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chapter 49
The four of them spent a wonderful time together.
They rode Leto’s red horse along the beach and through the city, then had lunch at the hotel buffet.
At the hotel duty-free shop, they bought whiskey and a handbag as gifts for Noah’s parents.
In the souvenir shop, they picked out a doll and a board game that Clare would like. Ami chose a small ornament for the kitchen windowsill.
After spending the day like that, Leto felt a little wistful.
“…Shall we just go home like this?”
Leto asked Noah cautiously.
Noah felt grateful but also guilty at the suggestion.
“Would that really be okay?”
After all, this was their honeymoon. She knew how much Leto had been looking forward to it.
Noah wanted to tell him that if he was only worried about Clare, he didn’t need to.
But Leto was sincere.
“You know what? Today, your sister didn’t call me ‘Mister’ even once.”
Clare was sweet, but she always drew a clear line. Even when she cheerfully called Leto “Brother-in-law,” she would usually tack on “Mister” at the end.
She had also once firmly declared she wouldn’t take his side.
But today, not once had she added “Mister.”
That meant Clare had finally accepted Leto as family.
“Remember earlier? She said she missed me too because I’m family.”
The fact that Clare had wanted to see not only Noah but also him in the morning made Leto’s chest ache with happiness.
“I’m part of the family now.”
“To be acknowledged by Clare—impressive.”
“In some ways, it was harder than being forgiven by you.”
“Well done, my husband.”
Smiling warmly, Noah agreed to go home as he wished.
The two of them returned to the hotel room to pack.
Their luggage was nothing more than clothes, but some of them were so ruined by what they’d done that they had to be thrown away.
“…This one can’t be fixed and worn again, right?”
Leto asked, holding up one item.
It was one of those string games Ami and Sensha had gifted.
Noah’s face turned bright red, and she snatched it away quickly, shoving it deep into her bag.
“Aw, I wanted to go in too.”
Clare, waiting in the hotel lobby, pouted.
“No. You’ll hurt your eyes.”
“Why? Is it dangerous?”
“It’s the most dangerous place in the world.”
Especially for children, As said firmly.
As they were chatting, Noah and Leto appeared.
“Hehe, we’re going home!”
Clare slipped between them, tightly holding one of their hands each.
She was overjoyed that her sister and brother-in-law were finally coming back home.
“Isn’t it great, going home together? That’s why they say leaving home only brings trouble!”
At Clare’s wise words, the adults burst into laughter.
“Then before we go back to the mansion, let’s stop by the city. We only bought ingredients for the young lady and me.”
“As, what’s for dinner?”
“Would you like lasagna or bucatini?”
“That’s too hard a choice…”
After thinking it over, Clare answered decisively.
“I want lasagna. The kind with cheese inside.”
“You mean cannelloni?”
They stopped in the city to buy spinach, leafy greens, fruit for breakfast, butter, and a few spices.
“I’ll open the door!”
As soon as the red horse reached home, Clare jumped out first and ran to the entrance.
Using the key As handed her, she opened the door and scolded the adults to wash their hands first.
“When you come home, you have to wash your hands! Otherwise Grandma said she’ll cut them off and stick them to your butt.”
Leto flinched in horror.
How could something so grotesque come out of his cute sister-in-law’s mouth?
“Isn’t that an awful thing to say to a child?”
“She said it to my brother.”
At that point, Leto felt it was truly fortunate that this so-called brother had been kicked out of the house.
Just how badly had he lived to be told something like that?
“Still, it’s not something a child should repeat.”
Leto silently vowed to use only gentle, beautiful words around Clare.
That lovely little lark should only ever speak in sweet, pretty ways.
“Yeah, right.”
Noah snorted, saying they’d see how long that would last, then took a letter from As and went upstairs.
Using the letter opener from her drawer, she carefully opened the envelope. Inside was fine stationery, neatly folded.
When she unfolded it, the familiar smell of ink mixed with a cool fragrance of perfume drifted up.
[I imagine you must be surprised to receive such an unexpected letter.]
After a brief apology, the sender introduced himself: the Marquis Oceanus.
As I thought.
Noah’s expression didn’t soften at all as she read.
The letter mainly said he was sorry for not being able to attend the wedding.
If he was so sorry, why hadn’t he contacted Leto directly? Why send her a letter?
Noah didn’t like it one bit.
To her, Oceanus was nothing but an awful in-law.
If he lays a hand on my husband, I’ll never forgive it.
Though others called Leto a dangerous brute, to her he was just a sweet, lovable puppy.
So now I’m clashing with my in-laws, huh.
For the first time in a long while, Noah felt the fire of resolve toward a civilian.
“…Huh?”
As she finished reading the unpleasant letter, she suddenly froze.
[If it’s all right, I’d like to meet you sometime.]
“…Wow.”
Noah covered her mouth in shock.
“So this is that thing…!”
The classic setup—when nobles threaten commoners not to mingle with them.
It was a standard trope in radio dramas and romance novels: class discrimination, mother-in-law conflicts.
I can’t believe I’m actually experiencing this!
Because of her deep dislike for Oceanus, Noah’s thoughts veered off in a strange direction.
But along with her irritation, her heart also raced a little at the thought of experiencing something so dramatic firsthand.
She was mulling over how to respond when—
“Kyahhh!”
A sharp scream rang out downstairs.
“Clare!”
Noah rushed out of her room toward the sound.
In the first-floor washroom, Clare was in Leto’s arms, with As beside them.
“Someone just slipped out the window.”
Leto explained briefly, holding the pistol he had brought from the room.
Click—the sound of the safety being released was clear.
“I’ll go check outside.”
While Leto went to investigate, Noah grabbed the revolver hidden in the living room.
She searched every corner of the first floor—the living room, kitchen, and dining room. Nothing was missing.
She even checked upstairs, but found the same.
“…No signs of forced entry.”
Leto, returning shortly, agreed.
“No suspicious traces. The flowerbeds and walls are untouched.”
“Then how did they get in?”
As asked, still holding Clare tightly.
Oddly, Clare seemed fine. Though startled, she didn’t look frightened.
“Maybe they came to steal but fled when they sensed someone?”
“No… this house isn’t the kind a thief would target.”
“It could even have been a spy.”
The adults were about to decide on calling the authorities when—
“Um.”
Clare raised her hand timidly, glancing at the grown-ups.
“That person just now…”
She said what she had seen.
“It was my brother.”
Thanks to Clare’s revelation, they now knew who the intruder was. But the atmosphere in the house grew heavier than when they’d thought it was a thief or spy.
“….”
Thud! Thud!
The violent pounding in the kitchen was the sound of As mixing mozzarella into crushed spinach.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
And also the sound of her crushing tomatoes to make sauce.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Finally, it was also the sound of her sharpening a knife against a whetstone.
“….”
“….”
Glancing nervously into the kitchen, Noah and Leto tiptoed back into the living room.
“As, are you still mad?”
Clare, drawing a picture diary in the living room, asked.
Today’s entry was about the sandcastle she’d built with her brother-in-law at the hotel beach.
“Don’t mess with As for a while, okay?”
Noah warned. Clare, lips pressed tight, nodded gravely.
“But I’m a little scared to eat the dinner she’s making now.”
“Brother-in-law.”
Clare placed her little hands neatly on Leto’s knee and gave him an oddly mature look.
“An angry As is the scariest thing in the world.”
“….”
“If you say you won’t eat, then you’ll be tomorrow’s breakfast ingredient.”
So just eat.
Though Clare meant it as advice, Leto felt like he was back at the military academy, receiving an order he couldn’t disobey.
An order where failure meant they were all doomed.
“…Anyway, my brother’s back again.”
Noah said, seating Clare on her lap.
“Grandma isn’t home yet, though…”
“I hope Grandma comes back soon, sis.”
“Your brother’s going to be scolded badly when she does.”
“Mm. Exactly.”
Clare earnestly hoped her grandmother would come soon.
“Why is your sister-in-law so furious?”
Leto asked.
Though Noah had explained before, he didn’t know all the details, only enough to guess.
“He caused a huge incident in the family and then ran away from home.”
That “incident” seemed to have something to do with As as well.
If such a noble woman was this angry, it had to be something serious.
After a pause, Leto asked:
“Did he stand surety for someone’s debt?”
“Does As look like the type to cosign a loan?”
Noah’s response made him drop that possibility.
Indeed, As was more the type to turn someone with a guarantee form into ground meat.
“Anyway, since you’re family now, you should know.”
Noah nodded, and Clare also agreed with a serious look.
“There’s one profession absolutely forbidden in this family. My brother chose it, and that’s when the trouble started.”
“You mean it was about his job?”
What kind of job could it be?
Leto imagined something criminal. But the next words shocked him.
“And then he unilaterally broke up with As.”
At the time, the eldest brother and As had even been considering marriage.
