Now that Terdeo had found out, it was no longer a matter that could be resolved with just a conversation. Contrary to the expectation that he would immediately attack, Terdeo turned his body with his lips tightly pressed together.
"…?"
Then, he carefully placed me where there were no glass shards. His piercing gaze was directed at my wrist.
"Doctor."
It seemed that Terdeo's anger had risen to the top of his head, as he stopped speaking and clenched his teeth. The butler nearby managed to understand and quickly moved.
"I will call the doctor."
Even after the butler went to call the doctor, Terdeo could not continue speaking. After a few deep breaths, he resumed in a voice filled with coldness.
"Wait a moment, the doctor will be here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Terdeo turned his body. He tilted his head back as if to calm his anger and took a few deep breaths. The thick veins on his exposed throat stood out, filled with intense anger.
'They're thinking of a territorial war.'
A war that stakes the opponent's territory and honor. The winner is decided by a one-on-one sword duel in front of soldiers, and the loser not only loses their territory but also all their honor. Losing honor was akin to being stripped naked and expelled from the noble society. Of course, no matter how hard the two families tried, there was no chance of defeating Terdeo, who had always participated in wars at the emperor's side.
"Such a thing!"
Both families clearly knew this reality.
"Can you not overlook this once? I will certainly educate my child properly…."
"Trelan, my lord."
Terdeo growled and cut off Trelan's words.
"You don't expect to get away unscathed after touching my heir and my wife, do you?"
"…."
"I want to cut off that heavy neck and bury it in the ground right now, so shut up."
Trelan unconsciously touched his neck and swallowed hard.
"Decide. Will you be humiliated here, or will you lose everything to me publicly later?"
"…."
"If you don't like either."
Terdeo drew his sword again.
"Then see blood here. Of course, I like the last option the most. I won't be able to sleep at night if I don't cut off your heads."
Trelan, who had just had his hair cut by that sword, flinched. While they were lost in thought and silent, the doctor arrived.
"Your Highness, I heard you injured your wrist."
I showed my wrist to the doctor who had rushed over. The doctor was startled by the state of my wrist. Then, he carefully examined and moved it.
"Ouch."
"Does it hurt?"
I didn't feel this much pain during the fight, probably because I was extremely excited. A tear welled up in the corner of my eye.
"Fortunately, there's no bone damage. The bruising is severe, so it's best not to use your wrist for a while. I'll have a compress prepared…."
The doctor glanced at Terdeo standing in the center of the hall.
"Once everything is settled, you should start with the compress. I'll give you pain medication with your meals and an ointment to reduce the swelling."
The doctor, who had quickly prescribed, gently placed my wrist down.
"I understand, so you may leave."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The doctor instructed a nearby maid to put ice in a soft cloth and hand it to me. He then hurriedly left, perhaps fearing he might get involved.
Seeing my swollen wrist, my anger surged. As if reading my mind, Terdeo moved.
"It seems the answer is clear."
Time had passed, but the situation was not much different from before. The Denier family was still kneeling and crying, while the Trelan family and the Loremba family remained stiffly standing. They probably thought, 'Surely he won't kill us,' and were holding out. Perhaps they even thought dying would be better than being humiliated.
"A thorough investigation is necessary."
"An investigation?"
"Judging based on one side's words is too foolish!"
Terdeo looked at Trelan, who was passionately arguing, as if he were a bug.
"I clearly heard Young Master Lingxi admit he was wrong."
"That's because my child was scared…."
"Denier Lingxi admitted it himself."
"Perhaps it was just Denier Lingxi acting alone!"
"My wife also heard the conversation between the young masters."
Terdeo lightly spun his sword in his hand.
"Are you ignoring the words of the Duchess, Trelan?"
"That's not it…!"
"Enough."
"Your Highness, Duke."
"Just kill him."
Terdeo, who spoke firmly, gripped the sword handle properly, unlike before. His cold, mocking expression was genuine.
"Wait…."
"It's already too late."
The moment Terdeo swung his sword with a clean motion, a plea for forgiveness burst from Trelan's mouth.
"I was wrong! Your Highness!"
"You should have said that earlier."
Terdeo did not withdraw his sword even after Trelan's apology. Trelan's body trembled from extreme fear.
"Spare… spare me, Your Highness. Please."
The skin where the blade touched quivered, leaving a raw wound.
"Trelan."
"Yes, yes!"
"You know I'm not a merciful person. I don't care if I kill all three of you here."
"I know, I know."
"But I'm not cutting off your head and stopping to talk because today and this place are a party hosted by my wife."
Trelan nodded desperately. He was already kneeling on both knees. Trelan Lingxi also approached the marquis, knelt, and cried.
"Don't think I can't kill you."
"I will remember, I will remember."
"It's as easy for me as breathing."
Tears streaming down his face, Trelan nodded desperately. Terdeo looked at the two for a while before turning his head. In his blood-red vision, the stiffly standing Loremba Countess was captured.
"What will you do?"
"I… I…."
"If you think I won't kill you, you're greatly mistaken."
"…."
"If you still think I won't, then test it with your body."
The sharp sword was directed at the Loremba Countess. She immediately knelt with a pale face.
"Spare… spare me!"
The situation was resolved in an instant. Terdeo, with an indifferent expression, looked around and lightly swung his blood-stained sword. Drops of blood splattered on the glass-strewn floor.
"Have the three young masters go to Selphius and apologize again."
"Yes!"
"I will… I will…."
"Yes…!"
The three young masters responded in different tones.
"Before that…."
Terdeo, who had suppressed his overwhelming anger, suddenly started sweeping the glass shards on the floor with his foot.
'What is he doing all of a sudden?'
Before I could wonder about his sudden action, Terdeo, who had roughly cleared the glass, reached out to me.
"Fereshati."
"…."
"Everything is settled, so now you can do as you please."
Giving the two families a choice earlier and only scaring them with his sword were all to make me do what I wanted. I approached Terdeo, looking at my throbbing wrist. Walking was much easier because he had cleared the glass from the floor. Standing next to Terdeo, I saw the heads of the three families kneeling before me.
"I was wrong. Your Highness, Duchess."
"…If you think an apology will end it, then I should just hit the young masters and apologize, right?"
"Hit me instead! Please, not my child! What are you doing! Apologize quickly!"
"Really, I was wrong. Truly, I was."
"I won't do it again."
I looked at the three families, who were crying and apologizing.
"I want you never to be seen again. Leave the capital within three days. And never appear in my sight or Selphius's sight again."
"Yes, we will."
"Kneel and sincerely apologize to Selphius tomorrow."
The three young masters nodded, sobbing.
"Clutching my teeth, Terdeo, who was standing beside me, added."
"The Trelan family, who directly harmed the Duchess, will leave the capital and settle elsewhere, with all contact with others forbidden."
"Your, Your, Your Highness!"
"Your territory, property, and title. You haven't been stripped of anything. You should naturally know this is a lenient punishment."
"But…."
"Should I report this to His Majesty?"
If it reached the emperor's ears, you would probably lose everything. But thinking about it, being forbidden from all contact with others meant you couldn't do any business outside the capital, and even with a high title, you couldn't do anything. It was equivalent to the destruction of the Trelan family. Trelan, with his lips tightly pressed together, nodded weakly. I looked away from the heads of the three families and surveyed the surroundings.
"Everything that happened at the charity party must not be mentioned after this hour. No one, for any reason."
"…."
"Neither the situation that just occurred nor the story of my son can be mentioned."
All the nobles who had witnessed the situation kept their mouths shut. It was probably because Terdeo was standing beside me, sword in hand, looking terrifying.
"Also, the same goes for newspaper articles. If even a hint of today's charity party appears in the newspaper tomorrow, I will burn down the newspaper office."
"…."
"I don't want to remind my son of this unpleasant memory."
I looked around and slowly made eye contact with everyone.
"Since you are all gathered here for a good cause, I believe you will understand."
Thus, the charity party came to an end. The next day, in the newspapers, rumors, and everywhere else, there was no mention of the charity party. The morning dawned.
"Your Highness, there's nothing about it in today's newspaper."
I stared at Selphius, who sat at the table with the newspaper in hand, looking natural.