After returning to my room and changing my clothes, I ate a simple late-night snack and sat by the window.
Before I knew it, it was past nine in the evening.
“What a tiring day.”
At that moment, I saw Marquis Arjin's carriage leaving.
I couldn't help but lift the corner of my mouth in amazement.
'Tsk!
Sending someone this late, I can't believe it'
But now that I have decided to consider him a stranger, it no longer concerns me.
I closed the curtains and went to bed.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
After Cornelia left, Eric sat on the sofa for a long time with an expressionless face.
'Not to interfere in each other's affairs, shall we?'
He didn't care about her on purpose.
But now, hearing her like this, he felt empty in his heart.
“Yes, she was never my wife.”
A bitter smile appeared for a moment, but Eric's gaze quickly turned into a stern look.
Reinhardt Adolf Tarrant, known for his kindness and virtue, is trusted by the Emperor as a noble.
Cornelia was known to have been in contact with Archduke Tarrant since she was young.
Previously, Cornelia's interactions with Reinhardt seemed very natural and relaxed.
However, Eric was well aware of his true nature.
Eric clenched his fists, his eyes glowing with a deadly gleam.
‘If you find out what he intends to do to you, I will…’
At that moment, the door suddenly opened.
At the entrance, the lady of the Brant family stood with an angry face.
“What's going on?
Mom”
The mother ignored Eric's question, closed the door, approached him with angry steps, and immediately slapped her son in the face.
“How dare you!”
Eric was unharmed by the blow, as he is skilled with swords and withstands most attacks, but the ring on her finger must have caused him discomfort.
However, the mother did not pay attention and shouted:
“Didn’t I clearly tell you that you should maintain good relations with Marquis Arjin?
How dare you unilaterally terminate the contract?”
The moment he heard those words, he remembered Madeleine staring at him with angry eyes.
'Oh, it looks like that annoying woman has already reported it.'
Fortunately, his mother did not know that Cornelia was pregnant.
'If this woman finds out about it...'
As the tension rose, she screamed as if in a fit of rage.
"Why don't you listen to me?
Why don't you respect me like that?"
Upon hearing her voice, Eric, who had been silent the whole time, pursed his lips and then spoke for the first time.
“I know you value the Marquis of Argen’s girl.
But she tried to use that contract to take control of the duchy.”
“Well, what?
Isn’t that the Duchess’ right?
If it hadn’t happened, she would have been the rightful Duchess...”
At that moment, Eric opened his eyes wide and raised his voice.
“Who do you think the Duchess is?
The Duchess of Brant is only Cornelia!”
Then his mother slapped him on the cheek again.
slap-!
“You insolent fool, who do you think you are raising your voice at?”
Mrs.
Brant firmly grabbed Eric's chin and said, "Remember, what I have entrusted you with is to play the role of an obedient puppet duke.
This is not about overstepping your limits."
Then she let go of his chin violently and wiped her hand with a handkerchief as if she had touched something dirty.
After that, she dropped the handkerchief on the floor and stomped on it, her face full of disdain.
“Always remember.
Your true standing is at the bottom of the list, just like that handkerchief.”
After crushing the handkerchief with her shoe, she stared at Eric.
“Your playing the role of a duke without any lineage is thanks to my judgment.
So, all you have to do is listen to me.”
His mother noticed her son’s silent reaction and thought: “Oh, really, a disobedient dog should be beaten to make him listen.”
She raised her red lips and spoke again.
“Resume the contract.
Don’t make a fuss about Madeleine coming to our palace.”
Then she added, as if she remembered something:
“Oh, and I heard that wretch has a mine of jade.
Make sure you include that in the contract as well.
I know she won’t lose me anything, so she won’t refuse.”
Then, she turned and headed towards the door.
Eric called out in a muffled voice as he watched her retreat.
“Mom”
When she heard his call, she turned around with a face filled with dissatisfaction.
“What's the matter?
It's settled.
Don't bother me...”
“I can't”
For the first time, the mother's eyes widened at her son's rejection.
“What did you just say...”
She wasn't asking because she wasn't listening.
She was giving him a chance.
But even knowing this, Eric missed the opportunity she gave him.
“I said I couldn't do what you asked, mom.”
Challenging his mother was foolish.
However, even knowing this, Eric could not bend his will.
Although his refusal was clear, a smile appeared on his face as he thought about it.
Eric quickly stared at his mother and said, “If you try to go through with the contract against my will, I will reveal the truth to the whole world.”
The old lady frowned.
But she quickly denied this thought to herself.
Moreover, that woman…
She quickly opened her mouth and asked, “The truth?
What are you talking about?”
The moment his mother asked him, a sarcastic smile spread across Eric's chiseled face.
“The real Eric Lennon Brant disappeared in the war with the Crythans five years ago, and I, the other son of the former Duke, are here in his place.”
Upon hearing this, a flash of anger appeared in the former Duchess's eyes.
Eric faced her calmly, and said, “Then, don’t try to manipulate me.”
“You vile bastard!”
She waved her arms violently and started slapping him.
For Eric, the Transcendent, this was a very mild form of violence.
However, there were times when the psychological pain outweighed the physical suffering.
“It should have been my son who returned from the battlefield!
Not a fake person raised by a vile maid!”
Eric endures her violence silently.
Exhausted, she gritted her teeth and stared at her fake son.
Her blue eyes quickly sparked.
“How impudent, when my son returns, it will be the day of your funeral!”
With a loud cry, the mother closed the door forcefully and left.
After a while, he, who was expressionless, let out a bitter laugh.
“No matter how hard I try, I will never be your son.”
At thirteen he returned, after being abandoned by Duke Brant, to the position of son of the duke.
However, the reason the Duke found his son, who had abandoned him, was not to get him back.
After being left alone for so long, they asked that he die in place of the prized heir.
Honestly, this was in vain.
But he did not comply for the sake of his father, the Duke.
The reason he responded to this request was because of “the real Eric,” who was speaking affectionately with a face very similar to his own, his brother of a relative.
He couldn't hate him.
So he fought fiercely to protect his brother and himself.
Before he knew it, he had surpassed his limits, becoming a sword master.
The problem arose when the real Eric disappeared after going to a battle in which he should not have participated.
Leaving behind a message that says:
[I'm sorry, but I can't send you to death.
If I don't come back, I hope you will take my place.
Dear brother]
He looked for Eric anxiously, but did not find his body.
In desperation, he returned to the Empire, where he became a hero who saved the country from crisis.
The nobility used it as a fulcrum to exercise power.
However, despite his tireless efforts and achievements...
He was still just a 'fake', a stand-in for Eric Lennon Brant.
“That's why I tried not to be greedy towards you.”
A beautiful and noble princess, he had only seen her in the procession of the imperial family at the founding ceremony.
People despised her, and called her the Crow Princess, but to the boy she was an object of admiration.
Cornelia is the benefactor who saved him from being run over by the carriage, and a faint light crept into his miserable life.
So, he waited impatiently for Foundation Day, offering flowers to the princess and hoping she would smile.
And when she smiled at him, he felt as if he owned the world.
But this is just a story from his ignorant days.
Although he gave her flowers every year, she remained unaware of his existence.