North x Northwest

Chapter 323

Lil could only be described that way.

‘Because ‘Lil’ needs to be justified, whereas ‘Ed’ doesn’t.No one wonders what Ed is, but there is no honourable term for ‘what I am’. There is no positive word to refer to a woman who mixes her body with a man without a promise of marriage… Only a prostitute…’

And so, the rumour spread quickly. No matter if Lil moved rooms to stay away from the crowd or how much Ed and Linhardt threatened those who could possibly spread such rumours, the scandal had already become ugly.

‘Typically, the only way for me to regain ‘honour’ is to get married, because as a woman, there’s no honour if I won’t be taken in for good…’

Mireille’s evil laughter sounded like an auditory hallucination and Lil heard him clearly.

{ “…You could make a fortune by smiling sweetly and selling your body*…” }

‘He’ll still treat me no different from before. Because between then and now, he’ll still regard me as a prostitute…’

Suddenly, as if he were waiting for Lil to recall that memory, a cold being made a screeching noise in Lil’s ear.

“…You thought I was gone, right? But you can never escape…”

As his chilly breath enveloped her entire body, someone grabbed her shoulder. The sudden warmth made Lil lift her head.

“Liloa?”

“…”

But before she could even face Ed, he already embraced her. When she naturally placed her chin on his shoulder, the sunlight shining behind him fell on her as well.

He spoke while wrapping her tightly pressed back.

“What are you thinking?”

“…”

“As expected, I should’ve made your name public.”

“Back then…”

“…You were thinking of running away if things got worse, right?”

Lil shut her mouth.

‘…When we were still in Roahn, Ed once suggested announcing my name. I hesitated at that time, however. No, to be precise, refusing was my way of saving Ed. Without knowing Venua’s purpose or Sesbron’s situation, I couldn’t allow a public declaration that I was alive. I was worried that it could negatively affect Ed in one way or another… If Ed were to ever suffer a fatal blow, I thought my best solution would indeed be to leave… And to some extent, I still thought the same even when I fell off a cliff with him… But now… Ah, this won’t work, because I’m overly greedy… Happiness and love… I knew it was absurd to ask for both…’

“You already told me you won’t ever leave, so I guess I can announce it. Although I think it’s a little too late.”

“Let me think about it for a moment.”

Lil pushed herself out of Ed’s embrace and got up from the bathtub. She felt slightly dizzy when she got out of the water, so she paused, but quickly resumed putting on her robe and soon assisted Ed with putting on his as well.

Ed’s gaze persistently followed her anxious face.

“I know, that was irresponsible of me…”

“…”

‘Why is it irresponsible not to be greedy for something you cannot take responsibility for?’

“But, you agreed to a lifetime contract.”

“…”

‘Ah, right, I made a promise… How careless…’

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you intend on running away?”

“…”

Ed kept blocking her as she tried to leave the boudoir.

“Is that what you’re thinking? Still? You said you would never let go, but am I still supposed to believe you?”

Lil sighed and looked at the floor next to Ed. Water dripped from his sleeves.

“I told you not anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I just… I need time to get my head straight. I stand by that decision, but right now I want to be alone. Besides, I need to dry this first too.”

Lil lifted her wet soggy hair. Ed, who had kept his lips tight at first, soon asked back.

“…Alone?”

When Lil nodded her head, Ed could no longer block her path. Lil walked past him, opened the door, and went out.

***

Having rented one of the empty guest rooms, the Duke of Mireille found himself sitting in the middle of the spacious room.

He kept smiling at the thought of the coming and the probably highly amusing situation.

“Sir Edgar. Finally!”

“…”

Mireille spread his arms wide.

“It has always been so hard for me to meet you even just once.”

“Duke. I didn’t know you could be this rude. I thought I was the only one who was rude enough to act like this.”

“How am I rude? That is not something for you to say when time passes and you have not contacted me at all. How many months has it been? I have been patient enough. Even now, if I had not come to you, the news of your arrival in Roahn or your passes through Simena would have reached me even later. It makes me feel sad because it seems like you are taking our promise lightly.”

‘Seeing that he’s not losing his smile even though he stated he’s not in a good mood, it’s clear that he has other ulterior motives.’

Ed found it difficult to hide his murderous intent and turned away from him.

‘There are too many people in this world who need to be killed for Liloa’s well-being.’

After adjusting his expression, Ed sat down on the sofa opposite Mireille and placed one of his legs on his other knee.

“I met the Prince Regent of Obernyu not long ago. From what I heard, he was the one who instigated you. Was it really necessary for him to contact you? Well, he would have done it anyway…”

“Prince Regent?”

“I see. Keep pretending you don’t know. Venua Obernyu asked you to vouch for his identity.”

Actually, Ed wasn’t sure about this.

‘Venua may have sent a message to anyone, so I’m not quite sure if the person he asked was really the Duke of Mireille.’

Mireille, who didn’t answer readily, walked towards the fireplace. His fingers flashed as he poured whiskey near the table due to the huge ring he was wearing. It prompted Ed to take a look at Mireille’s outfit.

‘A belt decorated with jewels and gold on his cravat. The collars of his justaucorps and waistcoat are also gorgeous as if they were court attire. His whole outfit makes it appear as though he’s on his way to a banquet somewhere.’

Mireille pretended to think while holding a glass of wine, then easily admitted.

“As expected, there is nothing the Lord of Roahn does not know.”

“Even so, you arrived too quickly considering you came from Sesbron. In the first place, were you already on the way to Roahn? Why were you in such a hurry?”

“It has been a while since our agreed date passed, so of course I was starting to become anxious.”

“If you knew that the Prince Regent was in Roahn, you could’ve just gone back the way you came, so why bother coming all the way here and even visiting my place of residence? It makes me think you have a purpose other than the reunion of the siblings.”

“You’re asking the obvious.”

“What?”

Mireille drank the remaining drink with a happy expression and the ice clinked in his glass.

“Because I want to meet Liloa. What other reason could there be?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Liloa is my fiancée. Her fiancé wants to meet his fiancée. Do you need any further explanation?”

Ed barely managed to keep an expressionless face.

“When will you be getting married? I’m sure the Duchess and your son will be very happy to hear this.”

Mireille put down his glass and leaned against the sofa in a relaxed manner.

“Are you avoiding the fact that you rolled around with her a few times?”

“…”

“How funny. A mere marquess trying to own a woman of her status. It even came to my attention that she is known as a mistress called ‘Lil’. To think Liloa is being treated like that…”

“…Mistress?”

“No need to act all surprised, I already know about it. Not only the ignorant people of Roahn, but even your own party considers Liloa to be a mistress… His Majesty cherished his sister, Princess Henrietta, very much. Such that when the princess died young, he was so upset that he fell out with the Archduke of Obernyu. If he finds out that the princess’s daughter, his niece, who was thought to be dead, is being treated like a mistress of a marquess from the periphery…”

“Who said that?”

“..?”

“Who said that? No one…”

“…”

Ed grabbed the handle of his cane as if he were going to break it. He was so enraged and disgusted by the fact that the word ‘mistress’ was attached to Lil, that it almost drove him mad. Only by tightening his chin was he able to suppress a voice that didn’t tremble.

“Should I go out and ask right now? Who on earth dared call Liloa Obernyu the mistress of a bastard like me?”

***

After returning to her room, Lil stood blankly and dried herself.

To her surprise, she wasn’t okay. She was more nervous than when she met Venua, and her fingertips had all turned cold. She couldn’t stop it even though she knew why. It was because the time she spent at Mireille’s mansion was full of acceptance, not resistance. Her body and her mind were remembering that terrible humiliation.

Lil said to herself as she looked in the mirror.

‘…He cannot denigrate me by labelling me a mistress or a prostitute. I mustn’t be deceived by his plans to bring me down…’

– – – – –

Reference:

{ “…You could make a fortune by smiling sweetly and selling your body…” } = chapter 57 = Mireille said this to Liloa after dragging her into the hallway while Cesar was visiting the residence of the Duke, back in Cesar’s side story. Mireille wasn’t amused by the sight he saw when entering the room and scolded Liloa for not doing her job. He was trying to humiliate Liloa into obedience.

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