Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)-Chapter 443 443: Lucy's Fiancee

Third Person's POV
"Do you know who I am, boy? You dare act like this before me, Jack?"
His shrill and low roar sounded around them.
Ethan almost smiled at him, announcing his name in such a way, though he could sense that the arrogance in his voice wasn't fake, and his pride was as real as his stupidity.
He remained unmoved by the attempt; if anything, the words amused him.
"Yes," Ethan replied, tone light but cutting.
"You are nothing. And I can squash you like a bug whenever I feel like it. So let me repeat myself once again, get out of my sight right this instant."
Hearing Ethan's arrogant response, gasps and whispers from his once silent underling entourage spread instantly.
"Who does this bastard think he is?!"
"Does he even know who he is talking to?"
"He clearly doesn't know about Lord Jack... that's why he is running his mouth like an idiot!"
"Don't worry, the young lord will teach him a lesson soon!"
Ethan clearly heard every sentence they spoke, but he ignored them all, and his gaze remained as cold and steady as before, as it cut straight into the blond demon's face without blinking.
The demon's lips pursed, and fury twisted on his features into something sinister.
He stepped closer and circled around Ethan with bold aggression, as though trying to prove something in front of his entourage.
Then he suddenly reached out and attempted to grab Lucy's hand, though it would soon turn out to be his biggest mistake.
A flash of cold crimson flickered through Ethan's eyes.
His hand shot out like a whip, and his fingers clamped around the demon's wrist in an iron grip that made the blond youth stiffen instantly from the unexpected strength catching him slightly off guard.
It felt as if his wrist had been bound in a vice grip made of some hard metal, though he soon calmed down as he had been expecting the stud in front of him to react this way, and he had exactly fallen into his trap.
Just as Ethan was about to crush the wrist into bone dust, the blond demon evilly smiled inwardly, though he suddenly screamed dramatically on the outside, his voice high and theatrical.
"Look, everyone! This rude fellow is blocking me from meeting my own fiancée! And he claims my girl is his lover! What do you all think of such an evil, malicious person?
Should we let him act like this? What if he claims your woman some other day as his lover too?!"
The sudden, impassioned shout stunned everyone around them in the square garden.
Their heads snapped toward the commotion, and even Ethan froze, though not out of fear, but out of shock at the words being hurled.
Fiancée?
He initially assumed the idiot was trying to provoke him with lies, and he tightened his grip to shatter the wrist then and there.
He didn't even think for a moment about the warning of the deacons about a severe punishment but a gentle tug on his shirt halted him.
Lucy leaned close and whispered into his ear, her trembling voice carried via mana so no one else could hear.
"He is telling the truth to a certain degree, Brother Ethan…"
Her whisper was soft, but the weight of it was shocking to say the least, though instead of making him angry, it delighted him, as this twist seemed to have come as a challenge.
And in his boring mind, such challenges and conflicts were always welcome, though her next words made his mood somber.
"His name is Jack Wilds.
He comes from the Wilds family, one of the Count-rank noble houses, a lineage with considerable influence among the nobles who do not belong to the Abyssal Dominion's pure bloodline of darkness.
For as long as I can remember… their family has been trying to force mine to swear allegiance and become their vassals."
Her voice trembled slightly, and the bitterness in her tone revealed just how deeply this had scarred her.
"They used this fabricated story of an 'engagement' between Jack and me to pressure us, by spreading it everywhere, and twisting it into some kind of established truth, even though my father never once agreed to such a thing."
Lucy inhaled shakily, her eyes clouding with old resentment.
"But my uncle… he was greedy and overly ambitious.
He wanted the position of family head at any cost, so he betrayed us.
A few months ago, he publicly accepted the Wilds family's claims in a political meeting of the non dark noble families of our empire, all to secure the promise that he would become the next head once our family submitted to them."
Her fingers tightened around Ethan's sleeve.
"That is one of the main reasons I slipped away and came to the Abyssal Sanctum with my brother.
Officially, I wasn't supposed to join the academy until next year, but my big brother and father insisted we leave early, for my safety and for a chance to escape this fate they were trying to force on me."
Her voice grew softer and darker as she continued,
"The Wilds family is rotten to the marrow, Brother Ethan… every member of that house breathes ambition, corruption, and deceit.
After my uncle allied himself with them and after he agreed to overthrow my father and hand our family over, they became even bolder.
They used this fake engagement as leverage to humiliate us, threaten us, and blackmail us relentlessly."
Her eyes dimmed, and dark shadows seemed to gather in their depths as memories resurfaced.
"And Jack… he would always find reasons to bother me. Every time we crossed paths, he acted entitled and like a vulgar street thug, as if my existence belonged to him."
Her breath hitched, and she lowered her head.
"My elder brother used to protect me. He stood against them, always… b-but I never imagined…"
Her voice broke.
"I never imagined fate would be so cruel to him. He… he is no longer in this world."