I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 150

 

I stopped watching them surreptitiously and walked into the chamber.

 

“Count…!”

 

The two men’s gazes turned to me, and as soon as they saw me, they jumped up from their seats and approached me.

 

“Leen!”

 

Then they quicken their steps, as if competing for attention.

 

Carson was the first to reach me, the one with the younger blood and longer legs.

 

But this time, he didn’t embrace me. Instead, he nudged me aside.

 

…with eyes full of regret.

 

The Count, who had arrived half a second late, looked at me grimly.

 

“Greetings, Count. It’s been a long time…”

 

It’s awkward, and I’m about to greet him when he suddenly pulls me into a tight hug.

 

“Leen… It’s been a long time, you’ve grown up so much.”

 

“Haha, the Count seems to say that every time he sees me. I haven’t actually grown at all.”

 

“I don’t mean height, I mean maturity.”

 

The Count’s voice becomes slightly wistful.

 

“That little girl suddenly went to the academy, and now she’s old enough to marry, and she’s bringing a man with her…”

 

Pulling away from the Count, I smirked and scratched the back of my head.

 

“Actually, I thought my Aunt and the Count were going to scold me.”

 

My sudden decision to go to the Academy must have caught them off guard, because they hadn’t come to visit me since first year.

 

‘My guess is that you were disappointed and upset.’

 

“I wish I could have visited more often, but I thought that was greedy. I can’t force you to come if you don’t want to, so…”

 

The words slipped out of my mouth.

 

It broke my heart that my Aunt and Uncle were even cautious enough to ask that much of me.

 

If it was Erhan or Luca, my back would have been on fire.

 

But I couldn’t blame them. They had their reasons, but on the surface, I was the one who pushed them away. I had no choice but to be cautious.

 

“…I didn’t come because I didn’t like the Count and Aunt.”

 

I suppressed my sad feelings and smiled broadly.

 

“I’ll come more frequently. I’ve been too busy to come before, but that’s okay now.” I said.

 

“…Are you sure?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Promise me.”

 

The Count held out his little finger to me like a child. He must have been desperate. I smiled weakly and crossed my fingers.

 

“This place is like home to me.”

 

“Home, I’m sorry to hear it, but don’t talk like you’re already someone else’s daughter. You’re not married yet, so you’re our daughter.”

 

“I’m still the daughter of my Aunt and the Count, even if I’m married.”

 

“Hehe, it makes me feel a little better to hear you say that.”

 

I smiled weakly and asked innocently.

 

“By the way, what were you and Caon talking about?”

 

The Count’s face brightened, as if this was the topic he’d been waiting for.

 

“I’m glad you’re here, Leen. I was just about to ask Duke Carson a few questions.”

 

“Hahaha. It’s not something I know, is it?”

 

“Of course not. I think I’ve mentioned it quite often, and I’ll be sure to ask him when he appears.”

 

Instead of replying to that, I glanced at the wine bottles scattered across the table, then at the Count.

 

Then he crossed his arms and smirked.

 

“Hmph. Is that why you’ve been drinking wine? Drinking in broad daylight, I don’t know if you realize.”

 

I’m pretty sure I read in my aunt’s letter that he promised to cut back on his drinking.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

“Oh, it’s hardly broad daylight, it’s almost time for dinner, and I haven’t even had much to drink, haha.”

 

“Then you’re confident enough to tell Auntie, we should fetch her right away…”

 

“Le, Leen!”

 

The Count stamped his feet in frustration as I turned around as if to summon my aunt at once.

 

Seeing that, Carson gently grabbed my hand.

 

“Leen. It’s a nice day, so why don’t we turn a blind eye today? I’m curious about that question myself.”

 

“…You’ll regret it.”

 

“But what if you’re curious?”

 

Once they said they were curious about the question, there was no reason to stop them.

 

To be honest, I was curious to see what he would say.

 

“Besides, Leen, you’ve already passed my parents’ test, so I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

 

“…Tests?”

 

Was there such a thing?

 

I don’t think so, except that they’ve been very good to me.

 

When I showed signs of distress at Carson’s words, the Count whispered in his ear.

 

“At least when you marry, Duke, you won’t be captured.”

 

I glared at the Count through narrowed eyes.

 

“Can you hear me?”

 

The Count yelped and snapped, “Did you just say you’re living in captivity?”

 

The Count looked at him questioningly as Carson’s joking remark was followed by a serious one.

 

“…Leen is going to capture me?”

 

Carson blushed shyly, wondering what the hell he was imagining with the word ‘catch’.

 

Seeing that, the Count made a wistful face.

 

“…I see you already have a tight grip.”

 

In the end, I decided to overlook the fact that the Count had been drinking without my Aunt’s knowledge.

 

Carson cleared the table with his magic and sat down across from the Count.

 

I sat down next to him, ready to interrupt at any moment.

 

Carson glanced at me with a slight pout, but I pretended not to notice.

 

“What I’m asking you now, may sound like a joke, but I want you to answer it seriously.”

 

“Or, if you don’t like my answer, will you oppose my marriage to Leen?”

 

“I don’t know about that, we’ll only know after the question is asked and answered.”

 

Carson smirked, his face relaxed, a far cry from the nervousness he’d displayed before entering the Count’s estate.

 

“I’ll do my best to answer.”

 

The Count rested his chin on his hands.

 

“If your parents and Leen fell into the water at the same time, who would you save?”

 

There, that question.

 

I looked at Carson, my heart pounding a little.

 

What would he say?

 

His fine brow furrowed as if he didn’t understand.

 

“My parents are not the kind of people to drown.”

 

That was… true. Both of them were close to being arch mages. They’d do whatever they could before drowning.

 

And even if they did, they’d be able to get out on their own.

 

That thought made me feel unnecessarily proud.

 

I tried not to intervene. I couldn’t help myself and raised my hand.

 

“I’m a good swimmer, so I don’t need help.”

 

“…Assumption.”

 

At this unexpected answer, the Count broke out in a cold sweat and turned back to Carson.

 

“Then, assuming that all three of you are drowning and must be saved by the Duke, who would you save?”

 

“I would save all three.”

 

This time, the answer was out of the ordinary, and the Count opened his mouth cautiously.

 

“That is, if I had to choose only one…”

 

“I’m not an incompetent who can’t do such a simple thing.”

 

“Simple…?”

 

I nudged the Count in the side with a confused look.

 

“Caon is a wizard.”

 

The heir to the famous House of Lysianthus, no less.

 

Carson adds as an afterthought, “Ah. Of course, if I had to save only one, it would be Leen.”

 

The Count seemed to be satisfied with that last answer and moved on to the next question.

 

“Then let me ask you the next question.”

 

“Yes. Go ahead.”

 

“What would you do if Leen killed someone and told you about it?”

 

“You mean in a situation where Leen killed someone herself?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Carson took my hand as if he’d suddenly realized the situation.

 

“Leen.”

 

“Uhh…”

 

I stared at him, squinting in embarrassment, and he turned to me with a serious face.

 

“If you ever want to kill anyone, tell me first, you’ll get your hands dirty.”

 

“…I won’t kill anyone.”

 

Come to think of it, he said the same thing when I found Kun, Prince of Abascanthus, lying dead in front of me.

 

It was clear he meant it.

 

“…I guess that was a stupid question.”

 

I could almost hear the Count’s voice saying, “This isn’t the right question.”

 

The Count looked determined, as if he had finally decided to ask he had been saving.

 

“This time, I think I’ll get a proper answer.”

 

Ah. So that’s what you’re going to ask.

 

Surely that question couldn’t be answered with the same lame answer as the previous one.

 

…though, Carson seems to have answered both of them seriously.

 

Carson spoke with a leisurely smile.

 

“I’m ready.”

 

“What would you do if both of your parents opposed the marriage to the end?”

 

This time, he didn’t think twice before answering.

 

“Count, this is our marriage.”

 

The Count’s eyebrows knit together.

 

“Do you mean to say that I am in no position to interfere in Leen’s marriage since I am not her father?”

 

“No. If I were, I wouldn’t be talking to you like this.”

 

His eyes widen.

 

“Leen’s wishes are the only ones that matter to me, and if my parents disagreed, I wouldn’t have listened.”

 

…you’re quite proud to say you’re a filial son of a fiery spirit.

 

The Count was silent for a moment.

 

“Then what would you say if the Duke refused to disinherit you because you freely married a commoner?”

 

“My lord.”

 

Carson’s eyes narrowed, and his voice lowered slightly.

 

“The dukedom is nothing to me, all I need is Leen. Really.”

 

“….”

 

The Count stared into Carson’s eyes for a long moment, then snorted a laugh.

 

“I’m glad to hear that you seem to truly love Leen. I’m also relieved to see that the Duke is not as he was rumored to be. …even if he was a bit of a killjoy.”

 

He asks lightly, looking more relaxed, “This is just out of personal curiosity, but what does Leen like about the Duke?”

 

I’m not sure why he’s asking me and not Carson, but it’s such an easy question.

 

There were dozens of things I liked about him.

 

“Leen likes…”

 

Carson asks, a little unsure of himself.

 

“My face…?”

 

“Excluding the face?”

 

Carson paused for a moment, really pondering the question.

 

His cheeks flush as he realizes something, and he hesitates before answering.

 

“Night work…?”

 

Crazy.

 

It wasn’t the Count’s mouth that needed stopping, but Carson’s.

 

I’m about to tell the Count, whose face has gone rigid with shock, that I didn’t mean it.

 

Bam!

 

All eyes turned to the uninvited visitor who entered the room without knocking.

 

It was my Aunt, who was just leaving for the restroom.

 

“Aunt…?”

 

“Honey…?”

 

She paced the room for a moment, as if overwhelmed by something, then shouted.

 

“Pass!”