ESL Chapter 35

‘I want to tear those mouths apart… They’re so noisy…’

Prince Lloyd looked down at the noblewomen clinging to his side, chattering incessantly, with a smile on his face while thinking coldly inside. He had come to show support for the new Count Roman who would be on his side, but there were no nobles of marquis rank or higher to be seen. If the previous Count Roman had been alive, marquises and dukes who maintained friendships with him would have attended, but the situation where Count Roman’s legitimate daughter had gone missing and his stepson was inheriting the title was hardly welcome to the late Count Roman’s close friends. Nevertheless, the reason Lloyd was here was because of the trading company the Count Roman house possessed. The Roman Trading Company was the finest trading company in the empire and well-known throughout the continent. Receiving support from that company was quite a sweet proposition for Lloyd.

‘I should just give my greetings and leave.’

Today happened to be a day when he enjoyed his pleasures. A woman to his taste would already be waiting in his secret room.

‘Come to think of it, Count Roman’s legitimate daughter was quite useful too.’

Not only was her body inexperienced with men and innocent, but the screams she let out when given pain and the way her flesh tightened around his member were quite to his taste. So although he had originally planned to hold her for one day and discard her, she pleased him more than expected, so he enjoyed violating her relentlessly for two days. The most delightful moment was when she woke from unconsciousness to find him still violating her, those green eyes filled with terror and pain staring at him. As he recalled the girl’s eyes frozen as if she’d seen a reaper from hell, his eyes narrowed slightly and his lower abdomen gradually hardened. It seemed he would need to release his lust on some low-ranking noblewoman or pretty maid before returning to the imperial palace. But soon the attendant’s resounding cry made the heat in his lower abdomen disappear in an instant.

“His Highness Prince Kaid Rosellin Dimand Hayazen enters!”

Who?

Prince Lloyd scowled his handsome face at the sight of Kaid entering through the door. Someone who by no means belonged at this gathering was entering the hall.

At the words that Prince Kaid had arrived, the hall immediately became noisy. Already, just the 2nd Prince’s visit itself had people beginning to view the new Count Roman with different eyes. But now it was the 3rd Prince. The 3rd Prince was famous for not attending unless it was an absolutely necessary party. Just the fact that such a person had come to a count’s party—not a duke’s or marquis’s—deepened people’s curiosity about the heir who would newly inherit Count Roman.

“…What brings you here?”

As Kaid removed his cloak and handed it to an attendant while approaching, Lloyd asked, smoothing out his scowl. To him, Kaid was quite a concerning opponent, though not as much as the 1st Prince.

“I came to repay a debt.”

Watching Kaid answer with a bright smile, Lloyd formed a twisted smile at the corners of his mouth.

“A debt you must repay must be quite significant.”

“It’s a life debt, so naturally, isn’t it?”

At the word ‘life,’ Lloyd’s face slightly frowned. The incident with the assassins in the Krauzen Mountains came to mind. On one hand, he wondered if they had extended their reach to Kaid as well. So he continued questioning, unlike his usual self.

“A life debt, you say. To the new Count Roman?”

“I don’t even know him. What about you, brother? Why are you here? Are you acquainted with the new Count Roman?”

As Lloyd was thinking about how to answer, the music stopped and a woman stepped forward. A voluptuous beauty in her early forties with deep red hair and grayish-brown eyes—she was Rene de Roman, Count Roman’s second wife. After losing his first wife to illness, Count Roman had lived looking only at his daughter without remarrying, but one day suddenly remarried Rene, a woman of unknown origin. And she even had a grown son. People had wondered for a while how Rene had seduced the count, but Count Roman kept his mouth firmly shut about that matter. There were even rumors of an affair—that Rene’s son was actually the count’s illegitimate child and that’s why they married. But that rumor also died down when it became known that Count Roman had no affection for his new wife and son. So that part remained a mystery.

Rene smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the nobles who had come to congratulate the succession of the count’s title. Not only the 2nd Prince but also the 3rd Prince had come for some reason, so they wouldn’t be easily dismissed going forward. How long had she waited for this day? That damned Count Roman wouldn’t budge no matter how she tempted him, so she had to resort to poison in the end, but it was a fairly clean finish. She had created a will and dealt with Count Roman’s daughter who could have been a problem. The only thing that bothered her was the count’s seal.

‘That damned Count Roman!’

She ground her teeth inwardly. As if he had noticed their plan, he had spirited away the seal shortly before being poisoned to death. Only after the count died did they realize the seal was missing and that it was with the count’s younger brother, so they sent people to find it. But who would have thought both the count’s younger brother and his son would be so stubborn? In the end, the count’s younger brother’s son who knew the seal’s whereabouts died in a building fire, and there was no longer anyone in this world who knew where the seal was. Even if she said she lost the seal, there was no one who could refute it. Yet something felt uneasy, as if lodged in her chest.

‘Maybe it’s because of the branch… I never thought it would collapse like that…’

Among the branches spread across the entire continent, it was a place that ranked in the top five in terms of scale and size alone. But such a branch had been swept away in a single moment by the Duke Kaien house. Worried that the repercussions might come their way, Rene and Rosman had to keep their heads down and wait quietly, even postponing the succession of the count’s title. But as time passed, there were no further movements from the Duke Kaien house. Only then did Rene feel relieved and begin preparing the succession party to make Rosman a count. And the day she had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Feeling people’s gazes, she emerged from her reverie and glanced at the man standing beside her. Now he was called Rosman de Roman, her son, but in reality his name was Rosman Feltrin, and they shared not a drop of blood. Like her, he was of commoner origin and also her longtime lover. Though 17 years younger, Rosman was a man who knew women well and knew how to satisfy her. Now that he would become a count and even possess the trading company, she would have everything she wanted.

Had he noticed her looking? Rosman looked at her and, unbeknownst to others, stuck out his tongue and lightly licked his lips. At that sensual sight, Rene’s body began to heat up. But she endured. Once this moment passed, she could roll around with him to her heart’s content. She opened her mouth leisurely, as if she were the mistress of this count’s house. As people focused their attention on her high-pitched voice, she placed a hand on her chest and curtsied, holding her skirt with her other hand.

“First, I thank everyone who came to witness my son Rosman’s succession to the count’s title. Especially that even the 2nd Prince and 3rd Prince have come is an honor for the house. As you know, my daughter is currently missing, but we cannot leave the count’s house vacant indefinitely, so we arranged this gathering…”

Before she could finish speaking, the door opened with a bang and a woman entered, accompanied by two attendants.

“As the legitimate daughter of this count’s house, I cannot accept that succession!”

The nobles who recognized that the woman in a dazzling white dress and beautifully adorned was Helen, Count Roman’s legitimate daughter, began murmuring.

“……..”

Though Lloyd didn’t show it, he was shocked and gritted his teeth. How could that girl be alive? But those more flustered were Rene and Rosman.

“How is that girl alive?! More than that, what were those things doing to let that girl get all the way here?!”

Rosman, frozen at the unexpected situation, felt something strange at Rene’s whisper. There were definitely shadows watching this mansion, and their number was five. If they had discovered Helen, they wouldn’t have stayed still. But for someone who had sneaked in, her attire and attitude were too bold.

Watching them, Lea raised the corners of her mouth. Though quite distant, she could hear their conversation to some extent. Improving one’s hearing was a bonus from learning swordsmanship, but they wouldn’t know that. In fact, before entering the mansion, she had asked Ian to deal with the shadows. And as expected of Ian, when she brought Helen into the mansion, not a single shadow was visible.

‘Then shall we start the show?’

She turned her eyes to Kaid, who had been staring at her without taking his eyes off her since she entered. Brown eyes and golden eyes intertwined in the air, and she felt pleasure in the intense golden eyes. He seemed quite satisfied to see her again. To such a person, Lea gave a brilliant smile containing her meaning. Then she felt him flinch.

‘Oh no…’

Kaid, who had been watching and appreciating Lea’s masculine appearance, noticed the meaning in her smile when their eyes met and she sent him a smile. Her smile was blatantly saying this. But that smile was so charming that he unknowingly stopped breathing for a moment.

[What are you doing? If you came to repay a debt, you should repay it.]

The debt… must be repaid… Kaid withdrew his smile and opened his mouth with a serious expression. What Lea wanted from him was probably the progression of this show. And when the show ended, he might even get to see his annoying half-brother’s face contort, he thought.

“Are you who speak thus the missing daughter of Count Roman?”

At Kaid’s question, Helen bowed her waist and gave a respectful greeting.

“Greetings to the esteemed ones. I am Helen de Roman.”

“I’m glad you’re safe. So what is your reason for not accepting this succession? As the only blood relative of the former Count Roman, let’s hear your story first.”

Kaid deliberately emphasized the words ‘only blood relative.’ Thanks to that, neither Rene nor Rosman, nor Lloyd standing beside them with a frozen expression, could step forward but only watched the situation. Helen expressed her gratitude to such a Kaid and opened her mouth.

“First, the reason I went missing is because I was kidnapped.”