IRGS 10

Chapter 10

The man was unbelievably kind, but that kindness felt far too excessive for someone like me. I shook my head vigorously.

“No, really… If you find it hard to believe, I can even show you the letter Leoni sent me yesterday.”

But the man quietly shook his head as well.

“No. You may take my words literally. This truly is not your fault. Coincidentally, what I was about to tell you concerns exactly that matter. First…”

After watching my reaction for a moment, the man seemed to realize he could no longer delay the situation. With the solemn demeanor of a doctor informing a family that the patient could no longer be saved, he spoke.

“Arnold had a secret lover.”

“Yes, and?”

What was the big revelation?

At my attitude, the man suddenly widened his eyes and almost shouted in a low voice.

“So you already knew. And yet you still let that bastard be?”

“Well… so what?”

I already knew that my younger sister had killed Arnold while he was meeting that lover. Thanks to the memories from before my regression, I knew my assumption had been correct, so I silently waited to refute whatever the man was about to say.

“Yes. According to what our family uncovered, Arnold went traveling with his lover… then, while drunk, committed the idiotic act of driving the carriage himself and fell off a cliff to his death.”

Just as I was about to protest, the man quickly added:

“And Arnold died three days ago at noon — before the assassination attempt against your sister ever happened. The discovery was simply delayed.”

“What?! Then…”

“Yes. Arnold’s death truly has nothing whatsoever to do with the Bartoli family.”

I slowly digested his words. And in the end, I had no choice but to admit he was right.

But… but that couldn’t be.

Stammering, I said,

“But I really did receive a letter from Leoni. And when Leoni decides to do something, she follows through.”

“If you mean that revenge… then it was probably this.”

As he said that, the man pulled out tomorrow’s edition of the Imperial Newspaper.

How did this man have tomorrow’s newspaper already in his hands?

But the words printed across the front-page headline were so shocking that they swept away all other thoughts.

[Lady Bartoli’s Fiancé Caught in an Affair Once Again… Yet the Engagement Remains Intact?]

The moment I read it, my heart dropped.

The man’s voice echoed heavily in my ears.

“We acquired it just before the Imperial Newspaper went to print. It seems the Crown Princess-to-be intended to take revenge on you by publicly exposing your fiancé’s disgrace.”

At first glance, it looked like an article criticizing a man who betrayed his fiancée and cheated. My mother had been the First Princess, I was the eldest daughter of a marquis family, and the Glentino ducal house possessed rights to the imperial succession, so news about us appearing in the Imperial Newspaper itself was not strange.

But for such sensational content — the sort of thing fit for gossip tabloids — to become the main headline of the Empire’s official paper clearly carried intent.

And more importantly, the headline included not Arnold’s name, the one who cheated, but mine.

An ordinary person would probably interpret Leoni’s intentions like this:

First, expose the fiancé’s affair and shock me.

Second, make society gossip about how I failed to control my fiancé.

But I knew better. It was neither of those things.

For one, I already knew Arnold was cheating, so there was no reason for me to feel betrayed all over again. And second, I couldn’t care less about social reputation. Leoni already knew that too.

Rather…

What that damn little sister of mine was really aiming for was this:

To make Father despise me even more. To hurt me through that.

To be frank, having Arnold’s affair exposed was even worse for me than Arnold dying.

It would be difficult to blame me for Arnold’s “death,” but an “affair” was different. Father would most likely see it as entirely my fault.

‘Leoni, you evil brat.’

That eldest younger sister who knew me far too well also knew exactly how to wound me in the most elegant way possible.

Ironically, in my previous life, Leoni killing my fiancé had probably been her version of mercy. She had only sent a warning without humiliating me.

Either way, the young duke of Glentino had been right.

My fiancé, Arnold…

“He really died doing something stupid.”

“Yes. That is correct.”

Ha. Hahaha.

Give me back all my guilt, regret, and remorse.

“To be honest, I didn’t particularly want to tell you.”

The man took a sip of tea before continuing.

“But since you already knew Arnold was cheating, perhaps I should have explained sooner. Ever since I asked to meet you yesterday, I can only imagine the ridiculous conclusions you must have arrived at.”

“I wasn’t imagining anything weird.”

I felt a little guilty remembering how I’d been admiring the maid uniforms, but I pretended otherwise.

Fidgeting with the teacup handle, I asked something I had been curious about.

“Did the lover… die too?”

“Do you wish for that?”

What kind of question was that?!

“Why would I?! I’m just asking what happened.”

“She did not die. Apparently Arnold was alone in the carriage at the time. However, it seems the lover fled the scene after seeing the accident, likely because she did not want the affair exposed. Our family intends to seek compensation.”

His voice sounded firm enough that I felt reassured once more that Arnold had not died because of me.

Though I had no idea what kind of compensation they planned to demand.

Once the main topic ended, the tension visibly eased. I even managed a slight smile while looking at him.

But unlike me, Owen ta Glentino seemed even more tense than before. Of course, his expression remained calm throughout, so I couldn’t be certain. It was simply a feeling.

“Lady Bartoli.”

The moment he called my name, a knock came from the drawing room door.

It was the duke’s butler.

Owen set down his teacup with a sharp clink. His expression didn’t change in the slightest, yet somehow I could tell he was extremely irritated.

The butler carefully cracked the door open, and without even turning his head, Owen asked,

“How urgent could it possibly be, Colin?”

“Th-that would be… code red.”

At those words, Owen let out a faint sigh before turning toward me with a genuinely apologetic expression.

“Lady Bartoli, I sincerely apologize, but would you mind if I stepped away briefly? It shouldn’t take long.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. Until I return… ah, Butler, please bring the lady more refreshments.”

“I’m fine!”

I answered so loudly that both men turned to stare at me simultaneously.

“Ah, Young Duke, if it’s alright with you, perhaps you could simply conduct your business here. I’ll go look around the estate for a while.”

Saying that, I hurriedly stood up.

We had already eaten such an enormous lunch, and now snacks too? I wasn’t some seven-year-old child constantly stuffing my face!

The butler saw my horrified expression and seemed to roughly understand why, stepping aside to clear the path.

Owen, looking momentarily disappointed that I refused the refreshments, asked me:

“Then perhaps instead of touring the estate later with me, would you like to visit the garden? Once I’m finished, I’ll come find you.”

Now that I thought about it, the weather was nice. That didn’t sound bad at all.

Feeling pleasantly full, I readily agreed and rose from my seat.

Outside the door, another butler was already waiting for me. He must have overheard the conversation in the drawing room because he immediately began guiding me toward the garden.

His tone and manner were so respectful that I almost felt like the Queen of Noiden herself.

“Since Master likely won’t take long, I shall escort you to the smallest garden. It is modest and lacking, but we would be deeply grateful if you could enjoy it even a little.”

…That was what the butler said on the way there.

So naturally, I believed him.

“……”

‘This is modest and lacking? The smallest one?!’

Why was there a pond bigger than my bedroom?!

There was even an adorable wooden bridge crossing over it, while willow branches swayed softly in the wind beside the water. It looked like the perfect place for a picnic.

Beyond that, all sorts of flowers and trees had been harmoniously maintained. Just standing there made it feel as though all worldly worries had vanished.

I sincerely admired it.

“It’s truly magnificent.”

“In truth, this was the garden the Duchess loved most. She often said its cozy atmosphere reminded her of building secret hideouts as a child.”

Hmm. My childhood secret hideout had been inside a wardrobe.

Just what kind of secret hideouts had the Duchess made?

There was so much to see that carefully examining every detail would take forever. I decided to first take a leisurely walk around the outer trail circling the garden.

And because I wanted to enjoy the feeling of being alone, I deliberately kept the butler some distance away.

As I walked, I eventually reached the estate’s boundary, enclosed by a tall fence.

Through the large white fence — easily twice my height — I could see the road outside the mansion.

A boy in a flat cap was energetically scattering something.

“Extra! Extra!”

Every time the boy shouted, passersby grabbed a single-page newspaper from him.

An extra edition? That had to mean something huge. Perhaps the Emperor had suddenly collapsed, or an imperial heir had been born, or Noiden Kingdom had invaded.

Just then, one of the papers fluttered toward me.

I quickly reached through the fence and snatched it.

And written across that extra edition was this:

[Today Is the Birthday of Sophia ta Bartoli, the Most Beautiful Young Lady of the Bartoli Family]

“…?”

I doubted my own eyes.

But no matter how much I rubbed them, the words didn’t change.

‘Am I dreaming? What on earth is going on?’

Then the conversation from the drawing room flashed through my mind.

Owen had definitely said this:

“Immediately distribute extras throughout the Empire. Print: ‘Today is the birthday of Lady Sophia, the most beautiful among the three Bartoli sisters.’”

At the time, I thought it was a joke, so I laughed.

And then the man had answered:

“I am entirely serious.”

And now those exact words — not a single syllable different — were printed on this paper in giant letters.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

So this absurd extra edition was really being distributed across the entire Empire right now?! From one end of the Empire to the other? That man genuinely intended to announce my birthday to every imperial citizen?!

A terrible premonition struck me.

If that man truly never made meaningless empty promises…

Then what about the part where he said he’d declare it a national holiday? And dry every peach pit in existence?

Were those serious too?!

‘Nooooo!!!’

At that moment, there was only one course of action available to me.

I spun around and sprinted back the way I came.

“Butler! Butler!!”

Please stop your insane master!