I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 15

“You want to marry a widow! Are you out of your mind?”

The Duke hoped it was a joke, but Lyrian didn’t deny it.

“That can’t be tolerated! What will you tell His Majesty the Emperor? That you’re abandoning the Princess for a widow?”

“Abandoning her isn’t the right word. I have no relationship with the Princess whatsoever.”

“The whole world already accepts that you will marry the Princess!”

“I don’t care about such misunderstandings. I will marry the woman I desire.”

Lyrian’s voice was calm, but the Duke was going crazy.

“Your marriage isn’t just your own problem. Don’t you know that if you don’t marry the Princess, checks on the Duchy of Calabria will begin?”

“Are you trying to force an arranged marriage on me?”

The Duke paused for a moment.

Arranged marriages were uncommon in the Hastoria Empire. Since it was a class-based society, people of similar status naturally associated with each other, and dating and marriage happened within the same class. Marrying across social classes was taboo, but not explicitly forbidden.

This was a great source of regret for the Duke. If he could have forced a marriage, he would have betrothed Lyrian a long time ago, instead of trying to use Lady Eleanor to bait him into a proposal.

“I married the same way. And I’ve never regretted my marriage, not once.”

The Duke’s voice, which had been loud, now lowered.

Lian, who had been expressionless, frowned for the first time.

“My mother returned to the Floyd Duchy as soon as she gave birth to me and has never visited the capital since.”

“You produced an heir and made the family prosper, so the purpose of the marriage was achieved, wasn’t it?”

At the Duke’s protest, Lian’s expression grew even colder.

“The Duchy of Calabria is a deep-rooted military family that produces the best knights in the Empire. We don’t need to choose a wife to make the family prosper; simply maintaining overwhelming military strength, as we have until now, is enough.”

It was the correct argument, but the Duke felt as if he had been hit. He was one of the few who inherited the title of Duke of Calabria but never became the Imperial Knights Commander. Lian, hailed as the youngest Knights Commander and the greatest genius knight in history, couldn’t understand his desperate feelings.

“Do you think that widow will be safe if this reaches His Majesty the Emperor’s ears? She’ll be locked in the dungeon immediately.”

“Even His Majesty the Emperor cannot arbitrarily imprison an innocent noble.”

“He might not be able to lay a hand on you, but she is a worthless person of commoner origin. The Emperor can easily dismiss a case like that.”

But Lian didn’t even flinch.

“I have a special pardon privilege as the Knights Commander serving the Empire. Even the Emperor cannot ignore that.”

“That privilege cannot be used for treason. The Emperor cherishes the Princess dearly, so he might charge you with treason for your disloyalty.”

“If he does that,”

Lian’s eyes shone coldly.

“His Majesty the Emperor should prepare for a real rebellion.”

For a moment, the white teeth revealed between his red lips looked like those of a beast. It was shocking to hear the commander of the Knights, who was supposed to protect the Empire, utter such words. Knowing how loyal Lian had always been to the Empire made it even more astonishing.

The Duke couldn’t say anything more. Lian left him there and stood up.

“No matter what you say, my mind won’t change.”

“Where are you going?”

“I will return when your mind changes.”

“What? Stop right there!”

When Lian didn’t stop at his call, the Duke roared and called for his men.

“Is no one there! Grab Lian!”

Private soldiers rushed in, but no one dared to stop Lian. It was absurd for a mere private soldier to try to restrain the Empire’s greatest knight without hurting him.

“What are you doing! I said grab him!”

Despite his shouts, Lian walked away unhindered, a calm expression on his face.

The Duke, who had failed to stop him, slammed his fist down on the desk in a fit of rage. He too possessed considerable strength, though not as much as Lian, and the desk was instantly shattered. After venting his anger on the furniture for a while, he sat in an armchair and clutched his head.

‘I shouldn’t have invited that clown to our house.’

Late regret filled him. He only had to wait one or two more days, but he had done something unnecessary. A good plan had formed right after she left.

It was an idea that came to him the day before the birthday celebration while he was talking with the Princess. That day, the Duke of Calabria happened to run into the Princess on his way back from doing business at the Imperial Palace. She greeted the Duke with a welcoming face, and they walked through the garden, chatting for a while. At first, the conversation was about the birthday celebration, but the topic naturally shifted to Lian. The look on her face as she listened to stories about Lian was that of a lovestruck teenager. This made the Duke feel so pleased that he even let out a daring remark.

“Seeing the two of you get together is the only remaining joy in my life.”

At that, she smiled sadly, saying there was no way Lian would marry her.

“If he marries me, it will probably be out of a sense of duty to his family or the Empire.”

The Duke denied it, but the Princess shook her head.

“Lian won’t feel such a strong sense of duty toward me anyway. Unless we spent a night together, which is unlikely to happen.”

Hearing the Princess’s words, the Duke felt like a new path had opened up. He had found a clue to persuading his stubborn son, with whom he could never reason.

“Haha. What would you do if Lian secretly broke into your room?”

As he asked what she thought, disguised as a joke, the Princess shyly lowered her head and replied.

“How could I wish for such a thing?”

The Duke, realizing she wouldn’t refuse, made up his mind at that moment.

‘I’ll drug my son and secretly send him to the Princess’s room.’

Lian was upright and had a strong sense of responsibility. If he spent the night with the Princess, he would never turn away from her. If the Princess simply condoned it, this was the simplest way to solve the problem.

‘I should have done that for Lian’s sake, too.’

But because of that one woman, he had missed a golden opportunity. There was no better bride than the Princess. Why couldn’t his frustrating son understand that?

‘What’s so wrong with the angelic Princess that he has to make her so pitiful?’

Recalling the Princess’s wistful expression, he felt very sorry for her. Thinking about it, he wanted to find that despicable woman and tear her to pieces right now. But Lian would have undoubtedly anticipated this and be on guard. His personal guards would be difficult to get through, even with all his strength.

‘There’s more than one way to solve this.’

If he couldn’t get through them, he could drive her away.

Lian, a mere count with a distant estate, needed the power of the Duchy of Calabria to maintain his large-scale knighthood. The Duke intended to cut off all support for his disobedient son. If he waited, Lian would eventually surrender.

‘In the meantime, I need to make sure that woman can’t set foot in high society.’

A woman who sells gossip would be nothing more than a pathetic existence once she was ostracized from high society. Lian might come to his senses once the glamorous illusion shattered.

“Make sure that the conversation with Lian today does not leak outside this mansion! If the story spreads, I’ll have everyone who was here today beheaded!”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“And from now on, the Duchy of Calabria will not participate in any party attended by the widow of Marich! Announce that!”

The Duke’s furious shouts echoed through the mansion.

Blane, who was drinking tea in his study, swallowed hard when he was told he had a visitor. There was only one person who would come looking for him at such a late hour.

“Lian!”

As Blaine jumped to his feet, Lian asked in a calm voice.

“Could I trouble you for a place to stay for a while?”

Lending a place for a friend to sleep was no trouble at all. However, this was a request from the Knights Commander who never spent the night outside, despite the countless invitations from all over Felicity.

“What about all those townhouses of yours?”

Lian didn’t answer. There was only one reason he couldn’t use those places. Blaine furrowed his brow.

“Did you really tell the Duke?”

Lian nodded.

“I’m surprised I didn’t hear that there was a sword fight in the Duchy of Calabria.”

Blane was being serious, but Lian let out a little laugh. Well, even if the Duke came at him with a sword, Lian could easily subdue him, so it wouldn’t lead to bloodshed.

“Hah. What are you thinking?”

Blaine sighed deeply.

“Marriage isn’t a game. It’s not something you should decide on an impulse.”

“It wasn’t decided on an impulse.”

Lian’s voice was as steady as his words.

“I’ve had my mind made up for several days now. I just didn’t say anything earlier because I was worried it would interfere with the night of Deneb.”

Blane had a lot more to say, but when he saw Lian’s eyes, the words disappeared.

‘Whatever I say won’t be of any use.’

When Lian had that expression, he never backed down from his stubbornness. He sighed and stepped back instead of wasting his energy.

“How long will you be staying?”

“Just for a few days, I hope.”

Blaine also thought his friend was too good to marry a low-ranking noble of commoner origin. If he had his way, he would want to send Lian back home to listen to his father. But he thought it was better to have Lian with him than to have him disappear somewhere.

“I’ll show you to the guest room.”

Blaine’s mind was incredibly complex as he walked ahead.

‘How did that woman get him so wrapped up like this?’

No matter how hard he thought, there was only one reason that came to mind.

Soon, the two arrived at the guest room.

“Use this room.”

“Thank you.”

Blaine watched Lian’s back as he entered the room and couldn’t hold back.

“Let me ask you something before I go.”

Lian slightly tilted his head as if asking, ‘what is it?’

“You… spent the night with her yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Yesterday?”

Lian thought for a moment and then nodded.

As expected.

“Don’t you know how foolish it is to decide on a marriage based on something like that?”

“What?”

“Haven’t you read in history about the downfall of men who were enchanted by a seductress in bed and married them?!”

“Don’t say weird things.”

Lian cut Blane off sharply.

“I didn’t do anything. I just slept beside her.”

“Slept beside her and didn’t do anything? You expect me to believe that?”

“I couldn’t have, even if I wanted to.”

Was it a problem with his lower half, not his mind, that made him treat women like stones despite his popularity? Blaine made a rude assumption.

As if Lian had noticed his honor was being sullied in Blaine’s mind, he spoke again.

“I was tied up.”

What?

Blaine’s mouth fell open. Lian went into the room after saying his piece, but Blaine was still in shock.

‘What kind of role-playing is that! Did he suddenly get into that kind of thing?’

Sure enough, the beautiful women who dominated high society played in a different league. Just like that, a misunderstanding was born in Blaine’s mind.

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