North x Northwest

Chapter 329

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“..?!”

Chills ran over Lil’s back as she turned her body in despair.

Mireille was already looking at her with a pretentiously surprised look on his face. His attire, adorned with sparkling accessories, stood out even on such a luxury passenger ship, making passersby glance at him from the side.

“What a surprise to meet you here again.”

“…”

Mireille took a step closer and spread his arms. The rings on his approaching hands reflected in the sunlight.

“Is this not fate rather than coincidence?”

Lil put her hand onto the gun holster on her back.

“Why do you keep coming closer? Are you asking for a broken jaw? Because I will truly break it this time.”

Still beside her was Levi, who covered her mouth in surprise as her eyes fell on Mireille. ‘This must be the guy she hit on the chin at the hotel’ was clearly written on her face.

When Mireille noticed Levi’s gaze, he bowed politely.

“I would like to ask for My Lady’s understanding. Can you spare us a moment please?”

Levi took her hand away from her mouth and raised her chin while looking down at Mireille.

“No.”

“…Pardon?”

“It worries me that a so-called gentleman like you could molest Liloa again.”

“..?!”

Whereas a laugh escaped Lil’s mouth at her companion’s unexpected answer, Mireille’s face hardened and glared at Levi. But Levi remained steadfastly serious, even blocking Lil’s path. Seeing that Levi was as tall as Ed, Mireille actually had to subtly look up at her.

“…What’s going on?..”

Linhardt joined belatedly after coming up to the deck and took a stand in front of Levi. With two people as tall as Ed standing in front of her, Lil could no longer see Mireille. She could only see Enzo standing diagonally behind Mireille, his eyes downcast.

Lil tapped Levi on the shoulder.

“It’s okay. I’ll talk to him.”

Levi looked back at her and asked.

“No. Why would you?”

“We have something to talk about.”

Lil’s answer made Levi and Linhardt retreat without another word. However, Levi continued to express her hostility against her newfound opponent by persistently glaring at Mireille. Mireille, who was normally adept at hiding his facial expression, seemed to find it difficult to overcome the blatant hostility of the woman.

Nonetheless, after clearing his throat several times, his mood appeared to brighten again.

Linhardt and Shail deliberately watched from the railing on the other side so that they could move at any moment. Meanwhile, Lil faced her nemesis, a few strands of his oiled hair fluttering in the breeze.

‘I know what he wants. But just because I know his purpose doesn’t mean I can easily win this battle. A plan that solely relies on probabilities is too fragile, so it’s important to get a glimpse of my opponent’s hand.’

In front of her, Mireille clearly feigned nervousness.

“…Liloa.”

He got down on his knee, causing people passing by on the deck to look at them in astonishment. Lil snorted her laughter as she looked around at the people who had stopped to observe.

‘After all, The Clotilde isn’t a passenger ship accessible to just anyone. In other words, the people onboard are all wealthy to a certain extent. It’s said that passengers on such ships are like incense. As they move from region to region, their words spread through the air. And the more expensive the incense, the greater the effect…’

“Is this your plan? To draw attention and start rumours that will quickly reach Sesbron? Knowing the amount of wealthy passengers here, the speed of the rumours must be incredibly fast.”

“What are you talking about? I’m just trying to resume our engagement.”

“…”

‘Ed and I had expected that Mireille would be making his moves under the pretext of our past engagement, so I can’t say I’m shocked. I just didn’t expect that his interest in Obernyu’s situation would make him feign affection as passionately as this… Judging by the shameless act he’s putting on by dropping to his knee, it seems that he’ll indeed file a lawsuit for annulment of marriage with the Emperor.’

“I know you hate me, but I am different now. In the past, I was so immature and young that I made things difficult for you…”

“…”

Mireille hesitated as he finished his sentence and took a small box from his coat’s pocket.

“Ever since the day you disappeared, I have been carrying this with me, so that I could propose to you again at any time. From now on, I will live with a penitent heart, atoning for all the hurt I caused you.”

“…”

When he opened the lid, Lil was greeted by a ring with a shining transparent gem.

“Our engagement ended because you disappeared. His Majesty, worried that I would grow old waiting for you indefinitely, advised me to welcome a new duchess. That is how our engagement ended. Even though it was simple, we held a funeral even without finding your body. However, now that you are back, we can start over. Our engagement has never been terminated. All we need to do is to have a wedding ceremony at Sesbron.”

“And His Majesty will give his permission?”

“Of course. He often witnessed me missing you.”

“..?”

‘Mireille, missing me? Don’t make me laugh. Obviously, he only pretended to mourn me to avoid offending the Emperor. However, his quick-wittedness and keen sense of preparing the situation at hand makes the show he’s currently giving appear so natural.’

Mireille, full of confidence, held out the ring box.

“His Majesty, who felt sorry for me, will definitely be lenient.”

‘Of course, he’s the Emperor’s closest associate at the moment.’

Lil also knew that the emperor cared for Mireille.

‘Objectively speaking, that factor can make things more difficult. In that case, I need to take away the means which he’s trying to bank on.’

Lil looked around at the crowd gathered as if watching a play and decided to reveal her first revelation in front of them.

“Your Majesty will approve? That is ridiculous. Why do you think I decided to live in hiding? During the engagement period, did you do anything good for me other than mock me for being a prostitute?”

When the shocking words came out, the audience forgot who they were and collectively booed.

“..!”

The bewildered man’s face gagged because what Lil said was true without a whiff of a lie. Mireille made Lil wait on the guests who came to his residence and openly belittled her by calling her no better than a prostitute. He also used to say that if she dolled herself up and sat down with him while he was signing contracts, he would be able to negotiate more favourable terms for himself.

“Didn’t you use to tell me that the number of your business partners increased because you made me serve those who came to your mansion?”

‘…And the Duke’s guests enabled it. No one spoke up against it. They merely showed remarkable unity and kept quiet. Since only the royal family can order me to serve them, they were afraid that they would be discovered benefitting from a hospitality that wasn’t in accordance with my wishes. Nonetheless, I had to sit low on the floor and placed their feet on the footrest. And whenever I would raise their feet, they would shudder from the pleasure of getting a taste of power… How disgusting…’

Before she knew it, Lil’s face turned red from anger.

‘The humiliation I experienced at the Mireille mansion is something I’ll never forget. Some people may have experienced greater humiliation and may have had a worse life. There could even be some in the crowd who will dismiss my experiences lightly. But how can someone who cannot even look into ‘lesser’ pain feel the weight of ‘more’ pain? I’m not sympathetic to their opinions.’

Lil let out her anger by crushing her palms with her clenched fingernails.

“How can you say you have changed from your previous self when you just molested me not long ago just like you have always done before?”

“…”

She swung the back of her hand and hit the ring case hard. Mireille missed the jewellery box and it rolled on the deck.

“How can you ask me to marry you again? You want me to live through that harassment again? You devil!”

“…”

Lil struck Mireille’s cheek with her palm.

“Devil! You are no better than a devil!”

“..!”

Lil tried to create a situation where she would appear to slap him with a feather-like hand gesture, but when Mireille’s head visibly shook, Lil felt embarrassed, for it wasn’t her intention to cause harm. She hurriedly relaxed her hand and repeatedly hit him on the head, cheek, and shoulder.

“Just leave me alone!”

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