Chapter 72
"......There's someone close by. We should slip away now."
I'd been watching Diego worriedly as he buried his face in his hands, making strange noises, but at the sound of approaching footsteps, I raised an eyebrow.
"You go on ahead. I need a bit more of this cool night air......"
He murmured while staring blankly at the night sky with the most forlorn expression imaginable.
If we left together, rumors would spread again, so I gave Diego a quick nod and stepped out first, just as he'd said.
It should be late enough now that leaving won't seem rude.
I pulled the pocket watch from my uniform jacket's inner pocket to check the time. Since this was an imperial ball, etiquette demanded staying for a couple of hours, and it was just about to hit the two-hour mark since it started.
Aria's probably swamped...... and Kal might come back with me.
Aria was at the peak of establishing herself as the empress of high society, so she was always incredibly busy at these events. But Kal had zero interest in socializing—he'd down some wine and bolt the moment it was socially acceptable, without a backward glance.
Too bad I didn't run into Llewellyn, but if I want to squeeze in even a little training before bed, I need to head back soon.
After we'd agreed to be friends, Llewellyn and I had kept up a pretty close relationship. We made time at least once a week, so getting tight-knit so fast was only natural.
I'd heard she was attending this ball too, but since I stuck to the shadowy corners, we never crossed paths. Sighing with regret, I was heading toward the main hall to drag Kal back with me when—
"Let go! I said let me go!"
"Shut up and come with me!"
I froze at the voices of a man and woman echoing from the opposite corridor.
This area was designed for nobles to enjoy their secret trysts—secluded and dim. Hearing a woman shrieking and struggling like that, demanding to be released, along with a man's savage snarls, made the situation crystal clear.
But what made my body go rigid was how familiar that woman's voice sounded to me.
Llewellyn!
The voice unmistakably belonged to Llewellyn Decardo. I bolted wildly toward the sound.
There!
Spotting Llewellyn and the man at the corner turning right, I pressed myself against the wall and hid, assessing the scene.
The man had grabbed her hair and was dragging her along. Llewellyn's hair was a mess as she resisted, but she couldn't overpower him and was being hauled away.
Seeing such rough handling made my stomach churn with rage I could barely contain.
"You're so utterly vulgar. That's exactly why I can't hand the heir position to you!"
Llewellyn spat through gritted teeth as she thrashed.
At those words, the man hauling her—his face twisted in fury—came to an abrupt halt.
"You crazy bitch...... what did you say?"
His eyes flashed menacingly as he released her hair, whipping around to face her.
Even staring into those black eyes blazing like a madman's with rage, Llewellyn didn't flinch. Her green eyes burned fiercely in response.
The man ground his teeth.
"You dare humiliate me in front of everyone and still haven't learned your place......"
"Humiliate? Don't make me laugh, Merhen Decardo. I only said what was true."
Llewellyn's lips curled into a crooked smirk—a cold sneer straight out of a shrewd businesswoman's playbook.
"The Decardo heir is chosen solely by individual merit, regardless of birth order or gender. Father hasn't named one among us yet, so how could I just stand by while you prance around claiming to be the heir in front of everyone?"
The man's eyes blazed with fury. From their heated exchange, I pieced it together in seconds.
I thought he looked like Llewellyn...... It was Merhen Decardo.
Fiery red hair like it was aflame, black eyes, features mirroring hers. He was her same-age brother, born ten months earlier, and currently her biggest headache.
'Merhen's greedy and violent. Short-tempered too. He's my brother, but he makes me sick. I could tolerate that, but there's one thing I can't stand: he's incompetent. Shushu, I...... I know the Decardos will fall to ruin in his hands. Father must know it too—that's why he's been asking me since I was little if I had no interest in the heir's path.'
At first, Llewellyn had been too scared of Merhen to even mention him. But after spending enough time with me to build her courage, she'd finally confided her deepest worry.
'I figured there had to be some reason Marquis Chesler Decardo hadn't named an heir despite having two grown children...... but I never imagined it was this.'
Her brother, Merhen Decardo, was a total sleaze—nasty personality, zero talent. On top of that, he was vain and full of hot air, squandering the Decardo fortune while loudly proclaiming himself the heir even though nothing was settled.
The Decardo heir was determined purely by ability, nothing else. Unable to entrust it to Merhen, the current marquis Chesler had repeatedly asked Llewellyn if she'd consider taking it on.
'Truth is, Llewellyn's the perfect heir for the business house of Decardo.'
The more I got to know her, the clearer it became: she was a born businesswoman.
'I heard the harness business is doing great. But that event at the boutique last time was a bit of a misstep. The intent was fine, but you targeted the wrong crowd. Tell Lady Aria to rethink her audience.'
Llewellyn's cool analysis and business instincts even outshone Aria, the genius of the century. She saw Aria as a rival but respected how the younger girl had successfully run a business at such a tender age, so whenever we hung out, she'd casually drop tips.
Aria— who couldn't stand Llewellyn— would even nod along when I relayed that intel, proof positive that Llewellyn was born for this.
Chesler had spotted it early, grooming her with heir training from childhood and pushing hard to make her the successor. But Llewellyn herself had resisted inheriting the role.
'Because of Merhen.'
She'd been so cautious about opening up that I'd only learned this recently, after she'd fully trusted me.
'Merhen terrified me growing up. Whenever I tried anything productive, he'd drag me in front of a mirror and scream that my face was the only useful thing about me. He wouldn't stop until I agreed. When I got heir training, he'd barge in and throw tantrums. I swore I wouldn't let him control me...... but one day I looked back and realized I was still living by his words. I lusted after the heir spot out of fear, no— I obsessed over my beauty instead.'
It was blatant mental abuse, but Llewellyn got no protection. Her mother died giving birth to her, Chesler was too buried in work to notice the sibling strife, and the Decardo servants stayed silent. In a meritocracy like Decardo, you had to fend for yourself.
Brainwashed by Merhen, Llewellyn grew up convinced beauty was her only worth.
She quickly dominated high society after debuting, then grew obsessed with the power it brought—the only influence she could wield without being heir.
Claiming the throne of high society's empress didn't bring happiness, though. What she truly craved was the business throne, where she could shine with her real strengths.
The people around her were just men dazzled by her looks or merchants eyeing Decardo cash.
'I lived in endless thirst, unaware of what I lacked. Terrified to face my fears, I chose to live delicately like a flower—yet dissatisfaction never stopped. It sharpened my temper. Doubting life itself, clinging only to my social power...... that's when I met you.'
The day I saved her, she said it was the first time she'd ever cared about another person.
In the original story, that interest twisted into misguided love for Rainer, ruining her completely...... Good thing I intervened.
Llewellyn had been insanely curious about me—the one who saved her without batting an eye at her beauty or the Decardo wealth, then vanished.
'I envy you, Shushu, charging ahead without a care for others' gazes. I'm worried you'll snap because you're so straight...... but that's exactly why I like you. Shushu, my envy won't stop there. Seeing you gives me faith I can do it too. You said you'd wield your sword to protect what you love? I love my house and my businesses. I can't watch them crumble in that idiot Merhen's hands. I'll protect what I love from him—with my own abilities.'
Llewellyn was truly radiant. She credited me for her resolve, but I saw it differently.
She was born of flame. One look at those eyes blazing with cool intellect and ambition told me everything. I'd just tossed a single log on the fire—all the decisions and actions were hers.
"Llewellyn, why have you changed like this? You used to listen so well. Did you get mad at your big bro or something?"
Realizing yelling wouldn't break her, Merhen switched to wheedling tones.
Llewellyn laughed coldly.
"I haven't changed. I just pretended to listen because you scared me. This is who I am. And we're the same age—drop the 'big bro' act. Stop claiming to be the heir too."
Her sharp words crumpled Merhen's face instantly. Clearly fed up with her defiance, he clenched his teeth.
"I'm the Decardo heir. You've admitted it!"
"No! I've never recognized trash like you as heir! You go around calling yourself the Decardo successor, can't control your temper, lash out with your hands at the drop of a hat! And do you even handle business well? No! How could I ever accept someone like you? It's like praying for the house to fall!"
The tension between them crackled, ready to explode any second.
Having never heard such direct barbs from her before, Merhen's eyes widened in shock before bulging with rage.
His savage fury clashed fiercely against her fearless green gaze.
"......Fine. Now I see what ruined you. It started when you met that Crisis eldest daughter, right? The crazy bitch who dresses like a man."
Llewellyn's face hardened icily. Her eyes narrowed ferociously as she snarled.
"Shut your filthy mouth. That's not a name for your dirty lips."
"Yeah, it's that bitch's fault! She poured her poison into you, huh? Pathetic! Getting tainted by some no-name slut whose origins no one even knows!"
"Shut up!"
It was the first time I'd seen Llewellyn this furious. Clutching her torn dress, trembling with rage, she looked ready to slap Merhen across the face right then.
"Did that bitch plant the delusion that you could be heir? Yeah, I knew she was nuts from the rumors about her swinging a sword around! As if a woman could wield a blade!"
Llewellyn's face drained to a furious blue, but oddly, I—the target of his filth—was unshaken. What worried me was Llewellyn.
When Llewellyn gets truly angry......