Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Uncomfortable Encounter
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“...Your Excellency?”
The woman lying beside him asked cautiously.
‘...This is troublesome.’
Not only had he spent the night with a noble lady he’d never met before and taken her virginity, but now, as he tried to sort out the aftermath, His Majesty the Emperor had issued an imperial decree.
‘...It’s probably an order to enter the palace.’
Unless there was some major event, it would be a summons to the palace.
But he couldn’t ignore an imperial decree from the Emperor, of all people.
The target of Yujin’s unwavering loyalty, the wielder of the Empire’s greatest power. Refusing such a summons would be tantamount to declaring, “I’m going to oppose you from now on.”
‘What should I do?’
For now, he needed to sort out this messy situation...
This was what they called being between a rock and a hard place.
It fit perfectly.
“...Lady. I’m sorry, but would it be all right if I step out for a moment?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
She nodded readily.
As a noble herself, she clearly understood the weight of an imperial decree.
For a moment, this stranger seemed almost angelic.
He quickly threw on his pants and shirt, cracked the door open, and stepped out. His eyes met those of his secretary, who had been waiting quietly.
“The decree?”
The secretary politely handed over the letter.
High-quality stationery stamped with the imperial seal.
He took it and checked the contents—
‘As expected.’
It was an order to enter the palace for a discussion.
“...Hah.”
“Your Excellency? Is something wrong...?”
“...No. It’s nothing.”
The secretary looked puzzled at the sigh that escaped the moment he read the letter.
It made sense. This secretary was originally a knight from a foreign land who had served under him on the battlefield. Though now he toiled as his secretary.
Knowing full well Yujin’s staunch loyalty to the Emperor, seeing him sigh at the decree must seem odd.
“...It’s just that I spent the night with a certain lady, and I haven’t cleaned up the aftermath yet.”
“The lady from last night... Do you mean Lady Arkabella?”
“...Lady Arkabella?”
...Was his one-night partner truly a lady of the Arkabella Duke family?
The secretary looked slightly baffled, as if asking if he really didn’t know.
“Didn’t Your Excellency enter with Lady Arkabella last night, for some reason? We blocked information immediately upon confirmation and ordered the family servants to stay silent, but has something gone wrong...?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. Good work blocking the information. For now...”
...What did he mean nothing was wrong?
If the woman in that room was Lady Arkabella, things were about to get seriously tangled.
And for good reason—it was the Arkabella Duke family.
One of the Empire’s founding noble houses, they had reigned as dukes for generations, truly among the pinnacle of nobility. The only family that could rival them was the Calderon Grand Duke household.
‘Their influence is immense.’
Spending the night with a lady from such a place...
Was I completely insane yesterday?
He sighed inwardly. Of course, Yujin was technically high nobility himself.
...But still, a duke’s family was on another level. A duke’s family...
‘Anyway, that’s that...’
His capable secretary had blocked news of him drinking with Lady Arkabella and entering the family estate, buying them some time.
No secret lasted forever, but he could delay the spread as much as possible.
So, first to the palace to meet His Majesty, then talk with Lady Arkabella...
“Your Excellency...?”
Damn it.
For now, he and Lady Arkabella—no, Irene—agreed to discuss the night later. She understood the situation and that the imperial decree required him to leave quickly.
‘She did ask me to call her Irene instead of Lady Arkabella when sending her off...’
If that was all, he’d gotten off cheap. If a duke’s lady decided to make an issue of it, there’d be no end to the trouble.
He was so grateful that he told her to stay until it was convenient for the family before leaving. In that moment, she truly seemed like an angel.
‘...Of course, she might stir things up behind his back later.’
...He’d deal with that when it came.
Even as a war hero, his reputation couldn’t sink lower anyway... Truly ironic.
Yujin arrived at the palace and encountered the guard knights.
“What is the purpose of your visit?”
“...I’m here on imperial decree.”
Yujin handed the knight the letter bearing the decree. The knight took it somewhere to verify, then returned it with a crisp salute.
“...!!! Loyalty!! The imperial decree for Marquis Banus, Your Excellency, has been confirmed. You may enter the palace.”
“...Carry on.”
He indifferently passed the guard knights sending him looks of respect and walked through the palace interior.
Thud—
Thud—
The palace interior, visited after so long, was as splendidly unchanged as ever.
Portraits of past emperors and countless artworks adorning the corridors. Maids and servants walking with refined steps bowed their heads with a hint of fear as they passed him.
‘Almost a year, huh.’
He had come to the palace before the war ended. So much had happened then...
‘Even more, back when I was younger, I never dreamed I’d enter the palace.’
Back then, he was just an uneducated bastard child. Forget the palace—he’d rarely even attended banquets, confined to the family estate and scorned daily.
But now, he was a marquis and a war hero.
Things had changed so much.
He’d become a Sword Master, a war hero, and purged the hated family. He was truly grateful to His Majesty. Even amid ongoing war, he’d been given the chance to cleanse those hated things.
‘This must be what they call a reversal of fortune.’
Not quite a triumphant return, though.
No one was there to celebrate his return as a great war hero.
‘...Who celebrates a family traitor?’
The guard knights earlier were exceptions. As knights who revered the sword, they looked at him with respect. If they were nobles, they’d gaze at him with fear like the passing maids.
Even commoners would admire him as a war hero while whispering he was a family traitor.
‘...Come to think of it, Lady Arkabella—no, Irene—is a unique one.’
She neither loathed nor feared him and, for some reason, looked at him with affection.
...A truly peculiar person.
How long had he walked when someone approached from the opposite direction?
A golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty with a puppy-like face.
“...”
“...!!”
The other froze upon recognizing him.
Her gaze wavered, lips trembling a few times.
To the unknowing, it might seem a noble lady paralyzed at the sight of a war hero. Perhaps wondering if she was under threat or coercion.
But...
‘Not at all.’
They knew each other.
Her name was Sena Marilsian, Yujin’s fiancée.
Well, former fiancée.
...One whose family had unilaterally broken the engagement, leaving him simply notified. An uncomfortable relation.
...And unlike him, the villain, she was this romance-fantasy world’s protagonist.
Grip—
...His fist clenched involuntarily.
Yujin and Sena faced each other awkwardly in the corridor.
Or rather, Sena looked awkward while Yujin regarded her coldly.
...Recalling the unilateral breakup notice he’d received on the battlefield, bleeding through deadly crises.
Thus, the palace corridor filled with their awkward silence.
After a brief silence, Yujin chose to leave first.
She was a connection long passed. Even if there were fond memories, they were buried in the muck.
He had no desire to dredge up that filth, so he opted to walk away. No need to stare in this uncomfortable standoff.
As Yujin brushed past Sena, her lips moved faintly.
So soft no one would hear.
But his superhuman body, attained upon reaching master realm, caught even her faint mumble clearly.
“...It’s been a while, Yujin.”
Halt—
He paused briefly.
He felt Sena watching his back.
As if drawn by something, despite thinking he should hurry, he turned to her.
Their eyes met again.
This time, Yujin spoke first.
“...Lady Marilsian.”
“...Yujin.”
Yujin looked at her coldly. His voice was neither sharp nor emotional—utterly indifferent.
As if they were strangers, as if past ties meant pretend not to know.
Conveying severance.
“Please refrain from calling me by name casually like before. It could cause misunderstandings.”
“...Why?”
“It’s only natural.”
“...What’s natural about it?”
“...Lady Marilsian. We are no longer connected in any way. You know that well.”
His final words cut deep.
The Marilsian Count family—no, Sena herself—had unilaterally notified him of the breakup, so didn’t she know they were worse than strangers?
It’s your fault, isn’t it?
At his words, Sena’s heart ached momentarily.
‘...Why?’
Sena wondered inwardly.
Why did it hurt?
They had no relation anymore. She and her family had made it so, and his myriad bad behaviors had long eroded her feelings.
...In the end, she dismissed it as mere illusion.
“Yes. You’re right...”
“...”
“...I’m sorry, Marquis. An old habit slipped out for a moment.”
“...Good that you understand. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Yujin walked away resolutely, no longer looking at Sena.
And Sena watched his retreating figure with inscrutable eyes.
...An uncomfortable, brief reunion.