Chapter 33

Chapter 33

So, the award ceremony was greatly disturbed due to the sudden visit of the emperor.

This was because the imperial couple, who came to watch the finals, canceled the award ceremony under the pretext of the fact that the finals did not take place.

On the long way back with Evan, Juliana was finally able to spit out what she had held back in the carriage where there was no one else.

“What’s going on?!”

Evan said to Juliana, who demanded an answer with burning eyes, after a moment of thought.

“It’s the Emperor’s habit. In this childish way, he confirms the loyalty of his subjects.”

“Loyalty? Why does the Emperor do such a thing? Oh, our families are devoted to the imperial family.”

“Hmm…… Somehow I can understand the thoughts of those in power.”

“Give up the gauntlet!”

Dunk-!

The carriage reeled over the bumpy road and lurched forward. Because of that, Juliana had to hold onto the cushion tightly and tighten her toes so that she wouldn’t fall forward.

And when it’s all over-, she talked some gibberish as if swearing at the horse. Evan, who listened to Juliana’s words, laughed.

“If I withdraw from the fight, the Emperor Lucian Val Ariakne will think that I gave up the fight because he is the emperor. You wouldn’t want to set him on edge like that. And even if I beat His Majesty, it’ll be a problem. If you hurt the Emperor, you’ll become a great sinner. But, even if I lose lightly, they’ll accuse me of losing on purpose. This time His Majesty Lucian used his brain.”

“By any chance, do you know why the Emperor does that?”

“The young Emperor wants to cut the hair of the nobility whenever he thinks they have grown too long. Or maybe the empress doesn’t want to see the Duke of Hilcheon on the podium giving the blue roses to the Duchess Juliana Auburn. You might think I overdid it this time with the civil actions and now I have to pay the price.”

‘It doesn’t make sense.’

Juliana wrinkled her eyebrows gloomily.

“I honestly didn’t care about the blue roses or the jousting contest. This happened because you interfered and participated in the contest to get rid of those fanatics who worshiped me. I told you, didn’t I? I’ll take care of it. I was going to find a way to defeat them myself.”

Juliana’s gloomy murmurs made Evan choose his words carefully for a moment, then he gently replied.

“As an excuse, I would like to say that I wanted to help you in this way. And as a more obvious excuse….. I wanted to kill them. That’s all. Even though I was in the war, I was still thinking about the guys who dared to catch your gaze, and I couldn’t stand it.”

Juliana, who had been holding the cushion tightly until then, eventually laid her face down on the cushion. Evan said to his wife, who curled up in a cute position.

“Juliana.”

“…..yes?”

“Don’t worry. I’m thinking of the way to properly listen to His Majesty’s childish intentions.”

Juliana said, looking up at her husband, who spoke lightly.

“How are you going to listen to? I hate it when you participate in this contest. Can’t you just give up? You could’ve done a little pretending, just like you said. His Majesty’s mood shouldn’t be your concern.”

Tears welled up in Juliana’s beautiful bronze eyes. Tears dripping on her white cheeks disappeared three times as Juliana wiped them with her fingertips.

She shook her head while making a puzzled expression as if the tears on her face were the tears of another person. Don’t cry, you promised you wouldn’t be crying in front of Evan.

Juliana spoke firmly to Evan, who was about to speak.

“No! Don’t answer me. I don’t know much about the political games, nor do I know about the timing, but I know that Lucian Val Ariakne is a minor! If he wants to give roses to the empress, tell him to give her as much as she wants! If he wants to kill the nobles, tell him to do whatever he wants. I just don’t want you to get hurt because you’re not as strong as you think.”

Juliana bit her lips hard.

Anxiety and anger rose together. Before realizing her previous life, Juliana Auburn was used to standing in line, but now she was different.

Originally, Juliana Auburn’s common sense, which was strangely attached to her ego, was unpleasant. At this moment, she felt like she was speaking through the mouth of Juliana Auburn as Lee Sian from her previous life.

‘Talk to me! You son of a bitch!’

Juliana hurriedly wiped away her tears from the awkwardness. Evan, who did not respond to her plea, finally said softly.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Well, I suppose you can put it that way.”

Why, why. You don’t look so good.

Unlike the unusual glare of her eyes, Juliana smiled awkwardly as she looked at Evan in a cold manner.

After several months of self-awareness of her previous life, it seemed that she had grown attached to Evan Hilcheon, who certainly showed her endless affection. Even so, Juliana made a promise to herself that she won’t break.

‘Get a hold of yourself! Did you forget to stay away from the original storyline and enjoy your golden spoon life?! After going through a quiet and modest life in the monastery, you can live with money that you won’t be able to spend even until the day you die-.’

Evan snapped Juliana out of her thoughts as she was putting her mind at ease.

“Juliana. Did I tell you why I became a duke?”

It was still a long way to get to the Duchy. Juliana, who was looking at the winter trees and mountains plunged into the darkness that made the landscape look romantic, said after a moment of reflection.

“Well, I don’t remember exactly. I just heard that you took over after your brother passed away.”

“Do you remember my brother?”

Evan said kindly.

But his blue eyes froze with unexpected light when Evan said the word ‘brother.’

Juliana quietly answered, avoiding his wonderful eyes filled with coldness and disgust.

“Well, I remember that he was my fiance when I was a child-.”

‘…..what kind of man was he?’

In the past, Juliana Auburn had no affection for her fiance. It was just a union between families, and she thought that a person with that social position would not hurt her prestige.

It was probably the same for the other party involved. Thanks to this, both of them played quietly in the living room, and when the fun went out, Juliana would talk to the knights or explore the house. She did it every time, so it would have been unavoidable for Evan to see young Juliana.

As she hesitated to continue her next words, she ended up speaking frankly.

“Actually, I don’t remember him very well.”

“Unfortunately, I can remember that trash.”

“!”

Juliana was surprised.

If you swallow your saliva carelessly, you get choked up. After calming down with somewhat wild thoughts, she said.

“You didn’t get along with him, did you?”

Evan said, facing Juliana’s gaze.

“He was an opportunist. He despised my mother, who I can’t even remember, and he despised me too. The most frustrating thing was that I accepted this when I was young. Believe it or not, but I was a little short when I was a kid. I really was.”

“Haha.”

He spoke in a joking way. Because of that, Juliana laughed. Then recalling what had happened a long time ago, he said in a sharp voice.

“You should have seen him whining about not going to the war.”

“He didn’t want to go, did he?”

“My father tried his best to stop it. No, he was rather trying to send me on behalf of Kelton.”

“Good thing you didn’t go.”

Juliana said sincerely.

Evan smiled helplessly at her face.

“It wasn’t hard to encourage his vanity. All they had to say was that after taking over the duke’s duties in the war he would be protected by all knights surrounding him and that the barbarians didn’t matter. Unbelievably, my brother believed in these naive words. Those who are infinitely protected do so. They misunderstand that they will be protected under any circumstances.”

He laughed at his deceased brother and smiled as if Evan was the one who had drowned him. Juliana kept silent because she didn’t know what to say when she saw him like this.

Evan talked to her, looking at her blinking eyes.

“I think I’ve been a bit of a weirdo since I was a kid. Actually, one of the reasons why my brother hated me was because I was a weirdo. ‘He doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t get angry.’ If a child makes fun of another child and despises him, there is a deserved reaction, but I’ve never done that.”

Evan’s eyes were still dark and deep, reflecting on the past.

Juliana couldn’t help but listen to what he said and think about his emotional wounds.

In the meantime, Evan spoke in a flat tone.

“Come to think of it, it was simply an adaptation to my position, but he was really reluctant. Isn’t that weird? The abuser is giving the cause to the victim because the abused person doesn’t show the reaction he wants to see.”

“…..”

Juliana struggled to catch the topic of conversation, which seemed to flow with the stream of consciousness.

Evan showed composure, unlike the person telling his story.

At the same time, he looked fragile because his perfectness, which he always did not fit in, was broken. Looking at his head leaned against the window, he looked young as he wandered through his childhood past.

“Evan, I-.”

“You came to my house often, remember?”

“…..I remember.”

Juliana laughed clumsily. It was not possible to tell whether her smile was real or fake, and Evan smiled with a clear revealing expression.

“You don’t remember me, I know.”

“Do you think I remember anyone specifically?”

Juliana smiled.

Life really went her way before she realized her previous life. Party maniac, dissolute women, distracting people.

Unlike the various rumors that embody Juliana Auburn, in fact, she was a closed person.

A person who only smiles and talks on the outside and seduces people as if she knew people’s hearts, but never opens her own heart. Juliana, who became able to look into the past objectively after realizing her previous life, had a complex look on her face.

Evan, who was looking at her sweet lips with a covetous glance, said slowly.

“I have never been bothered by my brother’s vanity and inferiority complex in the first place. Isn’t that such a hassle? It’s hard to keep up with the dumb guy’s pace.”

“…..Evan.”

“But I did that troublesome thing eventually. He was bragging about how he’ll be given the honor of the Duke, and after a few months of struggling, he’ll be much better than an illegitimate child. Over and over and over again. Oh, how much I wanted him to die.”

“Wait a minute-. Why is the conversation going this way? So, you’re not going to participate in a jousting contest, are you?”

Juliana hurriedly said to elicit the answer from Evan first.

Eventually, Evan looked out of the window at the Duchy, which was seen in the darkness, and belatedly answered.

“It’s an obvious trick, but if you don’t comply, the entire ducal family will be degraded. As you know, it’s easy to see through this trick but it’s not easy to run away from it. It’s a game like this.”

“Then, without hurting yourself, is there any way you can win?”

Rattle-dump-.

After a slight jolt in the carriage walls, they finally arrived at the Duchy.

Juliana looked at the duke’s residence in darkness. Then Evan said to her with a nice smile.

“There’s a proper way.”

“…..you know, I really don’t know what you’re up to.”

Juliana grumbled in front of the main gate of the duke’s residence when they arrived. Then she opened the carriage door and grabbed Evan’s hand to escort her down.

Evan Hilcheon closed his eyes and laughed as he was astonished at her actions, as she had unconsciously reacted to him tenderly.

“There’s no one like me who reveals everything to you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I want you to be honest when this is over.”

“What?”

The hand that Juliana held was firm and cold.

The smell of blood from the stadium still lingered on the tip of his nose but Evan acted as if the match against the emperor was nothing.

Evan said whether he listened or not to Juliana, who vigorously walked ahead.

“If you admit that you’re worried about me, maybe our relationship will get better.”

“Who, who cares?”

“You?”

“Wake up from your dream!”

Juliana grumbled.

After that, she went straight into the duke’s residence without looking back. Still, she heard Evan, who walked in a while later, laughing, and she felt a little embarrassed.

* * *

Translator –