“Are you… Count Florette?”
“What exactly do you think you’re making someone else’s precious daughter do?”
Garno stared back and forth between Count Florette and me, looking completely dumbfounded.
At that moment, Count Florette grabbed my shoulder as I was diligently tending the garden and snapped coldly. “Lord Garno. Let me ask you again. What on earth did you make my Giselle do? Duke Kalinos himself said Giselle wouldn’t so much as get a drop of water on her hands.”
“Um, I never said—”
“You did. Absolutely. Are you lying now? This is grounds for divorce.” His aura was downright menacing.
I gaped at Count Florette, who had been constantly trying to rebel against me lately. “W-Why are you suddenly showing up like this?”
“Today’s the day we’re supposed to meet, isn’t it? I came right on time. But that senile old man over there, what is he doing to you…!” The way he was cursing, he was starting to sound more and more like his close friend, ‘Count Sehera,’ whom he was always talking about.
As I hesitated, unable to say anything, Count Florette spoke coldly. “I can’t take this anymore. You take someone else’s precious daughter and mistreat her? And now you’re making her tend the trees in the garden? Have you lost your mind?”
“I did mistreat her, yes, but let’s be clear. I didn’t make her do the gardening.”
“I absolutely cannot accept this! I can’t give my Giselle to this family. Sweetheart, come with me!”
I quickly and thoroughly finished my calculations in my head. Yeah, if you’re going to make a scene, you might as well go all out. Grinning, I waved my hand. “Yes! Grandpa told me to break the tree!” Of course, I made sure not to forget to frame Garno.
“T-That cunning little—” I saw Garno clutch the back of his neck, and glanced around again.
Across the way, on the second floor of the annex, Hwairi was watching with a smirk tugging at her lips. Even with all this chaos, she looked utterly shameless, as if she hadn’t done a single thing wrong.
Just smile for now. Bye bye. I took Count Florette’s hand and left the mansion. A step back for two steps forward.
* * *
It was inside the Florette Mansion. Count Florette, who had whisked me away to his mansion in a flash, was absolutely fuming. “How dare they bully and belittle Giselle? Does that even make sense? What, do they think my child is a monkey, making her climb trees?”
“Exactly! You should look up how the assets get divided in a divorce!”
“We’ll take everything! Bring me the law book. I’ll smack that senile fool upside the head with it.”
Listening to the sharp exchange between Count Florette and his aide, I let out a deep sigh and thought to myself. Don’t worry. I’ll get kicked out with five billion in my pocket. Honestly, if you think about it, this divorce might go off without a hitch…
“I can’t take it anymore. I should just plant a bomb in the Kalinos Mansion.”
“Yeah, let’s look into it. But it’s dangerous, so don’t you dare go near that place, Giselle!”
Honestly, I appreciate how protective they’re being, but what’s with all this over-the-top drama…? Is this really a society with a rigid class system? …Well, I’m sure they’ll figure something out that doesn’t break the law.
“Okay! Giselle absolutely won’t go, promise!”
Yawning, I sprawled out on the sofa. It looked like I was finally going to get some real rest for the first time in ages.
* * *
Giselle was gone. Unlike her, who was completely at peace, a dark cloud hung over the Kalinos Mansion. At Neslan and Yuliana’s dining table, there was not a single conversation overflowing with happiness.
“I wonder if Giselle is eating properly…”
“I’m worried about her health, too.”
“I miss Syster…”
“I miss Madam Giselle.”
Just then, Neslan spoke up hesitantly. “Riwes, you like Giselle more, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“You prefer Giselle as your uncle’s wife, right?”
“Uncle’s wife…?”
“Yeah.”
“Why is Sister Giselle uncle’s wife?” Riwes tilted his head.
Ivanka, squeezing her hamster-like hands tightly, whispered, “They got married!”
“Ma-Married?”
“Yep!”
With a thud, Riwes set down the spoon he’d been holding. “Sister Giselle is already married?”
“Yes!”
“N-No waaaaay…!” Riwes’s eyes grew wide, and his mouth opened and closed in shock. Then, as if all the strength had left his small body, he slumped over.
“Riwes, Riwes! Snap out of it!”
He’d fainted. Just as Riwes collapsed to the floor, Duke Kalinos appeared behind them, his face dark and foreboding.
“Where on earth has Giselle disappeared to?”
Everyone who saw his expression went pale.
“W-Well…”
After hearing the full story, Duke Kalinos’s face twisted into something truly terrifying.
* * *
Because he handed over the blood pressure medicine, Giyet somehow got tangled up with Count Florette. What is this? Did I accidentally become a double agent or something? Shuttling back and forth between the gloomy Kalinos Mansion and the anger-filled Florette Mansion, Giyet felt like he was being tossed between hot and cold baths. Today, too, he was busy listening to Count Florette’s complaints.
“I care about my child so much that I even gave them Count Sehera’s keepsake, you know.”
“Ah, I see. I’ve heard people say Count Sehera’s keepsake is something really special.”
“That’s right. It’s a magical tool for disguising your appearance. Who could have imagined such a thing actually exists?”
“This is the first I’ve heard of such a magical tool. He really is an archmage.”
As Giyet humored Count Florette and checked his blood pressure, the count muttered offhandedly, “Sigh, I doubt Giselle will ever have a reason to use it now… But honestly, if it were up to me, I’d want her to use it, change her appearance, and get out of that family.”
Up until that moment, Giyet hadn’t thought anything of it. Not even when Giselle poked her head into Count Florette’s parlor and called for Giyet.
“Ahem, excuse me! Giselle has something curious about.”
“Yes?”
“What’s the atmosphere like over at Duke Kalinos’s mansion? Giselle pruned all the branches, so it must be a bit hotter now.”
…Wait, did she prune all those branches on purpose back then? If so, why on earth would she do that?
“Yes, it is a bit hot.” Giyet nodded with a puzzled look, and Giselle smiled as if satisfied.
She’s really sociable, isn’t she? Even though this was their first time meeting. Now that I think about it, she keeps giving me deja vu. She’s a lot like Wot. The way she connects with people, how easygoing she is, even her way of speaking… It was almost identical to Wot.
Other people might not notice, but Giyet, who always recalled Wot’s great acts of service with almost religious devotion, could tell right away. Still, he let out a small laugh and admitted to himself. I must be thinking about Wot too much, so I keep seeing the two of them overlap in my mind.
But just then, there was a loud crash as the door of Florette Mansion was broken open.
* * *
“Oh dear, the door is ruined because of that crazy son-in-law! Oh dear!”
“Please calm down.”
“Alright, if Giselle tells me to, I’ll calm down. Still, I’ll make that scoundrel pay.”
“No, let him in. I have something to say.” With those words, I barely managed to calm the furious Count Florette and was able to meet with Duke Kalinos.
Duke Kalinos looked at me and spoke in a low voice. “I heard what happened. That you were interrogated.”
“Me? When was I interrogated?”
“…”
For a moment, Duke Kalinos’s gaze faltered. It seemed he’d been given the wrong information.
Lowering my voice, I whispered softly to him. “I need to step away for a bit. It fits our plan better that way.”
“But everyone’s worried about you. Please, just come back now.”
What is he talking about?
“But they’re not supposed to be worried about me, remember?”
“That’s…”
“Think about our contract. We were supposed to get divorced!”
His eyes wavered instantly.
Tilting my head, I asked, “So, is there some kind of problem?”
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