuster. No matter how much she wanted him, he wasn’t hers to have.
She begged the Emperor to let her marry Yuan, but Yuan had someone he had to marry: the daughter of the Inohater family. An unheard-of, obscure family girl. For this reason, Yuan had to refuse Lydia.
The reason? Her father’s life debt.
“Child, forget Duke Frechtuster. I’ll find a man far better than him.”
“I don’t need anyone but Yuan. It has to be Yuan.”
The best man in the Eirun Empire. Lydia needed him, and no one else.
“I must always have the best. If not me, who else should be by Yuan’s side? No one fits the role of Duchess of Frechtuster better than me.”
This thought had been imprinted in Lydia’s mind since childhood. She had always believed Yuan belonged beside her.
Only she was fit to be his wife. The position of Duchess of Frechtuster had to be hers.
“Poor child. There are things this father cannot give you.”
The Emperor’s heart ached seeing Lydia cry. That wretched child… He ground his teeth recalling how firmly Yuan had refused. He understood why Yuan couldn’t accept Lydia as a bride, but it still pained him.
Why did Lydia have to be like this? If only her mother had sought proper medical treatment before giving her that medicine, none of this would have happened.
It was the Frechtuster family’s hospital’s incompetence that caused this. And now they would shirk responsibility for her?
Though he wanted to force a marriage, he couldn’t antagonize the Frechtuster family. Half of the royal operating funds came from them.
The royal family’s reliance on the Frechtuster family wasn’t an exaggeration.
Given the situation, the Emperor could only watch Lydia’s heartbreak.
“How am I supposed to watch Father personally hand them the letter and medal? How could I watch you bless them?”
Lydia sobbed, shaking her shoulders. She was on the verge of madness as the country girl snatched away the Yuan she so desperately wanted.
In fact, it wasn’t even that Cerret was a country girl—it made Lydia even more furious. She had thought Cerret could never compare to her, but seeing her now, that was far from true.
Cerret didn’t suit the “country girl” label. She was beautiful, elegant, and above all, suited perfectly with Yuan.
Even others had noticed. At the last ball, people whispered about how well they matched.
Lydia couldn’t stand it. She wanted to scream.
Yuan belongs beside me, not Cerret Inohater.
“Child, there are things in this world we cannot change.”
The Emperor gently wiped Lydia’s tears, his voice full of regret. Lydia bit her lips tightly.
No, Father. I won’t give up yet. Yuan was mine from the start.
Lydia wiped away her remaining tears.
She wouldn’t let Yuan marry Cerret without a fight. She would take back the Yuan that was taken from her.
A heavenly smile appeared on Lydia’s face.
