Many approached Iris, now the Duchess, to greet her.
“...It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I hope we can interact often, Your Grace.”
“Indeed. It’s a shame we only just got to know such a remarkable person.”
While Iris was engaged in conversation with other nobles, her eyes caught sight of the Valentine Count family.
Despite the trouble caused by Liliana’s incident, people still remained conscious of the Valentine Counts as the center of power.
However, things had not remained entirely the same.
From their attire to their demeanor, everything seemed more disordered than before.
Every noble present sensed this and murmured among themselves.
“They probably had trouble preparing as usual.”
Especially to Iris, who had managed the Count family’s household affairs, the reasons for their shortcomings were clear.
Her family, who had been watching Iris closely, approached her with quick steps.
“Iris.”
Her father, arriving before her, frowned with displeasure.
“Come with me.”
His authoritative tone assumed she would obey without question.
I craved your affection just because you were my father.
And yet she always blamed herself for never meeting his expectations.
They were family—she only sought the warmth of family bonds.
But her devotion was taken for granted, discarded like refuse.
Now she understood.
She should never have expected such things from them. Sacrifice and love must be reserved for those who deserve it.
“No.”
Iris rejected her father’s words firmly.
“I have no business with the Valentine Count.”
His brow furrowed deeply.
The Valentine Count?
His intent was clear—he no longer considered her family.
She’s gotten arrogant just because she became Duchess of Leontheim.
Apparently, she had even forgotten the respect due to him. As if that hollow title meant anything.
Still, Kaidrich suppressed the irritation rising inside.
“Are you defying me in front of me? Since when have you become so insolent?”
He had words spoken to the Emperor himself.
If he failed to manage this properly, he might lose the Emperor’s favor.
“Get your head straight. Just because you married well under His Majesty’s grace doesn’t mean anything will change.”
“Watch your tone.”
Iris drew a clear boundary with a composed expression.
Her posture before the Count was impeccable.
“Before you stands the Royal Duchess of Leontheim.”
“Even so, you’re still my daughter...”
“If not, I will lodge a formal complaint.”
Her sky-blue eyes met the Count’s gray ones with steady confidence.
“Would you like to become the Imperial Knight Commander who fails to treat the royalty properly?”
“You really...”
“Fortunately, there are many witnesses here.”
Iris calmly scanned her surroundings. The situation was not entirely favorable for Kaidrich.
By imperial law, upon marriage, one assumes the spouse’s title.
If family, formalities are more lenient, but that depends entirely on the other’s goodwill.
In other words, if Iris complains, the Count has no means to stop her.
Valentine Count, unprepared for Iris’s fierce stance, paled.
If she complains...
The matter would reach the Emperor’s ears and escalate.
But daring to do that to her father...
To Kaidrich, Iris was always insignificant—
A useless fool in this great household, a disgrace who annoyed by mere existence.
“I’m giving you a chance to prove your worth for the Valentine family.”
Irritated, Kaidrich reached out to grab Iris’s shoulder.
“The first opportunity to show your usefulness—”
Snap.
Iris lightly brushed his hand away.
“Regrettably, there’s nothing more to discuss.”
Her cold words echoed through the banquet hall, drawing even more attention.
Humiliated by his own daughter in front of everyone, Kaidrich’s face flushed and trembled.
“When it comes to usefulness, you’re of no use to me.”
Iris whispered quietly, barely audible.
“So stop speaking to me.”
Having lost Cedric by expecting worthless affection from her family,
this time, everything had to be different.
For the sake of her male protagonist, Cedric,
she would never let herself be caught up by them again.
“You were the only one who truly loved me.”
The one who said she was not worthless.
The only person who loved her for who she was, not for her usefulness.
My male protagonist, Cedric.
You, who shine like the sun—this time, I will protect you no matter what.
I will never lose you again because of my indecision. Iris’s gaze brushed past her father and landed on Orchid and Lilliana, who stood frozen in shock behind him.
“I’m sure I said it when I left that house,” she spoke, her tone calm as a still lake yet carrying the weight of an unshakable dao heart.
“There will no longer be a daughter for your convenience.”
Back then, her words had meant nothing to them.
They didn’t even see the need to acknowledge her final statement—
After all, to them, Iris had always been a useful tool, not a person.
“So don’t make requests of me. Don’t approach me. Don’t even think of speaking to me.”
But this was no longer Iris’s burden to bear.
“I have no intention of ever forgiving you.”
At that moment, all three of them—her father, Orchid, and Lilliana—were pulled back to a memory, unbidden and crystal-clear:
The day Iris left their clan to marry into the Duke’s house.
The day she looked back one last time and said:
‘This will be the last.’
They’d laughed. Brushed it off.
As if your absence could possibly harm the Valentine Clan?
That’s what they all believed.
In a house that prided itself as a sword sect—where sword qi was the measure of worth—they thought a daughter without cultivation talent was worthless.
And now, those countless moments of dismissal had culminated into this very reality.
It had returned like karma—sharp and merciless.
Still dazed like mortals waking from a nightmare, the Valentine family stared at Iris, radiant under the divine glow of the banquet hall lights.
Caidreich’s face was stiff, brittle like dry bark under frost.
“Y-You…”
Even he couldn’t find his voice.
Orchid stepped forward first.
“Iris. You’re… very angry right now.”
She nodded as though she empathized, putting on the airs of someone attempting to soothe a rampaging qi deviation.
“But even if imperial etiquette binds you, the blood of the Valentine Clan still flows within you.”
Lilliana quickly added, “That’s right, sister. You’re just lashing out and hurting your family right now—this isn’t you.”
She reached out to grab Iris’s hand, her voice trembling with moisture, trying to pull on old, withered bonds.
“Let’s go back to how it used to be… We were happy, weren’t we?”
“Regret?”
Lilliana’s hand sliced through empty air. Iris had evaded her without so much as disrupting the flow of her robes—
So effortlessly it looked like part of a formal gesture.
Lilliana blinked up at her with wide, naive eyes.
“When did my emotions ever matter to any of you?”
Iris regarded her with an elegant, distant gaze.
“You’ve never once truly listened to me.”
Lowering her long lashes, she let a serene smile touch her lips.
“So why should we keep talking at all?”
The more her family acted as they always had, the colder Iris’s qi became.
And the colder she grew, the more perfectly she embodied the ideal noblewoman.
Unshakable. Untouchable. Flawless.
The very appearance Iris had spent her life cultivating—so she would never burden her family.
Now, that cultivated poise shone like polished jade.
Why did the Valentine Clan ever treat someone like her with such disdain?
It’s clearly their fault for failing to honor the Duchess of Leontheim properly.
Yet her family, trapped in emotion, didn’t seem to grasp that this was the Sacred Festival banquet—a stage before the eyes of the entire empire.
Lilliana, flustered, clutched at the hem of her dress without grace.
“W-What are you saying…?”
“I know full well that speaking with you is meaningless.”
Iris’s eyes moved to Orchid and Caidreich beside her.
“Even now, you continue to disrespect me.”
Those sky-colored eyes were unwavering—firm as a sword forged in heavenly flame.
“I will submit a formal grievance to the Valentine Clan. There’s no reason to prolong this.”
Orchid’s grey eyes flickered in shock.
“Iris… Are you insane? You can’t just file a formal protest like that. You’ll lose face—nobles don’t air family matters in public!”
Among the nobility, formal complaints within a family were almost unheard of.
To expose household disputes was to tarnish one’s own name.
“What exactly did the Valentine Clan fail to give you, for you to be this cruel to your own kin?”
Orchid furrowed his brows.
“You seem to forget—
You were born a noble Valentine, raised with every privilege, and even married well because of it.”
He seemed to have conveniently forgotten how he once said her match was a disgraceful, unwanted union.
But Iris had expected this.
There was no disappointment, only quiet preparation.
“Then perhaps you can explain why my coming-of-age ceremony was never held.”
“C-Coming-of-age…?”
Orchid’s grey eyes trembled.
Could she mean… that?
As someone who handled internal clan matters, he could guess where this was going.
“Let’s not bring that up here—”
“You didn’t even prepare a proper dowry.”
“Both the coming-of-age ceremony and dowry are legal rights recognized under imperial law.”
Even if Iris had married under imperial decree, she was still the legitimate daughter of a grand noble house.
“This alone will greatly strengthen the legitimacy of my formal complaint.”
Whether or not Caidreich looked down on her meant nothing.
Under the laws of the empire, Iris had every right to speak.
She never invoked those rights before…
But that was only because life had once held no meaning for her.
Now, she had no intention of leaving a single card unused.
“Since you’re all so confident that you gave me enough, I’m sure others will agree as well.”
Her words rippled through the banquet hall like spiritual energy disturbing a serene lake.
And among the gathered nobles—shock, whispers, and murmurs began to stir.
Chapter 60