CHAPTER 45.9

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

The man currently sitting in his office was swearing profusely.

Thor Spencer.

Riddel's Father and the self-made working man, who barely maintained their family's name after falling. Viscount Spencer was meeting with misfortune, his usual luck gone. It started on the day of the banquet, on his way to the imperial palace in a carriage with his family, an accident happened.

In fact, the mishap was only a minor contact accident. The problem was the carriage did not move due to wheel problems. To make matters worse, the people who would normally provide carriages in town were fully booked for the day because of the imperial banquet. No one was able to rent a carriage that day. After wasting time on the side of the road, the Viscount shouted at the horseman telling him to get a move on.

Sitting alone in his office, Spencer recalled his previous conversation with an ominous look.

"- There's no reason why noblemen should arrive before me at every banquet. Isn't it because there's a reason to be late?"

Ah.Ah.Ah. It was the conversation with the Emperor who laughed easily at the situation, murmuring the words in front of his vassals, but no one was naive to accept the words literally. The Viscount didn't have the choice but to keep quiet because Kyle's recurring absences or late behavior from imperial duties was known to irritate his Majesty.

It was expected of Spencer who was famous for being a dog. In the public eye, he was called the 'King's dog'. Even rumors of him kissing boots were widespread among commoners and nobles.

He arrived at the banquet hall attracting a lot of attention due to his delayed schedule, but his mind was only focused on the Emperor. Throughout the banquet, he became very preoccupied with the Emperor's eyes who were contemplating. The expecting predicament burst in the most unexpected of places.

It was Riddel's revelation.

That revelation was a fool errand no one would believe, especially if you were considering Riddel's standing among the nobles. It was impossible to prove, so Spencer felt safe that he wouldn't be punished. Nevertheless, he was more impressed with his own contempt than some of the nobles' seemingly welcoming eyes. If there were clear evidence or it could have been proven, those same nobles would put him behind bars right away.

Afterwards, the Emperor broke the tense atmosphere and appeared in front of him.

"- Goddess blessings to Arnold's sun. I apologize, your Majesty. Because of an accidental carriage…"

It wasn't a good move. The Viscount knew he had to beg to the Emperor, head prone to the ground. It was an apology for daring to shame the Emperor for his lateness.

"- You might be late, but it's okay. Do not worry yourself."

The Emperor, who spoke with his eyes wide open, didn't seem to be criticizing him, unlike his words.

The Emperor showed his hand the moment he dropped his handkerchief and crushed his hand for not picking it up fast enough in front of everyone.

"- You're so slow…"

The Emperor's shoe was crushing his hand from heel to toe, but he kept his mouth shut the whole time. It was a matter of grand importance to never show any weaknesses.

Feeling strongly insulted by all the circumstances of that day, Viscount Spencer stayed in his office for the next three days, trembling in fury.

'They don't care for anything, even abuse… Why does the Emperor pretend to be noble, trampling people like dogs just because I'm late?'

While Spencer was overwhelmed by his anger, his employee knocked on the door of his office.

"Until I give you word, I do not want anyone to disturb me under any circumstances."

"… My lord, if you'll excuse me, the Archduke Romani is here."

The thundering cry of his own gasp made him flinched. He asked back, doubting his ear. "What do you mean? Who is it?"

***

Spencer's drawing room was quiet enough to freeze anyone in place. The Viscount swallowed his saliva with difficulty when he saw the Archduke in front of him. Honestly, he couldn't understand the situation. No one else could, Kyle Romani sitting face to face with him was a peculiar situation. The Viscount could never have imagined such a situation in his wildest dream.

'Why did Romani come to visit me?'

Thor Spencer looked carefully at Kyle, full of doubts, questioning himself on what was happening.

Everyone knew that Kyle's eyes turned red when they were filled with murderous or vicious thoughts, but his eyes were golden at the moment. Recently, there's also been some kind of rumor about him, not killing everyone on his path, which was quite different from the picture the Viscount had of this violent dragon. He could only assume he was not here to kill him. Then why, why was he here?

"…!"

At that moment, a wonderful thought quickly passed in his head.

'Yeah, maybe it's an opportunity; a golden opportunity for a man to be attached to the Archduke, and no longer be the filthy Emperor's cub.'

How miserable has he been trying to constantly please the Emperor? The Viscount rubbed his palm together and took a stance studying his next move.

"Hero of the Empire, Archduke Romani…"

"I don't need greetings so let's get to the point."

At Kyle's blunt remarks, he kept his mouth shut, feeling his tongue stiffened. He then laughed awkwardly, forcing the corner of his mouth up.

"Well, then, why did you…"

"Riddel Spencer."

"Oh my God, that stupid little girl must have done something very wrong to you."

The Viscount lashed out at him in fear at Riddel's name. It wasn't a calculated move. His long habit of ripping and alienating others under the Emperor and his true feeling toward of Riddel, came out at the same time.

In response, Kyle stared silently at him.

'Well, that's it. That's the right answer. There's no way this stupid headless bitch could do a good job in marriage.'

Interpreting Kyle's silent answer as a good sign, Thor Spencer spoke with an excited face.

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness, she used to be a quiet obedient girl, but turned rebellious with time. I apologize for my shortcoming as a father…"

"…"

"There's not much to make this rebellious girl obey, but you can beat her until she begs of you to stop. She will admit she was wrong."

The Viscount looked at Kyle's eyes with caution, noticing the lack of expression in them. Soon after Kyle raised his eyes, a sure sign telling Spencer to continue speaking. He was secretly rejoicing.

'As expected, this method worked for everyone.'

For 20 years he had crawled under the Emperor.

This was the way he accomplished so much while being at the bottom of the social class. Those of lower-class were sometimes considered nothing more than an animal. It was one thing to surrender to those above, but to those one below…

Since he was a child, the Viscount treated those people who were lower than him the same way he was treated; like an animal.

'She has fallen into the hands of the Archduke; she belongs to him. Kyle Romani will never see her as anything more than an animal.'

He thought it especially true considering Kyle's emotions were non-existent. He felt relieved, as if all the burden on his shoulder had been lifted.

"In order to crush all rebellion in her, don't be afraid to kick her in the sides, right on her ribs. She's been hurt badly before so it doesn't take much for her to feel agony and try to catch her breath. Also, don't be nervous to step on her. Only then she will listen to you."

"…"

"If she doesn't listen, you can trample on her knuckles. I've prevented her bones from breaking a few times, and now her hands are a sore spot. It should be quite painful for her…"

"…"

"There's a lot of other ways, but if you're too lazy to beat her into submission, you can lock her in a cell for a few days. You could also starve her for a few days, she will be begging at your feet. After beating her, throwing her in a solitary cell works wonder. As you know, women need to be beaten in order to listen."

"…"

"If it's too much trouble, please leave her to me for a while. I will educate her well and send her back to… It hurts, it hurts!"

It only took a moment for his body to rise into the air in excruciating pain. Kyle was lifting his chin with one hand. If he hadn't unconsciously relaxed, his jaw would have been shattered.

"Archduke…"

His words were cut off before even trying to speak. Kyle was currently using magic shutting his mouth close. The Archduke looked completely unconcerned to the situation. His expression was one of indifference while throwing his own work on the floor.

The Viscount was sporting a nosebleed, face leaning against the corner of his desk, body sprawled on the floor. Despite the pain that seemed to break all over his body, he couldn't even make a small moan. He opened his eyes wide with a painful face. He looked desperate to ask why he was using violence against him.

"… Is there a problem? It would be you who taught me this method of education."

A little while ago, he believed the Archduke and him were sharing the same conviction, already concluding in his mind that Riddel was 'a useless girl to be returned at a great price'. In response to the reaction of Kyle, who was similar to the Emperor, there was no doubt about it. It was a product of the experience of living with others for a long time.

He couldn't understand or comprehend the sudden situation.

"There won't be a problem. I'm just excited to put into practice everything that you taught me. It would be best to try it first with the person who recommended this method."

Kyle's words immediately turned him pale as a ghost and made his stomach bottom out.

'This isn't it. Something's, something's wrong.'