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“Uncle, how can you be so handsome?”

“Uncle, the other day, Laurie bragged that her cousin was the best and most handsome man in Sesbron. Heh! I’m sure he’s not even at par with your toes. It’s even clearer today! Uncle! You’re getting more and more handsome!”

“You shine brighter than the last time I saw you, Uncle.”

The sisters hugged him tightly. At the same time, Maribella had to comfort her husband who became gloomy after realising his daughters had traded him in so easily for their uncle. Cesar looked perplexed at Carl’s droopy shoulders.

The laughing and crying continued as they went into the mansion for a cozy luncheon. Right after, the children, who had a hard time travelling by carriage, quickly fell asleep. The remaining three adults decided to enjoy some leisurely tea time to unwind.

Carl was completely neglected by his daughters throughout the luncheon, finally exclaimed in anger.

“I don’t understand how a guy who is so popular with the ladies, isn’t married yet…”

“…”

Instead of answering, Cesar turned his head away and quietly drank his tea. Seeing his laid-back reaction, Carl continued with his nagging.   

“I already told your sister-in-law. During this landing, you must get engaged…”

“Brother. It’s fine…”

“No, young master. I met a lady with a really nice personality and beautiful appearance. If you meet her, you will surely change your mind.”

“What happened to lady Grier, whom you talked about last time?”

“Oh, don’t be like that, young master. Why don’t you invite the person I’m talking about? The garden is full of roses these days. I think it’d be a wonderful idea to have lunch there.”

Cesar shook his head at Maribella’s persuasion. In fact, he wasn’t just postponing it, Cesar had no intention in getting married in the first place. This is because he wanted to make his brother, who was already married and had children, look like a much more stable successor than himself. Contrary to his older brother, Cesar didn’t have a wife or children and being enrolled in the navy meant he could die at any moment. Carl wasn’t aware of this, so he always nagged and tried to persuade Cesar into marriage. But Cesar wasn’t planning on changing his mind, at least until the Count recognized Carl as the heir.

After a week of persistent persuasion, Cesar was sent out again.

He learned of Carl’s great success during his campaign. Carl developed technology that made it possible to extract gold and silver using mercury and thereby made a revolutionary contribution to the empire’s mining business. As a result, he was able to revive many of the mines that were already deemed exhausted, which of course overjoyed the emperor. Soon more good news followed, thanks to the emperor’s praises and siding with Carl, Count Lemoine finally recognized him. And after fiery negotiations, Carl was given the title of Viscount Vallech, which belongs to the heir of the Lemoine family.

Not long after his appointment, the Count suddenly passed away. Cesar, still in the fleet, was not able to reach his father’s deathbed in time as he received the news too late. Nevertheless, he had to return. Carl’s business was expanding and the family was in a mess because there was no active head. Cesar postponed the boarding for a while and decided to help Carl, who was already extremely busy and the succession had yet to take place. With the Count’s death, there was no longer a reason to leave Sesbron with the pretext of battle, so Cesar enjoyed an extended landing period.

At that time, Cesar was one of Sesbron’s most prominent bachelors. Despite being the second son, he was very popular due to the assets and territories bestowed by Carl, as well as the almost guaranteed position of naval general. Furthermore, his outward beauty was one-of-a-kind, so it was not uncommon for women armed with large dowries to approach him. Cesar gradually met several women while staying at Sesbron as he contemplated marriage.

Of course, he did not neglect his responsibilities in Sesbron pertaining to the business with Carl. His role was primarily to ease the burden of his brother’s travels to and from the capital. The contracts in Sesbron were made through Cesar, acting as the representative of Count Lemoine. In addition to the imperial mines spread over the vast empire, there were countless mines privately owned by nobles. If those nobles wanted to hire a group of Lemoine engineers for their mines, Cesar was in charge of the negotiations.

Then one day, Duke Mireille sent him an invitation to visit his home. The purpose was to have dinner and discuss some of the possibilities regarding the technology. He stated that he was in the process of expanding his southern commercial activities and that he appeared to be in need of funds. The Duke treated him with the utmost respect and Cesar accepted the request without much thought as he did with any other business deal. 

When he read through the report the Duke had sent, he had an epiphany. 

‘Duke of Mireille… I might even run into Liloa during this visit.’

It was customary for the entire family to attend dinners where distinguished guests were entertained. Cesar hadn’t heard about Liloa as it’s been a while since he graduated from Lebrun and he hasn’t set foot in Sesbron in a long time. He also hadn’t seen her in court. Years had passed since he last saw her face. It was then that he became intrigued by Liloa again.

‘Is her light still the same?’

Cesar was certain that would be the case. Her temperament was nothing compared to Carl’s. She was an honourable winner who sprinted and grabbed a goal with zeal and intensity, whatever the time’s assessment was. It was an unrivalled quality that no one could possess and a noble tendency that no one could defeat.

The carriage stopped in front of Mireille’s mansion. As his anticipation began to rise, he grabbed the doorknob and pushed it slowly.

Most of the family members, including Duke Mireille, were gathered in the hall for dinner. Since the number of people residing in the duke’s residence was immeasurable as it operated a huge estate, the dinner was reminiscent of a banquet. Which can be considered excessive as Cesar’s status wasn’t higher than the Duke’s, but Mireille generously favoured the people involved in profitable business. According to the report, Mireille wanted to bring in a large number of engineers run by the Lemoine family, so this kind of hospitality was not unreasonable.

Eventually, his eyes fell on Liloa. Cesar did not recognize her at first, probably anyone who knew her wouldn’t have noticed her easily.

Feeling sick, he returned to his mansion without being able to properly eat the luxurious dinner the duke prepared. Facing a woman who remained in a bizarre state with only the outer shell remaining, he found it hard to swallow the sweet liquor and juices. Especially when the shell moved its limps on its own and spoke with proper etiquette. 

‘Who the hell was moving it?’ 

Cesar felt uncomfortable when he saw the soulless doll putting red meat in her open mouth as if it was moved by strings. He’d been away from Sesbron for so long that he had no idea what had happened to her. 

‘What has caused such a bright person to fall apart? I thought she’d been commissioned years ago, but she doesn’t seem to have even received the assignment.’

The more Cesar learned about her situation, the harder it became to contain his growing anger. Someone stole Liloa’s accomplishments for their own gain and the commission was cancelled due to the resistance of her own family. 

Cesar wanted to talk to her badly. 

The Duke of Mireille had set his eye on a big project, so the negotiations took place in the Duke’s mansion on a regular basis. Cesar had a reason for wanting to work at the Duke’s, even though he usually works from the Lemoine family’s home. The large-scale development of the Lemoine garden, which also occurred at that time, gave a suitable excuse.

For the first round of negotiations, Cesar came to the estate a little earlier than scheduled. Mireille, who was greeting other guests, apologised repeatedly and led him to the drawing-room, where Cesar sat down and waited. Not long after, Liloa came in with a tray of refreshments. She put the tray down on the low table beside the sofa and sat at Cesar’s feet. confused by her action, Cesar froze for a moment as he did not know what Liloa was trying to do. Eventually, Cesar leapt up from his seat in astonishment when she tried to lift his leg and place it on the footrest.

“Officer Liloa!”

“You’re mistaken for calling me that, Sir.”

“…”

Her voice was hollow, as if it was coming from somewhere other than her vocal cords.

“You didn’t like what I did?”

Liloa, sitting on the floor, was about to look up at him, but stopped her gaze halfway and rolled her eyes down again. Cesar stood at a distance from her, unable to even raise her.

“Please stop.”

“…”

“Why are you doing this? What the hell… You don’t have to do this.”

However, Liloa stood up and started to prepare the refreshments as if she didn’t hear him. Her wrists, which seemed to crumble like leaves stuck under a shoe when stepped on, poured the tea. She placed the teacup in front of him, stepped back and then brought her hands together in a submissive way.

“Please sit down.”

“It’s fine.”

Cesar covered his mouth and turned away from Liloa. The Duke of Mireille said she’d been forced to perform ridiculous duties due to her outrageous nature, accusing her of lacking the virtue of obedience. Some of them included having to serve guests personally. According to the aristocratic hierarchy, only members of the imperial family could ask Liloa to take care of them, so it was unimaginably humiliating for a woman of such a high position to attend a group of merchants who entered and exited the estate on a daily basis. Nevertheless, the duke, the head of the family, was able to wield authority over members of his family. And clearly no one cared about her misfortune.

Women are regarded to be accessories since they depend on the men of their families, such as their fathers, husbands, and sons. There was, however, respect among them because even men were born from a woman’s womb, and ladies born from the same belly grew up with a woman’s belly that also produced offspring. Unfortunately, there were exceptions and Liloa was a clear example of one of those who suffer this fate.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“…”

“I’m still determined. Your gaze makes me feel like I’m a pitiful being. It’d be easier for me to ignore you if you have greedy eyes just like everyone else.”

“Lilo…”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Sir Cesar.”