TCS - Chapter 5
"Lovie! I don't know what that woman said, but it's all lies! You know very well that I love you, don't you?"
So, will you let this slide just this once? For Pedro, it was like begging for his life. He thought that Seiana, who was so passionate about her love, would naturally be torn by these words and take his hand, but......
"Pedro Saxon. Do you want to make a spectacle of yourself?"
"Lovie......"
"Yes. If you feel so wronged. Fine. Let's settle this properly once and for all."
"Call a magician." Seeing Seiana give the order in a cold voice to a servant who was watching, Pedro's complexion turned even paler.
How could she be so cruel to him? Pedro called her name as if screaming.
"Seiana!"
"If you're confident, you should go through with it. If the magician comes and judges you innocent, I'll just give you the property I promised as my dowry after marriage. What will you bet? Your life?"
"..."
"This house is mine. The position in the Knight Order, my family gave it to you. That sword at your waist, I gave it to you too, didn't I? The Saxen territory isn't yours either. You don't own a damn thing, so what gave you the confidence to pull something like this?"
"Seiana, you, how, to me...!"
"..."
"You can't do this to me!"
"Why? Is there some reason I can't?"
"...Huh? Kkeuk!"
Seiana lifted her foot and stepped on the thigh of the kneeling Pedro. As the sharp high heel stabbed deep into his thigh, Pedro writhed in pain but was subdued by her escort knights, unable to move an inch.
Looks like it'll leave a nasty bruise. Seiana smiled, feeling her heart ease slightly at the sight of his face contorted in pain.
"Feeling betrayed because I, who used to act blindly devoted to you, am doing this?"
"..."
"Don't misunderstand. The one who betrayed is you. You seem to have thought everything was permissible because someone kept enduring it, but that's your delusion."
"...Men! Men are naturally unfaithful! Every married man secretly keeps mistresses!"
"That might be true for an ordinary noble marriage. But you're not, are you? What right does a guy selling his body for my family's fortune have a mistress?"
Heh! Seiana smirked at Pedro's speechless state.
"You've ruined the most valuable thing you possessed. I intended to purchase your worthless body at the highest price, but you've gone and scratched it up. Why would I want such damaged goods?"
Only now did Pedro grasp the gravity of the situation. He realized his usual silver tongue couldn't smooth this over. His mind reeled. If this bastard child's existence became public knowledge, not only would his honor be ruined, but everything he'd gained would vanish like morning mist.
Though not destitute, Pedro had lived a modest life until he met Seiana. His world expanded when he moved to the capital and became a knight of the royal palace, even if only at the lowest rank. Now he was being asked to lose it all and return to his former existence?
That can't happen.
The Saxon and Estalote families had profited handsomely from their joint ventures, but his family would never have saved that money. Pedro himself would have squandered it all on luxuries if he'd had the chance.
Returning home wouldn't help either. His younger brother had already been named heir, so if Seiana abandoned him, he'd have nowhere to go.
"Lovie, please..."
Pedro finally sobbed with regret. He reflected on his past arrogance, relying solely on her affection, but it was already too late.
Perhaps she had kept the magician waiting nearby; the servant returned with the magician in no time.
"The paternity test result came back as a match."
As the death sentence was handed down, the escort knight pressed down on the struggling Pedro. But he couldn't end things like this.
"Liar! You're lying!"
"But that's what the test shows."
When Seiana looked back at the magician, his reaction was one of displeasure. This kind of test was a task performed staking the magician's personal name and honor, so denying the result was tantamount to insulting the magician.
The magician, glaring at Pedro with an offended expression, said.
"I shall write you a certificate of factual verification bearing my signature. If you intend to go to trial, I will also serve as a witness."
"Oh my, thank you."
"No!"
Though unintentional, Pedro's insult had thoroughly angered the magician. By digging his own grave, he'd become the magician's sworn enemy. Seiana, who'd earlier dismissed the magician with a heavy purse as payment for his services, now clapped twice to draw attention.
"Well then, now that everything's concluded, shouldn't we clear this place?"
"...What?"
"Get out of my house. All of you—throw away this trash."
As Seiana flicked her hand, servants began moving Pedro's belongings outside the room. Though some items were expensive, their handling was brutally rough. Would things have been different if Pedro had been a better master?
The servants didn't just remove Pedro's possessions. Since the Saxon family used her townhouse when visiting the capital, their belongings filled the place.
Seeing Seiana determined to abandon everything, Pedro grew desperate. If they had more time, he could've disposed of those things properly. But throwing them away like trash? What was she thinking?
"You're kicking me out like this now? When it's so late? Where am I supposed to go carrying all these things?"
He could avoid the night dew at the Knight Order dorms, but there was no place to put all this luggage. Pedro set aside his pride and begged, but she remained firm.
"Is that my business?"
Saying that, she snatched the sword hanging at Pedro's waist. Pedro shouted that it was his, his face flushed crimson, but Seiana snorted.
"I bought this, didn't I? Then it's mine. How is it yours?"
"But you!"
"I did give it as a gift, but what's so pretty about you that I'd let you leave with it? If you insist on having it, buy it from me."
Seiana offered the choice as if being generous, but Pedro didn't have the money to buy the sword.
His only personal assets were his salary from the Knight Order, and even that was all spent on luxury and pleasure, leaving him penniless.
Since immense wealth would follow once he married Seiana anyway, saving his meager salary would have been a drop in the bucket...
Of course, even if he had saved every single penny of that salary, he still wouldn't have been able to purchase the sword.
"Alright, so will you end it cleanly, or go the dirty and messy route?"
"...What?"
"Decide whether you'll sign obediently or if we go all the way to court."
With that, Seiana held out the engagement annulment papers. Seeing them, Pedro's eyes trembled finely.
Is it really ending like this? Without a single instance of mercy? Seeing Pedro glare at her with eyes full of resentment, Seiana snorted.
"You still don't seem to have come to your senses. Hey, you."
"...Yes?"
"What are you going to do?"
"Me? What do you mean..."
"It seems you could sue for adultery under promise of marriage or fraud. What will you do? If you plan to, we'll help you from our side. You'll need money to raise a child alone, won't you?"
"Seiana!"
Seeing his fiancée encouraging his mistress to sue, Pedro felt like fainting. If this was truly a dream, he wanted to wake up.
The mistress hesitated, then nodded. Until a few hours ago, he was her love to protect, but after being betrayed, now only the child remained for her.
Seiana smiled and clapped at her decision, and once all the Saxen family's belongings were thrown outside, she threw the biggest piece of trash out too.
"Seiana! Lovely! Please! Forgive me just once!"
He knelt and begged, but the town house's gates remained firmly shut. After wandering around pleading for some time, he called merchants to dispose of the goods quickly.
Despite this, with no one left to protect the items, most valuable possessions had already been taken by people. The hasty sale left him with almost nothing in his hands.
***
The Saxon family came rushing to see me the next day, perhaps after receiving word from Pedro. Naturally, I refused to meet with them.
I might have considered it if Pedro had been handsome in his prime, but now even his face is unbearable. Meeting his family would only sour my mood.
After several more requests, when I remained firm, they erupted in fury, demanding to know how I could treat them this way. True to their bloodline, they were every bit the Saxon family.
"This isn't how we should be treated!"
In the end, the Saxons refused to sign the marriage annulment agreement. Despite the fault clearly lying with them, their actions suggested they intended to sit tight and provoke me until my anger subsided.
"Right. That won't do."
I immediately filed a complaint. I even sent a petition to the Knights Guild where he was employed.
How could a knight sworn to protect the imperial family commit such a despicable act, using his position to toy with two women? Were you aware of this?
The petition, which could be summarized roughly with those words, immediately flared up like wildfire as soon as it hit the Imperial Palace.
Despite having utterly disregarded me, it seemed he had substantially used the Estarothe family name, as the higher-ups appeared to be grinding their teeth in frustration.
"What on earth did this kid rely on to act so recklessly?"
I wanted to gouge out my own eyes for falling for such a piece of trash. What was so good about this creep...? I'd basically stamped my own incompetence into the ground.
The moment he sent the petition, Pedro was immediately fired. He came to me in a fury, but what could a beggar-like fool like him possibly do? When our family's knights subdued him like last time, leaving him squirming on the ground like a bug, all he could manage was to blame me.
"How could this happen?!"
"Do you think I can't do it?"
Ideally, I'd have killed him, but I kept him alive to grant him even greater despair. In the end, Pedro left in tears, powerless to act. With my resolve hardened, the Saxon family seemed to sense their position weakening and offered a generous settlement. But now, there was no reason for such concessions.
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