In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 75

During the Emperor’s address, Bellona leisurely savored the intense gazes from two women. Lopez stared daggers at her from nearby, while the Empress Violentia, seated a bit further away, fixed her with a murderous glare.

Meanwhile, Impes, seated right next to her at the round table, seemed wholly occupied with attempting to seduce Bellona.

“Come to my palace after tonight’s banquet. We should finish the meal we couldn’t last time.”

“I haven’t received Your Highness’s answer yet.”

“I’ll give you a definitive answer tonight.”

“What good is Your Highness’s answer alone? Even now, Her Majesty the Empress is glaring at me as if she wants me dead.”

Impes’s gaze shifted to Violentia. Seeing this, Bellona also turned her eyes toward the Empress. There seemed to be an icy tension between the two.

The man, who had been coldly staring at his mother, soon turned back to Bellona with a bright smile.

“I’m the one who will soon become the Emperor of this country. Who dares to defy my will?”

Bellona’s eyes briefly flickered at his uncharacteristic words.

Though she knew his statement was mere bluster, she had never expected Impes, who had never gone against Violentia’s will, to say such a thing.

At his bright smile, Bellona awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth. When she shifted her gaze slightly, she noticed Violentia giving orders to the captain of the guards standing behind her with an expression full of anger.

‘There’s definitely something going on between those two.’

Suddenly, the loud blare of a horn echoed through the air, drawing Bellona’s attention to the center of the grand training grounds.

Seeing the knights of the Valensis Order mounted on their horses with serious expressions reminded her of an unsettling dream she’d had.

A horrifying vision of the Valensis knights’ quarters drenched in blood.

She couldn’t tell if the dream was pointing to this place or to Caelus’s side, and the uncertainty made her all the more anxious.

If only they could have been together, she wouldn’t have been this worried.

At that moment, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

When she turned her head, she saw Net greeting Impes politely with his usual calm demeanor before bowing slightly toward her as if to indicate that it was nothing significant.

Understanding his signal, Bellona rose slowly from her seat, using the excuse of leaning toward the Camirus nobles to give her ear.

“Ether has returned. He took someone directly to the Empress’s palace.”

Finishing his quick, low-voiced report, Net discreetly handed something to her. Glancing around to ensure no one was watching, Bellona slipped it into her dress pocket. She was about to tell Net to keep an eye on the Empress’s palace when a maid suddenly approached.

“Her Majesty the Empress summons you.”

At the maid’s words, Impes, who had been sitting leisurely, shot to his feet.

“For what reason?”

The man, who now stood protectively in front of Bellona like a knight, suspiciously blocked her way. Though curious about his uncharacteristic behavior, Bellona calmed him.

“Your Highness, it’s Her Majesty’s command. Please allow me to go.”

Bellona glanced at the maid, whose narrowed eyes betrayed her impatience, before giving Impes a bittersweet smile.

“Will you be alright? Who knows what Mother might say to you again?”

“As long as Your Highness shows me conviction, I’ll be fine.”

Impes frowned deeply, as if displeased, but eventually let out a sigh and nodded.

“I’ll stay here, so don’t worry about a thing.”

Feeling moved by his words, Bellona nodded back before Lopez abruptly rose from her seat. She shot Bellona a disdainful look before storming off to join the group of young noblewomen.

“I didn’t know she could be so brazen.”

Watching Lopez briefly, Impes clicked his tongue before smiling softly at Bellona.

Even though his demeanor seemed too natural to be an act, Bellona remained vigilant.

“I’ll be back.”

Bellona followed the maid toward the direction Lopez had gone.

As soon as she left, Impes’s smile vanished. Tilting his head slightly, he intently watched her retreating figure.

***

Seated alone in a hostile room, Bellona stared blankly into the air, her expression indifferent.

Having heard tales of the noblewomen’s sharp tongues in her past life, experiencing them firsthand felt both absurd and amusing.

“Why didn’t His Highness come with you, Your Grace? Could it be that he was too embarrassed to join you?”

“Surely not. After all, I am married now.”

“More than that, I was hoping to see Your Grace in armor. Why are you wearing a dress?”

“Oh, Lady Marielle, come now. She’s not even participating in the hunt. What’s the point of armor? It’s just smelly and unattractive clothing.”

The young noblewomen bombarded her with childish and mocking questions, their focus clearly aimed at her status as a former common knight.

Since Violentia had crafted this stage specifically to target her, the naive noblewomen seemed determined to fulfill their roles by relentlessly ridiculing Bellona.

If she were an ordinary woman, the blatant hostility would have reduced her to tears or driven her to flee.

But Bellona, who had long endured malicious rumors and scornful gazes, found their efforts merely amusing.

Just as expected, as if she had been waiting, Lopez opened her mouth.

“I wonder if His Grace the Grand Duke knows that the Grand Duchess is the type to flirt with other men.”

Having tuned out the chatter and stared into space until now, Bellona smiled faintly as she turned to Lopez.

Sure enough, one of the noblewomen eagerly took the bait.

“Oh my! Are you saying the Grand Duchess has another man?”

Her loud exclamation drew the attention of nearby nobles.

“Marielle, lower your voice.”

“Ah… Apologies, Mother. Forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Marielle bowed her head awkwardly, while Violentia, who had been quietly sipping her tea, finally set down her cup and gave a bitter smile.

“There’s no need for apologies, Lady Marielle. If it’s true, then anyone would be shocked.”

Violentia’s bright red eyes bore into Bellona, as if daring her to explain herself.

“Do you have nothing to say, Grand Duchess?”

When Violentia blatantly asked the question, Bellona suddenly put on a tearful expression, appealing her innocence.

“I deeply regret causing such baseless concerns for Your Majesty. But this is truly unjust. Flirting? How could I ever tarnish the honor of the imperial family?”

“Are you accusing me of lying before the Empress? You were clearly flirting with His Highness the Crown Prince right in front of me—”

“Lopez!”

At the mention of the Crown Prince, Countess Louvre hurriedly stepped in to silence her daughter.

As expected, Violentia’s brow furrowed.

She had been waiting for Bellona to mention Impes, but Lopez’s outburst brought him into the spotlight first.

Having observed Violentia’s methods of ruining people in the past, Bellona skillfully redirected the conversation. Knowing Lopez’s fiery temper well, she played innocent and feigned ignorance. Predictably, Lopez reacted just as Bellona had anticipated.

Lopez, now visibly flustered, alternated between looking at the Empress and glaring sharply at Bellona.

Suppressing a laugh, Bellona adopted an apologetic expression and gently coaxed the still-clumsy young noblewoman.

“It seems Lady Lopez misunderstood. As everyone knows, I was a knight of the Imperial Order. His Highness was merely showing familiarity to a subordinate he hadn’t seen in a long time.”

“That’s a lie.”

Lopez, who had overheard their earlier conversation, widened her eyes and countered loudly.

Though Countess Louvre tried to silence her daughter again, Lopez, now consumed by anger, blurted out everything she had heard.

“You said you’d go to his chambers whenever he called! Didn’t you?”

“Did I?”

“Ha! How dare you deny it after seducing him right in front of me!”

“…How dare I?”

Bellona’s previously calm expression turned icy. Narrowing her eyes, she stared down Lopez, who, despite flinching, glared back, emboldened by her supposed advantage.

As the atmosphere froze, the noblewomen and their mothers anxiously watched Violentia’s reaction.

“I can no longer overlook Lady Lopez’s rudeness. Did you truly use the word ‘dare’ to address an imperial family in the presence of Her Majesty?”

Realizing her mistake, Lopez began to panic. Just as Bellona was about to press her further, Violentia intervened.

“Hmm, it seems Lady Lopez is quite upset. But surely, the Crown Prince wouldn’t succumb to the Grand Duchess’s seduction.”

Violentia’s remark, framing Bellona as the seducer while protecting her son’s honor, made Bellona want to laugh.

Having come this far, she was prepared to further drive a wedge between mother and son when a familiar voice rang out from afar.

“Your Grace the Grand Duchess!”

A chill ran down her spine.

As the commotion grew louder, Bellona slowly turned her head.

Her heart sank as she spotted Lycaon approaching from the distance, covered in blood and limping.