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Chapter 23
Camin slowly explained everything from beginning to end—her status, how she came to Faustine, and what had just happened.
—The young lady of Duke Fond’s household? I’ll contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs right away and look into what this broken engagement is about. If things go wrong, it could turn into a scandal.
At Liz’s serious words, Camin crossed her arms and replied,
“There’s absolutely no way this is Rienna’s fault.”
—Please don’t talk like a hedgehog defending its own child.
Why was someone so cool-headed blindly taking another person’s side like this? Was this truly the power of love?
Just as Liz was looking at her in disbelief, Camin spoke in a blunt tone.
“And while you’re at it, I’d like you to look into two more things.”
—What are they?
Liz had expected something like How soon can we have the wedding?, but Camin’s request was something entirely different.
“I want to erase the Fond ducal house from this world.”
—What?
“If that’s impossible, then I want Faustine incorporated into imperial territory.”
—B-Brother?!
They say once you learn something late, you lose track of time doing it!
What on earth happened to my brother?!
She understood that what happened to that woman, Rienna, must have been shocking—but why jump straight to eliminating a duke and annexing territory?
Did you really go all the way to the countryside just to date someone?
While someone else was breaking their back working in his place.
As Liz’s distrust of her brother deepened by the second, a thought suddenly struck her, and she cried out urgently.
—Wait! Then what about the Ego Sword?!
Camin had already been staying in Faustine for quite a long time, yet there had been no mention of the Ego Sword at all.
This guy—don’t tell me he’s deliberately dragging his feet because he doesn’t want to work!
Liz spoke in a rush.
—The most important thing to us is the Ego Sword. It’s wonderful that you’ve found a woman you want to marry, but don’t forget that.
“Don’t worry about the Ego Sword.”
Because Rienna was its owner.
“More importantly, the two things I asked you to look into—”
Irritated by how Camin kept circling back to marriage, Liz snapped back sharply.
—Why don’t you just crush Duke Fond into paste? You’re good at getting things done quietly, without anyone noticing.
“Faustine is not imperial territory. It could cause problems.”
As he said that, Camin’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“Though, in my heart, I’m full of thoughts about turning him into an insect.”
—That’s scary, so please don’t say things like that!
An insect—meaning he’d separate him into head, thorax, and abdomen.
Knowing her brother’s tendency to suddenly lose control despite his usually calm demeanor, Liz hurried to stop him.
…He seems serious.
He wasn’t the type to joke about things like that.
I was the one who said he didn’t need to come back if he was dating.
But who would’ve thought he’d really try to date someone?!
What if he’s just having a one-sided romance in his head?
Liz couldn’t help but suspect that. It was common for someone experiencing love for the first time to mistakenly believe the other person felt the same.
—Is the marriage actually agreed upon? And does she even agree to bringing down the Fond ducal house? Don’t scare some clueless young lady for no reason.
At Liz’s pointed remark, Camin crossed his arms and replied calmly,
“I haven’t yet told her… that I’m the emperor.”
—Whaaaaat?!
It was one bombshell after another.
Having decided not to leave, my heart felt light. There was nothing left to worry about.
Camin…
So all day long, I walked around feeling like I was floating on clouds, thinking about Camin.
My dazed state continued even when I went to see Grandmother Lord.
Sipping black tea with chunks of soft peach floating in it, she held out a small flowerpot to me. It had leaves that looked almost like mint.
“Rienna, I had someone look for a plant called stevia, but it turns out it’s not a variety that can be grafted like you said.”
Stevia! The plant I wanted to obtain to produce tastier tomatoes and apples! That was why I’d deliberately refrained from tempting her appetite before.
But even with that precious stevia right in front of me, I answered blankly,
“Yes…”
“And I heard eating too much can cause side effects like stomach pain.”
“Yes…”
“……”
Seeing how spaced-out I was, Grandmother Lord let out a deep sigh. Unable to hold back, she asked first.
“Rienna, is something going on?”
“Gah! I-I’m sorry.”
Who did I think I was, spacing out in front of her? I snapped back to my senses and bowed my head. She laughed heartily and waved her hand.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. I was just wondering what could be wrong when a child who should be shining brighter than anyone looks completely absent-minded.”
“Well, um, it’s just…”
She was right. I should have been excitedly examining the stevia from every angle.
But the reason I’m so out of it actually isn’t unrelated to Grandmother Lord at all! Camin is her grandson, after all!
I fidgeted with my fingers. When I thought of her as my future grandmother-in-law (?), it suddenly felt intimidating. I carefully began.
“My father came to see me.”
“…Duke Fond?”
Her face hardened frighteningly at my words. I forced an awkward smile.
“Yes. And they say the Crown Prince is looking for me again.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they want me to clean up after a woman from another world again. Or maybe they want to take me back and gain the nobles’ sympathy by playing the pity card.”
“Oh dear…”
After being so brutally cast aside by the Fond household, I had deliberately avoided paying attention to the capital. But even without hearing details, the situation was obvious.
My father isn’t stupid enough to overlook a situation where he could profit.
Even though there were ways to resolve things without cutting me off, he had coldly discarded me. It was obvious he did so because there was something to gain.
The nobles probably pitied me and pushed back against David for being so forceful even toward a duke. If those two are looking for me now, that must be why.
As my face darkened, Grandmother Lord slammed her fist on the desk, furious as if it were her own problem.
“I should block them using my authority. How dare they sneak into my territory behind my back? I should give the gate guard a proper scolding too.”
“Please don’t. I’m afraid it might cause trouble for you.”
It was easy to guess how they got in—either by bribing the guard or using forged identification.
The real issue was that even if she cracked down, the power of the Fond ducal house was strong enough to suppress even the lord of Faustine.
Grandmother Lord frowned.
“Then what are you planning to do?”
“At first, I thought I might leave Faustine for a while.”
But I’d changed my mind and decided to hide somewhere instead—an attic, a tunnel, anywhere.
Just as I was about to say that, she spoke faster than I could.
“Leave Faustine and go where? I’m not saying this to praise myself, but there’s no place as kind to outsiders as Faustine. If this were somewhere else, the lord would’ve seized the sweet potato field you cultivated the moment it was ready for harvest.”
“I… I know that.”
Where in this world is there land without an owner? Only Faustine was like that. Other lords would wait until the crops were ready, then claim the land as theirs—even though they’d never bothered to cultivate it themselves.
“And you’re not exactly worldly either. What if you get scammed somewhere else? And there are so many places where public safety is poor.”
She was right about everything, and those were things I worried about too. But unlike her fears, I wasn’t leaving. My face turned bright red as I answered in a small, creeping voice.
“M-My boyfriend said it would be better if I didn’t leave… so I’m going to stay here.”
At my words, Grandmother Lord scrunched up her face.
“Who did you say?”
My voice had been so quiet she hadn’t heard properly.
Be brave, Rienna. I tensed my stomach and squeezed my eyes shut.
“M-My boyfriend!”
“Your boyfriend?”
She repeated the word as if doubting her ears, then her eyes widened in shock.
“Your boyfriend?! Who is it? Is it someone I know?”
“Well, th-that is…”
Yes. You do know him.
It’s your grandson!
That’s really hard to say!
As I was sweating and hesitating, the drawing-room door opened. Camin, dressed simply in a shirt and trousers, walked in carrying a tray with a cake on it and set it down in front of Grandmother Lord.
Then he naturally sat beside me and said calmly,
“That’s how it is, Grandmother.”
“My goodness…”
She looked back and forth between me and Camin, her lips parting slightly. Then, with a resolute expression, she stood up.
“…Then let’s start with the wedding. You can never let your guard down until a woman has given birth to at least three children.”
No, Grandmother!
You’ve gone way too far!!
