Please Support My Revenge - Chapter 44

Lobelia felt embarrassed.

She first checked Jade’s condition because she needed to understand why his mood had suddenly turned sour.

“Are you angry?”

Examining his sharp, fierce gaze and seeing Jade’s crossed arms in displeasure, she concluded:

“Why are you angry?”

But she still didn’t know why.

“Um, Duke?”

Lobelia cautiously addressed Jade.

He sighed, wiped his face, leaned forward, and began to speak.

“I want you…”

He glanced at Lobelia’s composed expression and fell silent, as if at a loss for words.

Lobelia belatedly realized it. He was concerned about her.

As soon as she grasped that Jade was upset due to the recent threat by the goons, Lobelia felt a sense of unease.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

Lobelia stated that her tone was noticeably firm.

“Sylveston arrived before they could do anything… So the miners showed up, and all the gunmen were apprehended.”

Lobelia explained the situation in detail. She described how comical the gangsters had been, how quickly the miners had responded, and how angry Sylvester had been.

“So it’s as if nothing happened.”

Lobelia spoke in an emotionless tone, resembling that of a wind-up doll.

But Jade’s expression didn’t improve; in fact, it seemed to worsen.

“So, I…”

This time, Lobelia was rendered speechless.

It was because of Jade’s intense gaze.

He looked at Lobelia with eyes so piercing that they seemed capable of hurting someone. Lobelia couldn’t speak because those eyes appeared to be asking her if she was being sincere and if it truly meant nothing to her.

As Lobelia pretended to put away her leather case, she averted her gaze from Jade.

Jade breathed a sigh of relief when Lobelia turned away.

“So, you don’t want me to worry about you.”

Jade chuckled. It was a cold smile, devoid of joy or warmth. In fact, it felt more like an extension of his anger than laughter.

As Lobelia tensed and stiffened her shoulders, Jade sighed and let go of his sternness. However, an uncomfortable feeling still lingered between his furrowed brows.

Lobelia set her leather case down and met Jade’s eyes.

“Yes.”

She replied firmly. She wanted to make something clear.

“Alright.”

Jade rose from his seat.

“From now on, I’ll try not to interfere in your affairs.”

After uttering those words, Jade realized that he had been provoked, but there was no turning back. Moreover, Lobelia seemed somewhat relieved, as if his declaration had liberated her.

“Why?”

As Jade parted ways with Lobelia and left the White Whale Bar, doubts swirled within him.

“Why am I so angry?”

Initially, his anger had been directed at Lobelia for brushing off the incident as inconsequential, even after experiencing such harsh treatment.

Of course, he understood her reasoning.

Lobelia was quick to react to any display of kindness, and she despised being coddled. But he also knew it was a facade.

She was Lobelia, someone who resisted being looked after. She was afraid.

Jade had come to this realization during one of her dream therapy sessions.

She had said, “I’ll find someone. Just let go of my hand for now.”

“Trust me.”

“Me…?”

Lobelia’s deception had been glaring. Even though she had believed it, her dream self had been just as deceptive.

It was then that Jade deciphered the telltale signs of Lobelia’s lies.

When she fibbed, she became even more audacious than usual. Her eyes widened, her voice grew smoother, her posture straightened, and she made every effort to persuade her partner that she was telling the truth.

So, he understood.

Lobelia claimed to dislike being cared for, but that was a lie. She was actually afraid of her own vulnerability.

Yet he couldn’t fathom why.

“What’s wrong with my caring nature? Who wouldn’t want a man as harmless as me to show concern?”

Jade dove deeper into his own thoughts about Lobelia, thinking that he would find no disagreement from anyone else.

Whether she disliked it or feared it, it was evident that Lobelia was reluctant, so he made an effort not to exhibit unnecessary consideration.

It was challenging to suppress the gentlemanly instinct deeply ingrained within him, but he couldn’t help but act when she told him not to.

However, this incident had crossed a line. It wasn’t just about consideration anymore.

Even if it turned out to be an act, who wouldn’t worry if someone they cared about had been threatened by gunmen?

If he didn’t feel anything after hearing Lobelia’s account, he would be a cold-blooded individual unfit for the human world.

“Yes, anyone would have been angry.”

Jade came to a halt.

He realized that his concern for Lobelia, his struggle to properly convey it, and his frustration at her for rebuffing his care so clumsily were two distinct emotions.

Anyone could feel concerned.

But was his anger the same as that?

No.

There was another reason why his anger persisted. It was because Lobelia was not an ordinary person; she held a distinct significance in his life.

Because he cared about Lobelia…

Jade resumed his walk, contemplating this newfound revelation.

“Interest?”

He was taken aback by this unfamiliar term that popped into his mind.

Unknowingly, he found himself approaching Merdanion Boulevard.

The boisterous calls of merchants trying to attract customers echoed from all directions. The sound of miners’ boots hitting the ground, the clatter of wagon wheels, and the laughter of children playing in groups filled the air.

“Why do I care about her?”

He feigned ignorance and asked himself, but deep down, he knew the answer.

He had a rational interest in Lobelia.

“Huh, rational interest?”

Jade swiftly left the bustling main street and headed to the sole hotel in Merdanion.

He had heard that Lobelia was also staying there, but after briefly entertaining the pointless curiosity of her arrival, he entrusted his coat and bag to the staff and ascended to his room.

In the living room, Jade slumped into an armchair and began to reflect on his “romantic interest in Lobelia.”

It had probably begun from the moment they first crossed paths.

Not the first encounter Lobelia had anticipated, but the first one he had known about.

Jade recalled the hushed conversations of the people around him.

“Is that… the famous Duke of Perado?”

“Just as the rumors describe, he’s quite an extraordinary man.”

“But attacking his opponent even when victory is assured is a bit…”

After transforming into a beast during a swordsmanship competition and drawing attention due to some irritating gossip, he glanced at the audience. Unlike the rest, he had noticed a silver-haired woman looking down at him with an indifferent expression.

Oddly enough, Jade had found that woman rather intriguing.

She possessed silver hair that resembled frost and equally icy green eyes. Her striking features harmonized with her jewel-like green gaze, and her slender, more delicate frame set her apart from other girls her age. Her lips were resolutely sealed in a tight line.

It was at that moment that Jade realized for the first time that he could appear aloof even through his green eyes.

Despite the scorching sun, she wasn’t wearing a hat, allowing her silver hair to shimmer in the sunlight.

She bent down slightly. Aina Evelentia, reaching for a glass of cold water, belatedly caught Jade’s eye.

“Are you Aina Evelentia’s maid?”

It could have been seen that way by anyone.

With those thoughts, Jade ventured closer to his sister-in-law, offering her a bouquet of lisianthus with a faint smile. The flowers were tinged here and there with drops of blood.

“With this, Ferrado can save faces, brother,” Jade had told his own brother, who stood nearby, his sister-in-law’s face growing pale.

Jade knew that wielding the sword would unleash the demon inside him. So, even though he insisted he didn’t want to do it and suggested sending someone else, his older brother remained unmoved and insisted on Jade’s participation.

Resentment had brewed in Jade ever since he had been pushed out of the line of succession.

“Well done, Jade. Why are you so hesitant to engage in something you could easily win like this?”

His brother, oblivious to Jade’s curse, sounded carefree. If it weren’t for the fact that he was his brother, Jade might have considered punching him in the face.

Instead, Jade sighed inwardly and retraced his steps.

In the meantime, it was almost as if fate had intervened when he laid eyes on the silver-haired woman once more.

“No, was it really fate?”

As Jade reminisced about that moment, he placed his hand over his chest and pondered it earnestly.

To be honest, it couldn’t truly be called a coincidence that he had taken notice of Lobelia.

Perhaps it was because Lobelia’s appearance appealed to his own tastes, or maybe it was because he felt a kinship with her, being thrust into an unwanted situation and an awkward predicament.

Regardless, it wasn’t purely coincidental.

Lobelia held an empty glass, which she had taken from Aina Evelentia.

Jade frowned as he noticed Lobelia’s hand trembling slightly while holding the glass.

If it continues like this…

The very moment that thought crossed Jade’s mind, Lobelia collapsed.

“Oh!”

“Oh my goodness, someone has fallen!”

“What should we do?”

People made a commotion around the fallen Lobelia, but no one actively stepped forward to help her.

Everyone, including Aina, merely whispered among themselves, as if observing someone else’s affair.

Jade could have easily chosen indifference.

After all, this was an imperial family-hosted swordsmanship competition, and the imperial knights would soon arrive to attend to the fallen woman. A bit of shade and a sip of cold water, and she would wake up in no time.

“It’s none of my business,” Jade muttered under his breath.

But there was something peculiar about it. While it wasn’t his concern, and no one would fault him for pretending not to notice and walking on, Jade found himself involuntarily grasping the fallen woman’s shoulders and helping her up.

“Oh my, Duke, you didn’t have to trouble yourself like this. Did you rush over because you were concerned I might startle you?”

Beside her, Jade heard Aina muttering something, but he paid her no mind. He genuinely didn’t care what she had to say.

Jade ignored the chatter and allowed Lobelia to rest on his lap. He created a makeshift shade with his hands, sheltering her face from the sun. He also unfastened a few buttons of her maid’s uniform, which had been buttoned up to her neck.

Lobelia’s eyelids fluttered, revealing her emerald-green eyes.

Lobelia gazed at her own collapsed form, the nobles whispering all around her, and Jade’s concerned countenance looking down at her. She tilted her head in confusion.

“What is this…?”

Her words were slurred, a clear sign that Lobelia had not fully regained consciousness. It seemed unlikely that she would remember the events when she woke up later. Aina Eiffel Lentia, who didn’t even flinch when her own maid fell, didn’t appear inclined to share her good deed with this woman.

Despite knowing that the chances of hearing a thank you from Lobelia were slim, Jade tenderly embraced her and carried her to the lounge provided in the venue.

Afterward, nothing particularly eventful occurred. Jade watched as Aina and Josephine entered the common room accompanied by several members of the Imperial Knights, and he walked away.

It was at Countess Yarte’s party, held two months after the sword competition, that Jade finally heard Lobelia’s story.