The Person I Loved Hated Me - Chapter 3

After seeing Clara off and returning to the guard post, Eivard sat in his chair, propped his elbows on his knees, and covered his face with his hands. As if waiting for this exact moment, Franz plopped down directly across from him.

“You seem to be holding up quite well.”

“You look like you’re enjoying this.”

“Well, yeah. Who would’ve thought the Captain would fall for Isaac’s sister? Was it love at first sight given the circumstances? I thought you were joking.”

“What should I do?”

Eivard held his head and let out a heavy sigh.

“I can’t believe you didn’t know. But then again, Clara never showed her face around the knights, so I suppose you never had any contact with her.”

Eivard peered at Franz through the gaps in his fingers with a glare.

“Where did you meet her?”

“When Isaac and I were assigned to the same squad, he invited me over to his house. She was cute even back then, but when I saw her after so long, she’d become absolutely stunning. Quite the surprise.”

“Now that you mention it, you did refute me when I made baseless comments about her not being that kind of girl. So, you knew her from before.”

Franz had originally been in the same squad as Isaac. It wasn’t strange that he knew her. About a year before Isaac was promoted to squad leader, Franz had been transferred to Eivard’s unit.

Isaac was the leader of the Tenth Squad, which specialized in handling rough situations, and he often took missions outside the royal capital. Apparently, he initially refused the promotion for that reason, but was persuaded by his superiors and eventually accepted.

In contrast, Eivard was a year older and from a noble family, yet he remained a captain. Not that his promotion was slow—if anything, it was rather quick.

Honestly, he had expected the vacant squad leader position to be offered to him, which was why, until just moments ago, he had felt intense, burning jealousy toward Isaac.

Yes, until just moments ago.

Upon learning that Clara was Isaac’s sister, that feeling vanished in an instant, replaced by shock. Eivard was currently in a state of utter disbelief at his own reaction.

“Just the other day, I sarcastically told him to stop being so flashy when I saw him wearing that earring.”

“Ah, that earring. Apparently, Clara made it herself.”

“So, it seems. She told me earlier that she’s a metalworker and that it was the first piece she designed and finished entirely on her own.”

“That’s what I’m saying! No matter how much you dislike Isaac, there’s no need to drag Clara into it.”

“You’re right. What have I done?”

Eivard sank down with another sigh.

What have I truly done? Thinking back now… no, even as I said those words, I knew it was shameful as a person, yet I couldn’t stop myself.

Eivard was born the third son of the Marquis Trulin family—a pure-blooded noble. His lineage was one of civil officials who had served close to the king for generations, and he was raised surrounded by a family with a strong sense of privilege.

Within the knight order, Eivard’s rise was swift; he held the rank of captain and was highly skilled in swordsmanship.

Despite this, within the Marquis Trulin household, he was regarded as a failure, looked down upon, and had never been acknowledged by any of his family members to this day.

The children of the Trulin family excelled in academics, consistently achieving top grades at the prestigious Royal Academy they attended. Second place was unthinkable. They were always, without exception, number one.

Amid such an accomplished family, Eivard was the disgrace of the Marquis Trulin house.

He failed to secure the top spot in the Royal Academy entrance exam and couldn’t become the freshman representative. After that, his grades were always second. Though his results were excellent, being academically inferior to anyone was unacceptable in the Trulin household.

However, Eivard was exceptionally gifted in physical activities. Despite his parents’ objections, his grandfather, the family head, permitted him to become a knight.

His father complied with his grandfather’s reasoning that “controlling the military isn’t a bad idea,” but a year after Eivard graduated from the academy at fifteen and joined the knight order, Isaac appeared before him; the one from whom great things were expected.

Isaac was a genius. He was the first knight close to Eivard’s age to ever defeat him in a sword fight.

His parents were furious that he was on equal footing with a commoner knight who had joined a year later, berating him with, “As expected, you’re incompetent.”

His promotion to captain came around the same time as Isaac’s, and eventually, Isaac was promoted to squad leader before Eivard.

At that time, his grandfather was enraged, shouting, “Even after pulling strings from behind!” and assaulted him with his cane. While enduring his grandfather’s violence, Eivard was deeply disheartened that, despite the Trulin family’s backing, he had been surpassed in promotion by a commoner knight.

For Eivard, the only world where he could shine was that of the sword. Though born of Trulin blood and lacking talent for civil office, he believed he had opened a path to military glory and that someday he would be recognized.

But then Isaac, a genius, stood in his way.

He was used to being berated for falling short of other Trulin children and believed his own inadequacy was to blame. Unbeknownst to himself, Eivard likely harbored some pride in being born into the Trulin family. The frustration of losing to a commoner knight stained Eivard’s character with ugliness.

After becoming a knight and meeting Isaac, Eivard began blaming all the misfortunes of his life on him.

He nitpicked and scorned Isaac’s every action. But Isaac didn’t seem bothered in the least, treating Eivard merely as a sharp-tongued senior, which only infuriated Eivard more with his composure.

He became obsessed with finding a way to make Isaac submit.

It was during this time that he learned Isaac’s demeanor changed when it came to his sister.

Though he had never managed to get under Isaac’s skin before, when Isaac assumed his captaincy, Eivard taunted, “I hear you and your sister are both children of a mistress. Did you commoners claw your way up so greedily?” Isaac grabbed him by the collar and said, “Do what you want with me, but if you insult my sister, I won’t forgive you.” His purple eyes burned with anger, and Eivard felt a thrill.

Discovering that Isaac’s weakness was his sister, Eivard realized that disparaging her would hurt Isaac and distort his composed expression. From then on, he made baseless, derogatory remarks about her at every opportunity.

Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that sister would be her. Clara herself, the one who captivated him at first sight and made him fall in love.

The moment his eyes met Clara, he knew she was drawn to him. His princely appearance wasn’t for nothing. Eivard was accustomed to women falling for him and knew how to handle it. But this time was different. Because Eivard had also fallen for Clara.

Situations where he rescued women from attackers were common.

Finding it bothersome to be constantly admired afterward, he usually delegated such tasks to his subordinates. But this time, his squad was scattered to intercept a major illegal drug transaction.

Amid that, he heard a faint scream and couldn’t ignore it. When he rushed over, he found a young woman, barely twenty, being abducted.

He knew causing a commotion might alert their targets, but he couldn’t abandon her.

Though Eivard was harsh toward Isaac, he took his duties seriously and was sincere in his dealings with others.

After subduing the assailant and facing the woman, he was instantly captivated by her shining purple eyes.

Not just any purple, her irises were a mix of gold and red in varying shades.

Similar colors might exist, but none were the same. It was a unique hue, special to her alone.

Her hair and clothes were disheveled, and her cheek was red and swollen as if she’d been struck, yet even that merely served as a backdrop to her beauty. She had an exquisitely lovely, charming face.

But what drew him in most were those mysteriously colored, shining purple eyes. He couldn’t look away; he felt pulled in.

Despite his responsible position as captain, he left everything to his subordinates and departed the scene. Not wanting to be apart from her, he personally tended to her wounds and escorted her to Isaac’s empty home.

To think he would ever feel this way about a woman.

He had always assumed he’d be married off for political reasons, but now that he’d met her, he could never accept a marriage for the Trulin family’s benefit.

No matter how much he yearned for her, their difference in status remained. Though he was the third son, if he wanted to be sincere with her, he would have to either give up on her or abandon his family.

Franz seemed to notice Eivard’s inner turmoil. He let out an exasperated, weary sigh, as if dealing with something utterly pointless.

“Well, mope if you must. But can I give my report on the incident?”

“Incident?”

“About Ahim, the one who attacked Clara. If you’re not up to it, I’ll proceed without the captain.”

“My apologies. Let’s hear the report.”

Though bewildered and despairing over his newfound feelings, Eivard’s mind snapped back to attention. If it concerned the person who attacked Clara, he needed every detail of the report. Instantly, he pulled himself out of his miserable state.

“Did you find out anything?”

“That guy had the illegal drugs we’ve been tracking on him. No signs he used them himself.”

“So, he’s a dealer?”

“Highly likely.”

Franz placed the small packet of white powder wrapped in drug paper, confiscated from Ahim, on the table.