I couldn't speak. I clutched my chest, my heart hammering against my ribs as I bit my lip.
"Wait... Askin, wait," I managed to whisper.
"My decision is final," he said, not even looking at me. "I am ending this engagement."
"Oh? Is that so?" My grandfather’s voice was smooth, but his eyes were like chips of ice. "That’s quite different from what my granddaughter told me. She’s been very busy collecting interest payments on your behalf lately."
Grandfather stroked his beard. Despite his relaxed posture, the air around him crackled with suppressed rage.
"I see... so my granddaughter’s attempts to 'captivate' you have failed," he mused, looking at me with a look of pure disgust. "How ugly. In the end, I suppose I have to step in. You’re making Altsbeit look weak, Charlize."
"Grandfather—"
"Be quiet."
He looked at me with such fury that I actually took a step back.
"Charlize, you're dismissed. You've had your chances, and you've wasted every single one of them. I can't even look at you as a legitimate successor right now."
"Wait, Grandfather, please—"
"What are you waiting for?!" he barked at the knights.
Before I could say another word, my own escort knights moved to block me. But they weren't just standing there—they were wearing masks, a clear sign they didn't want me to recognize them and retaliate later.
One of them grabbed my arms and lifted me off the ground.
"Let me go!" I struggled, but the knight’s grip was like iron.
"Grandfather! Grandfather!" I screamed, looking over the knight’s shoulder.
"I’ll give you whatever you want," Grandfather said, his voice cold and indifferent. "Go back to your room and play with your toys. Just stay out of my way."
In that moment, I saw him for what he truly was—a man who saw everyone, even his own granddaughter, as nothing more than a tool to be used or discarded.
I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. For a split second, I caught Askin’s eye. He looked shocked, but I was carried away before I could see anything else.
* * *
"Now that my 'sweet' granddaughter is out of the way, let us continue," Duke Altsbeit said, his voice returning to its normal, oily tone.
Askin frowned. He couldn't stop thinking about the look on Charlize’s face as she was dragged away like a piece of unwanted luggage. Wasn't she the precious princess of Altsbeit? Hadn't she been pampered and given everything she ever wanted?
But the woman he’d just seen didn't have the strength to even protest. Her grandfather hadn't even given her a chance to speak.
"I’ll give you one last chance," the Duke said. "Do you really intend to break this engagement?"
Freedom. It was what Askin had wanted for years. But for the first time, he felt a strange hesitation—a small stone of doubt in his heart. Still, he pushed it down.
"Yes. I want to break it. My decision hasn't changed."
"A shameful decision to the very end," the Duke laughed viciously.
Duke Altsbeit was a man of immense power, leading the aristocratic faction and possessing wealth that rivaled the Imperial Family itself. Only a few people dared to stand up to him—the Emperor, and the Duke of Lemut.
'He thinks he’s so proud, living in that crumbling castle with nothing but his sword skills,' the Duke thought with disdain.
But that was the problem. Askin was strong. He’d pioneered the 'Yellow Road' at the age of twenty, a feat that should have made him one of the wealthiest men in the Empire. But the Imperial Family had seized the rights to the road in exchange for the 2,000-year-old herbs needed to keep his sister, Aria, alive.
"Fine. If your will is so strong... then pay back everything you owe. Right now. In cash."
Askin’s jaw tightened. "I... I will."
"Oh, I’m sure you will," the Duke said, smiling as he signaled to his assistant. A piece of parchment was placed in his hand. "I prepared this just in case, though I didn't think I’d have to use it so soon."
"What is this?"
"The engagement contract. It was a financial agreement, Duke Lemut. And since you are the one breaking it, there is a penalty."
Askin’s expression hardened as he read the document. "Fifty percent... additional interest?!"
"Nonsense!" he shouted.
"Now, now, Duke. Don't be like that. I lent you money with the expectation of profit. If you return it early, I lose out on the interest I would have earned over the full term. I could have lent that money to someone else at a better rate. This is simply compensation for my lost opportunity."
The Duke tapped the parchment. "Sign it."
Askin was paralyzed. The amount was staggering.
The Duke then pulled out another set of documents. "Or perhaps you’d prefer this? A full transfer of the Lemut territories to the House of Altsbeit. Do that, and all your debts are forgiven. Consider it my final kindness to a man who almost became my grandson."
There was no kindness in his eyes. He was a wolf, and he was finally closing his jaws around the Lemut lands.
Askin stared at the documents in silence.
The Duke laughed and pulled the contracts back. "Well, whichever path you choose, remember this: the cost of curing your sister is very high. If you want her to keep receiving those herbs, you’ll act the part of my granddaughter’s fiancé at the Imperial Banquet."
He turned to leave, his victory complete. "Oh, and the interest payment Charlize delivered today was quite impressive. Four times the usual amount? You’re a very hard worker, Duke Lemut."
Askin froze. 'Interest? Four times?'
He was left standing in the garden, a cold, burning anger filling his chest.
* * *
Askin practically ran to the stables. To his surprise, he found Charlize there, her breath coming in short gasps.
I had escaped my "escort" with the help of Jette, the only knight who seemed to actually care about me. He’d blocked the others, allowing me to slip away and find Askin before he left.
But the second I saw his face, I lost my voice.
He was more beautiful than I’d ever seen him, but his expression was one of pure, unadulterated fury. And then, a single tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek.
'Oh... even when he’s crying, he’s perfect.'
It was the wrong thing to think, but I couldn't help it.
"Where did you learn to be so cruel?" he asked, his voice shaking. "Using children to manipulate me... are you really just your grandfather’s granddaughter after all?"
"Askin, I—"
"That dirty money... I’ll give it back to you soon. Every last cent. Just get ready to sign the papers to end this farce."
I felt a sharp pang in my chest. He was serious. I didn't know what my grandfather had said, but it had clearly pushed him over the edge. I felt a surge of unfairness and anger of my own.
"Let me ask you one thing," I said, my voice rising. "Why did you borrow that 'dirty' money in the first place?"
"..."
"Was it not 'dirty' when you were desperate? When you needed it to save your sister?"