"You bastard-! I trusted you, and this is how you repay me? I will kill you-"

Valary tried to jump at Kael and strangle him, but Kael’s magic stopped her mid-air. All eyes turned to look at Valary and Kael, waiting to see what would happen next.

"Let me go! I said...free me..."

Valary tried to break the bonds that held her in place, and she even used her magic to break free. But the bindings refused to give, no matter what she did. She finally realized that she had fucked up.

Kael sighed as he looked at her with eyes filled with pity.

"Miss Valary, you are a really capable person and someone I feel deserves a lot of respect. So it’s a pity that you made so many bad choices during your life. Hopefully, you will be able to do things better next time."

Valary looked at Kael with eyes that threatened to burn him alive.

"Don’t say those words to me! This is all your fault! You are the one who gave me false hope in the first place. If not for you, then I wouldn’t be in this mess-"

"But you are the one who tried to use me. Doesn’t that make us even now?"

Kael’s words made Valary go quiet.

She knew that she was the one who had approached him to use him, and she was also the one who planned everything, dragging others along with her. But that did not mean she was ready to accept that this was her fault.

In her mind, she had been in the right all this time. She refused to believe that she was wrong or that she was the problem here.

"I only did what I had to do to ensure the safety and prosperity of our people. The Duke is an emotionless fool who never listens to his people. He rejects all our projects and drives us into a corner. So, what was I supposed to do?"

Valary asked in a tired and angry voice.

She was pinning all the blame on Adrian now, wanting to gain some sympathy. However, her tactic backfired, and instead of feeling sorry for her, Kael just sighed and shook his head.

"I have no idea what gave you the impression that Adrian does nothing for our people. I went through all the policies he rejected, and it was easy to see why he did that. They sounded foolish, even to me."

Kael explained, and before Valary could say anything, he continued.

"I mean, mining magical ores sounds like a good idea, but your proposal has no safety measures in place and offers no benefits to the workers undertaking such dangerous jobs. Moreover, you have no concept of workplace safety and are simply looking to exploit cheap labor. How is any of that supposed to be acceptable?"

Valary looked at Kael for the first time without a filter clouding her judgment. And instead of a naive young fool, she saw a man with shrewd eyes and far too much experience.

Kael was picking apart aspects of her proposal that she had never even considered while presenting it to Adrian.

And honestly, why should a noble like her be concerned with a commoner’s life or suffering? Wouldn’t they be happy as long as they were paid on time?

"Why does this matter-"

Sigh

"So you won’t correct your ways even now. This is why my brother cannot be bothered to deal with you. Miss Valary, goodbye. May we never have to meet again."

Kael waved her off, and Valary kept struggling until the very end to get what she wanted.

Unfortunately for her, this was the end.

Kael stretched his body to get rid of the stiffness in it. He knew he needed to get back into shape since his time to leave this estate was finally approaching.

But his body felt warm, and he had a feeling he had spoken more than he should have.

Kael pushed himself to move, but his body suddenly felt heavy, and his eyes threatened to close.

"Huh? Am I coming down with something?"

Kael asked, and the last thing he saw was someone running toward him before he lost consciousness. He was sure his body hit the ground, but he could not remember anything afterward.

...

In the hall, everyone let out a sigh of relief as Lady Valary was taken into custody. She was still yelling, demanding justice, but no one was interested in helping her anymore.

Instead, they were all worried about Kael, who had suddenly collapsed for no apparent reason.

Emma, who was close enough to him, grabbed his shirt before Kael’s face could hit the ground. But she looked worried for her younger brother as she tried to protect him from the fall.

"I will take Kael back to the medical wing. I think he might have collapsed because he pushed himself too hard these past few months. Exhaustion must have finally caught up with him."

Emma told the others before taking Kael back to his bed. The doctor on standby quickly examined Kael before making a serious face and looking back at Emma.

"Doctor, is Kael alright? He collapsed all of a sudden. What do I need to do to cure him?"

Emma demanded an answer, and the doctor looked just as grim as she did.

"Miss Emma, Sir Kael’s condition is far more serious than we expected. In fact, it is something that could end his social life as a noble."

The doctor’s words frightened Emma even more. She wanted to shake him and force him to explain further.

Luckily for her, the doctor continued on his own.

"Miss Emma, Sir Kael is allergic to alcohol. He is going to suffer like this anytime he consumes anything containing alcohol. I am afraid he won’t be able to enjoy noble parties ever again. What a tragic fate Sir Kael has."

The doctor looked sorry for Kael, and Emma felt sorry for her younger brother’s social life as well.

But at least he was alive, and that was all that mattered.

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