*****As mentioned before, Cassandra had always been treated like a princess by everyone in her family, practically indulged, and as a result, she had developed an innate pride from childhood, even without realizing it.This haughtiness had also led her to subconsciously look down on others, never truly valuing anybody apart from her family, because, first, her family was among the most influential in the city, and second, she was the sole third-generation descendant, unlike the third-generation descendants from the other prominent families who had to compete and share resources.Initially, everybody apart from her father hadn’t minded, but in recent years, their concern for her had grown significantly, fearing that with her inflated standards—so far above anything Riverton or nearby cities could offer—she might never find anyone suitable for marriage, yet… yet, right now…For what seemed like an eternity after Cassandra’s proposal, no one could react, instead, disbelief and shock
*****“This…” Even after a long time had passed after hearing Xavier’s shocking and never-expected question, none of the Blackwood would return to their senses.They continued standing in an absolute stupor, gaping at him as if they had just discovered he was an alien and not the human they had originally thought him to be.His words continued to reverberate over and over again in their minds, and they continued refusing to believe their ears, not wanting to accept that Xavier had really said what they had heard.This was especially true for Cassandra, whose faint respect and sense of apology toward Xavier had shattered the moment she assumed he had been so easily won over by a woman.She continued standing there, numb and dumb, replaying his question in disbelief until finally…“You…” she raised a trembling finger toward Xavier, her voice choking with anger and confusion. “You… you clearly said that when… when…” she tried to recall any moment when Xavier had explicitly agreed t
***** Although this wasn’t the first time Xavier had stated he hadn’t agreed to marry Cassandra, everyone, hearing him again reacted as if it were the first time—only now, their shock was even greater. They all stared at Xavier in stunned silence, some of them so shocked they didn’t even realize they were drooling. While his scornful words were only meant for Cassandra, they struck them all like the voice of a devil. This was especially true for Cassandra, who had never been spoken to in a way even remotely as harsh as Xavier had just addressed her in her entire life. She had only ever been treated as royalty—admired, respected, and constantly flattered, no matter who stood before her. Yet here she was, humiliated and stripped of the dignity she had always taken for granted. She felt as though she were dreaming, unable to believe her ears. 'Did… did a mere ex-convict just speak to me like that?' She thought in absolute disbelief and the next moment... "How dare you
*****For a long, tense moment after Xavier was gone, his words continued to reverberate nonstop in the air of the hall, making no one able to return to their senses, clearly dumbstruck by them.They stood frozen, like hollow shells, whose spirits and souls had already departed their bodies, leaving only empty bodies gazing blankly into the void for what seemed an eternity before finally...“Did… did he… did that nobody just say all those things to me?” Cassandra, the most shocked of all, gasped, her wide eyes locked onto the spot where Xavier had already vanished. Then trembling uncontrollably as though in the grip of a seizure, she forcefully tore her gaze away from the now-empty doorway and looked back at her family’s faces with a mixture of fury and disbelief.Thanks to her sudden voice, the other Blackwood were also jolted awake from their stupor state, however, feeling Cassandra’s horrified and hopeful gaze on them, brimming with rage and unwillingness to accept the reality,
*****“N-Niece… Daughter!” Darius and his brothers finally couldn’t help themselves but stammer, feeling an overwhelming ache in their hearts as they realized how deeply Cassandra had been wounded, to the extent that she would actually sob despite her pride.Their hearts clenched painfully, as though gripped by an invisible hand, and without a moment’s hesitation, the three took a step forward, ready to rush after Cassandra and console her when in the following second;“Let her go,” the commanding voice of the old man, who looked the most distrusted and visibly affected by his precious granddaughter’s broken state, echoed through the hall, greatly startling the three brothers.“This…” they stopped in their tracks and in the next moment, Roland and Darius whipped around, glaring at the old man with anger flashing in their eyes.“Why? Don’t you think you had been too harsh on her enough?” Roland demanded, his voice low and furious.“She sees you as her safe haven,” Darius also add
*****Still, inside the vast, quiet dining hall, the three brothers remained frozen in place, staring blankly in the direction their father had just vanished.They stood in stunned silence for a long time, until finally—“He… he just left… like that?” Aldric stammered, suddenly exchanging bewildered glances with his brothers as if the scene they had just witnessed was one that could never be real.Once again, the hall returned to silence after Aldric’s question, until finally;“Usually, he would tear into us and make us kneel outside all night, even for the smallest mistake,” Roland muttered, still half-expecting the old man to storm back in, refusing to believe he was gone just like that, but when not even his shadow could be felt, Roland scratched his head in bewilderment.“This… what we just did was a major screw-up. Is he really going to leave us unpunished?” he inquired, his voice dazed and filled with confusion.Like his brothers, he had braced himself for a punishment se
*****Contrary to what the three brothers initially believed, their father, the elderly master of the Blackwood family, hadn’t actually left as he’d pretended to. Instead, he had remained concealed just outside the hall, positioned in a blind spot, waiting to see if his sons had come to any realizations of what he had done.“To think I can’t even keep such a small detail from those brats,” he murmured, letting out another deep, exasperated sigh as he recalled how quickly they had guessed the reason why he failed to punish them.Recalling all this, the old man stood in silence for a moment before finally, a small, helpless sigh emitted from his throat as he muttered softly, “How could I even bring myself to punish them when I was even more shameless tonight?”His gaze grew distant as he thought of how close he had come to losing control tonight, nearly executing Xavier after he had realized that he could no longer bring him closer, and had Cassandra not unwittingly intervened, he m
*****“Hmph! So much for a ‘reputable first-rank family’!” Xavier suddenly snorted, muttering with disgust as he strides down the brightly lit Blackwood villa path.Although he had been walking for what felt like ages—over twenty minutes now—he was barely halfway to the estate’s gate. Not that he noticed, since his thoughts had been tangled since leaving the dining hall, seething with rage."To think that miserable old man would even consider attacking me despite the fact that I haven’t even asked for any explanation and instead, giving them such a priceless technique even though his sons had poisoned me!” He snorted, his jaw tight as he kept moving, each step simmering with contempt and unbearable rage.Xavier was exceptionally livid at this moment, reliving the twisted memories of his time within Blackwood walls. From the sneers and unhidden hostility from the sons, who looked at him and acted as if he were a cockroach they couldn’t wait to squash, to the poisoned meal, to Cassa