Don’t Trample on Innocent Love

At that moment.

Robern let out a hollow laugh as the cold wind brushed his forehead. It was well past midnight, and he hadn’t seen a single strand of Ophelia’s hair.

He had been waiting for Ophelia for an hour.

“Is this how you’re going to stand me up?”

Robern finally accepted the reality that Ophelia would not come.

When the time had passed ten minutes, he had considered the possibility that she might not show up. He believed that the Ophelia he knew was not the kind of woman who would make him wait. A girl who would come early and wait for him was simply not a possibility, and doubt had crept in.

Still, he thought, it can’t be true, it can’t be. After denying reality for so long, Robern finally admitted his defeat.

Tap, tap. He looked up as raindrops fell from above.

Now it was even raining. Just great… Dammit.

His aide, Philip, rushed over with an umbrella. Not wanting to be bothered by him, Robern ignored him and climbed into the carriage.

The carriage back to the duke’s residence was silent. Philip discreetly rolled his eyes to gauge Robern’s mood. His expression was perfectly blank.

‘He must be really angry. If I speak now, I’ll have to deal with his wrath.’

“Have you found out anything about that despicable conman?”

Philip, who had been quietly staring out the window in silence, didn’t realize he was talking to me, and when I retorted, he said, “What?” a beat too late. Robern stared at Philip, his expression tightening and his brow furrowed.

It was his way of telling him to answer.

It took Philip a few moments of quick thinking before he realized who “that despicable conman” referred to.

“Oh, are you talking about Hugo Denix? I thought you seemed busy, so I was waiting for the right moment. Would you like to see the documents?”

“Summarize it briefly.”

“Yes, first, Hugo Denix was born and raised in the southern village of Pildon. His father, a miner, passed away early, and he was raised by a single mother who sold fruit. It was an ordinary household. However, it’s said that his mother was a stunning beauty. Rumor has it that she abandoned him after claiming to be the mistress of some visiting nobleman. The villagers seem to think poorly of her.”

“And?”

“It appears that Hugo Denix resorted to begging after being left alone. After that, he vanished after running away with a colleague’s money. Years later, he seems to have become a wealthy businessman. However, we couldn’t find any details about what happened in between.”

On the surface, Hugo’s business seemed to involve selling miscellaneous items. In reality, he smuggled and sold banned goods. His regular customers were wealthy nobles with plenty of money, nothing better to do, and an interest in collecting.

When those nobles introduced him to gullible fools, he would lend them money and make a hefty profit from the interest—he was a true con artist.

“No wonder his fortune looks cursed.”

“According to rumors, a count who was deep in gambling debts, couldn’t pay back the money, and was about to run away when he was suddenly found dead, and there are whispers that it was Hugo Denix’s doing. There’s no solid evidence, though.”

Afterward, the coincidence of Hugo meeting Fabian was also mentioned. Hugo had appeared at a pub he frequented, and there were testimonies that they became friends after playing a drinking game.

Robern let out a derisive laugh at the thought that Fabian, who had been fooled by this conman enough to bring him back as a brother-in-law, that Fabian had introduced Ophelia, his own sister, to a swindler.

“Now I have a rough idea of what happened.”

That stupid Fabian have introduced her to the conman.

Ophelia’s heart, which had been firmly set for Robern, must have wavered.

She probably had no idea he was a despicable, shameless scoundrel.

“It was strange. Why would he choose someone as insignificant as Hugo Denix among so many? I couldn’t figure it out, but now I understand.”

Robern flicked a finger against the printed photo of Hugo’s face.

Unlike Charles’s words about people not wanting to offend the Valent family, plenty of men were secretly proposing to Ophelia. Very discreetly. Under the radar.

No matter how foolish they seemed, and Hugo was no different.

“Philip, what do you think?”

“What about…?”

“Do you think Hugo Denix is someone worth choosing over me?”

He needed to answer correctly. With the arrow aimed at him, Philip swallowed hard.

He felt a strong intuition that crossing Robern now would make his life even more difficult.

Please check out Patreon for advanced chapters and subscribe to support my work if you can!~