I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 85

The roar from the plaza shook the Calabria’s Count’s residence.

Lian, who was examining his finely sharpened blade in the light, lifted his head at the sound of footsteps.

“Looks like you’re going to fight.”

Blaine stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

His face, unlike usual, was serious.

Instead of answering, Lian skillfully slid the sword into the scabbard at his waist.

A red envelope flew and landed in front of him.

“Did you see the name inside correctly?”

Lian’s gaze fell indifferently on the card peeking out from the slightly opened envelope.

The name written in a heavy script hadn’t changed by a single letter from when he saw it that morning.

[Ann filip Maroga Calabria]

It was the name of Lian’s father, the Duke of Calabria.

“A father and son duel. I knew this would happen the day I first heard you were proposing to Eleanor.”

“Are you going to object again like you did back then?”

Blaine let out a deep sigh at Lian’s question.

“I was with Eleanor the whole time you were gone, from when she was planning that reckless party at the mansion until she fell into the basement.”

As he said, Blaine had spent much more time with Eleanor than Lian had.

“Her success with the Duchess’s unreasonable demands was surprising, but what she showed in that gloomy basement was even more so. That glamorous queen of high society didn’t mind doing laundry or cleaning, took care of patients, and at the same time, her eyes lit up as she made a deal with a witch and planned an escape.”

Blaine was one of those who believed a person’s true character is revealed in extreme, desperate situations.

“Even though she became a commoner, Eleanor is the most incredible noblewoman I’ve ever met. If I were you, I wouldn’t let her go.”

Lian smiled at Blaine’s sincere words.

“Is the date today?”

“It’s tomorrow.”

“After the trial, then.”

They had planned not to attend the trial today.

After all, it was the first day, so they would only explain the case outline and confirm the jury.

“You’ll be swinging your sword until the time comes, won’t you?”

Blaine suddenly held out his hand to Lian, who was nodding.

“Here. Eleanor asked me to give you this.”

Lian’s violet eyes narrowed as he looked at the object in Blaine’s palm.

“Did you tell her who the duel opponent is?”

“No. I didn’t.”

Blaine shook his head and added, “But she said to take it, just in case, since there’s a possibility whoever it is might be involved with the Princess.”

Lian bit his lip but soon accepted it.

“Are you going to leave without telling Eleonora?”

“Because she’ll worry.”

Blaine nodded in understanding at Lian’s reply.

“Still, go see her face before you leave. It might be a good luck charm.”

“Okay.”

Blaine slowly approached and patted Lian’s shoulder.

“Whatever happens, come back with a result you won’t regret.”

It was a fight he was certain he wouldn’t lose.

The important thing was how to win.

Lian nodded and retightened the laces on his glove.

“Well done, Claude!”

Claude, who was entering the room, frowned again at the cheerful voice.

“More alcohol?”

“This time it’s a celebratory drink! Here, take it, take it!”

Minaz held a wine that was a bit stronger than the morning’s.

Claude complained to Minaz, who forcefully put a glass in his hand and started pouring.

“What exactly are we celebrating? We didn’t get a particularly good result.”

The brief first trial ended in a stalemate.

Adrian’s plea was effective, but the Princess’s pale appearance seemed to have garnered sympathy from the Empire’s people.

Moreover, the most important jury members were composed of people heavily influenced by the Emperor.

Despite the lack of hopeful elements, Minaz was stubborn.

“What’s the big deal? We finished it safely.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Was your expectation really that low?”

“Of course not. I genuinely think you did well today. You looked cool with your mature attitude.”

Claude’s face flushed at Minaz’s praise.

“Haha. What are you getting shy about? A prude, I swear.”

Minaz laughed heartily and smacked Claude’s back with a loud thump.

“Reacting like that will make you a plaything for wicked older women. You’re still inexperienced, aren’t you?”

“What kind of lewd question is that?”

“Come on, what’s wrong with asking? We’ve even bathed together. You need to stop looking at the law books and go out and have some fun. Meet some people.”

It was hard to listen to Minaz’s unrestrained words while sober, so Claude quickly emptied his glass.

Then, wiping his mouth, he asked with a snippy tone, “Do you have the right to say that to me? Why aren’t you getting married?”

“What? Are you calling me an old maid?”

“I’m just returning your words.”

Considering the Empire’s culture where many marry in their teens, Minaz was marrying quite late.

He had been so curious but had never dared to ask.

His heart thumped with nervousness, but Claude pretended to be indifferent, waiting for her answer.

“I’m not getting married.”

The answer he somewhat expected came back.

“Why not?”

“Titles are passed down through the paternal line. If I get married, I’ll be the Duchess of Abrot, not the Duke of Abrot. I’m the rightful successor, so I don’t want that.”

“In that case…”

Claude trailed off and took another sip of wine.

Then, trying to sound as if he had no ulterior motive, he said in a casual tone, “If two dukes marry, they can maintain their titles and head of house positions. Like the Duchess of Floyd.”

“I just hate that title itself. Besides, if we win this fight, the first thing we need to ban is the marriage of dukes.”

The wine he was drinking almost got stuck in his throat.

“Why would you ban that?”

“If their power gets too big, it will cause chaos. We need to create a law to prevent marriages between dukes.”

“According to the Empire’s law, anyone can marry whomever they want. You’re limiting the freedom of dukes.”

“The benefits of limiting it are far greater than the losses. Besides, why would a few dukes need to marry each other anyway?”

Claude was speechless at Minaz’s logical rebuttal.

“Anyway, I can’t agree with that.”

“Why on earth are you against it?”

“It’s my decision. I’m against it, that’s all.”

Minaz’s eyes narrowed at his uncharacteristically stubborn behavior.

She clearly sensed something was suspicious.

“I need to prepare for the next trial, so stop being a drunken fool!”

Claude snapped and then stormed out of the room.

“What’s with that guy? He’s the one acting like a drunken fool.”

Minaz muttered her dissatisfaction and tilted her head.

Then, scratching her head, she filled her glass with wine again.

Eleanor sat in the office with the Duchess of Floyd.

While Roan and Minaz were cornering the Princess in court, the two of them planned to pressure the Emperor from another angle.

“Do you need a template?”

The Duchess of Floyd shook her head at Eleanor’s question.

“I can write this with my eyes closed.”

The extent of the Duchess of Floyd’s wealth that Eleanor had grasped was truly enormous.

She owned the Empire’s largest diamond mine, monopolized more than half of the distribution networks and salt trade, and was also the largest banker.

It was almost impossible to find a noble in the Empire who hadn’t borrowed money from her.

“Your skill is truly that of someone who has written a lot.”

The Duchess was expertly writing a letter demanding the repayment of bonds that were soon to mature.

It was an unusual demand letter, as it was common practice to extend the term for good bonds where there were no issues with interest payments.

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

‘How many zeros are there?’

It was an enormous amount of money, even more shocking than when she first heard it.

The most surprising thing, however, was that the recipient was the Emperor of the Haskator Empire.

“Has an Emperor of the Empire ever received a debt collection notice?”

“A few times. And it was our family’s role to step in and repay it on their behalf.”

That was how the Floyd family solidified their power.

“Will this be effective?”

“Of course. No army can defeat money.”

The Duchess would know that fact best.

The two of them smiled at each other.

“Oh, and I thought of something that might be helpful for the trial. How about we prepare this?”

“Hmm. I’ll see if it’s possible.”

The Duchess of Floyd put away the note Eleanor had handed her.

“Well, the demand letter is written, so let’s handle the remaining tasks.”

As the number of families and knight orders to be taken care of increased, the Duchess’s workload for supplying them grew immensely.

Furthermore, she was asked to provide things whenever they were needed during the process, so the Duchess felt like she needed more than one body.

Though it wasn’t a familiar task, Eleonora also did her best to help.

Sitting at the desk and checking various numbers for several hours made her body feel very stiff.

“Is your back hurting?”

“Oh, yes. This posture is uncomfortable.”

There was still a lot of work left, so Eleanor looked for a more comfortable position and wedged a cushion between her body and the desk.

She couldn’t complain, but as she rested her heavy chest on it, her shoulders felt much more comfortable.

It was while Eleanor was working in that position.

“Baroness!”

Eleanor turned her head happily at the loud voice.

It was Graham, whom she had called to entrust with some work.

It had been a long time since they had seen each other in the basement.

“You’re safe, thank goodness.”

“You too, Baroness. I was so worried…”

Graham, who was entering with a cheerful voice, flinched when she saw her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, uh, uh, I just remembered that happened! I completely forgot!”

Graham stammered, looking back and forth between Eleanor and the Duchess.

“But it hasn’t been that long, and already…! Can I… congratulate you?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Anyway, I’m so happy for you, Baroness!”

She was speaking so nonsensically that it was hard to understand what she meant.

Graham hugged the bewildered Eleanor tightly and then pulled her arm.

“Now that I’m here, please leave the work to me and go rest?”

“How can I rest when we’re so busy? We should do this together.”

“No! I should have been more careful when you said your period was late before.”

At her words, Eleanor finally realized the misunderstanding and her mouth dropped open.

She now saw that the cushion she had wedged against her stomach was the same color as her clothes, making it look like she had a protruding belly.

‘The Duchess is here, and she’s saying something that could cause a huge problem!’

She hurried to clear up the misunderstanding, but the Duchess was quicker to catch on.

” Eleanor. Are you pregnant?”

Just as the Duchess shouted that loudly.

Lian’s face happened to appear in the open doorway, looking in their direction.

“Count!”

Eleanor was so flustered that she called out to Lian.

However, he simply bit his lip, turned around, and disappeared.

Support