# 29 -
---
At Yuan’s words, Lidya’s face immediately tightened.
Seret glanced at Lydia's constricted face, then returned her gaze to Yuan. Yuan's gray eyes were still shining coldly.
“No, I didn’t mean anything else. It seems I went a little too far in wanting to just compliment a pretty lady, Your Highness the Duke.”
Faced with those cold stares, Jack tried to justify his position with a nervous smile.
“Jack, Yuan doesn’t take jokes easily. Yuan, don’t be so strict.”
Lidya Liyuan said with a smile. She spoke as if they were so close that an outsider would have thought that Lidya was Yuan's fiancée and not Siret.
“That's right, Yuan, Miss Elliot is right.”
Because she wanted to see Lydia's face tighten even more, Seret put her hand on Yuan's chest and spoke in a soft voice, as if to calm him down.
I am Yuan Frecktwister's fiancée, not you. Seret's gaze turned to Lydia. Lydia's smiling lips twitched.
“Yuan tends to be a bit sensitive when it comes to me. Don’t worry too much, Mr. Clark.”
Seret turned to Jack and spoke. As if to confirm Seret's words, Yuan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tightly to his side.
“So, we excuse ourselves now.”
Yuan said goodbye to Lidya and left the place with Siret.
As soon as they moved away, Seret tried to wriggle out of Yuan's grip. But Yuan pulled Seret to him again.
"What do you do?"
Seret asked, looking at Yuan.
“I do my best as an orator.”
“Ah, so you were my guardian, then.”
Siririth smiled weakly, pushing away Yuan's hand wrapped around her waist.
“Sometimes, there are crazy idiots like that.”
“Excuse me?”
Seret looked at Yuan with a look of surprise at his statement.
"Those who don't know their limits and try to get their hands on what doesn't belong to them. My fiancée is very beautiful today, unnecessarily so."
Yuan gently held Seret's chin and rubbed her cheek with his thumb.
Then Yuan's finger lightly touched Seret's lips and pulled away from her face.
Seret straightened with a tense back, trying not to be swept away by Yuan's mysterious touch.
"Is that a compliment? Or are you making fun of me?"
It seemed more like mockery than flattery. Seret laughed dryly, as this was the first time she had been mocked for her beauty.
“It was annoying. That man’s view of you was not innocent. Even when he knew you were my fiancée.”
"You must have thought Mr. Clarke was overstepping his bounds. And I thought you should put a stop to him because he was overstepping his bounds. Regardless of me, His Highness the Duke just didn't like Mr. Clarke."
Yuan looked at her silently at her words.
“Am I wrong?”
“Call me Yuan.”
"What?"
Seret blinked as Yuan brought up a completely different topic.
“Because I like my hearing.”
Yuan's calm voice rang out, penetrating Siririth's heart.
In her past life, she made the mistake of calling him Yuan once. Then, he smiled and said:
“I like to hear my name coming out of my wife’s mouth.”
How happy she was with that word from Yuan. Siret kept repeating this word and enjoying it for days and nights.
Although it was just a passing word for Yuan, it was the sweetest and most exciting word for Seret.
A bitter smile appeared on Seret's face, as she pitied herself in her past life, where she had cherished that word and rejoiced in it.
“It's easier if I call you 'Your Highness the Duke'.”
Seret said clearly, looking at Yuan.
I'm not affected by such words anymore. That fool who was happy and happy alone with words thrown casually has already died.
“Okay, then.”
A slight hint of disappointment appeared on Yuan's face. It was a look unbecoming of Duke Freaktwister.
Seret turned away from Yuan and headed somewhere else. Her mood deteriorated. Memories of her past life, resurfacing, tormented Siririth.
Not wanting to cry, Seret quietly left the banquet hall and walked into the rose garden.
She decided to get married because of Jeremy, but she honestly wasn't sure. Will I be able to divorce? Am I jumping into a pit of fire?
The thought of repeating that painful married life became frightening.
“Hey, Jeremy, you motherfucker.”
She sighed and cursed Jeremy, when she heard the sound of a branch snapping behind her.
Looks like there's someone in the back. Seret's body stiffened. The sounds of footsteps got closer and closer.
Is it jack? I forgot about Jack for a moment.
What if Jack follows me? What if Jack tarnishes my honor here, where no one is?
At this horrific thought, Seret hastened and removed the pin on her dress. The end of the pin was sharp enough to make an ideal weapon to stab Ain and escape.
She was holding the pin tightly in her hand, at the moment when she was about to turn around slowly. Someone who followed Seret put his hand on her shoulder.
“Ah!”
With a shriek, Siririth turned around.
“Aaaaak!”
Jeremy was screaming with exactly the same expression as Siririth.
"What! Jeremy! You scared me!"
Syrette shouted at Jeremy, her feet shaking in surprise.
“I was even more surprised. Why are you suddenly screaming?”
Jeremy placed his hand on his chest, breathing hard.
“Why do you follow me without speaking and hold my shoulder! You should have called me by my name.”
“I caught you so I could call you.”
Jeremy said with an aggrieved expression.
“You're not good for anything in life anyway.”
“This is too harsh for your big brother, Seret.”
Jeremy made a sad expression.
“Do you want me to say something harsher?”
"no."
Jeremy shook his head, showing that he was declining the offer.
“Why did you follow me? Do you have something to say?”
Syrett sighed deeply and resumed the walk that Jeremy had stopped. Jeremy hurried to walk beside Syrett.
“Seret.”
Jeremy muttered, watching Syrett. He looked like he had something serious to say.
“Don't talk even if it's about a new business venture or something.”
“It's not like that... Did you hear too?”
"What?"
“Talking about His Highness the Duke and Miss Elliot.”
Jeremy hesitated before speaking. Since the people who attended the party talked a lot about Yuan and Lidya, Jeremy must have discovered the nature of their relationship.
“Yes, I know.”
Seret answered coldly.
“Seret.”
Jeremy stopped walking and looked at Syrett with a worried face.
Syrett laughed lightly at Jeremy's clear expression under the lamplight. He seemed to be worried about his sister after all.
"Are you well?"
Jeremy asked with a worried face.
“What if I'm not?”
Seret laughed and asked. She had walked into hell with her own feet, but there was nothing she could do about it.
“His Grand Duke said that His Highness the Duke will act wisely. I believe so too. He is the Duke of Voecktwister after all. He will not do anything unreasonable.”
Syrette gave a bitter smile, looking at Jeremy who was trying to comfort her.
Yoan Frecktwister was not as rational a person as Jeremy thought. Not when it comes to Lydia.
“So, don’t worry too much.”
Jeremy said, avoiding Seret's gaze.
“Brother, do you feel guilty towards me now?”
Syrett was annoyed that Jeremy couldn't look her in the eye.
“You wanted to break off the engagement, but you couldn't because of me. Look, Seret. The palace deed... no.”
Jeremy swallowed his words.
The deed of the palace is still in Yuan's hands. He reasoned that if Seret broke off the engagement, they might not get back the deed to the palace.
"Don't worry, Jeremy. Everything is my choice. Whether I accepted His Highness the Duke's proposal in the past, or my decision to marry now."
“Seret.”
“This is all a burden I have to bear. So, don’t worry about me, brother, just finish your studies well. Don’t cause any trouble.”
"Good."
Jeremy answered with a frown.
“Let's take a walk and come back.”
Seret smiled and linked her arm with Jeremy's. Even though he caused a lot of trouble, Jeremy was a fairly good brother.
He once took the blame for Syrette when she broke a vase as a child, and when their mother died, he bravely comforted little Syrette and secretly cried alone.
Thanks to those memories, Syrett couldn't quite hate Jeremy.
“Your Highness the Duke may be a better person than you think. ...Ah, or perhaps not.”
If he was a good person, he might have returned the deed to the palace immediately. Jeremy was confused about whether Yuan was a good person or not.
"What?"
Syrett burst out laughing at Jeremy's words.
Sometimes he says he is a good person, and sometimes he says no. Jeremy is really uncontrollable.
“Anyway, if anything happens, be sure to tell your brother. I will come right away.”
“This is reassuring. Having my brother here.”
Seret laughed. This was the first time she had felt the warmth of family in a long time. It was a moment of healing for part of the wounds of her excessive loneliness in her past life.
***
Even while talking to others, Yuan's gaze roamed the banquet hall eagerly. Siret was not in sight.
“This moment makes me wonder about His Majesty’s purpose.”
“It seems he is planning to give the fiefdom to Miss Elliot.”
Following a remark from someone, Count Mont, one of the emperor's confidants, whispered in a very low voice.
His words were followed by a stifled sigh.
“Will His Highness the Crown Prince allow this to happen without objection?”
“I don’t know. Even if he objects… everyone saw today, right? His Majesty has Miss Elliot riding alongside him.”
“How do you expect His Highness the Crown Prince to behave, Duke Frecktwister?”
asked Count Mont, using Yuan.
Yuan was the closest person to the Crown Prince at that gathering. There was a connection from childhood, and the Crown Prince was very interested in Yuan's works.
“He's a very cautious man, so he keeps his thoughts to himself.”
Yuan stopped searching for Seret with his eyes and spoke.
Those present realized that it was Yuan who was maintaining his silence, even though he said that the Crown Prince was cautious and kept his thoughts to himself.
Duke Freaktwister never spoke rashly. Even though he was the youngest among them, he was as cautious as an eighty-year-old man.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Yuan was worried that Seret was out of sight, so he finally left the gathering. He felt like he needed to know where she was.
You didn't come home in another man's carriage under the pretext of being sick like you did last time, did you? Or is she with another man?
Yuan was annoyed by the other men walking around Siret. Yuan frowned, remembering the look in the eyes of the man named Jack Clark moments ago as he looked at Siririth.
How dare he.
Yuan, who had left the banquet hall, stopped when he heard a voice coming from behind him.
"yuan."
It was Lydia's voice.