What People Call the Heart

How on earth did things end up like this?

Sylvia barged into the castle out of nowhere and proposed an engagement under the guise of a contractual relationship, and Kyle felt a headache coming on at the existence of his parents, who readily agreed to it.

It’s not like he was so foolish that he didn’t know what Sylvia was thinking when she did this.

The fact that she’s been putting on an act like they’re strangers meeting for the first time is probably for the same reason.

‘She must mean that I’ve reset our relationship to zero, so she’s going to build it up again.’

Kyle guessed Sylvia’s intentions and wore a complicated expression.

Of course, he’s truly grateful for her consideration.

Now that she’s regained her freedom, Kyle Lyard is probably no longer needed.

They could just break up and live comfortably, but the fact that Sylvia came all the way to him and made such an absurd proposal showed that she valued relationships between people very much.

But grateful is grateful, and Kyle wasn’t ready to accept it yet.

No, he thinks he shouldn’t do it in the first place.

So Kyle added a word to her, who was wearing a triumphant expression, with an indifferent look.

“I understand what you’re saying. But Princess, no matter what the two of you think, I’m not willing to accept it yet.”

“Do you have a woman in mind?”

“No, it’s not that….”

For some reason, Kyle felt a chill for a moment and shook his head, trembling slightly.

It would be a mistake if he felt that the expression on Sylvia’s face had disappeared for a moment.

“Then there doesn’t seem to be any problem?”

“It’s a problem from before that. Anyway, doesn’t it mean we’re deceiving each other’s parents? There’s no way I can do such an unethical thing.”

“Tch, you’re the one who deceived others as if you’d be by their side forever, then quickly dumped them and left.”

Sylvia clicked her tongue and muttered in a sulky voice at Kyle’s appearance, who was suddenly talking about morality and spouting nonsense that wouldn’t work.

“What did you say, Princess?”

“Huh? No. I didn’t say anything.”

However, since her voice was so small that Kyle couldn’t hear it, she quickly returned to her smiling face and shrugged nonchalantly.

“The reason for refusing isn’t just this. Even if it’s a contractual relationship, an engagement with a woman I’ve just met… It’s too difficult for me, who already has a hard time dealing with women.”

“…Tch, difficult my ass. You seduce them just by breathing.”

“…Princess?”

“No. I guess I misspoke for a moment.”

Kyle thought that she misspoke a lot, but in the end, he didn’t hear it this time either, so he just let it go.

“Anyway, for various reasons, I’m grateful for this offer, but I don’t think I can accept it. I’m sorry.”

“I see…. Well, Lyard-gongja must have his reasons.”

“…Hoo.”

Fortunately, Sylvia wasn’t planning on going too far, so she nodded, showing that she understood.

Seeing this, Kyle let out a short sigh and expressed his relief.

But as the saying goes, you have to listen to what people say until the end.

“So the conclusion is that you’re still uncomfortable dealing with me because you don’t have any friendship with me yet, and you’re worried about deceiving both families, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Of course, both of them knew that the real reason wasn’t that, so a scene unfolded where there was no one being deceived, only someone trying to deceive.

At that moment, a bright smile appeared on Sylvia’s face.

“That’s great then. I was worried about that too, so I came to Lyard-gyeong to ask for a favor.”

“…A favor? What kind of favor are you talking about?”

Wasn’t the favor over with the talk about the engagement?

Kyle stared at her with trembling pupils, wondering if there was something else after that, feeling a sense of anxiety creeping in.

“Since we’ll be in an engagement relationship in the future, I asked if I could stay here for a while because I wanted to build a friendship with Lyard-gongja. Fortunately, he readily agreed to it.”

“Father did?”

“Of course.”

“Then what are you going to do about the family? The position of head of the family isn’t a light one.”

“Of course, I asked my mother.”

Tak.

She had that card up her sleeve.

Kyle, who had inadvertently forgotten about Marian’s existence, covered his forehead and took a posture as if he was about to fall backward.

Even if he growled that the engagement was supposed to be off, she would obviously get away with it by bringing up ridiculous reasons like, ‘I want to get closer to Lyard-gongja.’

In fact, once the conversation was led this far, her victory was as good as decided.

If there was a final defense line that Kyle had set up, it was the point he had mentioned earlier, ‘I can’t deceive my family.’

Kyle was barely trying to maintain his sanity, confidently guaranteeing that Sylvia wouldn’t be able to break through this part no matter what.

“Besides, Lyard-gongja said he would refuse because he doesn’t want to deceive his parents, right?”

“Ye, yes, that’s right.”

“Hehe, actually, I feel the same way. In the first place, how can the word ‘contract’ be included in such an important matter as an engagement? I think it’s absurd.”

Kyle wanted to say, ‘Then why did you bring up that story?’, but before he could even part his lips, she continued.

“So I thought it would be okay to stay here for a while and build a friendship with Lyard-gongja and be reborn into a real engagement relationship.”

“A real engagement relationship….”

“Oh my, do you not understand even after I’ve said this much?”

Sylvia’s eyes curved like crescent moons at the sight of Kyle staring at her with eyes shaking violently, as if an earthquake had occurred in his pupils.

Then, she gently touched the tip of his hand that was lying still on the table with the tip of her finger, as if giving a bird kiss, and added with a seductive smile.

“Hehe, then you’ll find out little by little. Look forward to it, Lyard-gongja.”

It was the most fascinating yet most terrifying voice Kyle had ever heard in his life.

＊＊＊

After the conversation with Sylvia, Kyle was suddenly summoned by his father, Dvere.

“I heard the story, Kyle. The Eleanor family’s young lady… No, I should call her the head of the family now. You kicked her out and came back, didn’t you?”

“…Yes, Father.”

It seemed that Sylvia had mentioned that far, so Kyle nodded indifferently at Dvere’s words.

Dvere, who was silently looking down at him, let out a sigh and opened his mouth in a heavy voice.

“I thought she was a woman you cared about quite a bit, but how did it come to this?”

“The situation didn’t allow it. I didn’t think she needed me by her side anymore.”

“That’s foolish. Why are you arbitrarily judging and deciding that? Have you ever asked the other person’s opinion?”

“……”

Kyle replaced his answer with silence at the sharp rebuke.

There’s no way he would have asked.

In the first place, if he was going to ask that, he wouldn’t have coldly kicked her out and come back.

“Kyle, I know. You must still resent this father.”

“No.”

“Don’t be. Do you think your father is so foolish that he doesn’t know what he’s done?”

“…No.”

To be honest, he thought so a little.

No, from a young age, he had been certain that his father, who had oppressed him, had no human emotions left.

Seeing that it took Kyle a little time to deny it, Dvere closed his eyes tightly with a complicated expression and then opened them.

“I don’t care what you think of this father. I don’t intend to ask you to forgive me for what I did to you. I just think I kept away a person who tarnished the reputation of the Lyard family. I have no regrets about that. Even if that person is a blood relative.”

“……”

Kyle felt various emotions crossing his mind at his father’s honest feelings, which he was hearing for the first time.

That’s right. In the first place, Dvere didn’t hate Kyle’s existence.

He just couldn’t tolerate a leech who didn’t help the Lyard family and only tarnished the reputation of the prestigious family and parasitized it.

What’s important to him isn’t whether he’s a son by blood or not.

The main point is whether he’s someone who can bring glory to the Lyard family.

“Even if Hasel was in the same situation as you, I would have acted the same way. Think of it as an excuse if you want. I don’t care that far. However….”

Dvere’s eyes, which had been speaking indifferently, sharpened for the first time and emitted a light.

“…If you’re not only a person who’s fit to be the next head of the Lyard family, but also a guy who can’t even judge his own feelings and hurts the woman he cares about, I have no intention of acknowledging someone like you.”

“Father….”

Kyle stared at his father sitting in the upper seat with wide eyes, not imagining that such words would come out of Dvere’s mouth.

Wasn’t he disapproving of Sylvia?

It felt like his attitude was rather protecting Sylvia, so he felt a sense of incongruity.

“I thought you didn’t like her very much.”

“I did at first. At least when you first went to the Eleanor family, I just heard rumors and thought she was a witch.”

Dvere, who added with a bitter expression, saying, ‘I was foolish,’ carefully continued.

“But when I actually met her, I found that she was a pretty decent kid. I could also tell that she cared about you very much. More than anything….”

Dvere’s gaze turns to Kyle.

Kyle, who had always only heard scolding or rebukes from his father, felt that gaze was somewhat unfamiliar.

What should he say, it felt like his father was really looking at him.

He knew it might not make sense, but that was the only way he could express it.

That’s right. It was clearly a father’s gaze.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you look at someone so affectionately. If that’s the case, as a father, I have no choice but to support you. That’s all the reason why I came to like that young lady.”

“……”

Only then could Kyle guess why his father had been so friendly to Sylvia from the first time he met her, and why he had accepted her excessive request this time.

It was simply because she was ‘the woman his son loves.’

It’s a truly ridiculous story.

Kyle, who had been presuming that there was something dark hidden there, had a bland and futile ending that made him laugh in vain.

“So let me tell you in advance. If you’re going to cut off the bud, cut it off completely. But if you can’t do that, take care of it to the best of your ability.”

Kyle couldn’t answer Dvere’s last advice and slowly got up from his seat.

At the moment he nodded at those words, it felt like he wouldn’t be able to hold back any longer what he had been holding back until now.