Chapter 36: I Stole Yooju's First Love
First, I asked Daniel to investigate Robert.
If I made the first move, Tatiana might notice and approach him first.
Daniel was currently wary of Tatiana.
He didn't seem like he would take the initiative to speak to her.
As I was about to get up after finishing my story, Daniel held me back.
"Is there something else you want to say?"
"It's about what happened at the academy."
On the night of the masquerade ball, when Tatiana appeared, I couldn't help but bring up past events and pour them out to Daniel.
After the ball, as my anger towards him and Tatiana subsided, all that was left was self-reproach.
I didn't really need to bring up the past and make him angry again.
But this drew a clear line.
"At that time, I didn't fully understand your situation. I know it's late, but I want to apologize properly."
"You don't need to apologize."
Daniel looked perplexed at my words.
"I know I hurt you and your family deeply back then. But we were also good friends..."
Daniel was silent. He bowed his head, and his fine brown hair spilled over.
Daniel, who was usually kind and affectionate.
But to me, he was cruel and cold. He was a heartless man who could sacrifice someone to protect his love.
"Considering what you did to me, shouldn't I be grateful just to be able to talk to you?"
I deliberately reminded him kindly, but he still seemed shameless.
"I'm sorry, really sorry."
He, like the other male protagonists, showed me his true self.
And that true self became his weakness.
Daniel wanted to appear kind and righteous. Perhaps at that time, he avoided me to avoid being blamed instead of Tatiana.
To hide his indecisive and weak nature.
And he had completely forgotten about what I had gone through.
"Your apology won't heal the wounds I received."
"What can I do to make you forgive me?"
Daniel acted as if he would give me his liver and gallbladder.
If I were another noble, I might have cut ties with him or accepted his apology.
But I wanted practical benefits more than noble values.
I wasn't kind or righteous.
"If you're sorry, give me what I want."
So, I would get everything I could from him.
Daniel promised to cooperate with me absolutely.
I didn't fully trust him, but he seemed to have somewhat escaped Tatiana's influence, so I decided to use him.
"I thought it would be easy to solve, but nothing is going right."
If we couldn't build the structure on the land, we at least needed people.
But I didn't even know where to find such promising talents.
I thought meeting Daniel would bring some progress, but it didn't.
I sighed involuntarily during dinner, and my father looked at me with wide eyes.
"Huh? No, nothing's wrong."
"Remember, every time you say nothing's wrong, something happens. Did the Emperor do something suspicious?"
I couldn't understand why the problem always shifted to Aster. I quickly defended myself, but my father's eyes were full of suspicion.
In the end, I decided to tell him the truth.
"It's because of Daniel."
With a clatter, my father dropped the fork he was holding.
In our family, the names of the men who broke off engagements with me were all taboo.
We didn't even mention them, and Daniel was the worst.
Father had always been close to Daniel, who he had known since childhood. When Daniel broke off the engagement, it devastated our family.
'He has every right to be upset.'
"I've been too foolish. By staying silent after the breakup, everything became my fault."
"That's not your fault! It's all because of that wicked duchess."
As an extra, no matter how loudly I shouted, everyone pretended not to know.
"Of course, they would..."
Father also seemed to recall those memories and looked gloomy.
I deliberately leaned forward and spoke cautiously.
"So, I thought I'd get some compensation."
"Yes. Since I received compensation from the Hunt family, I thought I'd get something from the Malphiron family this time."
"What do you want to get? And will they give it to you willingly?"
I tried to reassure him by sharing part of my plan.
"He said he'd give me whatever I wanted. I was thinking of getting land in the capital, but he gave it to Tatiana. So, I'm still deciding what to get."
Getting something material would be clean, but I didn't really have anything specific in mind.
Father, who had been listening to my dilemma, finally spoke.
"Why not take away something honorable?"
"Yes. Something we can never get with our family's power alone."
"Then I'll get what I want, not what you want."
Father said this and focused on his meal again.
I pondered his words throughout dinner.
What could we not get with our family's power alone?
Lily lit a scented candle for a good night's sleep and left the room. Feeling exhausted, I decided to go to bed early.
Lying in bed, I kept thinking about what my father had said until I dozed off.
I suddenly woke up, sensing something strange.
The air was restless, and an unfamiliar feeling made my skin crawl.
A sweet, chilling fragrance filled the room, making me stiffen.
I had expected him to come, but not so soon.
I quickly took out a bracelet from the drawer next to the bed and put it on.
Raymond could stop time and control minds.
Even though he shouldn't use these powers recklessly, he was forgiven because he was a male protagonist.
'Maybe things will be different now.'
While I was catching my breath, I heard commotion outside.
The sound of crashing and clashing weapons made me tense.
Hearing my father urgently knocking on the door, I quickly opened it.
Relieved to see me, my father relaxed and sighed deeply. I smiled and asked, pretending not to know.
"By the way, what's going on?"
"Someone broke into the duchy."
Hearing the expected name, I remained silent. Raymond was the only one who usually did such crazy things.
My father puffed out his chest and smiled.
How did they catch Raymond, who wasn't just any mage?
If there had been significant damage, he wouldn't be smiling like that.
"Let's go to bed for now..."
"I don't think I can sleep. Can I see him for a moment?"
My father's expression immediately changed.
"I won't do anything strange."
With his permission, I wrapped myself in a shawl and went downstairs.
The lower floor was filled with heavily armed knights. Seeing the unusually large number, I turned to my father, who shrugged.
"I got permission from the Emperor. He even offered to send the royal knights, saying the duchy's security was poor."
Father was father, and Aster was Aster. Royal knights, of all things.
Shaking my head, I went down the stairs.
I approached the knight at the front and asked,
"He's locked in the food storage room for now."
"I want to see him myself."
The knight's expression hardened, and he glanced at my father for permission.
"Father has already given his permission."
He immediately apologized and led the way.
The corridor leading to the underground food storage room was dark and eerie.
I clutched my shawl tightly as I walked. When we reached the storage room, I ordered the knights guarding the door to open it.
Inside, Raymond was kneeling, bound with ropes, waiting for me.
'He's in better condition than I thought.'
Raymond was unharmed, which was surprising.
He lowered his head, avoiding my gaze.
I couldn't help but laugh at this rare humiliating sight.