Ch.294Above Running (1)

Marie Housen Reckyless. She is officially known as the eldest daughter of the Reckyless ducal family and Isaac’s fiancée.

A relationship between a duke’s daughter and a baron’s heir. Looking at this alone, one might question why a woman of Marie’s standing would marry into his family rather than having him become an adopted son-in-law.

Although her older brother Kay is confirmed to succeed as the head of the family, making the engagement understandable, it’s still puzzling why Isaac specifically was chosen.

The Reckyless ducal family, being a strong partner of the imperial family, may not have power but certainly commands great authority.

From a third party’s perspective, it would be difficult to understand why she would marry into a mere baron’s family when she could receive enormous benefits through a strategic marriage.

However, this is only a surface-level understanding. If one digs a little deeper, it becomes more comprehensible.

It’s to properly secure Isaac’s father, the Red Lion, Hawk Ducar Mayshall.

Though he had military support, he’s a hero who subjugated a rampaging dragon—a military asset the Empire absolutely needs to retain.

Moreover, he shows little interest in “honor,” which is everything to soldiers, and has virtually no political ambitions.

Currently, due to personal circumstances, he retired early and simply enjoys a quiet, peaceful life in seclusion.

From the perspective of those in power, he’s behaving admirably, but conversely, this means he has little attachment to the Empire.

If a military asset like Hawk were to go elsewhere, the Empire would not just shed tears of blood—they would hemorrhage. Furthermore, because he retired early, there’s a high possibility he still maintains his abilities.

In that sense, perhaps they asked the Reckyless ducal family, who were close business partners, to send Marie.

Perhaps they sent Marie because sending a royal like Rina would be too excessive.

While this was merely speculation, it was a highly convincing hypothesis that everyone accepted.

Of course, all of the above hypothesis is completely wrong, and they simply got together because they liked each other. In fact, Marie was the one who confessed first, not Isaac.

Since this happened even before Isaac revealed his true identity, their relationship naturally deepened. They’re already famous within the academy as a match made in heaven.

There were also salacious rumors that they frequently checked into inns together holding hands, but the parties involved didn’t care. They had no intention of denying it since it was true.

This is the publicly known relationship between Marie and Isaac, but what if someone were to interfere?

What if not just an ordinary noble, but a royal from another country showed deep interest in one of them?

It might be entertaining drama for onlookers watching from a distance, but for those involved, it’s an incredible nuisance.

No, beyond a nuisance, it could become a serious diplomatic breach. After all, Marie and Isaac are officially “engaged.”

The situation is particularly serious because the other party’s goal isn’t to become Isaac’s concubine, but to take him away.

The only fortunate thing is that it’s still just a rumor, and no one is certain about it.

It’s such an absurd and preposterous story that it’s difficult to believe.

“So, why did you call for me?”

From her perspective, the situation was beyond disgusting. That’s Marie’s current state of mind.

Not only did she speak curtly, but she also folded her arms as if expressing her dissatisfaction with her entire body, glaring at the person opposite her.

Her fierce gaze and hostile atmosphere made it clear even to someone unaware of the situation that she was uncomfortable.

“I have something I want to ask.”

In response, the woman receiving her glare, Hyria, answered bluntly.

Unlike when she was stalking Isaac, she wasn’t in disguise, revealing her sky-blue hair and eyes.

Marie narrowed her eyes as she looked at Hyria. Her mood was beyond uncomfortable—she wanted to slap her.

As Isaac’s lover and fiancée, she was well aware of the misdeeds Hyria was committing.

Whether out of minimal decency or not, Hyria behaved when Marie was present, but when Isaac was alone, the situation changed.

She would openly attempt physical contact with Isaac or create an intimate atmosphere. She was clearly determined.

No matter how much Cecilly played her foxy tricks, how subtly Adelia expressed her interest, or how many other women clung to Isaac…

Marie had been generously understanding, if annoyed. After all, these were people who wouldn’t give up no matter what she said.

So she had half given up, but the blue-haired beauty before her, Hyria, was absolutely unforgivable.

She didn’t care that Hyria was royalty from the Empire of Minerva’s rival, the Kingdom of Teres. What mattered most was that Hyria was using Isaac for her own revenge.

She had long since carefully checked through Isaac about the relationship between Adelia and Hyria, and what incident occurred between them.

‘This bitch.’

From Marie’s perspective, Hyria was nothing more or less than a bitch.

Occasionally she would call Cecilly a vixen, but that was half in jest, unlike her genuine feelings toward Hyria.

Therefore, her feelings toward Hyria were already terrible, and now she had suddenly been summoned.

She followed along to hear what nonsense Hyria might spout, but if it was the expected drivel, she planned to turn away without hesitation.

“You have something to ask?”

“Yes.”

“If it’s related to Isaac, I won’t answer.”

Though she maintained etiquette due to meeting with royalty, her words contained clear hostility. There was no way anything good would come from this conversation.

Hyria wasn’t foolish enough to show a visible reaction.

But while she showed no reaction, she was rude enough to blatantly ignore Marie’s request.

“I’m sorry, but I need to ask for my personal curiosity.”

“Ha. Do the Teres royals ignore others even when they refuse?”

She wanted to curse her upbringing, but that would cross a line, so she barely restrained herself.

Just because the other side crossed a line didn’t mean she should respond in kind—that would only give them justification.

In politics, justification is most important, but power is equally important.

When there’s a clear difference in power and rank, it’s better to watch one’s words, even if the other side throws the first punch.

“It’s a very important matter. I’d appreciate your understanding.”

“Sigh. I’ll hear what you have to say.”

Marie sighed with obvious irritation and reluctantly agreed. If it was truly pointless, she planned to just walk out.

Before bringing up her desired topic, Hyria decided to first scratch at Marie’s heart. Creating a vulnerability was important.

As Isaac’s fiancée, she would know much more about him than others. Maintaining her poker face, she quietly opened her mouth.

“As his fiancée, you must know what he likes.”

“And?”

“I want to give him a gift. Do you know what he likes?”

Hearing that question, Marie raised one eyebrow and thought:

‘Double bitch?’

In Marie’s mind, Hyria was downgraded from bitch to double bitch. She almost flared up but barely composed herself.

Hyria had almost no contact with Marie normally, even if she knew Isaac. This was essentially their first meeting.

Yet she immediately fired a missile as if declaring war, leaving Marie more dumbfounded than angry.

At the same time, she felt uneasy. It was difficult to understand Hyria’s true intentions.

She couldn’t fathom why Hyria would say such provocative things to her, Isaac’s fiancée. Let’s answer first.

“…Princess Hyria. You must know that I am Isaac’s lover and fiancée.”

“I know.”

“Then I don’t understand why you’re showing such deep interest in my fiancé.”

She already knew the reason. It was to somehow get revenge on Adelia, who had humiliated her.

But this was Hyria’s great shame, so Marie planned to refrain from mentioning it unless directly provoked.

As long as the other side didn’t openly insult her, she would hold back to avoid giving them justification.

Meanwhile, Hyria stared at Marie, who was showing her discomfort without restraint, and answered in a monotone voice.

“Because he’s handsome.”

“…What?”

“He’s my type. That’s all I can say.”

Marie was dumbfounded by this somewhat understandable answer. Moreover, Hyria was sincere.

As everyone knows, Marie was born with an ability to instinctively understand others’ true intentions, a kind of mind-reading ability.

The reason she confessed to Isaac was because of his honest words and actions, and even now, while he might hide some things, he shows his true feelings regarding love.

With such an ability, she was surprised that Hyria’s words were “sincere.” At least, her statement about his face being her type was genuine.

‘He’s unnecessarily handsome…’

It was more irritating that she understood. Marie barely restrained herself from making a dejected expression.

Even during his “penguin” days when he barely exceeded 170cm in height, she thought he was handsome. But due to his not-at-all masculine physique, he wasn’t very popular.

People only showed interest in his distinctive combination of red hair and golden eyes.

But as time passed, his body grew and his beauty truly exploded. Especially after receiving holy power, the lilac scent he began to emit acted as a pheromone, further increasing his popularity.

Fortunately, by then, his engagement to Marie had been officially announced, allowing things to proceed smoothly. If not, there would have been countless female students like Hyria.

“…Your type?”

“Yes.”

“Just that?”

“I also like his caring personality.”

This is driving me crazy. Marie inwardly expressed her frustration at Hyria’s answers, which contained not a hint of falsehood.

Perhaps because she was a princess despite being a knight, Hyria was cleverly speaking only the truth.

There was no subtle reaction or trembling in her expression, and her tone remained perfectly calm.

At this rate, there would be no gain, but Marie launched her attack without delay.

“Don’t you have a special purpose?”

“… …”

This seemed difficult for Hyria to answer, as she responded with silence instead.

Silence is a form of affirmation. Marie inwardly clicked her tongue at this tacit confirmation.

It was true that Hyria liked Isaac’s face and personality, but it was clear that it wasn’t romantic interest. His appearance was merely an additional factor.

“Princess Hyria. As Isaac’s fiancée, I know well what kind of person his knight is. And I know what relationship you have with her.”

“… …”

“But don’t you think it’s narrow-minded for someone in a higher position to interfere for such petty revenge?”

With nothing left to hide, Marie delivered a brutal truth bomb. Hearing this, Hyria narrowed her eyes, showing her discomfort.

For Hyria, Adelia’s mere existence was like a trigger button for a seizure, but she had to endure to get what she wanted. She had summoned Marie with this in mind.

She took a slow breath, then opened her tightly closed lips with her characteristically blunt manner of speaking.

“That’s none of your business. And it’s not what I want right now.”

“Then what do you want that made you seek me out? I thought you came to ask me to break off the engagement, which is surprising.”

Though Marie dislikes the social masquerade of high society, that doesn’t mean her conversational skills are weak. Even now, her indirect criticism shows she’s truly worthy of being a duke’s daughter.

Hyria almost flared up but barely restrained herself. She couldn’t get angry before achieving her goal.

Eventually, she stared intently at Marie, who remained standoffish with her arms folded, and fired a question in her husky voice.

“How much do you know about your fiancé?”

“We’ve already had our wedding night, you know?”

Marie’s clear retort contained highly provocative content. Hyria, who seemed to have little immunity to such things, visibly showed a flustered expression.

But that wasn’t her intention in asking. Hyria suppressed her flushing face with a fake cough.

“…That’s not what I meant. I’m only asking how much you know about that man. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Surely you’re not suggesting you know more about Isaac than I do? That would be rather insipid.”

“Then…”

Hyria, as if this was her opportunity, made her eyes glow a cold blue and asked directly:

“Did you know that man has a deep connection with Xenon?”

Hyria boldly opened Pandora’s box. But…

“What?”

Marie frowned her pretty face mercilessly, as if she’d heard something bizarre.

“What are you talking about?”

She showed a reaction indicating she had never heard this before.

“Even nonsense should have its limits.”

While delivering an appropriate counter.