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Chapter : 32
The Duke of Vinok hadn’t made a big show of it, but as if to say that blood will tell, he hadn’t been able to hide the smile on his face, remarking that even things like this were alike.
Freya was glad that she no longer had to provide instruction, but that didn’t mean her duties ended there.
“After that, I stopped going to the ducal residence and instead kept in daily contact with Astella by letter, faithfully attending to her. I did everything the child wanted and asked for.”
Right. After education, what remained was Astella’s personal life.
“Even if she came to see me while I was working, I never turned her away and spent time with her. I took her wherever she wanted to go, and got her anything she said she wanted.”
Even though she no longer went to the House of Vinok, Freya didn’t feel separated from Astella. She spent more than half of every day with the girl.
“And even after all that, are you still going to say I didn’t attend to her?”
Freya’s sharp voice flew at them.
“……”
“……”
“I have my own work and my own life. Did you really expect me to attend to Astella like a live-in maid? Is that what you wanted?”
No matter how lightly they might look down on Freya, she was still a marquis’s daughter—specifically, the daughter of Marquis Valche, the older brother of the Duke of Vinok.
In terms of rank, the Duke of Vinok stood higher, and though they were half-brothers, Freya was still his brother’s daughter—his niece. To Verde and Karin, she was a cousin.
Even in their anger over Astella, they knew there were lines that should not be crossed, a level of rudeness that must not be committed.
“…….”
The Duke of Vinok looked at Freya with a hardened face. Though pain had drained the color from her face and made her body tremble, the eyes meeting his were firm.
There wasn’t a single wrong word in what Freya had said. The duke knew this better than anyone, since he received daily reports from his butler about how she attended to Astella.
“S-Still, it’s true that you turned the brat into a liar!”
Overwhelmed by Freya’s force, Karin, who had been keeping his mouth shut, waved his hand and shouted. At the threatening gesture, Raiden stepped in front of her and glared at him.
After steadying her breath, Freya slowly opened her mouth as she looked at the three of them.
“I’ll say it again. I don’t know anything about that. And the liar isn’t me… it’s Astella.”
“What?”
“What did you say?”
Karin and Verde raised their voices as if they had heard something absurd. Seeing the Duke of Vinok’s expression change slightly, she continued.
“The one who lied was Astella. That child has been deceiving everyone this whole time.”
“What does that even—”
“What do you mean by that, young lady of Marquis Valche?”
Cutting off Verde, the duke asked. His gaze at Freya was cold, but not as filled with rage as before.
Seeing him react to her words, she spoke carefully. Raiden wrapped an arm around Freya’s trembling shoulders and let her lean against him.
“Astella was in love with Duke Bethelheim. Because of that, she went around spreading lies that she and the duke were lovers and that they were even going to get married.”
“What? What are you talking about? The brat and the duke are lovers! Where are you getting such nonsense—”
“The duke himself denied his relationship with her. Astella and the duke are not lovers.”
“That can’t be true!”
That they weren’t lovers? How could that be?
‘I… I’ve found someone I love.’
The child, who had struggled in an unfamiliar environment after suddenly entering high society, had one day said this with reddened cheeks.
At first it had been surprising, but seeing her lively face and sparkling eyes, they had quietly accepted it.
‘I became lovers with Duke Bethelheim! I’m so happy!’
Some time later, hearing that she and the duke had found mutual feelings had been quite a shock, but seeing how happy Astella was, they had no choice but to accept it.
It did bother them that the other party was that Duke Bethelheim, but compared to other male nobles, his qualifications were more than sufficient.
Somewhere in their hearts, they even thought, If it’s a duke, he can take that child with him. They wanted to give Astella the very best in everything, to make up for all they hadn’t been able to do for her.
So that woman’s words were absolutely impossible.
“Is what the young lady says true, Duke Bethelheim?”
It should have been—
“It is true. Lady Astella of Vinok and I are nothing to each other.”
“……!”
At the Duke of Vinok’s question, Raiden answered in a firm voice. True? Verde’s eyes widened.
“T-That’s a lie! Aren’t you two in on this together?! You must have tricked the brat and agreed on this story!”
“If there were a witness, would you believe it?”
“A w-witness?”
In truth, no witness was needed, but to convince the three of them, there was no other choice.
“The Dowager Duchess of Bethelheim would be sufficient as a witness—”
Just as Freya was answering, a high, thin voice cut in.
“Father! Brothers!”
The person who rushed into the office with pink hair flying was Astella. Her face was beaded with sweat as if she had run there, and with a flustered expression she tried to stop the three of them.
“What are you doing coming here like this! I told you, didn’t I? Freya unni isn’t at fault!”
As her tear-filled voice rang out, the three of them turned their attention to her. At that moment, black smoke spread toward them from around her feet.
“Astella….”
“Brat! Why are you here? I told you to keep a better watch on her.”
Karin glared at the knights who had chased after her. Unable to stop the young lady, they bowed their heads, breaking out in cold sweat.
The Duke of Vinok took Astella by the shoulders and said,
“Don’t worry. We won’t let what you went through slide.”
“Father….”
“You just stay put, Astella. We’ll take care of everything for you.”
“Brother Verde….”
Watching the four of them, Freya frowned.
What is this? The atmosphere suddenly changed.
The three who had been flustered just a moment ago completely changed their attitude the instant Astella arrived.
As if they had already forgotten what she had just said.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Freya clicked her tongue at Astella, who stood between them looking as if she might burst into tears.
“Astella. You didn’t even listen to what I said last time, and now you’re lying again.”
“W-What do you mean, Freya unni…?”
Where had that vicious face that had glared at her gone? As if frightened of Freya, Astella’s lovely green eyes trembled.
At the sight, Freya looked at her with an incredulous expression.
“How long are you going to keep repeating the same lies? It’s all been revealed anyway. The dowager duchess has already—”
“Unni! How could you… do this to me?”
Astella cried out to urgently cut her off, and finally burst into tears.
“I trusted you, Freya unni… This is really too much!”
“…….”
Covering her tear-streaked face with both hands, she lowered her head. For a moment, Freya was left speechless.
As Astella sobbed, Verde and Karin reacted sharply.
“Lady of Marquis Valche. Are you ignoring what my sister just said?”
“It looks like you’re trying to dodge your fault. How dare you show such an attitude before us?”
When she shed tears again, the Duke of Vinok glared at Freya with his dark red eyes once more.
“Lady of Marquis Valche. You will pay dearly for making my daughter cry.”
“…….”
All of this felt strangely unreal to Freya.
Had she misunderstood the genre of the original story? Was this body not a pitiful supporting character, but a villainous one?
The scene was so bewildering and absurd it felt like a dream, but seeing the three men reproach her, she knew it was reality.
And the three of them are acting strange. They’re completely different from just a moment ago.
What was this unease she had been feeling? Ever since Astella arrived, the three of them seemed different. Even the flow of the conversation didn’t match anymore, somehow.
