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The story, which had become a warning to adults and a ghost story to children back then, had only grown more gruesome over time; it certainly hadn't improved.
Even though only a few years had passed, it was common knowledge among the capital's nobility—to the point where you'd be called a spy if you didn't know it—so one could guess the extent of its brutality.
The deeds of the so-called 'Adultery Count,' whose family name was now forgotten, were remarkably similar to the married life Raymond currently dreamed of.
'He married the fiancée agreed upon by the families, then found a lover he actually liked and got her pregnant, didn't he?'
If one only heard this part, they might think he was a very bad man, but they would wonder if it was truly a crime deserving of the death penalty.
The problem was the identity of that lover.
'She was... the youngest princess of the kingdom the Emperor had been courting, right?'
Having coaxed the princess, who was distressed over her own political marriage, into pregnancy, it was impossible for the King not to be enraged.
Had the imperial noble been entirely without fault, they might have tried to resolve it through negotiations, but this was 100% the Adultery Count's fault.
The Emperor, who still had things to gain from the King, decided to turn this accident into an opportunity through a somewhat—actually, very—cruel response.
The fact that the Atrux Empire followed a monogamy system served as a perfect excuse.
By creating a law and performing the execution of a noble who was a Count of his own country, negotiations with the kingdom were, naturally, concluded perfectly.
Despite it being such a huge event, the reason Raymond acted as if he knew nothing about it was...
"That Count brought his lover in on the very night of his wedding. After that, he took dozens of lovers throughout his marriage. If it weren't for the evidence the Countess had collected over that long period, he wouldn't have faced a proper punishment, let alone the death penalty."
It was true.
Of course, even without that evidence, it would have been difficult for the Count to survive.
The trial would have been a mere formality, and within a week, he would have been found as a cold corpse in a back alley.
However, no matter how hard I tried to understand, I couldn't fathom why Raymond was so confident that he was innocent and blameless compared to the Adultery Count.
And for good reason.
"Hey, by that logic, aren't you in a worse position, since you're rolling around with your 'lover' even before an engagement, let alone marriage?"
At my sarcastic, non-question, Raymond's face flushed deep red.
His face was busy, shifting from pale to red.
Covering his face with the back of his hand, Raymond turned his head to look into the air and spoke.
"How, how could you... utter such vulgar words without any shame...! I knew you were crazy, but are you actually insane?!"
That was the best he could come up with, stuttering several times.
I was so bewildered that I couldn't even manage a sneer.
Back in the academy, wasn't he the one shrugging his shoulders and telling me that just looking at me made his passion cool down?
Now that he was an adult, I didn't think he would be upholding some pathetic chastity; if anything, I thought he'd be playing around even more.
Of course, Stella, his partner, bore the heavy burden of being the protagonist of a romance fantasy novel, but seeing as she had decided to have children with the married Raymond, I assumed they had already gone all the way.
But Raymond's reaction right now was just...
"I'm asking just in case, but you... by any chance, have you never once with Young Lady Aer...?"
I couldn't even finish the sentence.
As I spoke, I felt that it was an incredibly rude question.
I didn't care about Raymond's honor, but Stella was different.
'On paper, Raymond is perfectly clean. That's why third parties only gossip behind their backs and don't criticize Stella to her face.'
That was why I found vicarious satisfaction in being the one to boldly insult Stella as Yevgenia.
Even without a valid reason, a love feud between newly adult Young Ladies was the most exciting entertainment of all.
If it weren't for my memories of the original story, I wouldn't have held back and would have just asked, 'Did you sleep with that bitch?' but...
'What can I do if it's their destiny to fall in love? Actually, it's better for me if it's revealed that they are that intimate.'
In an empire that valued a woman's premarital purity above all else, this would provide an excellent ground for canceling the engagement.
Hoping that their love was indeed that great and deep, I waited for Raymond to open his mouth.
Suddenly, his lips twisted, and a sharp voice shot out.
"Ha. I know you want to smudge Stella's honor however you can, but unlike a vulgar girl like you, she is the most noble and pure of all Young Ladies. She is not someone the likes of you should even dare to mention!"
"So you haven't slept together?"
"..."
"I guess your love is just sooooo deep that you want to protect her, or something like that."
This made things very unfavorable for me.
In the unlikely event that the names were completely erased and the engagement between Raymond and me remained, I might have to reveal the fact that I had lost my purity as a last resort.
'My father would protect me as much as possible, but if Duchess Larsen holds a grudge and tears me apart, my golden future might remain nothing but a vain hope.'
Seeing how she had brainwashed her son to this extent, it seemed Duchess Larsen absolutely did not want to call off this engagement.
In the midst of that, if the engagement were overturned due to my own fault...
A chill ran down my spine, and I involuntarily shuddered.
Whether he misinterpreted my reaction or not, Raymond, whose brow was deeply furrowed, spoke bluntly.
"The love between Stella and me is more noble than anything. Though your vulgar ideology wouldn't be able to understand it."
"Right, congratulations on your noble love. Since it's come to this, how about we go to Duke Larsen right now and tell him to cancel the engagement?"
At my indifferent question, Raymond's face turned red and blue.
It was likely because he wanted to refute me but couldn't.
For the sake of the 'noble love' he spoke of, he probably wanted to scream that he would do it right now, but considering Duchess Larsen—or more accurately, his future as Duke Martir that she had laid out—he couldn't bring himself to say it.
His lips twitching, Raymond warned in a low voice.
"Yevgenia Martir. Stop right there."
"Did I say anything wrong? I really hate it, but if we actually get married, your noble lover will be reduced to a mere adulteress. Is that what you really want?"
I tried to speak without emotion, but because I was so frustrated, venom unconsciously seeped into my voice.
Raymond, who had been trembling with rage until a moment ago, seemed to notice this and suddenly adopted a triumphant attitude.
"If you want to leave a very dark stain on the House of Martyr, feel free."
"...Huh?"
"For me, there will only ever be Stella. Just having one lover wouldn't even be enough to put me on trial for adultery, let alone convince other nobles."
The way he prattled on, his thick, ink-drawn eyebrows twitching, was a complete eyesore.
Objectively, he looked like a painting, but through the Yevgenia filter, it was so disgusting it made me nauseous.
What angered me most was the fact that his words weren't entirely wrong.
Biting the tip of my tongue, I asked in a voice laced with thorns.
"You, Duchess Larsen told you all that, didn't she?"
"..."
"I guess so. Well, with your intelligence—which thinks with your heart—you wouldn't have been able to think that far on your own."
Grind.
It was the sound of Raymond clenching his teeth.
Seeing the blue veins pulsing on the back of his hand resting on his lap, I felt a bit better, knowing he was feeling the same unpleasantness I had.
I twisted my lips and shrugged my shoulders, just as he had done moments ago.
"Unfortunately, it seems there are things even Duchess Larsen doesn't know."
"..."
"Why did she think I would be afraid of 'staining' the House of Martyr?"
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