Chapter 23

Welcoming the family (1)

“Your swears… Do it more.”

‘Oh my god. That idiot!’

‘What a ridiculous thing to say!’

Braden, who was hiding at the end of the hall, let out a sigh of astonishment to himself.

When he saw Ian go outside and soon after, Annabelle also went outside, he thought it was right to follow them.

Now Braden was getting emotional because they were alone…

It could have been an opportunity for their relationship to be completely different if they did well since right now, they had been trapped in a rival-like relationship.

In order to break that tie, it must be in an unexpected place, an unexpected environment, and an unexpected meeting.

Now that he laid the stage, all they had to do was have a proper conversation.

‘Your sense of love should resemble me. If it’s like Leslie, then you’re doomed.’

It was easy for Braden to hide his presence since he was the number one swordsman in the empire too.

But just in case, right before going around the corner of the hall, he crouched low to the point where he looked miserable, hiding himself and watching with interest…

‘You know, he might confess on impulse.’

‘He may be an impulsive idiot.’

Ian surprisingly did both.

Well, that kind of confession was certainly not the type you would think of.

Of course, it was very stupid.

Braden, who was quick to sense, naturally succeeded in reading the whole situation.

Annabelle said she was going to visit Robert, so she was probably talking about wanting to stay with him more…

The problem was that the only thing they could do together was fight.

“Crazy, crazy. You’re crazy.”

Braden looked at Annabelle’s eyes with astonishment and rubbed his forehead.

This made one thing that had not been confirmed until now clear.

Ian resembled Leslie when it came to dating.

“You’re not the person I knew. It’s like you changed in a strange way.”

Noticing that the atmosphere was a bit strange, Ian made a thoughtful expression for a moment.

Then he added even more speculative words.

“You can hit me…”

Braden’s mouth opened wide.

‘That can’t be it, really, what’s he saying?’

Braden could interpret the meaning of that as ‘be with me even if you have to swear and hit me’ but it was obvious that someone else would think he was really crazy

Even Ian, the party involved.

It must be difficult for him to admit that he liked a woman who poured wine and teased him like that…

‘I have to stop him now.’

Braden sighed and stood up.

He turned the corner and appeared quickly.

If this situation had continued, Ian would have only muttered more nonsense.

“What are you two doing? Why don’t you come in? Even the prince thinks it is strange.”

It was then that both Ian and Annabelle came to their senses and looked at Braden.

Braden strode forward and grabbed Ian’s arm.

“Well, I admit that you’re rivals and you’re arguing all the time, but don’t go too far at this place.”

It was Annabelle who bowed her head unexpectedly quick.

“I’m sorry, Duke.”

Apparently, since he saw her pour wine on Ian, she apologized in a very polite tone, unlike her ambitious attitude.

“I’m so sorry to have troubled you in so many ways.”

Braden scratched his chin with a slight surprise.

In fact, today was the first day he had spoken with Annabelle.

Of course, he knew that she was in second place in the swordsmanship competition, and he was also told that she would come to the duke’s training ground all the time to be defeated.

However, that topic was of little interest to Braden until Leslie herself mentioned Annabelle’s name.

He always had a lot of work managing the residence and other things, plus, it was hard just to maintain neutrality in the rapidly changing political landscape.

Everyone predicted that the Crown Prince would inherit the throne safely, but his idea was that Prince Robert’s spirit was strong.

That was why he couldn’t even afford to think about it…

“I’ll get a hold of myself and be careful from now on.”

Annabelle spoke calmly.

Braden became fond of Annabelle for two reasons.

First, Leslie, the woman he loved the most, liked her.

Second, Ian, who is no fun to anyone, only lost his composure with Annabelle.

He thought that was enough…

According to Leslie, she was the child who kept saving Ian. Although the method was a bit rough, it was based on chivalry anyway.

However, there was no hesitation anymore because she could communicate very well.

“I’m sure Leslie would be upset to hear about this. She still grinds her teeth while thinking about the old times.”

Braden smiled kindly and said.

“Shall we have a detailed conversation next time? There’s a performance right now.”

In that sense, he was obligated to cover his son’s stupidity.

Braden wanted to slap Ian on the back one more time, but he probably wouldn’t know that what he did was wrong.

“Come on, let’s go inside.”

Once the situation was over, Braden took Annabelle and Ian back in.

~*~

First off, I felt very good because I didn’t have to fight like I did against Ian anymore.

Now that all the things that Reid had set up had been extinguished, the Duke of Wade would no longer investigate Reid and I.

It was true that I had been consistently mean to Ian.

However, I still had a conscience, so I did not even try to attack Ian’s parents in the worst possible way.

Besides, Leslie always fed me well…

“I’m sorry, Duke.”

So I politely apologized to the Duke who came to visit us.

“I am truly sorry for causing concern in various ways.”

Ian was even more indifferent because his clothes were a mess from the wine I poured.

“I will be more careful in the future.”

In addition, I did not want to get entangled with Ian anymore.

Braden looked at me with a strange expression, but he decided not to care.

Our relationship would end like this.

After I got home today, I planned to sit idly to pass time until the swordsmanship contest, and then proudly declare my abstinence on that day.

After I messed up Reid, I could start my life as a glamorous woman.

When we went back into the opera, Robert looked at us with a slightly startled look.

He sighed at my empty wine glass and Ian’s stained shirt.

“Annabelle…”

“What?”

“…Nothing…”

I noticed the look ‘stop picking on him’ in the atmosphere.

In the future, I was really going to stop bothering him, so I didn’t give him any reply.

But what was really weird was…

He wanted me to swear more? And hit him?

I had a high opinion of Ian because he had common sense and was normal.

The comments about Ian were mostly, “the writer just made a perfect male character so that he wouldn’t be criticized” or “everything was focused on the male lead’s appearance, but can his personality be this featureless and unattractive?”.

There was no such thing as liking the swears or wanting to be hit…

If it were true, he must be a real nut case.

I had done some bad things so far, but I was normal.

‘Hold on.’

I tilted my head.

‘Was Ian a weak drinker? Maybe that was why he was acting a little bit weird?’

Just as I drank a lot and lost my mind, Ian could also be a crazy person when he was drunk.

I just didn’t drink in the original.

Well, there were many people who became crazy when they were drunk, but there was no reason for him to be crazy.

I glanced at Ian, who was stiff again with pitiful eyes, and watched the remaining opera at ease.

The end of the opera ended with a touching duet of a lover who accepts a crazy man, saying, ‘I love you even the way you are’.

“How was it, Annabelle? Did you have fun?”

“Yes, I did.”

I continued to answer Robert’s friendly question with good grace.

“I don’t think I can live with a weirdo asking me to hit them, but the female lead is amazing. I wonder if that’s love…”

“Well, it’s an opera thing. There’s nothing like that.”

“That’s true. If it were normal, it wouldn’t be made into an opera.”

Ian and Braden, who were sitting still and listening to our conversation, complexions got worse.

After the curtain fell, the opera hall turned into a venue for social gatherings in twos and threes.

It was time for Braden to talk to me.

“Annabelle.”

However, two people approached me before I could go home.

“It’s nice to see you in a place like this.”

They were the ones who I thought would never talk to me in my life.

Two brothers with the same light purple hair as me, the two sons of Marquis Abedes, were even smiling at me.

Oh, look at this.