Chapter 62: Confrontation

With a dangerous air, Richard shielded me and stepped forward, glaring at him.

“You are—”

“I am Richard Claudius, the fiancé of Electra Vent.
I have no intention of showing mercy to someone who directs malice at her.
A man who divorced her, became a stranger to her, and then married another woman has no right to casually call her by name.
She has nothing to do with you.
Viscount Carlson.
If you cannot even understand that, then be silent and go somewhere else.”

Ah.
He’s basically saying in advance what Harried himself might have said.

Well, whether he would actually say something like that is another matter.

You know how it often goes, right?
Things like, “This has nothing to do with you, so shut up.”

For some reason, it’s often the one who caused the divorce who says it.

Maybe that’s a prejudice, but it’s practically a rule that people who cheat somehow get angry while putting themselves on a pedestal.

And even if the other side tries to say, “Let’s calm down and talk this through,” and calmly lays out the issues logically, the cheater just ends up exploding in anger anyway.

I’m not saying Harried was that kind of person based on past interactions.
This is just a general observation.

Once someone commits infidelity, it’s better to deal with them as if they are that kind of person.

Faced with Richard’s threat, delivered with a hand on his sword, Harried’s momentum was clearly broken.

Good.
We crushed his opening move.
Letting him barge in shouting and seize the pace would have been troublesome.

So now, what next?

We’ve shown force and created room for dialogue.
Does that mean it’s my turn to speak?

Of course, there are things I want to say to him.

But honestly, would saying them now really get through to him?
I doubt it.

If my complaints just pass straight through his head while he’s in this state, then speaking now would be nothing but wasted effort.

“I find it unpleasant that you would even speak to Electra.
As her fiancé, I am telling you this.
I will say it as many times as necessary.
Do not call her by name.
You have no such right.
Call her Lady Vent, Viscount.”

Richard continued to menace Harried like a mad dog.

This isn’t how he usually acts.
He’s normally gentle, after all.

But I understand that seeming meek in situations like this is dangerous.
In that case, acting like a rabid dog is far more reassuring.

I think Richard understands that as well.

Harried appeared before us carrying anger.
So we show even greater anger first.

…Even if it turns into a confrontation right here.

There is no need to aim for a peaceful resolution.

After all, our patron, Lady Katarina, is the type to say, “Teach them a lesson.”

Maybe not in those exact words, but you get the idea.

“Richard, thank you.
I have no intention of speaking with Viscount Carlson here.
There’s no reason for me to hear his side, so shall we go?”

“Yes.
There’s no need to waste time on such an unpleasant man.”

“Fufu, exactly.
More importantly, why don’t we plan how to spend our time in town?”

I deliberately chose the line, “I have no intention of dealing with him.”

Across all times and places, people like this only bring loss if you engage with them.

Even so, I sometimes wonder if there really was no other way to handle my ex-husband.

“W-wait—”

“Don’t call her by name.”

I cut him off sharply, sounding mildly annoyed rather than overtly threatening.

There was clearly no intention of listening.
That couldn’t be helped.

Honestly, if he stubbornly insists on calling me by name, then we could just keep replying, “Please don’t call me by name,” over and over.

Yes.
Let’s do that.

Harried looked exquisitely humiliated at being cut off.

It seemed he had already lost the angry words he intended to unleash at the start.

Judging from his expression, his thoughts were drifting toward things like,
“What’s wrong with me calling her by name?”

Well, I can’t read minds.

But his desire to stop me, mixed with irritation at being forbidden from using my name, made his mouth open and close uselessly.

It was almost comical.

At that point, I looked at Harried with as cold an expression as I could manage.

Not glaring.
Just detached.
Devoid of emotion.

“…!”

That made him lose his words and falter.

Unable to overwhelm us with momentum, he realized that I—who he assumed would simply absorb his harsh words—was feeling an anger stronger than his own.

Now, perhaps, my words would finally reach him.

“How dare you show your face before me so casually, Viscount Carlson.”

“…!
What did you say?
You’re the one who unilaterally forced the divorce—!”

His voice was noticeably less aggressive than before.

Richard’s presence really does make a difference.

“Are you really trying to argue that point?
Did you think I was the only one who had prepared divorce papers back then?
Do you truly believe I didn’t know?
You happily returned to the mansion with your mistress in tow, didn’t you?
You intended to present me with divorce papers bearing your own name.
I hear that half of the Carlson household staff have already left you.
If we were to revisit the past and argue about who was at fault, we would call upon their testimony as well.
You understand which of us would be at a disadvantage, don’t you?
In our former marriage, the one in the wrong was the Viscount Carlson who committed adultery.”

I pressed on relentlessly.
I said what I wanted to say and did not let him speak.

I wasn’t interested in hearing his side.

It was the same approach I took with Lady Livia.

“…!
Since when did you start acting like this—”

“You?
If you can’t use my name, is that what you resort to?
No manners.
No respect.
Then you truly aren’t worth speaking to.
…Don’t mess with me, you cheating bastard.”

Here, I let even more anger show on my face.

“Wha—”

“What is wrong with you and your wife?
I’m the one who has the right to be angry.
The first thing you should have done was apologize to me.
How dare you approach me as if we were on friendly terms?
How dare you confront me with anger?
Don’t underestimate me, Harried Carlson!”