Instead of answering her question, Amand took out a cigar from his arms and put it in his mouth. The cigars he enjoyed were of the finest quality, that were delivered to the royal family, but it was only painful for non-smokers. Ate took a step back and turned her head. Her lungs seemed to be throbbing because of the heavy, bitter smell of the cigar.


    As always, Amand smoked cigars for his own pleasure. He didn’t care whether his daughter was suffering. It was a beautiful night party, but the only thing that passed between the two people was silence and a pungent smoke. By the time he smoked half of his thick cigar, Amand spat out, as if he had suddenly recalled Ate’s existence.


    “Why did youe alone?”


    “He’s busy with his business..Ah.”


    Ate inadvertently blurted out the answer that she had prepared for the people she would meet at the party. For her, Amand was an emotionally indifferent person. At that very moment, a thought came into Ate’s mind. Ate, with her eyes wide open, asked Amand.


    “You’re here to meet Raphael, aren’t you? How did you know that he was supposed to attend the party with me? What were you nning to tell him?”


    Amand gave no answer. He continued smoking the cigar, holding it between his bloodless lips. After seeing this, Ate’s face distorted and she didn’t know whether tough or cry. At this point, it seemed that it was rather fortunate that Raphael didn’t attend the party.


    It seems that Raphael did not properly inform Marquis Eloque of his intention to ‘not attend’. If he had, then Marquis Eloque would have removed his name from thest list of attendees. Then, Amanda would not havee to this party.


    Of course, Raphael didn’t know this, but he unintentionally stood Amand up. No one in the entire kingdom of Deltium, not even the king himself, had ever stood Amand Bavaria up. If Raphael had known this, he would have surelyughed ferociously, but unfortunately he was not here. Seeing that his purpose foring to the party was out, Amand threw the cigar away andughed.


    “It’s really worth it. Seeing you like this, I suppose that stupid bastard is doing well, hmm? Unlike his wild temperament, he really turned out to be a homely person. I’m so proud to see that your drooping neck has finally gotten tough.”


    At her father’s mocking words, Ate felt an unknown rage. He has been raising Ate like a doll since childhood, forcing her to obey him. But when Ate finally raised her head up and rebelled against him, he shrugged her off by saying, ‘It’s worth it.’ His contradictory behavior made Ate feel sceptical about her childhood.


    Just like always, she was clueless about whether or not Amand cared about her feelings. Crushing the remaining cigar under his feet, Amand looked at her with cold serpentine eyes, as if trying to see through her heart


    “Hmm. Or is it the opposite? Maybe the bastard has been acting like your dog and you think you’ve be stronger just because you’re now living on your own. Isn’t it?”


    “Don’t talk about my husband that way again. It’s offensive. He does not need to be insulted like that.”


    Ate suppressed her anger and said in a low voice. She really didn’t like the way Amand looked down at Raphael with contempt. He talked about him as if he was mentioning a street bum. Naturally, a cold hostility appeared on Ate’s face. However, Amand only looked bored and dismissed her off as a little kitten showing off her ws.


    “Oh, it seems that my daughter has forgotten all her lessons.”


    Amand took a step closer to Ate, reached out his right hand and grabbed her shoulder. The cold, strong fingertips cruelly pressed on the dip near her scap. As soon as Ate bit her lips in pain, a hissing threat, like a snake’s whispers came into her ear.


    “Now that you’ve left the house, you’ve be very cocky. How dare you side with that filthy bastard in front of me! Did you really think you can act all arrogant in front of me by relying on him? How dare you stand up to me.”


    Amand increased the strength in his hand, as if he wanted to dislocate her shoulder bones. Ate looked up at him, panting in pain.


    “Raphael…. It doesn’t matter. Don’t swear at him. And I already know what my father wants. Whatever it is, don’t even think about taking anything from Raphael. He’ll never give it to you.”


    “What do you even know to talk like that? You don’t know anything! You’re nothing but a fool for taking the wrong side.”


    Amand’s eyes gleamed with a cruel light. Even if he dislocated Ate’s shoulder here, there was no one who could say anything to him. Even if there was, Amand would only look back with a cold noble face as if it were nothing. He could easily get away with it just because he was Ate’s father.


    Ate closed her eyes tightly, preparing for the uing pain. Her body trembled in fear. At that moment, a strong arm stretched out from the side and grasped Amand’s wrist tightly.


    “Take your hand off my wife.”


    Before she knew it, Raphael came to her side and growled at Amand with a fierce look. Not only his voice, even his grip on Amand’s arm, carried a tremendous weight. This time, it was Amand’s face which was distorted in pain.


    “How dare a filthy bastard like you touch my body!”


    “If you don’t take your hand off Ate right now, this filthy bastard will break your arm, father-inw.”


    Raphael curled up the corners of his mouth and brought his face near Amand. Enraged, Amand twisted his wrist back and forth, but he couldn’t beat the young and strong Raphael. As Raphael applied more force on his grip, Amand groaned and took his hand off Ate’s shoulder. Then Raphael threw his wrist away and strode towards Ate.


    “Are you all right, Ate?”


    “I’m all right. Thank you, Raphael.”


    The firm broad shoulders blocked her view of Amand. As soon as she saw the strong, sturdy torso, she felt all her fears wash away. Even though Ate smiled bashfully, her face was terribly pale because of the pain. When Raphael saw her face, he clicked his tongue and caressed her cheek.


    “As soon as I take my eyes off you, you always get hurt. For a nobledy like you, you have a surprising clumsy side.”


    Ate smiled awkwardly. Seeing her smile disappear, Raphael regretted his words. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have been this harsh. He just couldn’t figure out why he kept talking to Ate bluntly.


    Amand, who was looking at this from a distance, gnashed his teeth. He was already angry at being insulted by his son-inw, and now the two instigators were ignoring him and chatting with each other. The blue-blooded Bavarians could never stand being ignored by others. Especially Amand, who had lived arrogantly all his life.


    “This is not funny at all. Are you going to act like a loving couple now?”


    “It’s not something you need to bother with. And isn’t all this thanks to my father, who married me to Raphael?


    Ate, who regained herposure, replied in a soft voice. When Amand decided to cover up Ate’s charges for the sake of family’s honor, he had to curry favor from the royal family. So he had no choice but to marry Ate off to Raphael, whom the king cherished. He never once asked about Ate’s opinions or sought her consent in this matter.


    Ate sarcastically put this point before him, making Amand’s face distort with intense anger. His always indifferent and cold face finally revealed his teeth, and made him look somewhat human. At that very moment, poisonous words came out of Amand’s mouth.


    (T/N: Reveal his teeth-show hostility)


    “You seem to be getting along very well. So Ate, do you know how great your inws are?”


    “……what are you trying to talk about?”


    Raphael growled at Amand, who suddenly attacked his family. Even though Ate was not used to Amand’s sarcastic remarks about Raphael’s illegitimate lineage, she thought her father’s words were a little different from usual. He wasn’t being sarcastic about Raphael’s parentage, but seemed to be trying to bring up something else.


    “My inws? Are you talking about His Majesty, King Selgratis?”


    Ate asked back warily. As far as she knew, Raphael’s only rtive was his father, King Selgratis. Very little was known about Raphael’s mother, but it was clear that she was not from their world. So considering the situation right now, Ate’s question made sense.


    But from her words, Amand noticed that she had no idea what he was talking about. Amand regained hisposure, and a cold smile appeared on his face. With a look of sympathy, he put out the bait in front of her.


    “Oh, my poor daughter. You haven’t heard anything from him yet, have you? What a wicked son-inw! I can’t believe he wouldpletely cover up his embarrassing past by bewitching my pure and strong sweet daughter.”


    “What are you talking about?”


    “That wicked coachman who framed you… What was his name, yes! Was it Ivan?”


    “Why are you suddenly talking about Ivan?”


    Feeling an ominous premonition, Ate’s voice began to tremble. Raphael looked puzzled as he looked back and forth between them. He didn’t know what Amand meant. Raphael was a man with many secrets, but he was not a skillful liar. If Raphael had anything to hide about Ivan, his face would have long given it away.


    <span> Only


    Seeing Raphael’s face, Ate collected herself together. She thought whatever words woulde out of Amand’s mouth, he probably only said them to sway Ate. Even if it might be a shocking information, it was okay as long as Raphael wasn’t cheating on her.


    ‘It won’t be a big deal. My father must be plotting something again.’


    Ate struggled to face Amand. She somehow stabilised her trembling chin and straightened herself up. Raphael put his hand on her shoulder as if protecting her. Amand just looked at both of them with contempt. A chilling sweet voice came out from his pale bloodless lips.


    “Ahh my dear daughter, I guess you didn’t know. Ivan’s real name is Ben March. And he’s also your husband’s only maternal uncle. For you, he should probably be a distant uncle from the countryside.”


    What the hell was he talking about? Ate’s face turned white. She did have a vague feeling that Raphael’s maternal side may not be from a noble lineage. But she never expected it to do something with Ivan. She just couldn’t believe it. Raphael and Ivan did not have a single resemnce. Yes, there must have been some mistake.


    Ate turned her head and looked at Raphael. However, Raphael’s face was also white. The moment she saw hisplexion, Ate’s heart sank. She asked stutteringly,


    “This, this… What does it all mean, Raphael? What does he mean, your… maternal uncle? Ivan is really…your…?”


    Upon being questioned by Ate, Raphael’s deep blue eyes froze. It was clear that there was some truth in this. What Amand said was really true. The moment Ate realized this, something copsed inside her.