Ch.333Chapter 333 – The Price of a Loose Tongue Was Enormous

Another Peaceful Day in Aurelius.

Berian Odnarron, the second son of Viscount Odnarron, was walking down the street as usual.

‘Which woman should I seduce for the night today?’

Aurelius, the capital of the Gelebrio Empire, was a place where tens of thousands of people came and went daily.

Perhaps because of this, it wasn’t uncommon in Aurelius for men and women from different regions to meet, spend a passionate night together, and then part ways.

‘The noble lady I met yesterday was quite fierce, so today maybe I’ll try seducing a commoner girl.’

Being the second son of a viscount family—not a baron with a non-hereditary title, but a viscount with a hereditary one—still placed him among the lower ranks of nobles living in Aurelius.

But that was only in comparison to other nobles… to the vast majority of commoners, it meant something entirely different.

There were two ways for commoners to enter noble society.

One was to achieve merits through their own abilities and receive at least a baronial title to become a noble.

The other was to marry into a noble family and become part of that household.

In such cases, common-born women could decide whether to keep their family name or take their husband’s name.

If they kept their own name, all their children would be born as commoners.

But if they took their husband’s name, at least their children would be treated as nobles.

For this reason, sons of viscount families with hereditary titles—not barons with non-hereditary ones—represented opportunities for social advancement to common women.

And Berian intended to exploit the desperate desire of common women who wanted to become nobles.

‘Some commoner women can be just as haughty as nobles, but in the end, commoners are commoners.’

Being the second son of a viscount family meant he had no burden of succession, yet still enjoyed an appropriate noble status.

For commoners seeking social advancement through a night’s dalliance, Berian’s seduction was difficult to resist.

Of course, there were commoners who didn’t desire social advancement, and Berian never targeted such people.

He only pursued those who sought higher status while enjoying a casual night, people who could brush it off even if their attempt at social climbing failed.

‘There doesn’t seem to be anyone decent today.’

Berian had spent nights with over forty women so far, and he thought today would be no different.

After passing through the city streets toward the central plaza filled with various shops and attractions, he had to doubt his own eyes.

‘What incredible luck is this?’

There were seven beautiful women, the kind rarely seen, all in one place.

Moreover, among them was a woman who perfectly matched Berian’s taste.

With wavy brown hair that fell to her shoulders, her appearance embodied the kindness and warmth that Berian had been searching for.

And most importantly, she wasn’t wearing a ring symbolizing nobility, confirming she was a commoner.

Noble women always wore rings symbolizing their status, which would leave slight marks on their fingers.

But the woman he was looking at had no ring marks on her hand—a perfect opportunity.

‘Whew, I’m suddenly feeling nervous. But I, Berian of House Odnarron, never let go of a target once I’ve set my sights on her!’

Berian’s eyes transformed into those of a predator stalking its prey as he spotted a woman who matched his preferences after so long.

Slowly walking up to the brown-haired woman, Berian bowed his head and delivered his prepared line.

“Oh, beautiful lady. Would you grant me the honor of your company today?”

“I’m sorry, but I already have someone. Please step back.”

Berian had approached with care, but unfortunately, this woman was already taken.

But who was Berian?

He was a man who never gave up just because someone had a lover, persistently pursuing until he succeeded in spending the night with them.

“Indeed! A flower is most beautiful when it has an owner. But wouldn’t a brief indiscretion be possible?”

He confidently delivered his prepared line and continued to press his advances.

But did he realize? If he had quietly withdrawn after the first rejection, he could have avoided what was about to happen.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Hearing a relatively young man’s voice, Berian turned toward its source.

The man, who appeared to be from the Eastern Continent, looked younger than Berian himself.

“Hmm, what’s this? From the Eastern Continent? I’m busy trying to seduce this beautiful lady, so…”

“Who gave you permission to shove that ugly face of yours at someone who’s already taken?”

Berian bristled at the Eastern man approaching him and calling his face ugly.

“How insolent! You look like a commoner—do you think you can stand against a noble and survive?”

“A commoner?”

“Yes! Since you’re from the Eastern Continent, you must be a commoner. Tsk, know your place. Get lost!”

“How amusing. You think I’m a commoner?”

Berian grew anxious when the man refused to back down. Usually, when other people’s attention was drawn, his attempts at seduction mostly failed.

“Hey, you. Which family are you from, and who are you?”

“Hmm. I am Berian Odnarron, second son of the historic Viscount Odnarron family.”

“Ah… what? Just from a viscount family.”

What? Just a viscount? Not a non-hereditary baron, but a hereditary viscount family, and he says “just”?

Berian was puzzled by the man’s indifference to the explanation of his viscount lineage.

“How insolent. Truly amusing. You dare speak such words to my husband.”

And finally, his eyes turned to the woman standing beside the black-haired man.

“…?”

“A mere viscount family member failing to greet a member of the imperial family. Your mind is truly rotten.”

And he knew exactly who she was.

Karen Lucien Decart de Gelebrio Aurelius Aurelion, Grand Duchess.

Wife of Grand Duke Pathos Severio Aurelion and the Empire’s First Imperial Princess.

Her presence made the identity of the black-haired Eastern man whom he had mistaken for a commoner painfully obvious.

“C-c-could it be… Grand Duke Aurelion?”

Having rarely seen foreigners, he hadn’t recognized Pathos as the infamous Grand Duke Aurelion despite the rumors.

After all, during the times when Pathos had made public appearances, Berian had been busy seducing women, drinking heavily, and sleeping until noon.

Only now did he realize what he had done.

While a viscount title might be beyond the reach of ordinary commoners and reserved for noble blood, a viscount was still just a viscount.

Even marquis families made viscount families bow low, let alone someone who had earned a marquis title himself, married an imperial princess, and simultaneously received the title of grand duke.

For a mere second son of a viscount family, a grand duke was far too powerful an existence to challenge.

“Do you understand what you’ve done wrong?”

“I-if I may ask, what have I done wrong, Your Grace?”

“The woman you were flirting with is to become Grand Duke Aurelion’s seventh wife.”

“Gasp!”

Berian nearly fainted upon hearing that the woman he had propositioned was to become the seventh wife of the Grand Duke.

Though a commoner, by marrying someone with the title of grand duke, she would gain at least the status of a countess, and her children would be treated as offspring of a count’s family.

In other words, no matter how you looked at it, she far outranked Berian.

And in the Gelebrio Empire, there was such a law:

If a noble family’s son approached a woman—commoner or noble—who was engaged to be married to another family, attempting to steal her away, it could be grounds for a territorial duel.

This law was established to prevent high-ranking nobles from taking others’ women as they pleased. Though nearly obsolete now, breaking it made it difficult to maintain noble treatment.

He could claim ignorance, but would such an excuse work among nobles who were always looking for opportunities to tear each other apart?

Moreover, he had even sneered at and looked down upon a noble of higher rank than himself, calling him a commoner.

No matter how unaware he might have been, this was behavior that should never have occurred before confirming the other party’s status.

Of course, this disaster happened because Berian lost his mind when someone interfered with his attempt to seduce a woman he fancied.

Had he apologized immediately, things might have been different, but he had missed even that opportunity, and Pathos had every justification on his side.

Unfortunately for him, the world was not on his side.

“Guards!”

“Yes, Grand Duchess!”

Karen, unable to tolerate Berian’s treatment of her future family member and his disrespect toward her husband, called for the guards.

As she summoned them, knights in plate armor appeared from somewhere.

“Arrest him. This man, despite being a noble, doesn’t even recognize the face of the Empire’s Grand Duke, my husband, and has violated imperial law with his foul words. He is also a despicable character who seduces common women with promises of a future, spends the night with them, and then pretends not to know them the next day, threatening them with his family’s power.”

Karen even listed all the wrongs Berian had committed, as if she knew everything about his past misdeeds, and the knights’ gazes toward him grew menacing.

“Yes, Grand Duchess!”

At Karen’s command, the armored knights approached him with ropes and a hood.

“W-wait! Grand Duke! Grand Duchess! Please forgive my rudeness…!”

“Silence!”

As Berian tried desperately to beg for forgiveness, the knights covered his head with the hood and bound him tightly with ropes.

Taken to the guard station, Berian was immediately put on trial. The charges of failing to recognize and insulting the Grand Duke, as well as intimidating and threatening common women, were all proven true. He was stripped of his noble status and sentenced to 50 years of hard labor, then taken to a labor camp.

Originally, an additional punishment of demoting his family to baron status was considered, but taking into account that Berian had been treated as an outcast by the viscount family, this punishment was canceled.

In any case, by the time he completed his 50 years of labor, he would be an old man with white hair, or more likely, he would die in the labor camp before then… a fitting end for a man who had harassed countless women and discarded them like worn-out shoes.