I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 107

 

The Duke asked urgently, “What do you mean, Sylvia?”

 

“What do you mean, are you saying that the title of daughter-in-law is not to her liking either? Hmm, but the title of dearest daughter is not to Leen’s liking…”

 

The Duke’s head rolled rapidly in confusion, leaving Sylvia’s squeaky voice behind.

 

‘What was this about a daughter-in-law?’

 

When he had first mentioned that he had a child he wanted to give the surname Lysianthus to, Sylvia had protested vehemently.

 

But when I told her about Leen, she completely changed her tune.

 

She was thrilled and said she would tell Carson.

 

At the time, Sylvia was happy to do so because she honestly didn’t want to have to tell Carson herself.

 

Was there a miscommunication?

 

No, Sylvia, the one delivering the news to Caon, had already decided that Leen would be her daughter-in-law.

 

‘Had she misunderstood that I wanted to give her a surname, not as a daughter, but as a daughter-in-law?’

 

It was certainly a possibility. But that raises another question.

 

That Carson so readily agreed to take Leen as his wife.

 

‘And what? Bring her himself?’

 

What could possess that spoiled brat of a son to…?

 

Suddenly, a thunderbolt of realization flashed through the Duke’s mind.

 

‘No way. Leen was the girl Carson was in love with…?’

 

That sweet Leen, would marry my son, whose humanity has been trashed since birth?

 

As soon as the realization hit him, the Duke’s eyes lit up, and a flicker of heat rose around his body.

 

This should never have happened, not when he was watching with both eyes open.

 

“I disagree, Sylvia.”

 

Startled by the Duke’s serious tone, Sylvia blinked.

 

“What? All of a sudden, that’s…”

 

“I will never allow her to be my daughter-in-law!”

 

The Duke’s agitated voice echoed loudly in the Ducal Mansion.

 

The Duke, who rarely raised his voice in the presence of the Duchess, made the eyes of those watching widen to the point of bulging.

 

The Duke chewed his lip nervously, as if he realized what he had done only after he spoke.

 

“Let’s go into your room and talk.”

 

The Duke snapped his fingers, and the two servants disappeared.

 

There was a strange air between them as they moved to the bedroom.

 

The Duke suddenly remembered a conversation he’d had with Leen the day before.

 

— ‘…She’s quite the fox.’

 

— ‘…It’s not because she likes you, she just needed a powerless puppet without a family name.’

 

— ‘…She wanted to ensure that her power would last long enough to take a commoner’s child as her daughter-in-law.’

 

The noblewoman he called a fox was Sylvia.

 

It was obviously my fault that I hadn’t realized sooner that the girl Carson was in love with was Leen, and that the boy and the noblewoman she’d spoken to were my family.

 

But I was still opposed to having Leen as a daughter-in-law.

 

For some reason, I referred to Sylvia as a fox, but the real fox was my son, Carson.

 

The Duke gritted his teeth as he recalled the countless anecdotes of Carson’s behavior from the past to the present.

 

There was no way he would allow Leen to mate with such a fox for the rest of her life.

 

It was clear that Leen had been fooled by Carson’s face and pretense and had yet to learn his true character.

 

How such a sweet, innocent child had fallen for him was beyond me.

 

Of course, after talking to Leen for a bit, it would have been hard not to like her…

 

But still!

 

‘Why is Leen the one my son likes so much?’

 

The Duke took a deep breath to calm his churning stomach, then spoke, “I apologize for my outburst, Sylvia, I didn’t mean to be angry with you.”

 

Sylvia looked at the Duke with a suddenly cold expression on her face.

 

“You’ve clearly told me that you want to give Leen the surname Lysianthus. Now explain why you’re changing your mind, now.”

 

The Duke swallowed hard at Sylvia’s fierce glare.

 

His face instantly transformed into a meek sheep mask, and he spoke in a gruff tone.

 

“I haven’t changed my mind about giving her the surname Lysianthus.”

 

“Then why…!”

 

“I was going to have Leen as my daughter, Sylvia.”

 

“Daughter?”

 

The Duke quickly shook his head.

 

“Yes. Not a daughter-in-law, but a daughter.”

 

Sylvia’s expression softened a little as her quick mind realized what was happening.

 

“I see what you were thinking.”

 

The Duke’s face brightens as he realizes that Sylvia’s anger has been defused.

 

“Isn’t that right…?”

 

“But, my dear, Leen is Caon’s sweetheart, and how can I have a child like that as my daughter?”

 

“…What about Leen’s feelings?”

 

“Leen is strong enough, if she didn’t like Caon, she would have pushed him away.”

 

“Think about it, Sylvia, you were the one who said she was falling for Carson’s face and not using good judgment.”

 

Sylvia’s brow creased.

 

“Since when is this about our adversary?”

 

Her voice rose in anger at the Duke’s words.

 

“And you know what else is different? At least Caon has some sense of decency, and at least as far as I can tell he hasn’t covered anything, not even his wrists or his neck!”

 

“Honey, you know when it’s an issue, and we’re not going to go that far.”

 

Sylvia snorted, as if it wasn’t funny, “For crying out loud, you just killed a wizard who was caught studying forbidden magic.”

 

She shook her head in disbelief.

 

“Why the hell do you always have to resort to force when the law will do!”

 

“Who has the audacity to run their mouth in front of you?”

 

“You’re glaring, again!”

 

The Duke’s eyes relaxed in response to Sylvia’s comment.

 

She crossed her arms, feeling a little calmer at the sight of such a cute duke.

 

“More than that, how did you come to know Leen as a child? I thought she was Carson’s sweetheart, of course.”

 

“We met a few times on business.”

 

The Duke didn’t mention the fact that the business involved matters of love.

 

“Business?”

 

Considering whether my husband and Leen had ever met on business, I remembered one thing.

 

“Ah. Professor George had told me that Leen was so good with herbs that he was begging for them, and apparently she also practiced alchemy.”

 

It made sense, then, that they had met on business.

 

“In any case, I don’t want Leen as my daughter.”

 

“Sylvia… no matter how many times you claim to wrap your arms around her, you have to think of Leen.”

 

Her eyes sharpened again at the Duke’s words.

 

“Does that mean I’m putting Leen out there like a weakling?”

 

“Then you’re not?”

 

“That…!”

 

Sylvia, momentarily speechless, rolled her eyes.

 

Even though she was in favor of Carson and Leen marrying…

 

Now that she thought about it, wasn’t everything she had been saying just now about her husband’s flawed character?

 

My husband and Carson are exactly alike in every way possible.

 

In other words, if I really cared about Leen, I would never recommend their marriage.

 

But I couldn’t lose and retorted, “Ca, Caon is just like you, he gets soft around people he likes. Leen will be fine.”

 

“Fine or not, we don’t know yet.”

 

Sylvia glared at the Duke, then finally sighed heavily and turned away.

 

“Ha, never mind, I don’t think I can talk to you anymore.”

 

“S— Sylvia, it’s late, and you’re going somewhere.”

 

“We’re going in different directions for the time being, until we see eye to eye.”

 

“What? Separately…?”

 

The Duke’s eyes widened as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.

 

“I’ll be in the other room, and you can sleep here.”

 

The Duke hastily hugged Sylvia from behind as she walked away. He hugged her tightly, as if he couldn’t let her go.

 

“I’m sorry for everything, I’ve done everything wrong, so please, please don’t—”

 

Sylvia twisted resolutely and slipped out of his arms.

 

“Let go of me, this is not what family does.”

 

“Ooh, we’re not just family, we’re a couple.”

 

“Aren’t married couples family? I can’t make an exception to that rule.”

 

“But we woke up in the same bed until this morning, don’t you remember…?”

 

“Oh, my goodness, how can you even bring the subject of sleeping with your daughter’s mother-in-law out of your mouth? That’s unscrupulous!”

 

“Well, that is…”

 

Confusion filled the Duke’s eyes.

 

Surely they hadn’t done anything they couldn’t do as husband and wife, but the way she put it, it sounded like he had done something immoral.

 

Sylvia left the room, leaving the Duke stiff with embarrassment.

 

“If you understand, I’m going to leave.”

 

“Sylvia, I’d rather sleep somewhere else.”

 

“You’re upsetting me, so don’t try to dictate where I live.”

 

“Ugh…”

 

Sylvia, worried that the Duke would catch her again, teleported away again, this time quickly.

 

Staring blankly into the space she’d disappeared into, the Duke covered his face with both hands.

 

Despair coursed through his body. This was catastrophic.

 

🍃

 

As Viscount Altemere escorts Leen to the guest chamber and descends the stairs, he hears the Duke’s rant.

 

“I will never allow that child to be my daughter-in-law!”

 

The Duke’s angry voice brought a wicked smile to the Viscount’s lips.

 

Having worked for the Duke for over a decade, he knew the man well. He was a lover who could not live without his wife.

 

For him to raise his voice like that in front of the Duchess was not something to be taken lightly.

 

Especially since the Duchess always respected the wishes of the Duke, the head of the household, when it came to important matters concerning the family.

 

‘Oh, my goodness!’

 

The commoner girl that Master Carson brought today was no match for the Duchess at all.

 

Her appearance was a little off, but that was all. Her manners and personality were far from noble.

 

‘I see. What kind of family does the Duke of Lysianthus have that would take a lowly commoner as a daughter-in-law?’

 

Especially one who wasn’t even a mage.

 

Besides, if the Master were to inherit the title, the commoner would be the Duchess.

 

‘Does this even make sense? I may have come from a commoner’s background, but I was knighted for my abilities.’

 

From the Duke himself!

 

This clueless girl uses her good looks to mesmerize the master and dream of rising up the ranks.

 

And how has the duchess been treated, I wonder.

 

Starting with her blocking my rightful actions, and ending with her use of the word ‘monthly pass’.

 

I hated every single one of them, and I was glad the Duke hated her so much.

 

“Ah. I have an idea.”

 

Did Master Carson say he liked the girl?

 

That would be a great way to give the high-minded wench a hard time, and score points with him.

 

Viscount Altemere’s lips curled into a smirk.

 

His feet turned once more toward the guest chamber, Leen’s temporary abode.