The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 242
âBrother Richard?â
At the appearance of someone he had never expected to see here, Ianâs eyes widened.
âItâs been a while.â
âI didnât think Iâd see you here. And besides, weâre not on terms where weâd greet each other warmly, are we.â
Ian lightly narrowed his eyes.
To think he would run into Richard here, someone he had absolutely no business with.
Seeing the clear wariness in his gaze, Richard cleared his throat and spoke.
âAhem, ahem, donât tell me youâre still upset about what happened back then? I apologized then, didnât I. Wasnât that the end of it?â
âIf it were something that could end with an apology, you wouldnât have been expelled.â
At Ianâs pointed remark, Richard bristled.
âT-Thatâs right, I did get expelled, like you said. Then that should be the end of it. Just because we got into one fight, isnât it a bit much to be this cold?â
âIf it was serious enough to get you expelled, can it really be treated as just a simple fight?â
ââŚâŚâ
No matter how dense he was, he should have understood after hearing this much.
That although it seemed like this person had shown up here seeking âreconciliationâ, Ian had no intention of accepting it.
Being punched himself was one thing, but,
âHey, if the Duke gets a legitimate child, do you think heâll just let you be? If you donât want to die like your dadâŚâ
But mentioning his uncle and his late father was something Ian could never forgive.
âHey, donât be like that⌠ah, over there, what was your name again?â
Emil, who had been pressed against the wall watching the situation with an anxious expression, flinched.
Ian stepped in front of Emil.
âWhat are you trying to do by knowing his name?â
Because given Richardâs personality, Ian knew that nothing good would come out if he learned Emil was a commoner.
âItâs good to get to know each other, right. Hey, my nameâs Richard. House Ulverni, a marquis house. You know it, right?â
Ducal and Marquisate houses were, in name and reality, high-ranking noble families.
Any child of a noble house would have memorized the rosters of ducal and Marquis families, so Richard continued with a confident expression.
âIf you stick close with me and Ian, itâll help you too, you know?â
But.
âI-Iâm a commoner, so, umâŚâ
The moment Emil stated his status, Richard immediately frowned.
âWhy is a commoner punk hanging around with Ian?â
He was wearing a tailored suit, so Richard had assumed he was the child of some noble houseâŚ
In Richardâs reddish-brown eyes, which had been trying to use Emil as a bridge to reconcile with Ian, a flash of contempt passed.
âRichard, for your own future, you must reconcile with Ian. Do you understand?â
âRight, you never know when another chance will come. Some time has passed, so that childâs anger should have cooled a bit.â
After being expelled from Saint Hennige Academy.
His parentsâ arguments never ceased.
They said they should never have accepted Count Azelotâs proposal.
At first, he had been satisfied with a life of lazing around at home without studying hard, but after a party was held at House Bayern, his parentsâ quarrels intensified.
It was because the fact that Richard had been expelled for attacking Ian spread among the so-called âheirsâ.
Because of that incident, Richardâs older brother was subtly pushed to the margins among the heirs of influential families.
If that was the case for the eldest son, what about Richard, the second son.
If Ian were to inherit the ducal title, it was clear that the future wouldnât be bright, but since that was such a distant future, it didnât feel very real to Richard.
For now, the household atmosphere was bad, and because of his parentsâ admonitions, he was only trying to reconcile.
Normally, he wouldnât even spare a glance for such lowly trash, but if it meant achieving his goal, he could humor a commoner for half a day.
âIf youâre a commoner, you should grab this chance. When else would you get to hang out with nobles like us? The adults will be busy looking at the exhibition anyway, so why donât we go have fun together?â
As Richard smiled slyly and approached Emil, Ian stepped in front of him and said,
âBrother, letâs just go over there and talk separately.â
âOh, have you finally decided to reconcile with me?â
âLetâs talk outside. There are too many people here, so this doesnât seem like an appropriate place to bring up what happened back then.â
Grabbing Richardâs shoulder, Ian gave a small smile toward Emil, who was stiff with fear, and then started walking.
As Ian walked forward, looking straight ahead, his gaze was unusually sharp.