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Chapter 04
“So Marquis Nor and Count Herols were trying to strengthen their alliance by marrying off their children.”
“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
As Viscount Berta coughed and spoke with difficulty, the beautiful smile lingering on Theron’s lips vanished in an instant.
“Count Herols is quite the odd one. To think he’d try to keep me in check by pairing his daughter with someone as ugly and old as you, Viscount.”
That was the very reason Theron had come to the restaurant.
He had to prevent the two families—the core forces of the Emperor’s faction—from tightening their alliance even further.
Of course, Lady Herols throwing herself into his carriage of her own accord had been completely unexpected.
“Still, that daughter seems fairly clever. Rather than ending up with someone like you, she decided to go after the one she should be most wary of—me.”
If Aveline had heard him, she would have been hopping up and down in protest, but unfortunately there was no one here to correct his misunderstanding.
Since today’s meeting had already fallen apart, there was no way Marquis Nor’s pride would allow him to bring up the broken marriage proposal again.
This outcome was far more satisfying than Theron had expected.
“W-What in the world are you talking about…?”
Lost in his own pleasant thoughts, Theron finally looked down at the squirming Viscount Berta beneath him.
“Ah, that reminds me. How is your sordid affair with Count Juan’s wife progressing?”
“H-How do you know about that?!”
The moment Count Juan’s name was mentioned, Viscount Berta’s pupils shook violently.
Count Juan was Marquis Nor’s right-hand man and one of the Emperor’s most trusted nobles—a central figure of the Emperor’s faction.
If it became known that he had seduced Count Juan’s wife…
Gulp.
Forgetting even his injuries, Viscount Berta hurriedly got to his knees.
“Your Grace! I-I was wrong! I’ll do anything you ask! Just please don’t tell my father or Count Juan…”
Looking down at the pale-faced Viscount Berta as he desperately begged, the corners of Theron’s lips curled into a beautiful smile.
Completely unaware of how badly Theron had misunderstood her, Aveline was facing a new dilemma.
No matter how thoroughly she searched the carriage, she couldn’t find a single document—not even a scrap of paper.
Then she discovered what looked like a jelly candy someone had dropped.
At first, she merely thought it was surprising that someone like Duke Libes ate jelly candies.
But before long, a loud rumble echoed from her stomach.
Grrrrrrr…!
“Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything all day.”
Strictly speaking, she had barely been able to eat because her dress had been laced so tightly to make her waist look slimmer.
Now, staring at the single jelly lying on the seat where the Duke had been sitting, her mouth began watering on its own.
“No matter how hungry I am… picking up something off the floor is a bit…”
Her pride wouldn’t allow it.
She was even afraid someone might see her.
Grrrrrrrrrrr…!
But regardless of her resolve, every time her eyes met the tiny pink jelly—no bigger than her little fingernail—her stomach roared like thunder.
“Since it already fell… maybe it’d be okay…?”
Before she knew it, Aveline had begun negotiating with her own conscience.
“I’m sure His Grace won’t come looking for a dropped jelly.”
The moment hunger overpowered reason, she carefully picked up the jelly.
She only intended to smell it.
“Hm?”
It smelled much better than she had expected.
“Maybe… just one tiny bite?”
If she nibbled only the corner where it wouldn’t be noticeable…
Or no, maybe if she simply licked the surface a little…
Surely that would ease her hunger just a bit.
Just as hunger was about to consume the last of her pride—
“Huh?”
The jelly in her hand suddenly began glowing.
“W-What is…? Ah!”
The light disappeared.
At the very same moment, the jelly melted away like snow under the sun, vanishing without leaving a single trace.
“…What?”
Aveline stared blankly at her now-empty hand, left with nothing but an even greater appetite.
“Did someone put anti-theft magic on the jelly…?”
Otherwise, she couldn’t explain how the perfectly ordinary jelly she had been holding had suddenly disappeared right before her eyes.
Of course, anti-theft magic wasn’t something that could be cast so casually.
Still, somehow, she felt that if it were Duke Libes, he just might do something like that.
Even from the brief encounter they had earlier, he seemed like someone whose thoughts were impossible to predict.
“I guess I should go outside.”
She hadn’t planned on waiting for Duke Libes to return anyway.
Besides, she was too embarrassed by the fact that she had nearly eaten a dropped jelly simply because she was hungry.
The jelly that had vanished in her hand also left her feeling oddly uneasy.
“Hey, Sis! Where are you?!”
Suddenly, the outside became rather noisy.
“You can’t cause a disturbance here!”
“Move! That ugly gi—… no, not exactly ugly… she kind of looks like me, but a little less attractive… anyway, have you seen a pink-haired girl around here?!”
“Excuse me? I have no idea what you’re talking about…!”
The voices were so close that she could hear them clearly.
“Wait… that voice sounds familiar.”
With a bad feeling creeping over her, Aveline crouched down and carefully peeked through the carriage window.
“Why is he here?”
Outside was the familiar pink-haired troublemaker.
It was none other than Ares, Aveline’s twin brother.
If they had run into each other right after she left the restaurant, she would have been happy to see him.
But seeing him causing such a commotion now left her not only bewildered but also deeply embarrassed.
After crouching inside the carriage for a moment, Aveline finally made up her mind and stepped outside.
“Ares!”
“Wha—?! Why are you coming out of there?!”
Ares, who had turned around in excitement, stared at his suddenly appearing sister with wide eyes.
A moment later, he seemed to recognize the crest on the carriage.
His expression immediately darkened.
“We’ll talk later. Let’s leave first.”
Afraid Duke Libes might come outside after hearing the commotion, Aveline grabbed her brother by the wrist.
“What did you come here on? Hurry, let’s ride it home.”
Only after they had entered an alley some distance away from the restaurant did Aveline finally let go of him.
When she turned around, Ares was glaring at her with an ominous expression, snorting furiously.
“What happened? Why were you coming out of some random carriage instead of the restaurant? And what’s with your face? Wait… were you crying?”
Only then did Aveline wipe her face with the back of her hand.
There were still damp tear stains she hadn’t managed to clean off earlier.
“Were you crying?!”
He looked ready to charge off somewhere the moment she admitted it.
“What’s gotten into him?”
She had always thought he wouldn’t care whether she cried or not.
His reaction completely caught her off guard.
Still, calming Ares down came first.
“No. I just yawned really hard earlier…”
“When you yawn, do you get a runny nose too?”
What?
Runny nose?
Startled by his words, Aveline hurriedly felt her face.
Just as Ares had said, it wasn’t only tears that had been running down her cheeks.
“So… I talked to Duke Libes looking like that?”
An overwhelming wave of embarrassment crashed over her.
What must Duke Libes have thought when a woman with tears and snot all over her face suddenly threw herself into his carriage?
“…No.”
“The Duke was just as crazy.”
“We’re even.”
Besides, she would never see him again after today.
With that thought, Aveline forced herself to calm down.
Then she spoke in an attempt to soothe her still-fuming brother.
“It’s nothing serious. Let’s go home first, and I’ll explain everything there.”
“Tell me now. Which one was it? Viscount Berta or the owner of that carriage?”
Ares clearly had no intention of backing down.
He snorted even harder than before, glaring with eyes practically blazing.
“You expect me to believe you were just yawning? Do you cry until your face is covered in tears and snot every time you yawn? The last time you cried this much was when that blond-haired second male lead died and you hugged that book while refusing to eat.”
Ah.
Her dark history had surfaced out of nowhere.
Well… something like that had happened.
But why on earth did he still remember something from so long ago?
“…I’ll tell you the truth, so promise you’ll listen quietly.”
Unable to overcome Ares’s stubborn determination, Aveline finally gave in and explained everything that had happened.
“So… you’re saying you punched Viscount Berta right in the mouth, then called Duke Libes a lunatic straight to his face?”
“That’s right.”
“And today was your first time meeting both of them?”
“Yes.”
“And after you insulted Duke Libes, he got excited and went back into the restaurant to deal with Viscount Berta himself?”
“Exactly.”
The twins were squatting against the wall in the alley, discussing the matter with deadly serious expressions.
Against the gloomy alley, their identical pink hair almost looked like two floating lights.
“You’re honestly amazing.”
Ares spoke with genuine admiration.
Receiving praise from her brother for what felt like the first time, Aveline puffed up slightly with pride.
But reality quickly came crashing back down.
“What am I supposed to tell Father?”
“You can leave everything to your big brother.”
Ares proudly thumped his chest.
When Aveline looked at him skeptically, he grinned with satisfaction.
“I already talked to Father and told him we should cancel this engagement anyway. Duke Libes getting involved was unexpected, but he’s already famous for being a complete weirdo, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Ares stood up and flashed her a dependable smile.
“Let’s go home.”
“…Thank you.”
Taking the hand he held out to her, Aveline found herself thinking for the first time that maybe her twin brother really was on her side.
“The carriage is gone?”
“The coachman said it was Count’s orders and returned to the estate with it.”
“…Father.”
The carriage she had come in had already left.
Realizing her father’s intentions in not leaving any carriage for her to return in made the sense of betrayal even stronger.
“So he wanted me to spend the night with that Viscount.”
“Don’t say something so horrifying. I’ll talk to Father again myself. Ugh. The more I think about it, the more sick I feel.”
Ares frowned deeply, looking as though his stomach had turned.
“So… how are we getting home?”
“I came with Beauty, so we’ll ride Beauty back.”
Aveline knew exactly who Beauty was.
It was Ares’s beloved horse.
According to him, the combination of a handsome horse and his own handsome self was absolutely unbeatable.
