An Insult for an Insult
Currently, Asil was completely falling for our trap. I felt a bit guilty for using him like this, but it was mutual. After all, hadn't he come here seeking the power of the Descartes family?
"You don't look well. Are you alright?" Franche asked nonchalantly. Not a speck of malice could be found in her voice. In contrast, Asil's wide-open eyes were brimming with pure venom.
"...Are you pretending not to know what's wrong right now? Or do you genuinely not know?" Franche tilted her head, tapping her cheek with her index finger.
"I'm sorry. I haven't the slightest idea what you mean." Asil's face contorted like a demon's.
Until just a moment ago, Franche had been repeatedly bringing up swordsmanship, gently scraping at the sore spot Asil had kept hidden so deeply. Yet, she slithered away from his rising anger like a snake. It was a situation guaranteed to make Asil even more furious.
"Are you not looking down on me too much, Lady Descartes? I know you are speaking in circles, using bizarre phrasing just to insult me. Are you going to keep dodging the issue?" Franche shrugged, as if wondering what the problem was.
"You are far too worked up. Why don't you calm down first?"
"Do I look like I can calm down right now? When I've completely figured out your intentions?" Unable to control his expression, Asil's eyebrows twitched violently. The veins on his neck were still bulging.
"My intentions? And what would those be?"
"You insulted me for being unable to wield a sword despite coming from a family of knights!"
"Oh, I insulted you?" Franche curled the corners of her lips upward and continued.
"Well, fine. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I did insult you. But is being bad at swordsmanship in a knightly family really a sin? Anyone can be bad at something. Everyone has different strengths. Is there really a rule that says you must be good with a sword just because you were born into a family of knights?"
Oh, that sounds like something a female lead would say to comfort the male lead. I wonder how Asil will react.
"You wouldn't understand. You have no idea how I was treated in a family of knights just because I couldn't use a sword. That is why I made blood-sweating efforts to develop my own strengths—so I wouldn't be cast aside by my own family."
Well, Franche knows better than anyone what it feels like to be treated like garbage.
"Ah... That is indeed a tragic story."
Franche put on a gloomy expression. It was her specialty performance. Receiving her pity, Asil's face contorted once more.
"So, I am telling you not to look at me with that face and pity me!"
"What is wrong with pity? It is only natural to feel sympathy when hearing such a sad story."
Asil bit his lip, his eyes straining as he looked up at the sky. He seemed to be desperately trying to hold onto his sanity.
This was where Franche needed to deliver the decisive blow. Only then would the real fight begin.
"Just how bad are you with a sword to react like this? Surely you can at least defeat a common soldier, right? You are, after all, the third son of the Freiden family, which is famous for its knights."
Franche poked at his sore spot once again.
Asil possessed absolutely zero talent for swordsmanship. In fact, he was utterly useless at anything involving physical labor. Fortunately, he was quite competent at administrative work, but in this world, physical might reigned supreme.
"I will not tolerate any more of your insults, Lady Descartes."
The veins on Asil's neck bulged thick and heavy. His brow twitched incessantly, and his eyes burned with pure hostility.
"You really are a crazy bitch. There must be something seriously wrong with your head."
It had begun.
"...Are you quite finished speaking?"
"And what if I am?"
Slam! Asil slammed his hand down on the table with all his might. The teacup fell to the ground. Crash! Shards of glass scattered all over the floor.
"Now I see why your engagement with the Persia family was broken off. The Young Duke of Persia must have realized what a foul-tempered, defective woman you are. Just how much did he detest you for rumors to spread that he was interested in men?"
Franche narrowed her eyes and glared at Asil. Don't let that shake you. Don't forget our goal.
"Even before coming to the duchy, I wondered how I might rehabilitate you, but I never imagined you would be this bad. You are utterly hopeless. A disgrace to the Descartes name. Isn't the real reason you're even discussing marriage with me because you're on the verge of being kicked out of the ducal house anyway?"
Asil's venomous words continued to pour out. Franche took a deep breath, reclaiming her composure.
"Since you seem to have said everything you wanted, let me say a word as well."
Screeech. Franche stood up, her chair scraping backward. She stared straight at Asil with wide, piercing eyes.
"Is it because your swordsmanship is so yawn-inducingly pathetic? Even your words are incredibly trivial."
"What?" Asil spat, narrowing his eyebrows.
"If you are so narrow-minded and unable to control your temper, what do you plan to do in the future? Or is this simply how the Freiden family raised you? True to a family that knows nothing but how to swing swords, there is certainly no shortage of ignorance in you."
Asil's eyes went wide at the rapid-fire insults. Franche relentlessly pressed on.
"I can clearly see the level of education provided by the Freiden family without you even having to mention it. You said you manage the marquisate, correct? I don't even need to look to know the state of your territory. It must be just as pathetic and trivial as you are."
Franche had struck his third sore spot. Not only did she insult his family, but she also insulted the territory he cherished most.
"You... you crazy bitch!"
Crash! Unable to contain his rage, Asil flipped the table.
"You are the craziest bitch I have ever met in my entire life. Not only do you resort to personal attacks, but you dare insult my family as well? Have you even thought about the consequences of your words?"
Franche let out a smirk in response.
"You were the one who started it, weren't you? I merely responded in kind."
"Do you truly not believe you are the cause of this? The only reason I exploded like this is because of you!"
"Well, I wonder. I simply spoke the truth, and you are the one who overreacted and lost your temper, aren't you?"
Franche held her head high, mocking Asil.
"Do you know the term 'egotistical'? You are absolutely drenched in victim mentality. I suggest you keep that hideous inferiority complex to yourself."
Grit. Asil glared at Franche, grinding his teeth. Sensing the severity of the situation, the servants had apparently gone and summoned Eden Descartes without our knowledge.
"...This is an absolute disaster. What is the meaning of this?"
Both Asil and Franche looked toward Eden at the same time. Franche's expression was completely blank, while Asil's face was distorted with uncontainable rage.
"Young Duke Descartes. This marriage is off."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"I mean I cannot marry a crazy bitch like this."
Eden's eyebrow twitched.
"What on earth happened here, Franche?"
"It was merely an issue arising from Lord Freiden's inflated ego."
Asil flared up. "Are you going to keep acting like this until the very end?!"
"I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about."
Asil shouted as he looked at Eden. "Young Duke Descartes! The Lady has insulted both myself and my family. I cannot proceed with this marriage!"
Clicking his tongue, Asil turned on his heel and stormed out of the garden.
Eden asked, "What exactly happened?"
"Lord Freiden simply lost his temper out of nowhere while we were having a conversation."
Eden let out a heavy sigh.
"Hey, slave. What happened here?"
"I do not know either, My Lord."
"You don't know?"
"Yes. Lord Freiden suddenly flew into a rage."
I raised my head, meeting Eden's gaze as I continued. "The conversation was going smoothly at first, but it seems something rubbed Lord Freiden the wrong way."
"What did you talk about? From what I know, Lord Freiden is not the type of person to lose his temper so easily."
"It was a discussion regarding swordsmanship. My Lady merely mentioned that her preference lies with men who are skilled with a sword."
Eden narrowed his eyes, glaring at Franche. "Your preference is men who are good with swords? That is the first I've heard of this. What is the meaning of this?"
"Preferences can change. Just as I suddenly stopped squandering money on luxury and decided to start a business."
Eden shook his head at Franche's words. He likely couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.
"Fine, I understand for now. I will handle this matter, so go back inside."
Franche nodded without a word and left the garden. I followed close behind her. Looking back, I saw the servants cleaning up the ruined garden under Eden's orders. As we walked, I spoke.
"Things went rather smoothly."
"Indeed. But I really didn't expect him to be that hot-tempered."
"He has a severe inferiority complex, after all."
Franche spoke in a worried tone. "But won't this escalate into a conflict between our families?"
"You do not need to worry about that."
Asil was highly prideful and deeply insecure. He wouldn't want to broadcast the fact that he had been humiliated by the Descartes Lady. To him, this incident was incredibly shameful. If the topic arose within his family or high society, he would simply claim he rejected her because she was just as crazy as the rumors suggested. Furthermore, he would spread this rumor far and wide in social circles to ruin her marriage prospects.
I'm not sure if having her marriage prospects cut off is entirely a good thing, though.
Well, once the plans I had set in motion succeeded and everything was settled, Franche would be able to choose any man she wanted to marry. She would become that powerful.
"Whew. If you say so, then it should be fine."
"Yes. So please do not pay it any mind."
I looked at Franche and smiled.
"Since our work here is done, shall we head to Cazar's house?"
"Yes, let's do that. I need to cool my head by learning some magic."
Following the collapse of Franche's marriage talks, Eden headed straight to the Duke's office. He knocked three times, then pushed the door open without waiting for an answer.
"Father."
"What is it?"
"Did you plan this, Father?"
"What are you talking about?"
Eden narrowed his eyes, glaring at the Duke. "Franche's marriage talks have fallen through. A fight broke out between them. Lord Freiden left, claiming that he and his family were insulted. My guess is that Franche deliberately provoked him. Did you order her to do this?"
Clack. The Duke set down the fountain pen in his hand. He looked up, meeting Eden's gaze.
"I have given Franche no such order. They simply had a disagreement. Such things happen, even in political marriages."
"Then are you saying Franche did this entirely on her own? At this rate, this could escalate into a feud between our families! This is not something we can just ignore!"
Eden was driven to the brink of madness. Franche had openly insulted the Freiden Marquisate. Of course, since they had insulted each other, both sides were at fault, but it was their side that had initiated the marriage proposal. The Freiden family could easily hold a grudge. Furthermore, having a marriage arrangement fall through due to a petty brawl was a severe blow to the prestige of the Descartes Ducal House. Yet, the Duke was just letting this slide? Eden could not comprehend it.
"Do not worry about useless things. It will not escalate."
"On what grounds can you say that?"
"There is no need for you to know."
"..."
He won't answer me. It was always like this. What on earth did he even consider his own son and heir to be?
"Since it seems we cannot communicate, I shall take my leave. I will handle the matter with the Freiden Marquisate myself."
Once again, the Duke did not reply. Eden shook his head and stepped out of the office.
Thud. "Whew."
As he was striding back to his own office, Line, who was nearby, noticed Eden's dark expression and approached him.
"What's going on?"
"Franche broke off the marriage talks."
"What? That bitch finally went and caused trouble." Line let out a hollow laugh.
Eden asked, "Where is Franche right now? Do you know?"
"She went out somewhere earlier."
Did she leave on purpose? Knowing I would come looking for her.
"Well, do you need any help?"
"No. You should head back as well."
"How boring." Line turned his back.
"..."
Eden fell into deep thought. At some point, Franche had become strange. She was doing things she would have never dreamed of before, starting a business, and even putting an end to her usual extravagant spending. Her plan to escape the ducal house seemed to have vanished as well.
Exactly when did this start?
He retraced the past days. The answer wasn't far.
It was from that moment.
From the moment she brought home the royalty of Barenberg, Jin Barenberg, as a slave.
There is something about that guy.
Eden's face turned ice-cold.