Chapter 83 - Max’s Apology

‘Is he trying to cut ties with his only disciple?’ I was appalled by my father’s shocking words, unable to believe that he would ruin their precious relationship just because of me. 

Max looked indifferent as if he had expected this reaction from my father. “That’s what I want as well,” he said. After watching the two clash for a while, I became confused. ‘Why are they fighting all of a sudden? And to sever ties with each other completely…’ I was puzzled about what I should do because I hadn’t expected this development. 

At that moment, Max turned to me. “Let’s go Jubelian,” he said. It seemed like he was fully immersed with mastering the techniques of method acting. When we reached the door, I became conscious of what I was doing. ‘No matter how I look at it, this situation is like… an elopement, isn’t it?’ Although an elopement sounded nice, my partner was a poor, homeless man. My original plan was to show my father that we were in a relationship so he wouldn’t marry me off to the crown prince. I thought it would work because he cared a lot about his disciple, but my father showed strong opposition against our relationship, effectively ruining my plans.

‘I need to stop him.’ Although I had thought about running away at one point, that was only for the worst case scenario. My ultimate goal was to inherit my father’s money and become so rich that I wouldn’t have to lift a finger. If I left with him like this, I wouldn’t even be able to get my valuables and my father would only drag me back… which was the last thing I wanted. 

“Hey, I—”

As I was trying to stop Max, someone interrupted me. “Stop.” 

I flinched upon hearing the cold voice, which sounded like it was warning us. ‘Oh, he’s probably angry,’ I thought to myself. 

At that moment, I heard my father’s stern voice again. “I said stop,” he said. If we didn’t listen to him this time, I had a feeling that I would become my father’s enemy as well.

“Max, wait a minute—” 

I attempted to stop Max again, but he spoke over me. “Don’t order me around,” he said callously. 

I hardened my expression. ‘Wait, this isn’t right.’ No matter how grim our relationship was, he was still my father. It wasn’t pleasant to have someone be so rude to him. I looked back at my father, who looked exasperated despite his icy eyes. ‘I’ll be in trouble if I don’t say anything now.’ 

When my father clenched his fists, I called out to him urgently. “Father!” His ferocious gaze, which had been directed at Max, turned to me. “I’ll take care of it,” I said. Although I knew he thought of me as an unreliable person, I desperately hoped that he would trust me this time. I couldn’t bear to say any more and gazed at him earnestly instead. Whether he had seen through my silent prayers or decided to give up on his good-for-nothing daughter, he sighed and made way for us. Max passed by him triumphantly, probably thinking I had taken his side. When we left the drawing room and passed through a quiet hallway, there was no one nearby. 

I grabbed Max’s shirt. “Please let me go for a second. I have something to say, Max.” He frowned as if to protest, but I looked at him in the eyes. “Come on now,” I said calmly, “it’s something very important.” My feet soon touched the floor. 

“So what is it that you want to say?” he asked in a disinterested tone. 

I stared at him and said, “Thank you for being angry for me. But what you said to my father back there was too much.”

His handsome face crumpled in response. “I helped you…” Well, it’s understandable why he was upset. He had defended me with good intentions, but I was blaming him for that. He had every right to feel offended, but I still couldn’t let his rude behavior slide. 

“By doing something I disapprove of, are you really helping me?” 

“What?” he shot back as if he had just heard something ridiculous. 

I shook my head at his response. “I never wanted you to be exiled, nor did I ever want you to be rude to my father.”

It seemed like he was angry at me, seeing as how was glaring at me and murmuring to himself. Despite his fierce, aggressive, and animalistic eyes, I continued speaking without hesitation. “Forcefully doing something against the other person’s wishes isn’t helping them. That’s simply for your own satisfaction,” I explained. 

I fell silent and stared at his flickering eyes, which looked like flames. He opened his mouth after a moment of silence. “So, you don’t need my help anymore?” he asked. 

“Of course I need your help, but if you’re just going to act on your own, I’ll have no choice but to come up with a different solution,” I said. His face slightly darkened in response. I realized how naive and childlike he was as he became lost in thought, reminding me of the past Jubelian. I usually wouldn’t give lengthy explanations like this, but was it because he was similar to the past me? Even I was wondering why I was acting like this. I let out a sigh and said, “I’m not saying this because I want to grow distant from you. I want to stay with you for a long time and get to know you better, but I said these things so that we won’t have any resentment between us.” 

“I was trying to help you back there,” he insisted.

“I know, but my father is a duke. What you did wasn’t helpful if you think about the future troubles he could bring.” 

A brief moment of silence followed, which he soon broke with a sigh. “What do you want from me?” he asked.

“I want you to make up with my father,” I said.