Chapter 3

Clarisse clenched her fists, struggling to hold back her anger.

"Russ, can you calm down? Look at yourself! Where's the bearing of a general's son?"

Under Damien's smug gaze, I drew Mother's sword and leveled it at the two of them.

"Clarisse, how much calmer do you want me to be? We've been married for five years, and Damien hasn't even been back in the capital for one. Every time you abandoned me for him, did I ever lose my composure like this?

"When everyone at court said you and Damien were a perfect match, that a frontier brute like me wasn't good enough for a princess like you, did I ever complain once?

"You know it deep down! You think they're right too. You think I'm not good enough for you, and that I can't live without you. That's why you trampled on my sincerity again and again!"

Staring at the sharp blade before her, she instinctively shielded Damien completely behind her.

She shouted, "Russ! Have you lost your mind? Drawing a sword in front of me... are you trying to commit treason?!"

Behind her, Damien wore a provocative look.

Yet his voice rang out in alarm, "Be careful, Your Highness! I'm afraid Russ blames you for not going to the frontier, and that's why he's acting like this..."

Then he turned to me. "It's all my fault. If not for me, Her Highness would have already gone to the frontier. Russ, I apologize to you."

The more he put on this act, the more thoroughly disappointed Clarisse looked at me.

"What right does he have to make you apologize? Russ, I'll give you one last chance. Kneel and apologize to Damien!"

I let out a cold laugh. "Apologize? What crime have I committed? You're the guilty ones! You broke into a private home!

"Besides, when did I ever force him to apologize? You both. Get. Out. Now!"

Tears glistened in Damien's eyes at once, as if he had suffered the greatest injustice in the world. "Your Highness, let's go. I'm afraid Russ won't listen to anything right now."

Clarisse glared at me furiously. "Russ, don't push me into divorcing you!"

I took a step forward. "Push you? Clarisse, the letter of separation is already on your desk. Now take your precious Damien and leave my home at once! Otherwise, don't blame me for what happens next!"

Seeing the blade in my hand, Clarisse shielded Damien and shouted at me, "Russ, calm down and put the sword down! If Damien suffers even the slightest injury, your entire family and descendants couldn't bear the consequences..."

I cut her off coldly. "How could I dare hurt Damien? After all, he has Your Highness guarding him day and night. A frontier brute like me could never afford to cross him."

Clarisse seemed to catch the sarcasm in my words, and her expression stiffened.

Then she tried to ease the tension. "Russ, I know you're angry. I've neglected you lately. Once I finish dealing with matters in the capital, I'll make it up to you properly. We..."

She was always like this.

She knew perfectly well that what I cared about wasn't only the gossip about her and Damien. It was that she had disregarded the lives of the frontier's soldiers and people.

"Shut up!" I cut her off coldly.

"Whatever's going on between you and him has nothing to do with me! If you dare touch my mother's and sister's weapons again, I'll take you down with me!"

For the first time, Clarisse saw hatred in my eyes.

Without even realizing it, she took half a step back, and her tone finally softened. "Russ, how are things at the frontier..."

My eyes reddened. "Your Highness needn't trouble yourself. Everything has been taken care of."

Mother and my sister had already given their lives at the frontier, their heroic spirits never to return home.

Yet Clarisse didn't seem to hear the deathly stillness in my words. She simply let out a breath of relief.

"That's good. The fighting at the frontier has been brutal. Once I finish what I'm doing, I'll go to the frontier to support Marion.

"There. Are you satisfied now?"

I said nothing. She tried to take a step closer.

I immediately raised my sword and aimed it at their vital points.

Her face darkened. Deliberately, she reached out and gently took Damien's wrist in an intimate gesture. "Russ, let's see how long you can keep up this stubbornness!"

Looking at the yellowed leaves in the courtyard, I suddenly lost all my strength.

With a bitter smile, I sheathed my sword.

Then I headed straight for the family chapel.

Inside, candle smoke curled through the air. The memorial photos of Mother and Kate stood there quietly, as if still silently guarding this home.

Maybe it was my imagination, but the smoke drifted toward me.

It was as though the heroic spirits of Mother and my sister were silently comforting me.

In an instant, I could no longer hold back my tears. They fell and struck the cold stone floor.

I knelt before the photos and wept silently for a long, long time.

But I had to hold the Denton family together.

Looking at the withered courtyard, I decided to tidy things up.

The next day, I had just returned from the market when I saw the front gate of the estate standing wide open.

The peach tree Mother had planted for me in the courtyard had been chopped in half, and the wooden rocking horse my sister had made to cheer me up had been torn apart.

Damien stood in the courtyard, directing the servants as they hauled things away.

Fury surged straight to my head. "Stop! What are you doing? Who gave you permission to break into the Denton estate?"

Damien produced a royal decree. "The Princess Royal requested this decree herself. From now on, the Denton estate belongs to me!"