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“This incident must have greatly upset you. Your family name being dragged into such unpleasant rumours because of your sister…”
As she spoke, the typically aloof Ian turned serious and looked at Barbara.
“The problem lies with those who spread such baseless rumours,” he said coldly, not even giving her a glance.
Benedict, who was next to him, was at a loss for what to do with Ian’s openly disrespectful attitude.
Even if he barely remembers Barbara, as they’ve barely met, to speak to her like that…
If anyone else had witnessed this, they might have thought they were about to get into a fight.
Fortunately, Ian’s abrasive personality was well-known, so Barbara and the other young women didn’t seem too affected.
Of course, it still left a bitter taste in their mouths.
Benedict couldn’t fathom how these accomplished young women could endure such treatment from Ian and still bravely speak to him.
Barbara approached Ian and asked, “By the way, is Sophia staying at the Fraus’s estate?”
“What do you mean?” Ian’s eyebrow raised slightly in response to Barbara’s question.
“I saw something strange recently,” Barbara said as she opened her fan and partially covered her face, creating an atmosphere of anticipation among the other young women and Benedict.
“I went to Andrei’s dressing room the other day and saw Lady Sophia’s dress being taken out. But the dress was headed for the Rivelon’s Grand Duke residence.”
“Is that true?”
“Moreover, someone claimed to have seen Lady Sophia at the Grand Duke’s residence not long ago.”
Barbara raised her fan with an air of arrogance as she looked at Ian, who responded irritably, “Are you implying that they’re meeting while engaged?”
“No, but it’s just that the timing of the sighting was quite early in the morning, and for her to be at the Grand Duke’s residence at that time…”
Barbara’s fan fluttered as she spoke, and the other young women’s eyes widened.
“Is that really true? After all, the Grand Duke lives alone in his estate, and having a woman there
“We can’t be certain, but it seemed like that. Since then, I’ve been paying attention, and the rumours aren’t entirely baseless. It’s like they might be living together or something.”
Barbara had already shared these suspicions with Lady Chanelia, but it seemed that Lady Chanelia (the duchess who published Sophia’s news) wasn’t keen on publishing such gossip.
Recent events, including several articles about Lady Sophia and the consecutive deaths among the nobles for the past two weeks, made it inappropriate to include such rumours in the articles.
“Oh, my goodness! No matter how engaged they are, that’s just too much! Even a well-behaved cat knows its place, but Lady Sophia is acting like that…”
Barbara glanced at Ian with a sly look.
Translator: HaileyFranchette. Read on moonlight novels only
Ian, on the other hand, seemed lost in thought, keeping his eyes down and his mouth shut.
‘Just as I thought.’
He was worried about this as soon as he heard that Sophia had gone to the grand duchy.
When such gossip circulates, it is Sophia who takes on the filth.
It was a situation that concerned him in various ways.
“So, what’s the point of discussing this in front of me?”
Ian stared at Barbara, appearing annoyed and pitiful.
“Well, I mean…”
“Even this morning, I ran into my sister, and she told me that Barbara was spreading baseless rumours. Are you telling me to spread such gossip myself?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Ah, then should I go to Grand Duke Killian and inform him about the rumours circulating about him? Is that what you’re suggesting?”
Ian stared at Barbara with a cold gaze, leaving her speechless.
“Please refrain from spreading baseless rumours about our family without thinking. It’s distasteful.”
Ian’s admonishment left Barbara, who had been acting so grand, deflated.
Benedict thought that if Ian looked at anyone with that kind of gaze, even an innocent person would start doubting themselves, thinking, ‘Did I do something wrong?’
Ian was truly talented at making people feel uneasy.
“Well then, shall we take our leave? We’re quite busy as well.” Ian pointed to the waiting carriage, giving the young ladies a look that said, ‘Leave already.’
Their faces turned bright red in response to his firmness.
“Yes, we’re also busy.”
“I bet you would.”
The young ladies hurriedly excused themselves and left.
Upon hearing Barbara’s remark, Ian responded nonchalantly. Barbara, feeling a bit annoyed, huffed and turned on her heel to walk away.
“Take care, ladies,” Benedict politely greeted the retreating women, although it seemed like no one paid attention.
They would surely spend a considerable amount of time tonight criticizing Ian, he thought with an awkward smile as he glanced at Ian.
Ian wore a somewhat serious expression as if he were preoccupied with something.
‘I wonder why he seems bothered, even after resolving the issue?’
Just then, Ian looked up.
“Secretary.”
“Yeah?”
“The inspection seems to be over. Can I go in first?”
“Suddenly?”
Since they already had their weapons equipped and there were others responsible for transportation, it didn’t really matter.”
“Something important came to mind,” Ian explained.
“Well, then go ahead,” Benedict granted permission, and Ian swiftly gathered his belongings and finished up his remaining tasks.
Before leaving his seat, he paused in front of Benedict for a moment and added a few more words.
“I will make a special training schedule by tomorrow and post a proposal.”
“What? The training schedule? Is it confirmed?!”
“I will meet the knights at 5 a.m. tomorrow.”
Ian bid his farewell with a casual salute and departed.
“Hey, hey!”
That rascal, is he really going to create the training schedule?!”
* * *
Translator: HaileyFranchette. Read on moonlight novels only
Contrary to Benedict’s concerns, the place Ian visited was the residence of the Grand Duke of Rivelon.
Unannounced, Ian’s sudden arrival startled Garfield, who rushed out to greet him.
‘The infamous sharp-tongued knight of Ruchtainer is here?!’ (T/L: Even Garfield is )
As a guest who had never visited the Grand Duke’s residence before, Garfield gulped nervously. He had heard about Ian and couldn’t help but feel tense.
Ian Fraus’s first impression was that of a “thorny rose.” He exuded an elegant yet intense aura, one that felt delicate and untouchable.
Perhaps his appearance played a role in creating this image. His vibrant red hair resembled a red rose, and his deep green eyes evoked the image of rose leaves.
In any case, it was certain that he was a handsome young man.
‘Count Fraus had quite attractive children, both a son and a daughter,’ Garfield thought.
He knew Count Fraus during his younger days. While he wasn’t considered ugly, he certainly wasn’t someone who would flaunt his looks. So, it was somewhat surprising to see such beautiful children like Sophia and Ian coming from his lineage.
‘Ian resembles his current Countess Fraus, but as for Sophia.’
‘Was the former countess that pretty?’
The brown hair and skinny body resembled one another, but it had been a long time since she passed away, so I couldn’t remember her (Sophia’s birth mother) well.
Lost in memories, Garfield greeted Ian politely, explaining that the Grand Duke was absent and suggesting he go to the military police headquarters to meet Kilian.
“Don’t you know that I’m not here to meet the Grand Duke?” Ian retorted.
“But this is the residence of the Grand Duke of Rivelon, Sir Ian.”
Garfield firmly blocked the way to the entrance.
With a slight touch on Garfield’s wrist, Ian raised his gaze and spoke in a low, chilling voice, “Do you know what that bastard did when he came to our family?”
Garfield couldn’t help but flinch, avoiding the young knight’s intense gaze. Ian’s seriousness was unsettling.
Garfield could vaguely guess what Ian meant by “what he did.” It must be about the incident when Killian threw a purse of gold coins at him and ordered him to apologize to the Fraus family for breaking their gate.
‘Give it to the Fraus family. I’m sorry for breaking down the gate.’ Kilian gave him the order the other day by throwing him a bag of gold coins.
Killian broke down the Fraus family gate and had to pay him back.
Though the exact details were unclear, it was undoubtedly Killian’s fault for breaking into Fraus estate.
“I know a little bit about what happened back then. We sincerely apologize. However, as you know, I cannot let you in without proper authorization. Garfield began, feeling embarrassed. But before he could finish, Ian threw a hefty purse of money in front of him.
Garfield realized the meaning behind the purse.
With a loud sound, the door of the grand duke’s mansion tilted and bent to the floor, twisting and leaning.
Garfield stared in shock at the ruined entrance. ‘Is this what a human is capable of? It was a heavily fortified iron gate, designed not only for decoration but also for security, as it was a mansion commissioned by the imperial family.
Yet, with one powerful kick from Ian, the lock had been obliterated, and the gate was now wide open.
However, Ian looked at the partially fallen door with a sense of dissatisfaction. The latch area was twisted, but the door hadn’t completely fallen off its hinges. Killian had supposedly shattered the door of the Count’s residence, yet Ian hadn’t achieved the same level of destruction.
Since the door of the grand duke’s residence is stronger than that of the count’s, it can be said that the two’s strengths are equal, but Ian’s pride did not allow it.
He kicked the door once more nervously, ripping it completely off the wall.
“Krr-rr-uck!”
The twisted sound reverberated as the door fell, along with a cloud of dust, onto the manicured grass of the Grand Duke’s garden.
‘These people are absolutely insane!’
Garfield covered his forehead with his hand, contemplating how to handle this situation. The aftermath of this mess would be a huge undertaking to deal with! ( T/L: Poor Garfield)