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Chapter 68

Emilia's body stiffened as she recognized the man approaching her.

Cedric...?

She frowned involuntarily.

At the same time, she recalled a fact she'd momentarily forgotten.

That's right—Cedric was also at the palace.

Still, the palace is so vast—of all places...

Emilia swallowed a sigh inwardly.

Cedric, on the other hand, still seemed shaken.

As if wondering if he'd seen wrong, he shook his head vigorously.

Then he strode up to her.

"You! How did you get in here!"

Feeling no need to answer, Emilia stayed silent.

But Cedric interpreted her silence in his own way.

His lips twisted as he let out a short exclamation.

"Ha! So you dressed up as a noble just to get into the palace and find me?"

"...What?"

His delusion was so absurd that her words came out belatedly.

But Cedric had already made up his mind.

He gave her a triumphant look.

"Well, it's not like you could have done much after leaving the village alone."

Cedric recalled the day she'd trashed his house and disappeared.

At first, he and his mother had been furious—but soon, they'd brushed it off.

If Emilia had stayed in the village, she'd only have caused trouble anyway.

And he'd forgotten about her.

He hadn't cared where she went or how she was living.

Until Alex brought her up.

It was only when that bastard asked about her whereabouts that he'd wondered where she'd gone.

Cedric looked her up and down and nodded toward her dress.

"That dress—you bought it with the stuff you stole back then, didn't you?"

His voice dripped with mockery.

As if there was no other way she could afford such attire.

Emilia swallowed a bitter laugh.

Stolen, my foot.

Those things were probably floating down the river by now.

And even if she'd sold every last one, she couldn't afford even a single jewel on the dress she was wearing now.

But it wasn't worth explaining, so Emilia ignored Cedric and brushed herself off, rising to leave.

Just as she tried to walk past him, her arm was roughly grabbed.

"...Let go."

But Cedric only snarled.

"I'm not done talking—where do you think you're going?"

Emilia frowned.

He let out a sound that could have been admiration or mockery.

"Wow—I almost fell for it just from your back view."

Then he began openly leering at her.

His appraising gaze made Emilia's skin crawl.

"Hey, why didn't you dress like this before? If you had, I might have reconsidered."

Cedric swallowed at the curves barely hidden beneath her dress.

Damn. I should have ignored my mother.

He'd deliberately kept his hands off her even while they were engaged, just in case.

Now he felt like he'd wasted his chance.

No, it's not too late even now...

But just then—

"I said let go."

Emilia snapped coldly, trying to pull her arm free.

But Cedric showed no sign of letting go.

Emilia shot him a frigid glare.

"Does everyone know you have such a bad habit of putting your hands on people?"

"What?"

"As a palace official, there must be a code of conduct to maintain."

"Co-conduct?"

"Yes. Though I doubt that thick skull of yours—the one that failed the exam three times—can remember it."

"Hey, watch your mouth—"

Cedric tightened his grip and gritted his teeth—

But Emilia cut him off without flinching.

"Since I went through the trouble of dressing up as a noble to get into the palace, maybe I should drop by the Finance Department?"

"Wh-where are you going?"

Emilia smiled coldly.

"Your department. What do you think people would say if they found out you're violent, and that you got another woman pregnant while engaged?"

Of course, the code of conduct wouldn't get Cedric punished.

But rumors like that spread fast.

If word got out that he was a scumbag who'd impregnated another woman while engaged, he'd at least be too ashamed to show his face.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"If you don't like it, let go."

"You're insane!"

Cedric cursed through gritted teeth—and raised his free hand high.

But just then—

Thwack!

A dull impact echoed.

"Argh!"

With a cry, Cedric's head snapped forward.

His grip on Emilia's arm released.

Startled by the sudden turn, Emilia blinked.

"Oh dear. My apologies."

At the relaxed voice, Emilia turned her gaze.

Over Cedric's shoulder, she saw Lucas.

He looked remarkably composed for someone who'd just struck the back of a man's head.

In his hand was Emilia's bag—the one she'd left behind.

With a rather heavy metal ornament attached to the bottom.

Surely not—

Emilia blinked.

Did he hit him with that?

"You're so short I didn't see you. My mistake."

Lucas emphasized the word short with particular relish.

"Ughh..."

Cedric groaned, clutching the back of his head. Tears welled in his eyes.

"Damn it!"

He shouted furiously.

"Who hits someone from behind?!"

But as he spun around, Cedric flinched.

The man before him was far larger than he was.

"Just a passing imperial knight."

"I-Imperial knight?"

The sword at his waist and his clearly trained physique made Cedric shrink back.

But his indignation flared again.

After all, he was the victim here.

"Y-you think being an imperial knight makes it okay?!"

Cedric raised his voice.

"Even if it was an accident, you can't just hit someone like this! Apologize right now!"

"My, my."

Lucas clicked his tongue.

"Your heart is as small as your stature."

"S-small?"

"Yes."

Lucas nodded without a trace of hesitation.

"Well, I suppose I'm sorry. Seems I hit you a little off-target."

He muttered with a note of regret, then turned away as if Cedric wasn't worth his time.

He walked straight to Emilia and held out her bag.

"Here's the bag you asked for, Duchess."

The knightly gesture and tone were a nice touch.

"Just now—"

At those words, Cedric's eyes went wide.

The rage that had been rising vanished in an instant.

"D-Duchess?"

Cedric's mouth hung open stupidly.

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