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Chapter 16
Cheres stared coldly at Chloe.
She had suddenly barged in and plopped herself right beside him.
Borgus, who had been sitting there, had been kicked out of his seat and now stood off to the side with a bewildered expression.
In just a few days, Borgus’s complexion had turned noticeably darker. He glared irritably at the disaster he himself had brought upon them.
Chloe bounced her foot and rested her chin on her hand, then spoke in a bright voice.
“Cheres, don’t you think this mansion is too gloomy? Should I redecorate it a bit?”
“No.”
Cheres answered without even looking up, his eyes returning to the documents in front of him. As expected, it was a pointless suggestion. Chloe didn’t even have the authority to do such a thing in the first place.
“Why not?! If I do it, it’ll become really beautiful—!”
“No.”
“If we just add some light-colored fabrics and ribbons, it’ll look completely different. Starting from the lobby… I’ll pay special attention to your room, Cheres.”
“No.”
Cheres repeated the same answer stiffly. Talking to a wall would’ve been more productive.
But Chloe was already lost in her own world.
“We should change those old curtains, and the sofa covers too. And if we place some artificial flowers on the mantel, the atmosphere will really—”
“Chloe. I said no.”
Even after being rejected on the spot, Chloe didn’t back down.
She followed Cheres around relentlessly as he prepared for a meeting and even accompanied him all the way to the knights stationed by the coast. She stood right beside him while he discussed troop deployment with the knight commander, swaying the hem of her dress.
While Cheres was checking weapon supplies with the commander, she chirped from next to him,
“Cheres, do you think ivory curtains would be better, or light pink?”
In the end, Cheres spoke in a low voice inside the carriage.
His face already showed that he was thoroughly fed up with her behavior.
“How much will it cost?”
“Just as I expected from you, Cheres! I knew you’d trust me! The atmosphere of a home is so important. People say when a home is harmonious, everything else goes well too. Roana doesn’t seem to have any sense for this kind of thing at all! Just leave it to me!”
It wasn’t so much that he willingly gave her money—it was more accurate to say he paid her to make her go away.
At that point, Cheres had no idea what kind of overwhelming wave of pink would flood the mansion the next day.
* * *
The real problem began the next morning.
The moment I opened my door, the hallway was pink.
“…?”
Pink ribbons were wrapped around every pillar. Satin fabric draped down from the chandeliers. Ribbons coiled around the stair railings like snakes, and even the suit of armor at the end of the hallway had been decorated.
According to Lady Ureine, that armor dated back five generations—it had been worn by a former head of the family during a great victory against monsters.
Though the head had died from injuries sustained in that battle, the armor had been repaired and preserved.
Lady Ureine had spoken of it with such pride.
Now, a pink ribbon sat delicately atop the helmet.
The armor looked like it wanted to cry.
Lady Ureine stood in front of it, her face pale. She held a pink ribbon in her hand, looking as if she’d just been handed a death sentence.
I approached her carefully.
“Lady Ureine.”
“…As soon as morning came, Miss Chloe brought in a group of people…”
She let out a long sigh.
“They said His Grace gave permission.”
“…Cheres?”
“He has already left. He went to the knights’ order and won’t return until the afternoon.”
Her eyes looked utterly lifeless.
“…I’ll fix this. I promise.”
I placed the ribbon I had removed from the armor into her hands and nodded.
She nodded back with a gloomy expression.
In many ways, Chloe was a disaster.
* * *
Cheres didn’t return until late afternoon. By then, Hayden had already spent quite some time playing with the ribbons.
Chloe, who had turned the house into this state, had casually announced, “I worked so hard today, I’m exhausted—I’ll be leaving now,” and went home.
Cheres stopped the moment he stepped into the lobby.
He stared at the dazzling pink decorations for about three seconds before turning his gaze to me.
I wasn’t sure how to describe that expression.
“They said this was done with your permission.”
“…This is not what I approved.”
A vein throbbed at his temple. He took a deep breath.
Behind him, Borgus looked completely pale. Of course—no one could stay calm after seeing this.
Borgus opened his mouth as if to speak, then shut it tightly again.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
While I was observing Borgus, Cheres made a decision.
“…I’ll deal with it. It would be best to burn these monstrosities.”
“No, I’ll handle it. I only waited because I was told it had your approval. May I take care of it myself?”
“…Please do.”
Cheres pressed his forehead, veins visible on the back of his hand. Borgus nodded vigorously beside him.
He looked like he deeply regretted everything.
This was truly a case of reaping what you sow.
At this rate, it felt like Borgus would soon be the one asking to have Chloe thrown out.
I was waiting for that moment.
Of course, I had no intention of leaving things like this for long, so I immediately called Lady Ureine and the maids to begin restoring the mansion.
Lady Ureine gritted her teeth as she carefully removed the adhesive stuck to the armor, determined to restore the dignity and prestige of the ducal house.
The butterfly effect Chloe had unleashed began sweeping through the entire mansion.
* * *
Of course, Chloe didn’t take the situation quietly.
When she arrived the next morning and saw the mansion restored to its original state, she was horrified.
“Who dared touch my masterpiece?!”
Her scream echoed throughout the entire first floor—waking Hayden from his sleep.
“Waaah!”
Hayden’s cries overlapped with Chloe’s shriek.
Chloe stormed toward me and began shouting right in front of me as I tried to soothe Hayden.
“Did you clean it up?! Do you have any idea how much effort I put into that?!”
“Chloe, Hayden is crying. Please lower your voice.”
“That’s not the point!”
It was impossible to calm her down.
Hayden, who had just settled, started crying again at her raised voice.
I let out a sigh.
I had already prepared for this.
Even someone as unruly as Chloe had parents.
I had sent word to the Malate family in advance.
When I had asked Lady Ureine about Countess Malate, she described her as “upright, principled, and strong.”
And then she added that she was the only person who could somewhat control Chloe.
She had said that while holding adhesive remover in her hand.
Fortunately, in less than an hour, Countess Malate arrived by carriage.
For that entire hour, Chloe had been screeching like an enraged pig.
By the time the Countess arrived, Hayden had cried himself to sleep.
The moment she saw her daughter yelling at me, her expression froze completely.
Chloe glanced at her mother and immediately closed her mouth slightly.
Could you maybe keep it shut?
“I greet you. I am the one who manages the Malate household. Please feel free to call me Fiona.”
“It’s a pleasure, Lady Fiona. I apologize for calling you here under such circumstances.”
“I sincerely apologize for my daughter’s rudeness. Please forgive her immaturity.”
“Mother!”
Chloe turned toward her mother with a resentful expression.
The Countess called her calmly.
“Chloe. Explain what you think you are doing right now. How dare you—”
She spoke slowly, cutting her words sharply.
“—raise your voice at the Duchess.”
It was impressive how much anger she could contain within such a composed tone.
Chloe’s momentum faltered.
“I—I was just trying to make the mansion prettier for Cheres…”
“We are leaving.”
“Mother!”
“Immediately.”
The Countess grabbed Chloe by the arm and dragged her out. Even in that moment, she didn’t forget to show proper courtesy to me.
Chloe looked wronged, but she couldn’t defy her mother.
From the Countess’s back, I could feel decades of accumulated patience and exhaustion.
Perhaps Countess Malate was the strongest person in the entire southern region.
