The Person I Loved Hated Me - Chapter 33

Five days after Ethan arrived at the knight quarters, the adorned daughter of Viscount Notoria stormed into the knights’ headquarters. However, Eivard was absent, and his whereabouts were unknown.

“You promised! How cruel of you. Please tell me where he is.”

“I cannot disclose mission details.”

“Even though I’m his fiancée?!”

A knight of noble birth handled the situation, but the Viscount Notoria’s daughter wouldn’t listen to his “please tell me his destination” and declared “I’ll wait here until he returns,” stubbornly trying to stay. The knight in charge ended up having great difficulty sending her away.

Normally, it would be unthinkable for the one who should be escorted to visit like this. It’s behavior that would be condemned as improper.

While only households of count rank or higher are invited to the king’s banquet, there’s no issue if accompanying someone. The Viscount Notoria’s daughter must have wanted to attend quite badly.

The adorable, exquisitely dressed young lady ended up being humiliated before a large crowd. Since there were noble children among the knights who had witnessed the recent commotion, her reputation in high society ended up being damaged.

The heirless Viscount Notoria household was considered a prime catch for noble sons without inheritable titles. As the eldest daughter, Lilia was bright, graceful, and had a good reputation, with many marriage proposals brought to her. But with this incident, most suitors withdrew. Rumors spread that her previous appearances in society were false, and that she was actually an arrogant girl with strong preconceptions.

For the Viscount Notoria household, this might not be a problem since they desired connection with the Marquis Trulin family. Still, even if the other party is of higher status, being completely ignored by Eivard must have given them something to think about.

They should have been indignant that their cherished daughter was being treated like a fool, yet not a single complaint reached Eivard from Viscount Notoria.

Nevertheless, the Viscount Notoria’s daughter showed no signs of backing down. Lilia told her friends “Lord Eivard has dishonored me,” behaving as if there were already an established relationship between them. These were words that would lower the value of a noble daughter expected to maintain chastity. Eivard found this utterly bizarre.

Since Eivard had been avoiding social circles due to his work, he didn’t know Lilia, the Viscount Notoria’s daughter. When he asked knights who did attend social functions, they replied “I never thought she was that kind of young lady.”

While putting on a false front in public is perfectly normal for a young lady, to become unable to hide her flaws after getting involved with Eivard… He found himself troubled, wondering if his appearance was so captivating it could drive people mad.

On the day of the king’s banquet, Eivard had infiltrated the Marquis Trulin residence while its masters were away. It wasn’t simply that he was running away from the Viscount Notoria’s daughter – this day was his only opportunity.

Pressed by Rhys’s urging about disinheritance and having heard that the Marquis Trulin household was distributing bribes, he had come to check the account books in his grandfather’s office.

The Marquis Trulin household didn’t have bottomless wealth. Given that they were targeting the gold expected to be produced in the Viscount Notoria territory, he felt they might be running out of funds and had come to investigate.

Even if they intended to use the gold flowing from the Viscount Notoria territory as funds to seize power, what was their current situation? Surprisingly, they were in debt. Moreover, the extravagant spending on clothing and jewelry for his mother and sisters-in-law to maintain excessive noble appearances was enormous. Additionally, the expenses for his father and brothers’ mistresses were mounting.

When he later visited merchants who did business with them, he found all these were unpaid, apparently counting on assistance expected from the Viscount Notoria household.

“They’re planning to bankrupt us. Could it be that the Viscount Notoria household is?”

The bribery matter would fall on his grandfather as head of household. To take responsibility for the bankruptcy, his father would likely retire, and the family headship would pass to his eldest brother Ethan. That bankruptcy wouldn’t be possible if funds flowing from Viscount Notoria were expected.

To prevent that, they should want to stop Eivard from forming ties with Lilia. But there was no sign of interference from Sebastian, the prime minister.

Perhaps they wanted to punish Eivard along with Clara, but Eivard had no desire to inherit the Viscount Notoria household. Because…

“Is Viscount Notoria… His Excellency the Duke of Winslet’s pawn?”

The thought crossed his mind that Viscount Notoria hadn’t approached the Marquis Trulin household seeking increased power, but rather intended to set a trap.

Probably, no – certainly. Hadn’t Rhys said that the ones to be ruined were Marquis Trulin Raihaints and his father Carnes?

The Marquis Trulin household would be left to Ethan, but even if the title remained, they couldn’t maintain their previous lifestyle. They would have to withdraw from the power struggles at court.

If Eivard had married into the Viscount Notoria household, divorce would be likely, and if he hadn’t and disinheritance was achieved, he would maintain his current status. Either way, his past attempt to buy advancement with money would haunt him.

“If my thinking isn’t mistaken, the Viscount Notoria’s daughter will be wounded. Why did she accept such a role?”

He recalled the words “don’t make her damaged goods.”

Was that her true feelings, or was it something she had resolved herself to do?

He wanted to confirm the truth, but he found himself curious about her reaction when they first met.

She had indeed blushed when she saw Eivard’s face. Even if gestures could be acted, would she really blush? If he approached carelessly and things turned out differently than expected, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

As he was struggling with how to handle the situation, he heard that the crown prince had been frequently visiting the knight quarters for inspections.