* * *
Karl smirked as he mocked Charlian, and she didn’t stop herself from cursing him in return.
“Pfft, hahaha.”
Watching the two of them, Sylvian finally burst into laughter.
“You two really are close friends, aren’t you?”
Though both of them frowned at his comment, neither bothered to argue.
The Duchess kept laughing as if he found it all very amusing.
“What does Karl like?”
“You’re curious about what I like?”
“I sent you a gift before, but I wasn’t sure if it suited your taste.”
The Duchess said he felt regretful and apologized for simply sending something expensive.
“I’ve been using it gratefully. If a gift has sincerity in it, I appreciate it regardless.”
The return gift he sent sat on the desk in the Marquis’s study.
He’d filled it with ink and occasionally tossed it to a subordinate to make it look like it was being used.
Karl gave a soft smile as he caught the gazes of the Duke and Charlian on him.
Charlian was probably just finding him irritating, and Zeroth likely had no idea Karl and Hailey had once known each other.
If he did know, he wouldn’t be leaving me alone like this.
“What about you, Lord Sylvian? What do you like?”
“I also like gifts that carry meaning.”
As their eyes met, Karl’s characteristic smile crept onto his lips.
“He really does rival Zeroth in looks, that’s for sure.”
Watching Sylvian go around the banquet hall, speaking attentively to everyone, Zeroth gave a small smile.
“Zeroth?”
Hearing laughter by his ear, Sylvian looked at him.
In response, Zeroth lightly took hold of the hand placed beside him, as if to say it wasn’t him.
Karl watched the whole exchange intently.
“The whole empire is abuzz with your story. I’m dying to know—how did the two of you meet?”
Charlian asked with a smile, seizing the moment.
She, too, had grown tired of hearing about the Duke and Duchess and had been curious.
“I was chasing after independence forces when I came across a woman who needed help.”
“…”
“That sounds… incredibly romantic.”
The Duke spoke first, and the Duchess lowered her head, seemingly embarrassed.
His eyes briefly drifted to her flushed face and trembling lips.
“She happened to collapse at the time, and I just couldn’t pass by.”
The Duke’s smile even carried a trace of mischief.
“He’s lying without even blinking.”
Karl knew. He’d been forced to memorize that script after their marriage.
“That day, I wasn’t feeling unwell at all, but I had to go out for unavoidable reasons… I never imagined something like that would happen.”
“Ah…”
Martius, who knew his brother had never once stepped outside the house, let out a low sigh without meaning to.
As others turned to look at him, he blurted out an excuse.
“So that’s why you were acting strange that day, huh?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Did the lady seem strange to you?”
“Yes.” Martius nodded vaguely at the Duke’s lie.
“I brought her home, but I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Must’ve been love at first sight.”
“I never took you for the romantic type, Your Grace.”
Karl couldn’t hold back and finally spoke.
“So you just went ahead and got married?”
Without even a wedding for the other potential bride?
Just like that?
It didn’t make any sense.
Karl clenched his lips to keep from twisting into a sneer.
He couldn’t afford to lose his temper or mock them here.
“That’s right. I thought if I waited around, I might lose my chance.”
Though Sylvian had been up for marriage for a long time, no one had claimed him.
Yet here Zeroth was, brazenly pretending he’d fallen head over heels.
“You’re certainly decisive, Your Grace. Whether it’s love or possessions, it’s the one who moves fast who wins.”
“I didn’t expect you to understand my heart.”
At Charlian’s words, the Duke laughed.
Sylvian, face flushed and unsteady from the alcohol, swayed beside him.
“Is Lord Sylvian your first love?”
Karl asked, as if out of innocent curiosity, and the dining hall fell into silence.
Even Sylvian, who had been fading in and out of awareness, looked toward Zeroth with curiosity.
“Embarrassing as it is… yes. I’d never really experienced love properly until now, but I fell hard.”
As Zeroth laughed heartily, Sylvian fidgeted with his fingers.
His already warm body felt even hotter.
Charlian widened her eyes in surprise at the unexpected sight of the Duke and Duchess, but quickly masked her expression and sipped her wine.
Martius, who also knew the truth, looked at his brother’s loving gaze and thought: no matter how it happened, if he was happy now, that was what mattered.
‘Bullshit.’
One person.
Only Karl couldn’t stay quiet.
First love? First love, really?
His eyes flared as he looked at Zeroth.
He’d long known he wasn’t in his right mind—but now he truly felt like he was going insane.
‘Hailey, Hailey Norman!’
His love, and Hailey’s death, had just been dismissed.
He inhaled deeply, trying to calm the storm in his mind.
Yes… it was only right that I be the one to avenge your death.
He was just toying with you.
Karl wanted to make Zeroth Graham suffer the pain of losing someone he truly loved.
No, just losing them wouldn’t be enough.
He had to live with it—a lifetime of pain.
If it were real love, then he’d carry on like Karl, with a soul torn to shreds and beyond repair.
“To your beautiful love—shall we toast?”
Karl raised his glass, and everyone joined in with a smile. He smiled along with them, the very image of grace.
But inside, he was drowning in the guilt of needing to drag Sylvian into hell.
And the one who made him do it—Zeroth Graham—he despised with every fiber of his being.
‘Are they… involved in some sort of sordid love affair?’
Sylvian pretended to be drunk, laughing softly as he ignored Zeroth’ unusually relaxed demeanor and the blazing fury in Karl’s eyes.
It seemed things hadn’t completely fallen apart.
If that were the case, then Zeroth falling for Yuri at first sight probably had something to do with the past.
If he still hadn’t been able to forget his first love even after marrying Sylvian, then he must’ve truly fallen for Yuri.
“Sylvian?”
“Yes~”
The group had been engaged in normal conversation, but Sylvian could feel all eyes suddenly turn to him.
What’s going on?
He tried to lift his head, but his body wouldn’t respond.
“The table… is stuck to my forehead and won’t come off.”
“Heh.”
Someone chuckled at his words, but his woozy head kept dragging his consciousness down.
“Ze~roth…”
“My wife, I think it’s time to go in.”
“But I’m still eating… mmph.”
Zeroth sighed as Sylvian slumped forward, face planted on the table, unable to lift himself up.
Across the table, Karl and Lady Nefer struggled to suppress their laughter.
“You really can’t handle your liquor. You should head in first.”
“Please excuse us for a moment.”
As the Duke stood up at Charlian’s words, Martius intervened.
“I’ll take him.”
The host of a formal dinner couldn’t just leave his seat.
Martius quickly rose and bowed his head respectfully.
“Excuse me.”
Carefully lifting his brother in his arms, Martius exited the hall, and the dining room quieted.
“He’s quite adorable, isn’t he?”
“Thank you for saying so, Lady Nefer.”
Having already emptied a whole bottle of strong wine by himself, Charlian refilled her glass and smiled.
Zeroth let out a faint chuckle and filled his own glass.
“I hear your father’s been busy lately. Is the Marquisate doing well?”
“Thank you for your concern. There are always pests leeching off taxes, after all.”
Charlian responded nonchalantly to his question.
Her father had always been busy, but these days he barely showed his face at home.
* * *
