The Problem Is, My Ex-Boyfriend and I Are Both Dating Other People - Chapter 10

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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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Episode 10

When Daemon’s hand clasping mine grew slick with sweat, I could no longer hold back. I told him it was over.
“I’d like to end our arrangement after tonight’s ball, Your Highness.”
From the moment I received my title, there was no reason to continue this relationship. After all, I’d only proposed the contract relationship to him to escape Father’s marriage pressure.
When I made my request to end things, I’d anticipated two possible reactions from Daemon: anger, or indifferent acceptance.
“Bella, you really thought I didn’t know your father was skimming from my coffers?”
I hadn’t expected him to resort to blackmail. I sucked in a sharp breath, cold air cutting through me. The moment I received that heavy dress, I’d considered the possibility that Daemon might know about my Personal Treasury.
So even if he used it as leverage for blackmail, I wouldn’t have flinched. The fact that Daemon knew meant he was entangled in this affair too.
But then.
“I also know you can’t forget that damned knight of yours. Break up with me? Bella, you think I can’t handle a count with no backing?”
I never expected him to bring up Rihardt.
‘Foolish.’
How had I not seen this coming?
“I’ve no intention of making this ugly. It’s laughable to betray Belua over mere gold coins, and I’m not petty enough to be jealous of a first love. You’ll soon be my wife, so I should be generous about it.”
It was only at twenty-eight that I learned one could cry even while furious.
Daemon truly had been considering marriage with me all along. He’d planned to make the Belua Duchy’s daughter a Crown Princess, and eventually an Empress, swallowing House Belua whole in the process.
That’s why he’d said nothing when I took my title. He’d known everything, watching me like a specimen under glass.
“I don’t suppose I need to spell out what happens if you run?”
Daemon seemed to believe my Personal Treasury would be the chains that bound me.
But that wasn’t what truly held me captive.
“You know better than anyone how easy it is to crush a newly minted, inexperienced noble.”
Rihardt.
By the time the song ended, my mind held only one thought.
If Daemon chose to move against Rihardt in earnest, then just as he’d said, the count with his unstable foundation would be easily uprooted. And he would never recover.
‘That can’t happen.’
I gripped the railing.
“Become Empress as Father wishes, Bella.”
Cliffs on both sides. I could neither retreat nor advance.
Should I warn Rihardt? Tell him Belua would help, that he could survive in my shadow?
This time, I would surely see scorn in his eyes.
‘What should I do…….’
Click.
At the sound of the door opening, I spun around in alarm.
Hadn’t I locked it? Could Daemon have followed me?
“Bella.”
Silhouetted against the glittering light, the figure that stepped onto the Terrace was neither Daemon nor any other nobleman.
“Why are you crying?”
Rihardt Winston.
The man who filled the doorway approached me. Behind him, the glass doors gleamed before closing silently. The lock clicked shut without a sound, and beyond the heavy black curtains, the laughter and chatter of the guests vanished from sight.
And then.
“I asked why you’re crying.”
A voice that dropped dangerously low, and rough, unpolished hands wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Did the Crown Prince make you cry, Bella?”
He looked as though he might slit Daemon’s throat that very moment if I answered yes, his face savage with intent.
The man framed against the Terrace doors seemed larger and stronger than I remembered. For a brief moment, I was seized by an impossible delusion—that perhaps Rihardt might listen to me, might actually help.
I pushed him away.
“Why do you care why I’m crying?”
I would be lying if I claimed not to notice the faint crack that appeared in Rihardt’s face at my words.
“Rihardt Winston, look at who you’re offering to help.”
Rihardt had told me he would help. Asked what was wrong. But I struck the crack with all my strength, shattering it completely. So that Rihardt wouldn’t throw himself into a fight he couldn’t win.
“It’s better if you stop caring about other people’s affairs, Count Winston.”
The moment I watched him step back with wounded eyes, I felt that something had broken beyond repair—but by then it was already too late.

“Aagh, aagh, aaaagh!”
I thrashed about and tumbled from the bed. At the sound of the fall, the maidservants who rushed in were waved away; I buried my head in the pillow.
“I’m losing my mind. Truly.”
I must have been temporarily insane. How else could I have said such things to Rihardt? This way, nothing has changed from ten years ago.
Rihardt too—what was he thinking, continuing to ask me what Daemon had done?
“What am I supposed to do!”
Kill Daemon? Is that what he’s planning?
The thought struck me like a blow, and I lifted my head sharply. Surely not. However much I disliked Daemon, Rihardt was a count now—a man who, with Daemon out of the way, could establish himself swiftly and settle in the Capital, all on the strength of vast lands and a formidable knighthood at his back.
So what more could Rihardt possibly want?
“Your Grace!”
One of the attendants I’d sent away rushed back into the chamber in a panic. I nearly turned her out again before noticing what she held, which made me narrow my eyes.
An envelope stamped with the Golden Seal.
It was from the Imperial Palace.
“A letter from the Crown Prince has arrived. The attendant who brought it was most insistent that it be delivered at once, so…….”
“I understand. It’s fine—give it here.”
I soothed the flustered attendant and accepted the envelope. She hurried from the room, mentioning she would fetch warm tea for me.
Apparently my state was showing more than I’d have liked.
I tore open the envelope, pressing my fingers to my throbbing temples. Blast the man and his infuriatingly elegant hand.
[If my words yesterday wounded you, I apologize. Bella, I wish us to be on better terms. You understand, I’m sure…….]
What followed was nothing but a string of hollow platitudes. I skimmed through them until something made me stop.
[Did you know the Count of House Winston called upon Father this morning?]
Rihardt had an audience with the Emperor?
First thing in the morning?
[It seems Father intends to appoint the Count as Sasha’s guardian. The Count hasn’t given his answer yet, but if he does accept……Bella, don’t you think my clemency will become even more necessary for the Count of House Winston? A guardian for Sasha, you see. I need justification if I’m to restrain the dog snapping at my heels.]
Rihardt would become Sasha’s guardian.
I read that sentence over and over, suspended between the lines of this veiled threat. No one could dispute that Sasha needed a guardian, having been absent from the Capital for so long. Traditionally, such a role fell to an elder of the Imperial House or the head of a family intimate with the throne.
But the current Imperial House had no one suitable for the task, and every family head of any standing was in Daemon’s camp.
I knew the Emperor was having difficulty finding an appropriate candidate, and yet……
‘Why Rihardt?’
Daemon had apparently reached the same conclusion, because his letter went on to speculate.
[Likely he wishes to join the two of you. In that vein, he instructed me to help the Count of House Winston integrate smoothly into noble society. As long as those two don’t entertain any foolish notions, I can overlook it. There’s no need for you to abandon your youthful fancy. Besides, he and Sasha suit each other rather well.]
I couldn’t fathom how much had transpired in half a day. Hadn’t the Emperor been in poor health, unable even to attend the banquet?
[So I’m thinking of moving the Hunting Festival forward somewhat…….]
“Damn it.”
I didn’t need to read further. I pushed myself up from the chair.
“Oh my, Your Grace—where are you off to?”
The attendant, arriving with the tea, stared at me in surprise. I took the cup from her hands—cooled to perfect drinking temperature—and drained it in one long gulp.
The Hunting Festival, held each October at the cusp of late autumn, was customarily prepared by the family closest to the Imperial House.
The Belua Duchy.
And right now, my lands are alive with Noah conducting a manhunt.
I bit my lip hard as I spoke.
“Prepare the carriage. I’m going to the Imperial Palace.”
I didn’t know how much Daemon already understood, but I had to prevent the worst from happening.

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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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