My Husband Picked Up a Woman - Chapter 8

“Yes, that is correct.”

Cassius looked at Briseis, wiping his tears with the back of his hand as he stared at her.

“You really look just like Gael. I am Ca, Cassius Rosephel. I was Gael’s close friend.”

He looked as if he were about to offer a handshake, but then remembered his hands were stained with tears and tried to find a handkerchief in his coat. However, he soon realized he didn’t have one.

Seeing him search, Briseis had already taken out her own handkerchief as a matter of etiquette and handed it to him. He accepted it with a word of thanks and began to scrub his hands roughly.

“I gave it to you to wipe your face.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

At her words, he wiped his face with the handkerchief and then extended his hand.

“I am Briseis Philia. I was Gael’s twin sister.”

Briseis took his hand firmly and shook it.

“Nice to… ugh… me, meet…”

“Yes, it is nice to meet you, Lord Cassius Rosephel.”

Cassius could not control his tears upon seeing Briseis, who bore a striking resemblance to his late friend Gael. He felt embarrassed to be crying in front of a stranger, but he could not stop.

“Sniff, ugh. I am… sorry.”

“It is alright.”

On the contrary, because he was crying so sorrowfully, Briseis did not feel like crying herself. She felt grateful that he was mourning Gael so deeply.

“Hiccup.”

He tried to stop crying, but it was no use. Briseis took out another handkerchief from her pocket and tried to wipe his face, but because of the significant height difference, her arm could not easily reach.

Noticing her struggle, he leaned down, allowing her to wipe his cheeks. His silver hair fluttered back and forth in the breeze. Though it was early summer, the wind felt muggy. His eyes were grey, appearing almost like transparent glass marbles, and the tears making those marbles glisten were quite striking.

“It is okay.”

“Sniff.”

At her comforting words, he began to cry even louder. It was only after a long time that he was finally able to calm down. Since he had come after the Academy ended, the sun was already beginning to set.

Cassius, finally composed but with a swollen face, forced a smile.

“I will return the handkerchiefs to you next time.”

“Very well.”

“You are in Class 1, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I have been transferred into Class 1 as well.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes. I was the primary contributor to the Crown Prince’s victory.”

“Ah.”

Briseis nodded, remembering that Calisten’s military achievements far outweighed Damian’s. Usually, once class assignments were made in other academies, they were final. At Wilhelm Academy, however, students were often promoted mid-semester if they earned significant merit.

For a man, graduating while maintaining a rank in Class 1 meant a guaranteed path to key imperial positions. They would start as apprentice aides, but it offered the opportunity to eventually become a minister. That was why everyone fought to enter Wilhelm Academy; it was closely linked to the Imperial family, and high grades guaranteed a career. The Imperial Palace wanted to recruit talented individuals early, and the future heads of each noble house wanted to expand their imperial connections. There was no better place for it.

“Then your badge will change,” Briseis remarked, looking at the Class 2 badge Cassius was wearing.

“Yes. By the way, are you not going to the victory parade, Milady?”

“I probably should go, but I am a bit late. I am still in my Academy uniform, too.”

In truth, Briseis had no intention of going. It would be difficult to attend if Damian did not go as her partner. It was a problem that her husband was going with another woman, but it would also look strange if she appeared alone.

“Would you like to go with me?”

Cassius asked as if it were a simple suggestion. Briseis realized he likely knew little about high society, just as in the original story. That was likely why he could make such an offer.

“I am not feeling very well. Thank you for the offer, though.”

“No, thank you for the handkerchiefs. I truly appreciated them.”

With that, she bid Cassius farewell. He turned to leave but stopped when he saw her still standing in front of the headstone.

“Are you not returning to the mansion?”

“I want to stay a bit longer. I want to watch the sun set from here.”

Cassius asked because he thought it might be dangerous for a woman to be alone after dark. However, he remembered that this was a graveyard for nobles, so there were dedicated groundskeepers and knights on patrol. There seemed to be no reason to worry.

“Then I shall see you tomorrow, Lady Briseis.”

“Call me Brie.”

“Then please call me Cas.”

“Yes, Cas. See you tomorrow.”

Cassius left first, looking back several times because he couldn’t stop thinking about Briseis standing by the grave. She looked so much like Gael, his most precious friend, that he couldn’t help but feel concerned. Still, he didn’t want to intrude on her solitude, so he left so she could be alone with Gael.

❖ ❖ ❖

The victory parade consisted of knights following in line behind the commander of the vanguard. They completed a large loop around the capital and ended with the commander receiving a laurel wreath from a slave who served the Emperor’s bedchamber. The ceremony existed to remind the Commander-in-Chief that their position was technically lower than that of the Emperor’s slave.

Calisten rode his horse through the town with an indifferent expression. After receiving the wreath in front of his father, the Emperor, he stood up.

“My proud son, Calisten Ethan Cropus!”

Calisten looked at the detestable Empress standing beside the Emperor. She was a loathsome woman who had ousted his mother through palace intrigue. She had been a lowly woman, little more than a courtesan, who had carried on with the Emperor even while his mother was alive. Now she was the Empress, pretending to be his mother. Beside her stood the Second Prince, whom she had conceived during her illicit affair.

Calisten could not help but let out a sneer at the disgusting sight. All the jewelry she wore had belonged to his mother. She was clearly wearing them to mock him, hoping he would lose his temper. However, Calisten was no longer a five-year-old child; the act was simply pathetic to him.

“The hero of this Empire, who annihilated our eternal rival, the Viathen Empire, and executed their Emperor!”

The Emperor was still ecstatic that his lifelong nemesis was dead. He had been suffering from a hangover that morning, but by nightfall, he was speaking with renewed energy.

“I have known since your childhood that you were extraordinary. To see you grown and working for the Empire brings me great emotion.”

As the Emperor’s speech continued, Calisten yawned internally and scanned the crowd for Briseis. However, the ones standing nearby were the Grand Duke of Mayze and some other woman. Realizing the woman next to Damian was not Briseis, he smirked.

“Therefore, to my son, Calisten Ethan Cropus, who led us to this great victory, I shall grant one wish in the name of the Emperor.”

Normally, the wish would have been pre-arranged. Calisten felt the excitement drain out of him when he realized the person who should hear his wish was not present. He was happy she hadn’t come with Damian, but he had wanted to see her cute, flustered face.

“Ugh.”

“Crown Prince?”

“It is nothing.”

He held his breath and then exhaled as a sudden pain flared in his lower body.

“My wish is to enroll in Wilhelm Academy.”

“Is that all?”

“Certainly, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor laughed, finding the request amusing.

“Very well, it shall be so.”

The Emperor laughed happily, finding the wish trivial and insignificant. He felt satisfied, as if his threatening son was signaling that he did not covet the throne. The victory parade concluded in a grand success.

❖ ❖ ❖

“I knew you would be here.”

“You startled me.”

As soon as the parade ended, Calisten abandoned his subordinates and came straight to the cemetery. Only nobles could be buried in this specific graveyard.

“Here.”

“Is this alcohol?”

“Yeah, rum.”

Calisten did not think the reason Briseis stayed away was Damian. Even if Damian had asked her to go, she wouldn’t have come today.

“I have class tomorrow.”

Briseis stood up properly, pushing away the rum Calisten offered. She sighed as she looked at the moonlight behind Gael’s headstone and the stars sewn into the dark night sky.

“Drinking won’t change one’s skills.”

“That sounds like something you would say.”

Briseis felt a strange sensation in her chest.

“Why are you here?”

“I came because Gael was like a brother to me.”

Calisten spoke and then opened the rum bottle, drinking some himself.

“Brie.”

“Yes.”

He watched Briseis in silence. When she looked at him with sad eyes after staring at the headstone, he smiled.

“I’m in so much pain.”

At his words, Briseis’s expression hardened. Even without him saying where it hurt, she felt as if she already knew.