Obviously, It's My Child - Chapter 171
“You’ve been out of your mind since earlier. Are you even sane!?”
Although spoken in a hushed tone, Bruno’s words had been heard by everyone. People around them subtly began to distance themselves.
Even Lady Yulia, who had been agreeing with Bruno just moments before, was part of that retreat.
However, an apparently irrational Bruno raised his voice loudly.
“What? Did I say anything wrong?”
Joanna felt like she might explode with frustration.
‘This is why I said I couldn’t bring Bruno…!’
Still, he was her brother who would eventually take over as Baron Bloom. How could he miss such an important gathering, her parents had insisted.
No matter how much she argued that they should attend with him themselves, it was futile.
[Isn’t it just formal greetings when we old folks go together?]
[Bruno has said he was acquainted with the Duchess before, so it’s good timing. Meeting the Duchess alone during her honeymoon could lead to gossip, so it’s better if you accompany him.]
Joanna couldn’t fathom why her parents trusted Bruno so implicitly.
Friendship, my foot. Bruno had insulted Duchess Klausener every time rumors about her reached them.
She had hoped he would be sober today, but either he hadn’t sobered up from last night, or perhaps he had indulged in a morning drink, he clearly looked drunken.
It was shameful to be associated with him, but Joanna couldn’t just abandon her brother and flee. She cringed in horror.
Click-clack.
Claire approached and stood in front of the two.
“Hello, Lady Bloom. Is this drunkard your companion?”
“Ah, Duchess. It’s just that…”
“Ha, feeling stung, Delford?”
Claire glanced at Bruno. He hadn’t often been called Delford, but it wasn’t unheard of.
If he was someone who called her that, he might be someone she recognized, but his face brought no recollection.
“Do we know each other?”
His plump figure had a face that was too common to remember, distinguished only by his nose which seemed to have been broken and badly set.
Of course, Claire had no intention of making fun of someone for their less than perfect features.
But his strawberry nose in broad daylight as he attended the tea party reeking of alcohol was unmistakably ugly. Claire looked away.
Realizing her gaze had shifted, Bruno got angrier and raised his voice.
“You don’t know me? I’m Bruno Bloom! Bruno Bloom!”
“I have no memory of you whatsoever. If you lack both manners and dignity, perhaps you should at least have some appearance or competence if you expect women to remember you.”
“Hey, you!”
“Hey, you?”
Claire mimicked Bruno’s tone perfectly.
Then, keeping her gaze fixed on Bruno, she called out in a frosty voice.
“Marchioness Ludendorff, I believed I was invited to this tea time as a valued guest.”
“Oh, I apologize. Ah.”
The Marchioness was at a loss for what to do.
Just minutes earlier, a hastily delivered note from the Marquis’s secretary had thrown her into confusion. She felt overwhelmed to handle this situation.
“Someone escort Baron Bloom away!”
Unable to stand in Claire’s way until now, Hermann quickly intervened. After the Duchess called the Marchioness, he realized it was clearly their duty to handle the situation now.
Servants hurried over. Bruno lost his temper.
“Hey, you bitch! Another man? If I had known you dribbled around like that, I would have—”
Maximilian stepped in front of Claire, but his intervention was unnecessary.
“Kurgh!”
A strong grip grabbed Bruno’s nape from behind.
“Your Grace!”
Marquis Ludendorf, who came with Erich, exclaimed in shock.
“Kugh, aah!”
Bruno screamed in pain as if his neck was being torn off. His scream rippled through the gathering, causing a wave of gasps and murmurs.
Maximilian alone remained composed and bowed his head.
“Have you arrived?”
“Erich!”
Claire, who had been obscured by Maximilian’s back, pushed past him to step forward.
Erich’s face was ice-cold as he held Bruno by the neck.
“Just a while.”
“When did you get here? What are you planning to do now?”
“Ack!”
Erich lifted his arm, and Bruno screamed again as his heels left the ground.
People were enveloped in shock and couldn’t utter a word.
Had someone been sent to drag the man away, it would have been deemed a fitting response.
If someone had been instructed to beat him, it might not have received much praise, but it would have been considered a possible outcome.
However, no one had imagined that the Duke himself would intervene so directly. Few knew that he would have such physical strength.
Lifting a man, he still had an expressionless face, and not even a flicker in his eyebrows.
The air grew deathly still. The barely restrained savagery beneath his elegant exterior was wriggling as if it was about to explode.
Claire felt a chilling awe.
Certainly, she was angry too. She often thought about wanting to kill or beat someone who angered her.
News of such a man getting beaten would usually elicit a sentiment of poetic justice.
But Erich’s attitude was different from her anger. It was a cold contempt, as if he was merely crushing an insect.
This was truly noble.
He would kill Bruno right here. It was expected of a noble insulted in such a manner.
But that could not be allowed.
Claire, feeling a slight tremble in her body, reached out and placed her hand on his arm.
“Erich, stop now.”
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