Raising my Fiancè with Money

Chapter 79: Downfall of the Tersians

Chapter 12

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The exhibition ended without a hitch.
Lilia had planned to take a few days off after this.
But if there’s something she didn’t expect…….

—I’ll only be working through my sponsor, Lilia Bloden.

It was Vanessa’s bombshell.
Since then, there has been a flood of letters to Count Bloden to request her work.

In the midst of the frenzy, Lilia politely declined people’s requests.
It was because she thought she had to choose carefully as it was her first time.
While Lilia agonized, the value of the painting increased.

A painting recognized by a court painter, a genius painter, a great newcomer…….
Those words followed.
As a result, even those who did not see the work became interested.

Of course, there were many who looked down on Vanessa.
The upright aristocrats did not accept the fact that paintings by a woman of commoner origin and no literary background was popular.

Even existing painters were jealous of Vanessa, who had never learned painting properly.
So Lilia decided to extend the exhibition period.
She wanted more people to see Vanessa’s work.

People who heard the rumor came to the exhibition, and everyone couldn’t shut up when they saw the painting.
No one dared to say anything about her skills.
The controversy seemed to end that way.

—I’m sorry…….

Vanessa was restless, saying she didn’t expect things to get this big.
She delegated authority to repay Lilia, but she was sorry that she put Lilia under so much strain.

Lilia reassured Vanessa that it was okay.
It was a little annoying because the letters poured out beyond her control, but it was evidence that Vanessa trusted Lilia.

Besides, the high-ranking officials were contacting her first…… She thought she could take advantage of it later.
Of course, Vanessa’s opinion is the most important.

“I’m done replying…….”

Lilia put down her pen and got up from her seat.
After leaving the main building, Lilia headed to the annex.
As the class was over, she made eye contact with Karhan, who came out of the study room.

“Karhan!”

As Lilia called him warmly, Karhan’s expression softened.

“Do you have time from now on?”

“Yes, the last class was just over.”

“Do you want to go see it together?”

Karhan tilted his head.

“We have a contest to select the escort knight today.”

“Ah…!”

Karhan nodded quickly because he had been familiar with it since before.
Lilia and Karhan headed straight to the training arena.
When they arrived, the game was in full swing.

“Miss!”

The knights who discovered Lilia appeared in a rush, erected an iron pole and installed a huge awning.
It was so quick and fast that even if they were in the military, it would not be this much.

Lilia sat in the chair they had prepared.
Someone even handed over a lemonade.
Lilia and Karhan watched the game while drinking cool lemonade. 

The preliminary round is played as a match for the winners, but it has been quite a while since the match started, and only the talented ones seemed to remain.

After one match, Frances entered the field.
Lilia didn’t cheer for anyone on the outside, but inside, she wanted Frances to win.
Since they had been together for years, she couldn’t help but feel that.

As Lilia wished, Frances overtook the opponent in just two shots and finished the match.
After the next match, Lilia asked Karhan a question.

“Karhan, what did you talk about with the elder last time?”

“It’s just that… He apologized for the misunderstandings until now.”

Karhan recalled that day for a moment.
The elders of the Duke of Evantheon were divided into two.
Those who supported the eldest son, Blair, and those who did not.

Those who did not support, pushed Karhan as the successor.
It was not to follow him from the bottom of their hearts but to establish him as a puppet.
If Karhan, who did not receive the successor class, becomes a Duke, it will be easier for the elders to interfere.

And the elder who talked to Karhan was neutral.
He didn’t support Blair, but he didn’t like Karhan either.
It was because Karhan seemed too passive and unmotivated to confront the eldest son, Blair.
However, he seemed to see Karhan differently after this time.

When Karhan narrated the scene to Tession, he was overjoyed.
Tession exclaimed that he should get at least one person to their side.

“He said let’s talk more next time we get a chance.”

“That’s good.”

Karhan, who was looking at Lilia, who was happy as if it were her job, only touched his finger still.

Finally, the last match was played.
Frances, who survived to the end, and a knight who looked strong stood in front of each other.
Not long after the match began, two swords collided.

Karhan paid attention to Frances.
He was like a fish in water.
He was fighting against a knight who looked twice as big as him, but he didn’t feel like there was too much pressure at all.

Frances made a quick attack and pulled himself away.
The reaction speed was great, he knew in advance where the sword was flying and prepared for it. 

He was on the slender side, so he was playing with his speed.
It was the opposite of Karhan, who had power over speed.

Karhan’s fingertips, as he watched, became numb.
His hands were itching to grab the sword.

“……Very strong.”

“He’s the strongest knight I know.
Oh, except for my mother.”

From start to finish, the flow of the game revolved around Frances.
He pushed his opponent away as if playing with a toy.
As his blows flowed endlessly, the opponent knight’s arms bent more and more inward.

Chiiiiing, the dull sound of the blade resonated throughout the field.
The tip of Frances’s sword pointed at the opponent’s neck.
As the knight lowered his sword as a sign of surrender, Malek, who was watching the judgment, declared,

“The winner of this year’s preliminary round is Frances.”

“That guy again.”

“I’m sick and tired of it!”

As the knights booed playfully, Frances grinned and shouted,

“You’ve all become so relaxed! Let’s practice harder!”

“You cheeky bastard.”

“I’ll win next year!”

The knights showed no signs of displeasure even though they were defeated by the much younger Frances.
Rather, they laughed off Frances’s provocation.
Frances, who wiped his sweat with the towel Malek gave him, ran to Lilia.

“Miss! I won!”

Frances shouted with his arms bouncing up and down.
Lilia smiled a little at the innocent look that didn’t look like someone who had just fought several battles.

“You’ve improved in the meantime.”

“I practiced a lot”

Frances stuck out his chest proudly.
As Lilia poured out compliments, Frances grinned.
He spoke to Karhan, who was sitting next to Lilia.

“The Lord is here too! How was my game?”

“It was a good game.
I learned a lot from it.”

Karhan spoke frankly about what he felt.
After receiving the praise, Frances was proud.
He secretly regarded Karhan as a competitor. 

It was because they both had one thing in common: they were Violet’s pupils.
It felt good to be recognized by a competitor.

“But I didn’t expect it to start in earnest like this.”

At this scale, it was almost at the level of a regional game.
Lilia answered Karhan’s words instead.

“It’s a rule set by my parents.
My escort must be the strongest one.”

Lilia continued, slowly lowering her eyes.

“Honestly, my family is famous.
So, there were a lot of things that happened in the past.
Threats, kidnappings…….”

Without realizing it, Karhan tightened his grip on the armrest of the chair.
The armrest of the chair snapped and broke.
Frances looked at Karhan in surprise.

“……I’m sorry.
I’ll pay you back.”

“No, the armrest must have been weak.”

Lilia brushed it off lightly, but Frances still opened his mouth.
Because he knew how hard the armrest of that chair was.
Frances was examining the chair, trying to figure out how Karhan broke it, meanwhile, Lilia opened her mouth,

“Congratulations on your victory, Frances, and please take care of me for a year.”

“Oh, yes! I’ll do my best to help you.”

The two people’s eyes looking at each other were full of trust.
Karhan suddenly envied Frances. 

If I were Lilia’s escort, I’d be able to stay with her……

I won’t have to be anxious because I don’t know when this relationship will end. 

Apparently, being Lilia’s escort was better than being the Duke’s successor.

As he was thinking about that, his eyes met with Frances.
Frances was startled and alternated his gaze between the armrests of the severed chair and Karhan.

Karhan didn’t know what kind of face he was making, so he belatedly corrected his expression.
Lilia, who didn’t see the two of them, clapped her hands.

“Since you all worked hard, let’s eat something delicious today!”

The knights all cheered at the group dinner.

***

Dark clouds fell on the family of the Marquis of Tersian.
After the Marquis was sentenced to probation, the Marquis family ran out of money.

Marquis Tersian, who had been in public service for generations, did not have enough money.
So he used to take bribes and tried to curry favours, but after the corruption case broke out, everything was cut off.
It was because he had blocked Heinley’s promotion.

At least he pulled all the money he had and invested it in his wife’s business, but it was like pouring water into a bottomless jar. 

The Marchioness, whose business was on the verge of bankruptcy, was set to sell her mansion.
When the Marquis refused, asking whether she went crazy, she went on a hunger strike and laid in bed.

In Siona’s case, she made a loan in the name of her husband and invested in her mother’s business, but they both went bankrupt. 

She escaped from her husband’s anger and fled to the Marquis.
All Siona did was snoop around to see if there was anything worth money in the mansion.

The whole family was in a bad situation, but the worst of them all was Richard.
In the case of Richard, he was not allowed to go out of the house. 

Everyone was talking about him when he went out.
Richard, whose reputation was so low that he had to listen to all the curses for the rest of his life, went crazy.

“Damn it……!”

He got angry again and threw the bottle he was holding.
The bottle that hit the wall broke with a bang.
Cheap alcohol, which he would never have touched before, slowly soaked the carpet.

No matter how much he drank, the humiliation he suffered at the banquet hall did not disappear from his mind.
He kept thinking of the people pointing fingers and laughing at him.

In the midst of his troubled days, Lilia was sending in the break-up agreement every day.
It was silent pressure.
Since she made him promise in front of everyone, she urged him to sign the break-up agreement quickly.

“Do you think I’m going to break off the engagement this easily? No way!!”

Richart ran wild as if he saw Lilia in front of him. 

Who are you going to break off the engagement for? 

I won’t sign it even if I am threatened with a knife on my neck.

Richard, who had been swearing for a long time, stood in front of the closet with staggering steps.
There was a coat hanging in the empty closet.
Even after selling all the valuable items, only one suit was left.
It was Richard’s last pride.
Who knows when he’ll go again to a banquet.

Richard missed the golden past.
Recalling that time, Richard raised one of his lips crookedly.

“Yes, I’ll break the engagement.”

He muttered in a dreary voice.

“If you give me money.”

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