I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I’d actually thought about Rose, the one who’d wake up alone in the middle of all that.
The laughter had all stopped. Seeing him so casually attentive like this only made me waver, so I blamed Kiers for it, just to be contrary.
“Your Highness, I’ve brought Lady Rose.”
Before long, the Count walked in carrying Rose. His slightly sullen voice carried the wistfulness of a grandfather being parted from his granddaughter, though even that was pitched as low as he could manage, lest it disturb her sleep.
Sure enough, Epilogue Grandpa.
Even the way he cradled her head suggested he had every chance of becoming a wonderful grandfather. But my admiration lasted only a moment, because picturing him holding Kiers’s children stirred something uneasy in my chest. The Count glanced around for a place to lay her down, pointing at a chair for Lear, but this time too, Kiers was quicker.
“No, here.”
“…Your Highness, I can hold her, if you’d like.”
“Please finish what you were eating, my lady. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your promise in mind.”
He held out his hands to the Count, and then he turned stern toward me. The Count drew closer, his expression anxious, more than merely surprised. Even the way he handed Rose over looked reluctant.
“Hm. Your Highness, how could you… It’s fine. Not that you’ve ever held a sleeping child before.”
“You haven’t either, as far as I know, so this is a first for both of us.”
“….”
Hey, what do you think you’re doing with my little sister?
The fierce tug-of-war between the one who wanted to take her and the one who refused to give her up was ultimately settled by rank, and the victory went to Kiers. Still, seeing Kiers holding Rose seemed to fill the Count with a warm sense of satisfaction. As he went off to fetch a blanket, per Kiers’s orders, he kept stopping and looking back again and again.
So my master has finally reached that stage too.
That’s exactly the look on his face.
I couldn’t simply watch the scene as if it were someone else’s business, so the back I’d been holding so straight began to prickle.
“….”
Honestly, my own expression was odder than the Count’s, and I couldn’t take my eyes off Kiers, awkwardly yet carefully holding Rose.
Could there be a more mismatched pairing than this?
He looked like a fierce beast cradling a newborn kitten. The complicated, subtle gaze of a man who could overturn the world, staring at a tiny kitten, was not something I was likely to forget any time soon.
“….”
Someday, after many long years have passed, if rumors about him reach me from somewhere far away, I’ve decided I’ll believe anything. If people whisper that that infamous former beast turned into a pushover before his own child, or that he became the finest father under heaven, I’ll be the one who believes it exactly as it is.
Not just me. Anyone who saw that scene would have to.
“Hnnng.”
“Rose.”
Rose, who had been snuggled in his arms, scrunched up her face and clutched at his collar. I started forward in alarm, but Kiers simply held her a little tighter on his own. They say he’s a man who’s good at everything, but I never expected him to be this good at this, too.
Feeling embarrassed as her big sister, I mumbled something nobody had asked for.
“Oh… It’s probably because Rose has hardly ever been held and rocked to sleep by anyone. And I’ve been so busy too, I’ve only ever managed to lie down beside her.”
“What on earth is that man, her father?”
“…Huh?”
Is he talking about our dad right now?
His growling muttering was loud enough that there was no way I could’ve missed it. I was taken aback by such bold words, but to be honest, if my father were the son-in-law, he’d have deserved every bit of that scolding.
“…It can’t be helped. What else can I expect at this point?”
“Why are you acting so resigned about it?”
Anger rippled through his growling voice. When Rose squirmed her head once more, he lowered his voice, but his sudden rage lingered for quite a while.
“…Then what am I supposed to do? He’s not the kind of man who’ll change.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“….”
“In any case, we must provide the child with the best possible environment for upbringing. Your role, my lady, will be the most crucial of all. The point is, you must not give up.”
What he said wasn’t wrong, but there was no need to grit his teeth and put such force into every single syllable like that.
Seeing my startled face, Kiers soon grew calm. No, he pretended to be calm.
“Of course, as you said, my lady, the chance of a man who has been twisted once returning to his proper place is nonexistent. I’m glad you’ve thought carefully about that aspect.”
…I’m not pleased at all to be praised for that.
I couldn’t even rub my cheek in front of him, so I merely made a show of understanding. Still, one thing was certain: when this man was angry, he grew unusually calm and, at the same time, talked faster. Was that all?
“Don’t cling to the past. From now on, you must settle your heart and put down roots.”
“…Yeah.”
There it was again. Roots, again.
After his string of lectures, I just wanted to take Rose and head home at once. But since he had no intention of letting her go, I could only hover around his side. I couldn’t bring myself to say it, *Please give Rose back to me*, so I lingered awkwardly and bent my head toward him.
My pretty little puppy.
She’s lovely when her eyes are open, but with them closed she looked like nothing less than an angel. Without meaning to, I smiled brightly, lowered myself, and gently brushed Rose’s cheek.
I know Kiers is watching me with an expression I can’t quite describe, but after being apart from her for a whole day, my heart had grown strangely tender.
“Eliya.”
“…Yes?”
“You’ll do well. I believe in you.”
It wasn’t as though we were posing for a family portrait, and coming from the lips of the cold ruler of the North, it was far too warm a thing to say. Though he seemed to be saying it more to convince himself than me, I didn’t dislike hearing it from that man.
At a moment like this, I wish I could say, ‘I believe you.’ But that line belonged to someone else. I swallowed the bitterness, pretended not to hear, and only stroked Rose’s cheek. The moment my knuckle brushed against the fingers cradling her head, he hooked his finger around mine.
“…Your Highness!”
“Shh.”
One more finger tangled with mine, then another, and another, until finally even the little finger was caught. Their hands pressed together deeply above Rose’s platinum-blonde hair.
“….”
Just like last night, his head drew closer. In broad daylight, in a place like this. Even the sort of discomfort that would be utterly out of place for anyone else looked perfectly fitting on this man.
Whatever the Male Lead does, it all works out. That must be the sheer power of being the Male Lead.
So I’ll just close my eyes, pretending I had no choice.
“….”
His breath drew near, but nothing went further. When footsteps echoed somewhere in the distance, I jerked my hand free and turned my head away.
“Your Highness, I’ve brought something to cover her with.”
“….”
“I came as quickly as I could, but I had to search for the blanket. It seems my delay has put you out of sorts.”
“…Just so you know.”
Kiers’s irritated gaze soon shifted to the blanket the Count had brought. Perhaps he had chosen the brightest color available, for he carefully draped a chocolate-brown blanket from Rose’s neck all the way down to her feet. Indeed, as I’d noticed that morning, this was a man with a real talent for tying and covering things.
“…What now?”
“Ah, there’s one more thing to deliver, Your Highness. It was sent from the checkpoint in Central Region two days ago.”
“….”
Kiers cast a meaningful glance toward the Count, who still hadn’t left his post. The Count, who had been gazing fondly at the sleeping Rose, hesitated for a moment before finally holding out an envelope.
It was lavish to the eye, yet I couldn’t fathom why the expressions of both men had changed so suddenly.
“Allow me to do it.”
“Enough.”
Rrip. Kiers rejected the Count’s offer to open it for him and tore off the top of the envelope with his teeth. I was the only one worried he’d damage what was inside. Crumpling the letter over and over as he read it, he eventually let out a sinister, humorless laugh.
“…Finally, Duke Verna and his wife are arriving.”

◇ ◆ ◇

“Rea, who exactly is this Duke Verna?”
Even after noon, the unease lingered. Perhaps it was that icy smile Kiers had shown me, but the name kept circling through my mind. And for a question like this, the twin sisters were the perfect choice, since asking one would get you ten answers.
“Oh my, Your Highness, you lived in the capital for quite some time, didn’t you? Really, you don’t know who they are?”
“Mm. I don’t really… well, I’m not sure.”
No matter how hard I racked my brain, nothing came to mind. When I lived in Hessen, the capital, I was too young, and I certainly wasn’t in any position to attend High Society. I had only caught fragments of news about the emperor and the major members of the imperial family, so it was only natural I’d know nothing about the nobles.
“Hmm, even so, you’d think you’d have heard of a duke’s title.”
“Duke Verna only received his title not long ago, so you may not have heard of him.”
“…Is that so? But of all things, he was granted a ducal rank?”
The unexpected news stunned me for a moment before I tilted my head. Even Kiers had only been named Grand Duke after conquering the entire continent, and even then it felt like he’d been pushed into it. What achievement could someone have earned to become a duke in an instant?
“Is he a war hero too? Did he fight alongside the Grand Duke?”
“Not exactly… though he did accomplish something far greater.”
“What could be greater than that?”
“Why, he’s the emperor’s lapdog.”
Rea sneered without bothering to hide her hostility. Even though she was the daughter of the Starfield Count’s House, which served Kiers, her audacious and disrespectful words were still startling.
Still, they were guests, so should I scold her as her superior? I had already lectured her this morning, and doing it again felt awkward. As I wavered, Renie gave me a subtle hint.
“The emperor’s half-brother and the last imperial prince. Brooks, the son of the dancer. Really, you don’t know him?”
“Brooks… that rutting bastard?”
“…Yes, you certainly know him well.”
A solemn silence settled over us. The moment I thought of him, I realized how gently Rea had described him just now.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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