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Feeling puzzled, I was about to open the window that opened into the driver's seat when I heard a knock from the driver's seat first.
"Excuse me, Miss."
"What is it?"
"Well, um... His Excellency Duke Farnese is blocking the carriage..."
The situation was so absurd that it took me a few seconds of mulling over the words to fully understand their meaning.
'Is he really doing something so pathetic?'
No, considering what that bastard has done so far, it's entirely possible.
Just look at how he tirelessly sends me letters that I ignore every day.
'I'd love to just ram the carriage through him, but...'
I couldn't tell the coachman to run over an innocent—not completely blameless, but—person.
In the end, I let out a deep sigh and got out of the carriage.
Then, Peydan, who had been blocking the carriage, strode towards me.
"Letitia!"
Even looking uncharacteristically pleased.
I frowned and took a step back to create some distance.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Oh, sorry. Did I surprise you by suddenly blocking you? Are you hurt?"
Peydan pretended to be worried and naturally grabbed my shoulder.
His actions, as if nothing had happened and he was acting like before, gave me the creeps.
I roughly pushed his hand away.
"I asked you what you think you're doing."
"Come on, now. It's been a while since we've seen each other, why are you being so prickly? It'll ruin your pretty face."
Peydan, who would have retorted with 'How dare you!' in the past, was now bending over backwards again.
'Of course, he couldn't hide the cold expression that flashed across his face the moment I pushed his hand away.'
That sight made me want to vomit.
He wasn't sorry in the slightest, and the arrogance that made him think I'd easily forgive him if he just bent over backwards a little was obvious.
"Aren't we past the point of smiling at each other?"
"No, no. We don't need to argue and fight like this anymore, Letitia."
I knew what he was going to say next without even hearing it.
"That vixen, Elise, tricked us, didn't she?"
"...Us?"
Hearing that awkward word from his mouth made me laugh without realizing it.
"Yes! That vixen deceived me and drove a wedge between us. There's no reason for us to fight and break up over such a vixen."
Vixen.
Regardless of how much I hated Elise, I was disgusted by his attitude of completely shifting the blame for his mistakes onto her.
"I don't have a child with her, and I never even loved her in the first place. I was just trying to take responsibility because she said she was pregnant."
"..."
"So, let's try again—"
"So, you don't think it's wrong for you to have a child with another woman while you're married to me?"
"Well, that's...!"
When I pointed out the heart of the matter that he was trying to gloss over, I could see a flash of annoyance in his eyes.
But as if he had quickly suppressed his emotions, he bent over backwards once more.
"That was, that was... a mistake."
"..."
"Yes, a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes, right? I just made one mistake. The mistake of a lifetime."
At this point, I became curious.
How long would that bastard hide his true colors and keep bending over backwards?
But curiosity was just a fleeting interest.
More than that measly curiosity...
"I'm really regretting and reflecting on that, so can you forgive me just once?"
"No, I don't want to?"
"Huh...?"
"I said I don't want to forgive you."
I valued the time I was wasting listening to such nonsense much more.
When I expressed my refusal without the slightest hesitation, Peydan stared at me with a bewildered look, as if he hadn't expected it at all.
The belief and arrogance that he thought I would naturally accept him.
It was proof of how much that bastard looked down on me.
I decided to drive a nail into that arrogance, which still stared at me with disbelief.
"Well, yeah. Like you said, everyone can make mistakes. Regret it, reflect on it, and don't make that mistake again."
"..."
"But that doesn't mean that the mistake never happened, does it?"
The betrayal, the misery, the sadness I felt...
Even if some of it had disappeared as if it never happened when I went back to the past, the wounds from that time still remained as vivid scars for me.
It instilled fear and hesitation in me, preventing me from easily trusting anyone.
"Regret and reflection are your responsibility, and forgiveness is mine."
"..."
"I don't want to erase that betrayal, that hurt, all of it, that I felt."
"Letitia..."
"So don't come here and cling to me in such a pathetic way."
I avoided Peydan's touch as he tried to grab my hand once again, glared at him coldly, and said.
"Get lost."
Then, Peydan's face, which had been pretending to be sorry, instantly contorted, and I suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ha, haha!"
But that was fleeting.
Peydan, who had revealed his true colors, began to point his finger at me.
"That's always been your problem. You should be able to embrace and forgive your husband when he apologizes."
"..."
"Letitia. You just made a big mistake. You rejected the opportunity to return to the guaranteed position of Duchess instead of the Grand Duke who will abandon you when he gets tired of you."
"Pfft."
I couldn't help but laugh at his pathetic threat, and Peydan's eyebrows shot up. It meant he was very uncomfortable.
Regardless, I scoffed mockingly and asked.
"Do you really think I'd miss that measly Duchess position?"
"What? Measly?"
Peydan's voice rose.
At the same time, I made eye contact with the coachman, who was watching anxiously.
I gestured towards the boutique with my eyes.
It meant to go inside and call someone.
Fortunately, the coachman immediately understood the meaning of my gesture and ran to the boutique, making sure not to make a sound.
I sighed in relief and delivered the final blow.
"The owner of the most successful boutique in the empire, who would want the Duchess position where she has to clean up after her husband who has no sense of business or tact?"
"You, you really!"
It was then that Peydan strode towards me threateningly.
"Stop!"
At the sudden unfamiliar voice, not only Peydan but also I looked in that direction with surprised eyes.
Because the direction from which the voice came was not from the boutique where I had sent the coachman, but from the opposite street.
There was a man I didn't know how long had been there.
He took advantage of the fact that Peydan and I were surprised and strode up to me.
His slightly frightened green eyes could be seen behind the glasses he was wearing.
The man checked my condition and asked.
"Are you alright, young lady?"
"Uh..."
I was flustered by the unexpected help and couldn't answer, but Peydan, who was watching the man, asked.
"Who are you?"
The man, who had hesitated for a moment, blocked Peydan and me as if protecting me and answered.
"I'm just a passerby."
"Then just pass by, why are you interfering in a couple's problem?"
"Even if they are a couple, this kind of behavior is not right for a gentleman."
"Is talking to my wife not gentlemanly either?"
"Forcing her when the young lady doesn't want it is by no means a gentlemanly act. Make an appointment and come back on a day she allows you to."
The man's attitude was firm.
Peydan, who was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, burst into laughter, but quickly hardened his expression and became threatening.
"You're quite the etiquette teacher. What if it's not right? Are you going to scold me?"
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