•?••? ? ?••?•

Without hesitation, Ray grabbed the back of Botri’s collar and lifted him up. Despite his quite large build, he effortlessly made Botri sit under the balcony railing with one hand.

Then, he folded the ear on the side that didn’t fit.

“Aaaaah!”

Botri, who had passed out, opened his eyes at the sharp pain that woke up his brain.

“W-what the… Agh, my jaw!”

Although he was now conscious, his vision was still blurry, and he couldn’t recognize the person in front of him. 

Moreover, the pain suddenly hit him, and as he grabbed his chin with both hands, he felt something foreign in his mouth.

He spat it out, and two teeth flew out of his mouth.

“My precious teeth?! How dare you…!”

Botri looked up with a flash of his eyes. Now that his focus had returned, he could see the other person’s face clearly.

“Huh ugh!”

Ray was staring at Botri without saying a word. The tremendous pressure emanated from his fierce gaze.

As soon as their eyes met, Botri felt a chill and lowered his head.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m just sorry for everything. It’s my fault. Please forgive me.”

Botri tried to apologize and sneak away on his knees, thinking that he would just apologize and leave.

However, Ray had no intention of stepping aside and grabbed his shoulder, forcefully sitting him down again.

“You still have someone to apologize to.”

“What? Who should I apologize to?”

“Stop playing dumb and think.”

Under Ray’s merciless gaze, Botri quickly turned his head.

As he had made many mistakes, he reviewed the situation before Ray attacked him.

He had drunk heavily and wandered around the hall, repeatedly bumping into people. 

Then, he grabbed the hand of a member of the preparation team and wouldn’t let go. That’s when Iva appeared.

“Ah!”

Botri made a loud sound and made eye contact with Ray.

“C-Commander, Have you already heard that I was the one who slapped Your Highess Claude in the face, because of that woman?!”

“…What?”

“That B*tch must have told you! Please listen for a moment! That incident was a misunderstanding. I didn’t know that His Highness Claude was there… Ah!”

As Botri spoke, Ray’s eyes became more and more wrinkled. There were many things he could point out from start to finish, but the first thing he needed to correct was this.

“How dare you call her a b*tch.”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

Ray grabbed Botri’s jaw, which was missing teeth, with one hand. Buttery tried to push Rai’s hand with both hands, but he didn’t budge.

The hand that was tightening around his neck was scary, but the eyes that stared at him like a beast were even scarier.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Ugh!”

“Say it correctly.”

“Lady, Lady Iva Blanche!”

Only after he correctly stated the name did Ray release his grip. Botri gasped and checked if he had lost any more teeth.

“Ah!”

This time, his neck was grabbed and pressed firmly against the ground. Ray suppressed him effortlessly with his knee.

“Why are you doing this to me?! I said the name correctly, didn’t I!”

“You slapped His Highness? Explain clearly what happened.”

“What? Don’t you already know?”

“Don’t make me ask twice.”

Ray pressed harder with his knee. Botri’s protruding belly was pressed against the ground, making it hard for him to breathe.

“Aaaah! I’ll tell you everything!”

Trembling with fear, Botri explained what had happened. Since Botri was lying on his stomach, he did not see how stern Ray’s expression was. He told him how he had raised his hand to hit Iva, but instead, Claude who was wearing a white tiger mask was hit because he came in the middle.

“That’s all. It was a mistake because I didn’t know it was His Highness Claude. I kept it to myself and didn’t tell anyone! But that bit… I mean, Lady Blanche told you, ugh!”

Botri who was blabbering on and on became unable to finish his sentence because his head was turned back.

“Neither His Highness nor Lady Iva ever told me what happened that day.”

Ray’s heart constricted when he heard the detailed story of that day that Claude hadn’t shared with him. 

It felt like he was eavesdropping on Iva and Claude’s secret.

“What? They never said anything?!”

Botri was deep in thought. He felt like he was digging his own grave and felt dizzy.

“Botri.”

“Yes, yes?”

Ray’s voice was even lower than before, sending shivers down his spine. The sound alone made him feel suffocated.

“Today’s events and everything related to His Highness are all your fault.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Do you think, anyone would come looking for you, If you were to disappear from here?”

“What?!”

“Even if you were to vanish without a trace right here, they would simply consider it a confidential matter within the palace.”

It meant that he could lose his life right here and now. A death that no one would ever know about.

Botri’s whole body went cold as if all the blood had drained from his body.

“You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

“P-please spare me! Please spare me.”

“Then you’ll have to live the rest of your life in silence. Like someone whose tongue has been cut off.”

Ray whispered with a hint of malice. Botri, even though he knew Ray was clearly a human, felt like a large beast was growling at him, and he involuntarily closed his eyes tightly.

“I understand. I-I will also stay away from the Imperial Palace.”

“Let alone the imperial palace, don’t even think of looking at Blanche family either.”

“The B-Blanche family?”

“I might as well cut off your tongue so you don’t vomit out any secrets.”

“Ugh! I-I will do as you say.”

•?••? ? ?••?•