Chapter 5

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The next morning, I went to the imperial palace with Dominic to report my plans to use the building to open a stationery shop. Dominic, still without any proof of identification, couldn’t enter the imperial palace with me in his human form, so he was currently transformed into a longsword, which I carried.

Arriving at the imperial palace in a rented carriage, I presented my identification and headed to the office for business registrations. After passing through a large crowd and a small garden path, I reached the government office. It was quiet and calm, with only one tall man at the far end of the room.

Well, this seems like a good start. I hummed tunelessly as I walked. But someone stepped in to block my path. Of course, it had to be him.

“It has been a while.”

He was the male protagonist and my fiancé, Duke Lennox Hessman. I stared at him for a moment. Then I tried to ignore and walk around him. I had no reason to acknowledge him.

Unfortunately, he called my name as I attempted to put some distance between us. “Lady Meldenique Babelloa.” He looked at me with a gentle smile.

We were in the imperial palace, so he was probably acting like this just in case someone saw him.

What’s with him? He usually acts like I’m invisible. I frowned, recalling his past behavior. Initially, when Lennox had first approached Meldenique, he had been warm toward her.

“Good morning, Lady Meldenique,” he had greeted one day.

It was only natural that Meldenique, having been driven into isolation due to the rumors of her bloodline’s curse, fell for him.

“Your Grace, do you not hate me?”

“Why would I?”

“You are very important to me. And please, just call me Lennox.”

“All right... Lennox.”

Meldenique, who was treated coldly by everyone, saw him as a savior. However, soon after he had captured her heart, Lennox’s attitude changed completely.

“That dress is beautiful, but what a shame to see it wasted on you,” he had told her once, callously.

He constantly criticized Meldenique’s appearance, often calling her plain.

“You have no talent for this.”

He had also disregarded Meldenique’s attempts to run a business.

“Why are you doing business with Sheria and not me?” Meldenique had asked one day.

“Because you are incompetent and Lady Sheria Babelloa is not.”

Even though he knew that Meldenique had an inferiority complex regarding Sheria, he never passed up an opportunity to compare them.

When Sheria and Lennox shared a dance at a ball, Meldenique was suspicious.

“There’s nothing going on between Sheria and you, is there?”

Lennox had a way with words. When Meldenique began to suspect they were having an affair, he manipulated her.

“Listen carefully. If I were to have an affair with Lady Sheria, it would only be because you are not attractive enough to me.”

“I don’t really think that’s the point...” Meldenique had tried to stand up for herself, only to be shot down.

“Are you really trying to argue with me?”

He knew just what to say to get under Meldenique’s skin. She was already treated with contempt by those around her, so his constant attacks on her self-esteem led her into a downward spiral.

“I am the only one who would treat someone like you with kindness,” he had assured her.

Eventually, Meldenique started to believe that she was stupid and entrusted him with all the decision-making.

“All you have to do is marry me and follow my orders.”

Determined to be his wife, Meldenique endured all of his abuse, contempt, and gaslighting.

Meldenique loved Lennox too much. As I recalled the past, Lennox’s deep, resonant voice echoed in my ears. I glared at him.

Asshole. It’s infuriating no matter how you look at it. Memories of his contempt and verbal abuse caused anger to surge within me. As if reading my mind, the sword in my hand vibrated slightly, seemingly advising me to calm down. I gripped it firmly.

A confrontation with this man was inevitable at some point. In other words, if he were here to provoke me, I had no reason to take it lying down.

“Greetings, Your Grace,” I said coldly.

He frowned for a moment as if surprised that I didn’t call him by name.

I glanced at him, taking in his appearance. His black hair framed his dark brown eyes and a cold, expressionless face, which was pale despite his time spent outside training as a knight. He certainly looked the part of a protagonist, but to me, he was nothing but an adulterous man.

He scrutinized my face as he asked, “Lady Meldenique, is it true that you have left your family?”

“Yes, Your Grace,” I replied. “And since I have left the family, I prefer to be addressed simply as Meldenique.”

He spoke coldly and quietly in response. “That is ridiculous. I do not recall giving you my permission to do that.”

I stared at him, unflinching.

“Wrap up this little escapade within a month,” he said dismissively. “We are going to be wed soon, and I do not appreciate my bride-to-be living a life of debauchery.”

I furrowed my brows.

Bold words for someone cheating on the woman he says he’ll marry. I hadn’t expected him to bring up the wedding. I was so exasperated that I found myself momentarily speechless.

By this point in the novel, when Meldenique had lost ten billion bekrels, he was already having an affair with her younger sister, Sheria. As if guided by fate, the two of them frequently crossed paths and began to feel attracted to one another. Even though he was engaged, Lennox made his interest in Sheria apparent.

He used to blatantly ignore me and would always side with Sheria. Even now, he must be enjoying making Meldenique look like a fool while keeping his forbidden love a secret. They are probably under the delusion that no one knows about their affair. With Sheria temporarily vacationing in the warm Holy Kingdom of the South, her absence likely made Lennox’s heart even fonder of her.

And he has the gall to talk about a wedding? He must be insane. Since fate had brought us face to face, I decided to get one thing straight.

“Your Grace, I know everything.”

“What do you mean?” he asked blankly. His demeanor was casual, but his eyes betrayed him.

He was looking at me like I was a mild inconvenience. Like I was nothing but an insect. His aversion was so intense that it seemed impossible for the original Meldenique to not notice it. So why on earth was he insisting on getting married?

I looked at him and whispered clearly, “The relationship between you and Sheria, Your Grace.”

Lennox and Sheria seemed to get along very well, exchanging sweet nothings without being particularly subtle about it. Of course, people had their doubts that their relationship was platonic, but both of them pretended to be innocent in public.

I guess they didn’t want to be condemned for having an affair. Some even pitied them, thinking they could have been a wonderful couple if only Meldenique wasn’t in the picture. In Bewitched Lovers, she was seen as an unsightly obstacle to their love. They didn’t even care that Meldenique was Duke Lennox Hessmann’s actual fiancée.

“Ah.” Lennox seemed taken aback by my words but smiled calmly. “I told you it was not an affair. I thought I told you only to trust my words.”

In the original story, Meldenique, despite her humiliation, couldn’t bring herself to break off the engagement. She clung desperately and pleaded for his affection because she loved him, but I was different.

Regardless of the reason, an affair is an affair.

“I don’t want to hear any excuses.” I stared at him, articulating each syllable distinctly. “I intend to break off my engagement with you, Your Grace.”

“What?” For the first time, he looked genuinely surprised, his eyes widening.

“Oh, I have a suggestion,” I added. “You should marry my younger sister, Sheria. That way, our families can still get the marriage they want. It works out perfectly, don’t you think?”

Lennox, with a rare look of bewilderment, opened his mouth. “As I’ve always said, I have no intention of marrying Sheria. She is elegant, beautiful, and lovely, unlike you, but...”

What the hell? Why is he suddenly singing Sheria’s praises? I gave him a pitying look.

Lennox, as if overwhelmed by his own dramatic love, failed to finish his sentence and shook his head. “Well, she is different from you in many ways, but that does not matter. I still intend to marry you.”

I didn’t know where to start. Was he really saying that he wanted to date and marry different women? It seemed like he had completely lost his mind. However, I had no time for his erratic behavior. I was going to rewrite this story on my own.

“So, you won’t marry Sheria, is that right?” I asked him.

“Yes.”

“Then you may as well marry Duchess Hildegard because I have no intention to go through with this marriage.”

They may be thirty years apart, but they could make it work. If he was going to spout nonsense, then so would I. My words rendered him speechless for a moment, and he ran his hand over his face before continuing.

“Lady Meldenique Babelloa, what are you playing at?”

I don’t think he gets it. I quietly drew the sword in my hand from its sheath. Although I had taken care to make it look like a simple sword for self-defense, it still served its purpose in catching Lennox off guard.

“Are you really brandishing a sword in the palace? You dare challenge me?”

I gazed at him, completely calm. As expected, he stared back at me with a startled look. My sudden defiance must have surprised him, as accustomed as he was to Meldenique simply taking his abuse all this time. And there was one more person who was taken aback.

“Wh-what are you doing, Mel?”

It was Dominic. According to the original story, he could only communicate telepathically like this in dire situations. It seemed that Dominic was quite worried.

I replied to him internally. “Sorry. I’ll give you a bonus for this.”

Dominic swiftly changed his stance. “You better pay me in gold.”

With his permission, I grabbed the hilt of the sword and forcefully plunged the blade into the floor.

The tip of the sword sunk deep into the ground. After briefly expressing my condolences to Dominic, I continued speaking to Lennox. “I don’t think you understand. I am formally requesting that the engagement be broken off, Your Grace.”

Driving a sword into the ground signified a challenge to a duel. Of course, I didn’t actually plan to fight him. It was just to convey my intent that if he didn’t break off this engagement, I would find a way to end it.

Nevertheless, Lennox was visibly flustered. I gazed at him intently as I withdrew the sword from the ground and gracefully sheathed it once again.

“Now then, I’ll be off. Even you must understand my intentions now, but just in case, I will send an official letter to your residence breaking off this engagement.”