To My First Love, With Regret - 74

At Owen’s bombshell declaration, Chantal turned a ghastly, horrified white. Eve, playing the part of a proud wife, flashed her ‘courageous’ husband a smile. Inwardly, however, she was marveling at her own handiwork.

She had eliminated Owen—without staining her own hands. Everything was proceeding exactly according to her calculations.

Unaware that he had been a mere pawn in Eve’s game, Ethan basked in his own perceived victory and led the applause.

—A magnificent decision, Doctor. I’ll personally escort you to the recruitment center tomorrow. Any of you who can spare the time should come along to cheer Dr. Kallas on.

He addressed the gathered officers before raising his glass high toward Owen.

—To the honor of Dr. Kallas, reborn today as a true man. Cheers!

With that, Ethan effectively cut off Owen’s retreat, ensuring he couldn’t back out of his declaration to head to the front lines.

Amidst the festive atmosphere of celebration, Chantal sat alone like a defeated player, her face frozen. She turned to the officers nearby.

—Since the battle in the south is over… I suppose the officers will be returning to the northern front now?

She didn’t voice her true question—Is Ethan Fairchild leaving?—but she couldn’t hide her desperate desire for the officers to vanish from her manor. The Army Colonel sitting next to her, a man far more cultured than the Dowager, hid a bitter smile as he answered.

—Most of them will, yes.

Chantal’s tense expression softened, but her relief was short-lived.

—However, a small force will remain here just in case.

—Is Ethan going back to the war?

Tony’s face crumpled as if he were about to burst into tears. Ethan chuckled and roughly ruffled the boy’s soft hair.

—Don’t worry. I’m staying here.

—Really?

In that moment, the atmosphere in the hall shifted subtly. The young Duke was following the man who had killed his older brother like an idol. While the others watched this strange bond with curious eyes, Chantal felt a fear bordering on suffocation.

—It makes me quite angry to see a commander as brilliant as Major Fairchild rotting away here in the rear.

—I share your sentiment, Dowager.

The other officers, thinking Chantal was offering a compliment, tried to support her but fell silent at her next reckless remark.

—Is it perhaps because of your background that the military is treating you poorly? I shall write to Her Majesty the Queen immediately and ask that the Major be sent to a position where he can properly earn glory.

Whether she wanted to send him to his death because her lover was going, or simply wanted to remove a rival for Tony’s affection, Eve knew the truth. Chantal was so cold-shouldered by the palace that she had never even met the Queen. Eve swallowed a sneer along with her wine.

Meanwhile, Ethan feigned humility with an air of arrogance.

—I appreciate the flattery, but I’ll pass on the solicitation. There are more than enough capable men at the front, so do not worry yourself.

The military brass wanted him bound—not in the rear, but at the blood-soaked front lines. However, Ethan was using his wealth to buy himself time.

His subordinates were clamoring to return to their ‘main business’ in the north now that the naval battle at Wilmer’s Bay was over.

Our business is important, yes. But I have a far grander venture right here at White Cliff.

Ethan tilted his wine glass and shifted his gaze toward the beautiful hostess at the head of the table. He moistened his dry lips with his tongue, watching her with the eyes of a predator marking a weakness in its prey.

He had expected a struggle, but since his return, Evelyn Sherwood had subtly changed. It was as if the prey that once guarded itself so fiercely was now recklessly exposing its vulnerabilities.

What could have caused such a change of heart?

But in his plan, the thoughts of the prey didn’t matter. Only the success of the hunt did.

Perhaps tonight, the long chase would finally end, and he would have his prize in his grasp. He let the red liquid roll slowly over his tongue, imagining the moment.

Once dinner ended, the party moved to the ballroom. Filled with music and spirits, it was a playground for adults, not a place for a child.

Yet even there, Tony clung to Ethan, who had attended without a partner, like a shadow. Eve tried to send him up to his room, but the boy stubbornly resisted.

—It’s late. You need to sleep.

—But I’m the highest-ranking person here!

—But you’re the youngest.

—When will I ever be a grown-up?

—If I could go back to being small, I’d enjoy all the sleep I’m currently losing.

—Being small is no fun at all.

—Anthony Sherwood, stop playing word games and get up.

Eve didn’t have time for persuasion tonight. When she finally forced him out, Tony burst into tears.

—Waaaaah! Eve is so mean!

My sweet child, I am always doing this for you.

Eve watched the boy’s retreating back as he was led up the stairs by a maid, rubbing his eyes. Then, she turned.

In that instant, her eyes met Ethan’s. He was standing in the shadows of the hallway, leaning against the wall. Held up before his eyes was the item Eve had secretly slipped him while pretending to bicker with Tony: a note with a location for a secret rendezvous.

Behind a plume of cigarette smoke, his blue eyes flashed dangerously. It was the look of a hunter coolly appraising a prey that had stepped into its own trap.

Except I’m the hunter.

Eve cast a secretive glance his way and turned her back on him, leading the ‘hunter’ toward the killing floor.

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Slap!

The moment they slipped into the empty drawing room, Chantal’s hand flew across Owen’s cheek.

—You idiot! Why on earth did you blurt that out? Did you really break your promise to me just because Ethan Fairchild baited you like a child?

It wasn’t just Chantal who opposed Owen’s enlistment. Hadn’t Owen himself feared the horrific life of being covered in blood, sawing through the limbs of others on the battlefield?

She expected him to be drowning in regret over his impulsive declaration, but instead, he refused to retract his foolish plan to enlist tomorrow, no matter how many times she struck him.

—You… why are you being so stubborn all of a sudden?

Chantal suddenly felt a sense of crisis that was qualitatively different from the fear of her lover’s death. It was the terror that everything was sliding out of her control—from Tony to Eve, who was slowly eroding her position. But now even Owen, the man she had dominated completely, dared to slip through her fingers.

—Are you trying to get away from me right now?

Suddenly, a memory of a moment when she had felt this exact same anxiety flashed through her mind.

—I am sorry, My Lady…. Your pain is entirely because I failed to serve you…. So please… punish me….

In an instant, Chantal’s eyes rolled back in fury, and she grabbed the back of Owen’s head like a wild animal.

—Don’t tell me… did you already replace your Queen with that bitch, Eve?

That she had only realized it now was proof enough that she was disqualified as a Queen.

She was exactly right that he had decided to enlist in a fit of pique. However, Owen had no intention of reversing his decision.

—Well done.

Just a moment ago, his true Queen had been greatly pleased and granted him her permission.

—It was so gratifying to see you give Ethan Fairchild a taste of his own medicine. Acting like a real man to uphold my prestige—that was truly worthy of a loyal hound.

At those words, Owen had trembled with a thrill as sharp as an invisible whip. But the Queen had not stopped at praise; she had promised him a reward of immense generosity.

—I expect you to prove on the battlefield that you are a man worthy of becoming the father of my child.

If he attained the prestige befitting Kentrell as a soldier, she would bear his child. Lady Evelyn herself, bearing the child of Owen Kallas.

He would become a medical officer no matter what it took. Grinding the blade of betrayal, Owen feigned obedience to the now-useless puppet Queen.

—How can you harbor such ridiculous suspicions? My Queen has only ever been you, Chantal.

His true Queen had commanded him not to let his change of masters be discovered just yet.

Chantal, unable to fully discard her doubt, scrutinized him venomously before suddenly shoving his head away and issuing a command.

—Then lick me, like a dog.

She spread her legs for him, offering her body as both a reward and a way to confirm that she was still his Queen. But as Owen went beneath her skirt, he didn’t taste a heavenly delicacy. Instead, he wore an expression as if he were licking a bitter, lethal poison.

He could no longer suppress the nausea. He pulled his head away before receiving permission, using his attempt to ‘convince’ her of his innocence as an excuse.

—Chantal, think about it. There’s no way Evelyn Sherwood is interested in me. Her taste isn’t for a cultured man like me; she wants a gutter-bred thug like Ethan Fairchild.

Since this was no longer the truth, the words didn’t twist his stomach to say. And just as Owen calculated, Chantal Garnier was distracted by a different fear.

—That man-crazy bitch might get swept up in the mood and sleep with him. I have to go back and watch them.