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Chapter 8
I closed my mouth. The man’s words — come see me — made my imagination wander in strange directions.
But after thinking it over again, I realized I would have to meet him at least once anyway, to bring back the Thunder Root and return the trench coat. There was no reason to expect anything more.
I swallowed the words I wanted to say and nodded obediently.
“Yes, understood. I’ll make good use of the ointment too.”
“Use it well, then.”
…What?
I stared at him in disbelief, my mouth falling open, but before closing the carriage door the man hesitated and tossed something else toward me.
“…I happened to pick this up. Use this well too.”
It was a pair of indoor slippers. Fluffy white fur, soft and adorable.
I must have unconsciously shown how much I liked them. After checking my expression, the man grinned slightly, almost teasingly, and shut the carriage door.
“Hah…”
I felt like I’d been teased a little, but somehow it didn’t feel bad.
“My lady?”
Bessie looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Let’s head out for now.”
I calmed myself and spoke.
“We’ll talk once we get back.”
* * *
“Eek! My lady, what in the world is going on?! Since when did you become that close with the eldest son of the Glentino Ducal House?!”
The moment we returned to the estate and entered my room, Bessie burst into excited chatter. Which was understandable. That man was unbelievably handsome — incomparable to Arnold.
But—
“I don’t know either.”
I stroked Popo’s back as I answered. Because I truly didn’t know.
Still, honestly… I was looking forward to tomorrow.
…Wait.
“Why did that man ask to see me tomorrow in the first place?!”
“Huh?”
When I suddenly shouted, Bessie merely looked at me as if she were already used to this sort of thing.
No, but seriously — really.
Once I pushed aside the fluttering in my chest and thought calmly, there was no reason for that man to want to see me separately.
Of course, the night before last hadn’t been the first time we met. Our first meeting had been years ago, at my engagement ceremony with Arnold.
But back then, he’d greeted hundreds of people. Besides, I’d had no interest in becoming particularly close with my fiancé’s family, so we’d exchanged only formal greetings and moved on.
Therefore, the first time we’d truly faced each other and had an actual conversation was in that mountain field.
Still, because we already knew each other’s faces — and because there was a strangely familiar feeling between us — we’d bickered our way down from the hillside to the townhouse like people who had known each other for years, without even properly introducing ourselves.
That encounter had left us with things to exchange, like the trench coat and the Thunder Root, but honestly, those were trivial matters. We could easily have sent servants with some excuse.
Which meant there was only one plausible reason he wanted to see me the day after his younger brother’s funeral.
He figured out that Arnold died because of me!
If that were true, the ducal family might demand compensation on a family level!
“Gasp!”
It made sense! The more I thought about it, the more plausible it became.
Arnold definitely knew about the bloody rivalry between Leonie and me. If so, he’d probably mentioned the chaos to his family at least once.
And if that was the case, they could easily suspect the cause behind Arnold’s sudden death.
And if it was the Glentino Ducal House — the empire’s only ducal family — they might already have uncovered the truth behind Arnold’s death using all their influence and resources!
Damn it, Leonie, you crazy bitch! How could you kill the son of the empire’s only ducal house like that?!
Not that I, someone who’d once aimed to become Crown Princess, had any right to say that.
Once, my youngest sister Eloise had said this to me:
“You seem smart, Sister, but sometimes your thoughts jump to really weird places.”
And having completely forgotten Eloise’s remarkably insightful observation, I spent the night unable to sleep, wondering how much compensation Owen would demand, whether I’d have to work as a maid in the ducal household, and if so, remembering that the Glentino maids’ uniforms actually weren’t bad. Maybe tomorrow I should discreetly ask one of the maids about their wages.
* * *
“Happy birthday, my lady!”
That was what Bessie said as she came to wake me up.
Right. Today, I had turned twenty-one.
Still half-asleep, I sat up in bed and answered,
“Thank you, Bessie.”
“There are already piles of gifts for you! When would you like to open them?”
Hmm… when would be best?
Since I had to visit the Glentino Ducal House, it would probably be better to finish everything first and open them later at my leisure.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I said,
“Just leave them for now.”
“Yes, my lady!”
My personal maids brought in water with rose petals floating in it. They were all part of the Lira faction — my people.
My reflection shimmered on the water’s surface. Skin glowing in a way I could never have imagined before. Healthy hair. Bright, clear eyes.
That’s right. I’d returned to being twenty-one again.
I steeled my resolve. Compared to a miracle like this, everything else was trivial.
Even if I had to sit through breakfast alone with Father.
At least today was my birthday. Surely even he would restrain himself somewhat. And if not, I could always come back to my room and punch my pillow to relieve stress.
And if Owen ta Glentino demanded an outrageous amount of compensation over his brother’s death, then I’d simply shamelessly deny everything and insist he had no proof.
I brushed my fingers over the necklace sparkling elegantly around my neck — the aquamarine necklace Leonie had given me.
Only positive thoughts today!
You can do this!
* * *
To hell with this damned world. Let everyone die.
This world was overflowing with evil, and humanity would repeat the same foolishness until the god Jove washed everything away in a great flood.
Breakfast had been truly terrible. The moment I returned to my room, I threw up everything I had eaten.
“My lady…”
Bessie hovered anxiously beside me.
“Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please.”
Where had it all gone wrong?
Quietly, I replayed the morning in my head.
At breakfast, while we ate in silence, Father — no, the Marquis — had first said this:
“Your fiancé died yesterday, yet you still have the appetite to eat.”
I silently continued eating.
It was merely provocation. By that logic, the Glentino family should all be starving themselves too.
The Marquis simply disliked everything I did.
Only after I refused to respond and the butler cautiously interjected, “Master, today is Lady Sophia’s birthday, is it not?”, did the Marquis finally close his mouth.
But then my necklace became the problem.
“Your fiancé died yesterday, and already you’re wearing a gift from another man? Your loyalty to the man who might have become your master is no better than a whore’s.”
My appetite vanished instantly. I set down my fork and knife.
How could a father say something like that to his own daughter? Master? Whore? It was disgusting beyond words.
I couldn’t stay silent for this one, so I finally replied:
“It wasn’t from another man. Leonie gave it to me.”
“What?”
But instead of calming down, the Marquis’s face twisted red with fury.
“So now you’re extorting gifts from your sister who’s about to become Crown Princess? What did you threaten her with?!”
Ha. Seriously?
Leonie and I had openly displayed how poorly we got along, even in front of Father. How on earth had he reached the conclusion that I bullied gifts out of her, or that Leonie would ever obey my threats?
Even then, I might have endured it. I might have judged the breakfast as merely unpleasant.
But it didn’t end there.
The final blow was the peaches served for dessert.
I was allergic to peaches.
And peaches were Leonie’s favorite fruit.
But if I pointed that out too, I felt it would only make me more pathetic. So I merely pretended to eat and hurried back to my room.
I hadn’t even touched the peaches, yet my stomach churned as if I were already having an allergic reaction.
“Here, water.”
Bessie handed me warm water.
“Thanks, Bessie.”
As I accepted it, I repeated to myself:
I won’t cry. Someone like Father isn’t worth even a single tear.
After staring at me for a moment, Bessie suddenly burst into tears.
“My lady, why have you become so mature? It’s heartbreaking.”
“What?”
“You should just get angry and complain properly…”
Ah. I see.
Before my regression, at this age, I would have been hurt by Father’s treatment and lashed out at innocent servants instead. Especially whenever my inferiority complex toward Leonie worsened.
But this time was different.
I was going to move forward.
Wiping my mouth, I stood up and said to Bessie,
“Prepare for an outing.”
“Huh? Right now?”
“Yes. Better to get the punishment over with quickly.”
I intended to go straight to the Glentino Ducal House.
Honestly, in a filthy mood like this, I felt like I could be even more shameless. If they wanted compensation, then fine — let them demand whatever they wanted. I could confidently say that the so-called head of the Bartoli Marquisate wouldn’t spend even a single coin for my sake.
* * *
“Your face looks worn out.”
That was the first thing the man said upon seeing me.
We were in the reception room of the Glentino Ducal townhouse.
Perhaps he had stayed up all night. Wearing the same clothes as yesterday and looking slightly gaunt, the man greeting me was still ridiculously handsome.
But that didn’t stop my irritation.
“My face isn’t a fish left out in the summer sun. Haven’t you learned not to say things like that to someone’s face?”
“But it’s true that you look worn out.”
You really don’t need to emphasize it!
Before I could snap again, the man quickly asked,
“Have you eaten?”
“Of course. What time do you think it is?”
“I haven’t.”
“…What?”
“I was nervous.”
What? He said he was nervous? With that calm expression?
Wondering if I had heard wrong, I stared blankly while Owen added plainly,
“So please keep me company for a meal.”
