The Smiling Death

Chapter 446: He Caused Trouble Without Even Trying

Morning sunlight poured through the tall windows of Duke Bertram Luminous’s palace.

The entire mansion remained calm and elegant as servants moved quietly through the corridors while carrying out their duties.

Inside one of the large office chambers on the upper floor, Duke Bertram Luminous sat behind his massive wooden desk.

He wore a dark navy formal coat decorated with silver patterns near the collar along with black trousers and gloves. His golden-blond hair was neatly combed back, while his sharp golden eyes carried their usual strictness.

Several papers were scattered across the desk before him. But currently, Bertram was not focusing on work at all.

Instead, his fingers tapped lightly against the table as he waited. He had not forgotten what happened yesterday. What his daughter had done without his permission.

He needed to ask her for answers.

The office itself was grand and luxurious. Tall bookshelves filled one side of the room while expensive paintings decorated the marble walls. Sunlight reflected against the polished floor, giving the chamber a noble atmosphere fitting for the Duke of one of the strongest duchies in the kingdom.

Soon, a knock came from outside.

Knock. Knock.

With a calm voice, Bertram spoke, "Come in."

The door opened slowly.

Seraphina entered the room.

She wore a simple white blouse tucked neatly into black trousers along with dark boots. Her golden-blonde hair was tied into her usual ponytail, giving her a clean and elegant appearance.

And today, a pair of delicate amber earrings hung beside her ears. The tiny orange crystal petals reflected beautifully beneath the sunlight.

They only increased her beautiful appearance.

Bertram immediately noticed them. But before asking about that, he focused on the main issue first. He could talk about that later. For now, there was another important matter.

Seraphina walked toward the desk calmly.

"You called me, Father?"

Bertram folded his hands together while staring directly at her.

"Yes."

His tone became serious.

"Why did you give Amon that strengthening potion from the family vault? You know that they are quite expensive."

Seraphina remained calm as always.

"Because he was near a breakthrough," she answered honestly. "I wanted to help him."

Bertram frowned immediately.

"Did he ask you for it?"

Seraphina lightly shook her head.

"No," she replied simply.

Then she continued calmly,

"Big Sister Selena said she would have given him a potion earlier if he had told her sooner that he was close to breaking through."

Her golden eyes remained steady. "So I decided to help him instead."

Bertram clicked his tongue lightly. "I still don’t like it."

He leaned back in his chair. "You are the future Duchess of the Luminous household, Seraphina. You shouldn’t be so soft-hearted."

Seraphina immediately shook her head. With a calm yet firm expression, she replied,

"I am not soft-hearted, Father."

Her voice remained emotionless. "You already know that."

A faint sharpness appeared in her golden eyes.

"I can be ruthless when needed."

Bertram went silent for a moment.

Then he sighed deeply.

"...Yes. I know."

More than anyone, he knew exactly how frightening his daughter could become once serious. She could kill people with the same emotionless face if it was necessary.

But she rarely showed that side of herself.

Bertram rubbed his forehead lightly before continuing,

"What I mean is... you need to act the same even toward your friends sometimes. You need to be cold and thoughtful. You should help someone only if it benefits you."

Seraphina frowned slightly. Then she shook her head again, clearly not liking what her father had said.

"Amon is my good friend, Father."

Her voice softened slightly.

"I could never act cold toward him."

Bertram opened his mouth, wanting to argue further. But Seraphina calmly continued before he could speak.

"He worked very hard for his strength. He risked his life many times. For the last few months, since he had been lost on that island... he had gone through so much."

She looked directly at him.

"And now he was already close to breaking through. I wanted to help him... so I only helped him take the final step."

Bertram stared at her silently. His daughter almost never defended people this much. That alone already worried him greatly.

Still, seeing her calm expression, he finally let out another long sigh.

"...Fine." He waved one hand tiredly.

"I will overlook it this time." He knew when she showed this side of her, there was no point in arguing with her. And by no means did he want an outcome where she complained about this to his father.

Then his expression became strict again.

"But next time, inform me before taking anything from the vault." Still, he was a Duke. He couldn’t let everyone do as they wanted.

Seraphina nodded obediently.

"Yes, Father."

The conversation should have ended there.

But then Bertram’s eyes moved toward her earrings once again. He suddenly paused. Because this sight was unbelievably rare.

Seraphina almost never wore jewelry.

Especially earrings.

Yet today, those amber crystal earrings rested beautifully beside her golden hair.

They suited her perfectly.

A small smile unconsciously appeared on Bertram’s face.

"Sera."

Seraphina looked at him. "Those earrings suit you."

His voice softened slightly. "They look beautiful on you... making your appearance even more beautiful. Where did you get them?"

For the first time during their conversation, a soft smile appeared on Seraphina’s usually emotionless face.

She remembered the moment when Amon had gifted them to her. Her fingers lightly touched one of the earrings.

Then she answered calmly,

"I didn’t buy them."

Bertram raised an eyebrow.

"Then who did?" he asked curiously.

Wondering if her mother Lucia had given them to her. But Seraphina rarely wore jewelry unless there was some important function in the palace.

Without hesitation, Seraphina replied,

"Amon bought them for me yesterday."

Then silence.

Complete silence filled the room.

Bertram froze. His expression slowly stiffened.

"...What?"

Seraphina remained calm.

"He gave them to me as a gift yesterday. He even put them on my ears himself."

A dangerous aura slowly started rising around Bertram.

Then.

SLAM!

His hands struck the desk loudly as he stood up.

"NOW THAT COMMONER HAS STARTED GIVING MY DAUGHTER JEWELRY?!"

His furious voice echoed throughout the office.

"WHERE IS HE?!"

The servants outside the office flinched slightly after hearing the Duke roar loudly.

Seraphina simply sighed tiredly. She hadn’t thought her father would react this way. After all, it was just a small gift. Why would he react so strongly?

"Calm down, Father."

Her voice remained peaceful.

"He gave them to me as gratitude for helping him with the potion."

Then she added calmly,

"Also, he gave a beautiful bracelet to Big Sister Selena too."

Bertram’s eyes widened even further.

"...Even to her?!"

Seraphina nodded.

"Yes. He put that bracelet on her hand himself. And Big Sister Selena liked it very much."

Then she lightly touched her earrings again.

"And I also like these very much."

Her golden eyes calmly looked at him.

"So don’t scold him or get angry at him."

Before Bertram could explode again, Seraphina bowed her head lightly.

"Anyway, I will be going now, Father. Bye."

Then she turned around and calmly walked toward the exit.

The door closed behind her, leaving Bertram alone inside the office.

The Duke slowly sat back down in his chair with complete disbelief written across his face.

His expression looked as though the world itself had betrayed him.

After a long silence, he muttered darkly,

"That boy is trying to flirt and seduce my daughter..."

His golden eyes narrowed dangerously.

"...And even the princess too. What is Big Sister Celestia doing? Doesn’t she know that this boy is flirting with her daughter too?"

Meanwhile, outside in one of the palace training grounds.

"ACHOO!!"

Amon suddenly sneezed loudly while practicing sword swings.

The young man currently wore a sleeveless black training shirt along with dark pants. Sweat covered parts of his body while his messy black hair stuck lightly against his forehead.

The morning sunlight reflected against his sword as he continued his training.

Not far away, Selena was also practicing.

She wore dark training clothes that tightly fit her body, along with black gloves and boots. Her silver hair was tied into a high ponytail while sweat slowly rolled down her neck after intense movement.

Amon blinked in confusion.

"...Huh?"

Then he rubbed his nose lightly.

"Why do I suddenly feel like someone is talking about me?"

A moment later, a bright smile appeared on his face.

"Maybe my love Scarlett is missing me."

With an amused expression, Selena glanced at him while wiping sweat from her neck using a towel.

"Hah... yeah, I think the same. She must be missing you a lot."

His mood instantly improved.

"Hehe~ yes, that must be the case."

With a happy grin, Amon continued swinging his sword energetically beneath the morning sunlight.

Completely unaware of Duke Bertram’s current mental state.

Meanwhile, Selena quietly watched him for a moment before shaking her head helplessly.

That junior of hers truly had no idea how much trouble he caused without even trying.

And somehow... that was exactly what made him dangerous.

Amon, however, remained completely innocent as he happily continued training under the bright morning sky.