🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 11
Mio could no longer hold it in and shouted.
“Adoption? I’m already an adult! I’m grateful that you’ve let me stay here until now, but I’m going to leave this Kelt Ducal Castle soon!”
Once her role in the original story was over, she would escape!
All she wanted was to freeload for about three more months—the time remaining until her official exit.
‘Absolutely not. Marriage or adoption—never!’
If she got tangled up in even one of those, she’d fall into the swamp of “infinite error correction.”
The Duchess smiled as if Mio’s reaction were amusing.
“Oh, so you were planning to leave the ducal estate by getting married. Of course—you should. And for that, this is the best possible method. For all of us.”
“You’re mistaken. I’m not getting married, and I’m not being adopted either.”
“Listen. If you’re formally entered into the ducal family, Wyden will become your older brother. And Caleb will be your sister-in-law.”
The Duchess raised her eyebrows as if to ask whether Mio understood. Mio frowned.
“What does that have to do with anything…?”
“You’ve been jealous of those children, haven’t you? You don’t have to be lovers to stay together. In that sense, family is an even more special relationship. It can’t be cut off.”
What kind of persuasion was this supposed to be?
She didn’t want to wedge herself between those love bugs to begin with, and being bound into an unbreakable category was even worse.
Seeing Mio’s expression grow more and more crumpled, the Duchess added softly,
“…And since family members can’t be together like that, you’ll be able to give up that strange lingering attachment of yours, too.”
“Hah. I can tell you’re misunderstanding something right now, but that’s not it. I’ve never liked Wyden. Not even once!”
It was a common misunderstanding caused by her villainess role. Watching her constantly interfere with the couple and torment the female lead day and night, anyone would naturally assume she liked the male lead.
The Duchess’ eyes widened.
“Oh my. Is that so? Then perhaps… ah. I see.”
Watching the Duchess’ eyes wander as she rambled, Mio lost even the will to argue.
Fine. Think whatever you want. Since when did that matter?
To begin with, the idea that this villainess role—Mio—hated and bullied Caleb was itself a huge misunderstanding.
“In any case, that makes my proposal all the better. As I said earlier, this is a way for you and Caleb to become ‘family.’”
“No…”
Unable to endure it any longer, Mio clutched her forehead. The Duchess slid the adoption papers on the table a little closer.
“Soon, Aletheia will submit the engagement pledge at the temple. After that, there will be a banquet at the imperial palace to officially announce your engagement. If we’re to at least keep up appearances until then, time is of the essence. No more arguing—just sign it. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“…Thank you, but I can’t sign this.”
“Why not?”
“Because Aletheia didn’t propose sincerely! That means there’s no marriage, and if there’s no marriage, then obviously there’s no need for adoption!”
That jerk Aletheia was just getting revenge in that way because people talked behind his back!
Afraid the Duchess might try to persuade her further, Mio quickly slipped out of the tea room.
She never heard the Duchess, left alone, murmur, “My goodness… has heartbreak made her stop believing in love so early…?”
‘Investigate everything about Aletheia.’
Rosa headed into the back alleys of the bustling district. In the form of a fox with a plump red tail, she could slip anywhere like a shadow. In this form, people often perceived Rosa as part of the background, allowing her to become, quite literally, an invisible and oversized ear.
“Did you hear? At the last count’s banquet, a member of the imperial family made a public proposal.”
“A public proposal by royalty? Someone still does that these days? The world really is ending. Ending, I tell you. I feel sorry for whoever the sacrifice was.”
“Ha-ha. Wait till you hear more. Do you know who that royal was? It was Archduke Aletheia Moro! You know—the one known as the strongest in the world, even beyond the empire!”
“What? If it’s that kind of public proposal, I’d like to receive it myself. So who’s the lucky woman?”
“You’re lighter than a coin. Just now you said you felt sorry for the ‘sacrifice.’”
“That was before I knew it was the archduke known as the strongest. Come on, spit it out—who was it?”
“That’s the highlight. The one he proposed to was the villainess, Mio Northam!”
“What?!”
A moment later, the sound of a glass shattering rang out. Hidden in a corner, Rosa bared her teeth and growled.
‘How dare they call my master a villainess! Unforgivable!’
Isn’t there anything I can throw?!
As Rosa scanned around for something sharp, pointed, or at least filthy, the voices continued.
“N-no way. Why would a hero of the battlefield do something like that…”
“Well, in a way, they suit each other. He’s called the strongest in the setting, an undefeated hero and all—but does anyone actually know why the archduke was sent off to the battlefield in the first place?”
“Didn’t he volunteer?”
“Hmph. What royal would go to a place like that of their own free will? He must’ve committed some capital crime and been exiled.”
“That sounds plausible. Come to think of it, I know a guy who fought in the same war as the archduke once…”
The man who had shattered his glass earlier stroked his chin and muttered.
“You know the guy who lives down on 79th Street? He said the archduke was creepily strange. I thought he’d just gotten weird after being discharged.”
“What did he say about the archduke?”
“What was it… that he acted like he could read everyone’s minds, I think. It was ridiculous.”
“What? Wasn’t he just scared stiff after seeing the strongest?”
“Ha-ha! Could be! Back then he also said the archduke was always yelling about how noisy it was, even when everyone was silent as mice. Said he had to be crazy. Looking at it now, maybe he thought his mind was being read because he was harassed so badly!”
The drunken laughter scattered. Rosa gently slid a banana peel under their feet and left.
Next stop: the discharged soldier living on 79th Street.
While Rosa roamed the streets as an invisible ear, Roy was at Aletheia’s mansion. Like his sister, he was in his true form, with a plump red tail.
‘Investigate Aletheia’s mansion, and if possible, bring back the engagement pledge.’
Taking on a mission that looked even harder than Rosa’s, Roy was burning with determination.
‘I’ll pull this off even better than Rosa and get praised by Master!’
Mio was a heavenly master who had fallen straight from the sky. The day the fox siblings, scavenging along the riverbank for food, happened to get caught in a trap—wasn’t that divine arrangement for a fated meeting?
‘Being able to turn into humans—that’s all thanks to Master.’
That day, the angel who fell from the bridge smashed the trap trapping Rosa and Roy. Mio said she didn’t know anything about it, but after colliding with that angel, the siblings gained the mysterious ability to transform into humans.
Recalling the electric jolt he’d felt that day, Roy’s tail trembled.
‘Find the pledge! Find the pledge!’
Hiding in the bushes, Roy began his search in earnest once the sun set. Just then, the guard who had been staring into the distance by the gate locked the iron doors and returned to his quarters.
‘Wahaha! From here on out, it’s my world!’
Excited, Roy hopped in place, then pressed his black nose to the ground. Wiggling his hips, he began to scour the mansion garden thoroughly.
‘They said a pledge is made of paper.’
From the ground beneath his nose rose the thick scent of soil and grass. What Roy was searching for was a single unfamiliar smell amid the familiar natural ones.
‘Sniff, sniff…’
How long had he been searching?
Yelp!
Something suddenly grabbed the scruff of Roy’s neck as he stared at the ground.
Yelp! Yipe!
Roy cried out and struggled in panic, but the grip was so strong he couldn’t break free at all.
‘I’m in trouble!’
If he got caught like this, he’d never be able to return to Master!
Tears began to bead at the corners of Roy’s eyes. The owner of the grip holding the trembling fox muttered in a chilling voice,
“It’s a real animal. This is a first. You—what are you?”
