“Ah… o-okay.” The boy seemed flustered by the sudden development, but he accepted the request shyly, seeing Yelena’s pretty face.

‘He should have just rejected me back then.’

She should have dressed a little less prettily to the party that day.

Yelena had felt nothing from this relationship with the opposite sex. Exactly one week later, she coolly broke up with her first boyfriend.

“Let’s stop dating.”

“Yeah… okay.”

Surprisingly, Hunns, her boyfriend at the time, didn’t seem too disappointed. He agreed easily. Thus, Yelena’s dull and short-lived first relationship seemed to have come to a safe end.

Until a while later, when Hunns repeatedly got into scandals for having affairs exclusively with married women.

“Have you heard? Hunns Pherson, he’s a married-ladykiller!”

“I heard that no matter how beautiful someone is, his heart will only be swayed if she’s married.”

“Apparently, he realized his preference thanks to his ex-girlfriend.”

“His girlfriend was incredibly beautiful, but his heart didn’t flutter at all because she wasn’t married…”

Thanks to that, Yelena had also been associated with the vulgar rumors surrounding Hunns for some time.

The rumors were almost completely forgotten by now, but of course, this certainly wasn’t a fond memory for Yelena.

“Get out, now… No, I’ll leave.”

Yelena needed to wait for her husband, but this actually worked out for her. She decided that she would just go nearby where her husband was privately meeting with the crown prince and wait for him there.

Yelena walked swiftly past Hunns.

No, she tried to walk past Hunns and failed because he grabbed her wrist.

“Let go, Henns.”

“It’s Hunns.”

“Let go of me.”

“Where are you going? Don’t be so cold. Let’s have a chat.”

Yelena contemplated deeply: crotch or shin, which one should she kick?

The answer came to her quickly. Going for his crotch would require her own sacrifice as well.

Yelena decided to cherish her feet and shoes, forcefully kicking Hunns in the shin.

Whack!

“Oof!” Hunns bent over, groaning in pain.

“Hunns Pherson. I’m warning you, don’t speak casually to me. I’m no longer Yelena Sorte, but Duchess Mayhard.”

“…Ha, haha.”

Hunns stood upright with a grimace.

“You’re so charming… Like I thought, women always become unrecognizably charming after they get married.”

‘Crazy jerk.’

[Ew…]

Yelena scowled, a physiological reaction to things she hated. She may have just imagined it, but she thought she could feel the Holy Sword shudder in her grasp.

‘I was wondering why this jerk who’s never contacted me in his life was making such a fuss…’

It was because he had heard that she had gotten married.

Yelena felt like she was going to break out in hives, astonished by how his taste was as dirty as ever. And it wasn’t just that Hunns’s taste hadn’t changed, but he was awfully persistent. He still hadn’t let go of her wrist.

[Should I get rid of him?]

‘How?’

[Tell that jerk to try wielding me. I’ll give him hell.]

Yelena chuckled softly.

‘Forget it. I’ll take care of him.’

There was no need to use the Holy Sword or her fists. Yelena was wearing a ring imprinted with attack magic. She could send Hunns flying with a single word. She merely hadn’t used the magic, so as to not cause a great commotion.

‘Like I thought, do I have to kick him in the crotch?’

[Ah, you had a lethal move in store? I’ll be quiet then.]

She didn’t want to, but it seemed that sacrificing her foot was her best option. Just as Yelena finished mentally preparing herself, Hunns opened his mouth.

“I can spread rumors right away.”

“What?”

“The duchess, unable to forget her past lover, called him to the terrace while her husband was away, and engaged in a secret love affair…”

“What kind of bull—”

“Honestly, it’s quite a provocative rumor, regardless of whether it’s true or not?”

Hunns’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“People will love it, don’t you think?”

“…”

“To put it simply, I can bring you and your husband’s reputation to the ground. Think carefully before you push me away… Ah.”

Hunns laughed silently.

“I guess there’s nowhere for your husband’s reputation to go since it’s already at rock bottom.”

Snap. The string of rationality in Yelena’s head broke.

Forget not causing a commotion.

‘Let’s just kill him.’

Shing—

Yelena’s ring reacted to her will. A light radiated from the blue gem.

Then, WHAM!

A brutal noise sounded from the terrace.