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Chapter 6
The lounge was not very far from the scene of the accident.
But that only made things worse for her.
From the window of the room that had been turned into a lounge, she could clearly see the miserable remains of the disaster below.
Count Kirchhoff stood by the window with his hands in his pockets, silently watching it all.
The sounds of servants moving like ants while cleaning up the shattered display cabinet mixed together with the butler’s cries of despair.
Miti shrank her shoulders and fidgeted with her fingers like a child who had spilled juice on an expensive carpet.
After staring outside for a long while, the Count finally closed the window.
Miti’s shoulders flinched.
“So, where should we begin?”
Count Kirchhoff’s voice had changed.
It sounded completely different from the fake gentle tone he used earlier.
His low voice carried a cold edge that struck painfully against her ears.
But honestly, Miti thought this natural voice suited him much better.
“No. This isn’t the time to think about things like that.”
She lightly shook her head to clear away useless thoughts.
She needed to find a way out of this situation.
“Should I at least try to buy some time?”
Miti swallowed dryly while pretending not to understand.
“W-what do you mean……?”
“Are you pretending not to know?”
“M-me…… what exactly?”
“Do you even know how much that display cabinet you destroyed costs?”
“……”
“Even if you sold every dress and jewel you own, you still wouldn’t be able to buy even one of them.”
“So what?”
That was what Miti answered inwardly, but outwardly she obediently lowered her head and pretended to feel sorry.
However, it did not work on Count Kirchhoff.
A vertical wrinkle appeared between his brows.
“Don’t pretend to feel guilty with a face that clearly doesn’t feel guilty at all.”
“……”
“It’s obvious.”
He added sharply.
“Well, whatever.”
The Count let out a mocking laugh and loosened his necktie carelessly.
“Let’s put that aside for now.”
“……”
“I can simply make you pay for it.”
The Count pointed behind himself toward the window with his thumb.
Miti tightly shut her eyes.
“Ah, just as I thought.”
There were only two ways for her to escape this situation.
Either a massive amount of money would suddenly fall from the sky—
Or Count Kirchhoff would generously forgive her.
Neither option seemed possible.
Especially the second one.
The possibility was almost zero.
That man had planned to use even Minachelti’s feelings to gain wealth. There was no reason for him to generously ignore his own losses.
“Huh? But wait……”
Miti suddenly tilted her head while thinking carefully about the original story again.
Something felt strange.
If the story inside her head was truly Minachelti’s future and destiny, then the story had already changed.
Miti looked past Count Kirchhoff’s shoulder toward the window.
Outside, the dark night remained peaceful and quiet.
Except for the sounds of servants cleaning up the broken wall and decorations.
“It still seems fine though?”
“I would appreciate it if you explained what exactly happened.”
“Seriously. What did happen?”
Miti stared absentmindedly outside while muttering quietly.
“Do I not actually need to follow the original story exactly?”
Slowly, Miti shifted her eyes toward Count Kirchhoff.
The Count looked displeased that she was distracted.
Miti also found him annoying.
She wanted time to calmly think through the situation, but he kept talking and interrupting her thoughts.
“Are you trying to find a way out of this?”
“Well, I can’t just quietly accept being in trouble like this.”
“I was already thinking this earlier, but you’re surprisingly good at talking back.”
“Then should I just ignore you?”
At Miti’s answer, another wrinkle appeared between the Count’s brows.
Ignoring him, she looked back outside.
Stars quietly filled the sky, and the dim reflection of both her and the Count appeared on the smooth glass.
“Is it because the Count still hasn’t lost interest in me?”
Miti slowly turned her gaze toward him again.
Like he said earlier, the Count would demand compensation from her.
She had no idea how much it would cost, but in the worst case, the Sestol family might have to withdraw their investment money to pay him back.
“If that happens… then maybe the story can still return to its original path?”
A small light of hope began shining before Miti’s eyes.
“I thought you were just a quiet and timid doll from the Sestol family.”
At that moment, the Count deliberately provoked her again.
The thoughts that had been filling her head disappeared instantly.
“Is he openly picking a fight with me right now?”
A wrinkle appeared between Miti’s brows as well.
“……Says the man who was planning to scam an innocent woman.”
“What did you say?”
Count Kirchhoff’s eyes sharpened further.
Miti glared back at him just as fiercely.
“It’s true, isn’t it? You approached me because you had an ulterior motive.”
“Me?”
“Stop pretending. You were planning to feed lies to my father and brother so they would withdraw the mine investment money.”
Count Kirchhoff’s eyes slowly narrowed.
Miti no longer held back her criticism.
“If you chase money that desperately, you’ll go bald. Don’t you know women don’t like bald men?”
She glanced at his thick hair and spoke bluntly.
“Though honestly, your hair already looks a little thin.”
“Hah!”
Count Kirchhoff burst into laughter.
Hearing him laugh like that instantly brought Miti back to reality.
“What did I just say……?”
She should have been begging to fix this situation instead.
“But why is he laughing?”
Miti tightly clenched her fist, ready to punch him and run if necessary.
For some reason, the Count kept laughing so hard that even his shoulders shook.
“Ah, I really thought I’d be able to seduce you.”
Count Kirchhoff wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his long fingers.
“You’re right. I did approach you with hidden intentions. But how did you notice?”
His eyes curved softly.
With that sweet voice, he almost seemed like a completely different person.
“I should apologize. I thought you would be a boring and dull woman. I also thought you were a naive fool who knew nothing about the world.”
He tilted his head slightly.
He truly had a talent for smiling while saying insulting things.
“I never realized you were someone so sharp-eyed. Was my acting really that poor?”
“Huh?”
“Or perhaps… men like me simply aren’t your type?”
Miti blankly stared at Count Kirchhoff as he tilted his head.
When their eyes met, he smiled as if trying to tempt her.
“How strange. I thought there wouldn’t be a single woman in the capital who disliked me.”
“……Wow. You’re seriously annoying.”
“Haha! So this is your real personality?”
Count Kirchhoff burst into loud laughter again.
Miti could not understand what was so funny.
Without lowering her guard, she continued glaring at him.
At this point, it no longer mattered whether he was her type or not.
Everything about him annoyed her.
Who would possibly like a man who acted so arrogant?
“Does he think being handsome automatically makes him charming?”
Miti puffed out her lower lip.
“Would you like something to drink?”
The Count walked toward a table placed in the corner and poured two glasses of alcohol.
Then he held one toward her.
But when she refused to take it, he merely shrugged and placed it back on the table.
“Did you study magic?”
“Magic?”
Count Kirchhoff looked back at her again.
His gaze remained relaxed while watching her continue pretending innocence.
After taking a sip from his glass, he removed one hand from his pocket.
“Destruction magic. And at quite a high level too.”
In his hand was a small stone.
It looked like part of the debris from the destroyed wall.
“When did he even pick that up?”
The corner of Miti’s eye twitched slightly.
“I’m not a mage, but I’m very interested in magic. Probably more interested than most of them.”
The Count stared at the stone that still carried traces of magic.
“Now that I think about it, wasn’t your brother once scouted by the Magic Tower when he was younger?”
The way he deliberately showed her the stone felt like a warning not to even think about escaping with cheap lies.
“Sit down. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to talk with you.”
“But I don’t want to.”
“Then should I send my knights to your house immediately?”
Count Kirchhoff said it with a smile.
His tone was soft enough to sound like a question, but it was clearly a threat.
And he was absolutely the type of man who would truly do it.
Reluctantly, Miti sat down on the sofa.
The corners of Count Kirchhoff’s lips curled upward evenly again.
He looked extremely satisfied.
Like a man completely certain that he held the advantage.
