# 26 -
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Devouring a piece of meat, Jeremy looked genuinely happy.
As for Seret, as she watched him, she felt as if her insides were boiling.
“How could you swallow this?…If only you weren’t my brother.”
Syrette was holding a knife and looking at Jeremy with a pitiful expression.
Jeremy came to Serret to tell her he got the title document back. He proudly announced that he had successfully brought her back without their father knowing about it.
While Seret was asking him about different things, Yuan caught them both.
Seret quickly tried to send Jeremy away, but Yuan brought him to the palace, suggesting that Jeremy stay with them for a few days.
Jeremy, who seemed to have been robbed of even his dignity, readily accepted Yuan's offer.
Not only that, but he also agreed to attend the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the emperor's coronation with them a few days later.
“It is an honor for the family. For Seret to receive the Emperor’s Medal!”
Jeremy Liyuan said with a face full of emotion. A man without any feelings. Syrett looked at Jeremy with a sharp look.
I'm getting married, and risking my life, because of you. Is receiving the Emperor's Medal that great?
'That's the price of my life, Jeremy.'
Seret gritted her teeth as she sipped her wine. Yuan saw the quickly emptying wine cup in front of Seret, so he raised his hand to summon a servant.
A servant approached and filled Seririth's empty cup with wine.
“After the thirtieth anniversary celebration, Seret and I will go to Mushli to visit the Baron. You should come with us then.”
Yuan made sure that Seret's cup was full, then talked to Jeremy.
Since Seret proposed to speed up the marriage, Yuan's nickname for her changed from Miss Enohater to Seret.
In her previous life, Yuan had always called her “Miss Enohater” and “Duchess,” so hearing him call her by her name seemed very strange to her. Sometimes it gave her goosebumps.
"I have to go back to Cervi. I can't postpone my studies any longer."
Jeremy spoke with an embarrassed face.
“When you get back, just focus on your studies, Jeremy. Don't look at anything else.”
Seret said through clenched teeth. When she warned him with her eyes that she wouldn't tolerate him if he caused trouble again, Jeremy trembled.
“N-Yes, of course.”
Jeremy laughed sheepishly and began eating the steak seriously again.
“Seret, have you lost your appetite?”
While she was holding the fork and knife without touching her food, she heard Yuan's voice.
Yuan's face was serious as he looked at Siret's almost untouched plate.
“Yes, seeing my brother after such a long time completely ruined my appetite.”
At Syrett's words, Jeremy choked and started coughing. Jeremy drank his wine quickly and wiped his lips with a napkin.
“It's delicious, why don't you eat, Seret? Don't worry about your brother.”
"I'm so glad to see you. My appetite is completely gone, Jeremy."
Seret smiled weakly as she looked at Jeremy.
“It seems that the two brothers have something to talk about, so I will leave now.”
Yuan seemed to sense the strange atmosphere between them and got up from his seat.
Jeremy looked at him with pleading eyes, shaking his head begging him not to leave.
But Yuan, either didn't see Jeremy's gaze or pretended not to see it, and left the table.
The attendant servant had also withdrawn, leaving Seret and Jeremy alone in the dining room.
When everyone left, Syrett stared at Jeremy and hit the table with her fist.
Jeremy was surprised and froze as he grabbed the knife and brush.
“Is that food going down your throat, Jeremy?”
Syrett looked at Jeremy with eyes burning with anger.
“Seret, Miss must not hit the table with her fist.”
Jeremy swallowed the piece of meat in his mouth and spoke.
“I can't hit my brother with my fist, can I?”
“N-Yes. Miss should not hit her brother. Don’t worry, Seret. I returned the title document safely without my father knowing. He will never know. So don’t worry.”
“I am worried that the palace will be confiscated before the money is secured.”
This thought kept Seret from sleeping at night. She was very worried that her father would suddenly end up on the streets.
"Oh, don't worry about it. It'll never be confiscated."
Jeremy shook his head and smiled wryly. His confident tone was truly annoying. Siret opened her eyes wide as she looked at his provocative face.
“How do you know that, brother?”
“Okay, Aldo-Al, there's an official order. Something preventing confiscation.”
"You're the only one who's comfortable. I feel like a rock on my chest. Jeremy, eat plenty and stay comfortable."
Feeling like her stomach was turning at Jeremy's indifference, Seret finally stood up.
As she was leaving the dining room and walking up the stairs, Yuan suddenly appeared beside her.
“You scared me.”
Surprised by his sudden appearance, Seret stumbled, and Yuan quickly grabbed her arm. Yuan smiled slightly as he looked at the surprised Seret and said:
“Have you finished your meal?”
“I have no appetite anymore.”
Seret answered in a slightly dry tone. Both Jeremy and Yuan were people she hated to look at.
“Mrs. Varney is coming tomorrow. I called her because I thought you would need a dress for the celebration.”
“And while you're at it, please call a jeweler as well.”
Seret's eyes sparkled at Yuan's words. To take everything I could from Yuan, that was her thinking at that moment.
Yuan laughed again at Seret's bold request. He nodded slightly and said, “Okay.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Siririth smiled, thinking that she should choose the most expensive jewelry.
***
Tears fell from her blue eyes.
Lydia looked up at the Emperor with a face that evoked his protective instinct.
Every time his daughter looked at him with that look, the Emperor's heart was torn. My poor child.
“Dad, are you really going to give the personal letter and medal to Yuan?”
Lydia's voice trembled lightly.
When she heard that the personal letter from the Emperor and the medal would go to Yuan and his fiancée Siret, she was overcome with unbearable anger.
Why should that honor go to the insignificant Seret Enohater? Not only did that despicable woman obtain a yuan, she was now also receiving the emperor's blessing.
“My child, this is inevitable.”
The Emperor looked at Lydia with a face full of regret. Although she was the daughter of a concubine, Lydia was to him his only precious daughter.
He couldn't recognize Lydia as a princess because of people's eyes, but she was dearer to him even than the Crown Prince.
“I don’t want that, Dad. I’ve already lost Yuan, and I don’t want to see that woman receive the personal letter and medal.”
Lydia buried her face in the Emperor's lap and burst into tears.
The Emperor extended his old, wrinkled hand and patted Lydia on the head.
“Lidya, when you cry, your father’s heart breaks.”
The Emperor calmed her down with a gentle voice.
“I love Yuan. I want him all for me.”
Lydia raised her head and looked at the Emperor.
Although she was not recognized as a princess, Lydia, who had been raised to love the Emperor excessively, was able to have everything she desired.
She could have anything, but Yuan Freaktwister was different.
No matter how much she wanted him, he was someone she could never have.
Lydia had begged the emperor to marry her to Yuan, but Yuan was attached to a girl he should marry.
Daughter of the Enohater family. Yuan Lidya refused on the grounds that he had to marry the daughter of a lowly family she had never heard of.
The reason was rather grand, a beautiful repayment of a life debt owed to his father.
"My child, forget Duke Frecktwister. I will find you a much better man."
"If it's not Yuan, I don't want anyone. It has to be Yuan."
The best man in the Iron Empire. If not that man, she doesn't want anyone.
“I always deserve the best. Who else should be at Yuan’s side? No one is more worthy of the status of Duchess Freaktwister than me.”
This was a conviction deeply rooted in Lydia's mind for a long time. Since her childhood, she had always believed that Yuan was the most suitable for her.
The only person who deserves it is Yuan. The status of Duchess of Freaktwister should belong only to her.
“My poor child, there are things this father cannot do for you.”
The Emperor's heart ached as he saw Lydia crying.
That damned man. The Emperor gritted his teeth, remembering Yuan's face, who had rejected him so sharply.
When Emperor Yuan suggested that he marry Lydia, the latter flatly refused.
He mentioned something about the Savior's Daughter and reasons like that, but in fact there was another reason.
The Emperor understood Yuan's reasons as Duke of Frecktwister, that as the Duke he would not be able to accept Lidya, but he was still upset.
Why did Lydia end up this way? If Lydia's mother had received proper treatment in hospital before taking that medication, this would not have happened.
All of this happened because of the inefficiency of the hospital owned by the Frecktwister family. So, naturally they should take responsibility for my daughter, but he is evading this way?
He wanted to force the marriage, but he could not antagonize the Fricktwister family. Half of the imperial family's operating funds come from them.
It was not an exaggeration to say that the Imperial Family was under the protection of the Freaktwister Family.
In such a situation, the Emperor had no choice but to watch Lydia suffer helplessly.
“How can I see you dedicating the personal letter and medal to them? How can I see you blessing them with your own hands?”
Lydia's shoulders trembled as she cried.
She was on the verge of madness after the Yuan she wanted so badly was taken away from her by a worthless girl.
In fact, the fact that Seret was only a country girl made it worse. She thought Seret couldn't compete with her, but when she saw it for herself, that wasn't the case.
Siret was not what the rumors described. She was beautiful, and elegance ran in her blood. Above all, it suited Yuan perfectly.
It seemed that others also saw this; At the last concert, I heard people whispering that the two looked great together.
Lydia couldn't stand that voice. She wanted to scream “no.”
Yuan suits me, not Seeret Enohater. I'm the one you should be by his side.
“My child, there are things in the world that cannot be avoided.”
The Emperor wiped away Lydia's tears and spoke in a voice full of sorrow.
At those words, Lydia pursed her lips tightly.
'No, dad. I won't give up yet. Yuan has been mine from the beginning.'
Lydia completely wiped away the remaining tears.
She will not stand idly by and watch Yuan marry Syriet.
She will get back the Yuan that was stolen from her, no matter what the cost.
An angelic smile appeared on Lydia's face as she thought.