Chapter 4
“It seems Duke Nor and Count Herolds were trying to strengthen their alliance by matching their children.”
“What on earth are you talking about…”
As Viscount Berta spoke with difficulty, coughing, the beautiful smile on Theron’s face disappeared instantly.
“Count Herolds is quite peculiar. To think he’d try to pair his daughter with an ugly, old man like you just to keep me in check.”
This was why Theron had come to the restaurant.
He needed to prevent the two main families of the imperial faction from solidifying their ties further.
Of course, he hadn’t expected the Herolds lady to jump into his carriage on her own.
“But that daughter seems quite clever. Instead of being paired with someone like you, she thought to target me directly, the one they most need to keep in check.”
If Aveline had heard this, she would have jumped up and down, but unfortunately, there was no one here to correct his misunderstanding.
With today’s meeting ruined, Duke Nor’s pride wouldn’t allow him to bring up the failed marriage proposal again.
This result was far more satisfactory than Theron had anticipated.
“What on earth are you saying…”
Theron, lost in his own pleasant thoughts, was brought back to reality by Viscount Berta squirming below him.
“Ah, by the way, how is your scandalous relationship with Countess Huan progressing?”
“How did you—!”
As soon as Count Huan’s name was mentioned, Viscount Berta’s pupils began to shake rapidly.
Count Huan was Duke Nor’s right-hand man and a core member of the imperial faction who had the emperor’s deep trust.
If it became known that he had seduced Count Huan’s wife…
Gulp.
Viscount Berta, forgetting his pain, quickly rose to his knees.
“Duke! I-I’ve done wrong! I’ll do whatever you say, just please don’t tell my father and Count Huan…”
As Theron looked down at Viscount Berta, who was pleading desperately, the corners of his mouth curved up prettily.
* * *
Completely unaware of how Theron was misunderstanding her, Aveline was facing a new dilemma.
After searching the carriage thoroughly and finding not even a scrap of paper, let alone documents, she had discovered what looked like a dropped piece of jelly.
At first, she just thought it odd that someone like Duke Ribes would eat jelly, but soon after, a loud rumbling came from her stomach.
Grumble!
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything until now.’
To be fair, she hadn’t been able to eat much due to her tightly laced dress for appearance’s sake.
But seeing the single jelly dropped on the carriage seat where the duke had sat, she couldn’t help but salivate.
‘No matter how hungry I am, eating something off the floor is a bit…’
Her pride wouldn’t allow it. She was even afraid someone might see.
Grumble grumble grumble!
But betraying Aveline’s resolve, every time her eyes met the cute pink jelly the size of her pinky nail, thunder rolled in her stomach.
‘Since it’s already dropped, maybe it’s okay…?’
Before she knew it, Aveline was trying to negotiate with her reason.
‘The duke wouldn’t look for a dropped jelly anyway.’
As soon as hunger overpowered reason, Aveline carefully picked up the jelly with her hand. She intended to just take a small sniff.
“Hm?”
The jelly smelled surprisingly good.
‘Maybe I’ll just taste a tiny bit?’
If she just bit off a corner discreetly, or even just licked the surface slightly, maybe she could assuage her hunger just a little?
Just as Aveline, her reason consumed by hunger, was about to throw away her last shred of dignity,
“Huh?”
The jelly in her hand started to emit light.
“What on earth… Ah!”
As the light disappeared, the jelly in her hand vanished without a trace, as if it had melted like snow.
“…What?”
Aveline stared blankly at her hand where the jelly that had only whetted her appetite had been.
“Did they put some kind of anti-theft magic on the jelly…?”
She couldn’t understand how the jelly that had been in her hand just moments ago had disappeared before her eyes.
Of course, anti-theft magic wasn’t something that could be easily cast, but somehow, she felt that Duke Ribes might be capable of such a thing.
Even from their brief encounter earlier, he seemed like someone whose thoughts were completely unpredictable.
‘Maybe I should go outside.’
She hadn’t planned to wait for Duke Ribes anyway, and she felt ashamed for trying to eat a dropped jelly out of hunger, so she wanted to leave quickly.
The jelly that had vanished in her hand also made her a bit uneasy.
“Hey, sister! Where are you!”
But for some reason, it seemed a bit noisy outside.
“You can’t do this here, sir!”
“Let go! Wasn’t there an ugly gi— no, not that ugly, she looks like me but a bit less handsome… anyway, wasn’t there a pink-haired girl here?”
“Pardon? What are you talking about…!”
The commotion seemed to be happening nearby, as the voices were quite clear.
‘Wait, that voice sounds familiar…’
With a sense of foreboding, Aveline lowered her body and peered out of the carriage window.
“Why is he here?”
The familiar pink hair causing the commotion outside belonged to none other than Aveline’s twin brother, Ares.
If she had met him right after leaving the restaurant, she might have been glad, but now his rowdy behavior made her feel not just perplexed but even a bit embarrassed.
After a moment of consideration while crouched in the carriage, Aveline made her decision and came out.
“Ares!”
“Who— Why are you coming out of there?”
Ares, who had turned around in an agitated state, widened his eyes at the sudden appearance of his sister.
Soon, his expression twisted nastily as if he had recognized whose family crest was engraved on the carriage.
“We’ll talk about that later. Let’s go somewhere else first.”
Afraid that Duke Ribes might come out due to the commotion, Aveline grabbed her brother’s wrist and pulled him along.
“What did you come here on? Let’s quickly go back on that.”
Only after entering an alley quite far from the restaurant did Aveline let go of her brother. When she turned around, Ares was snorting and wearing a menacing expression.
“What happened? Why did you come out of a strange carriage instead of the restaurant? And what’s with your face? Wait… did you cry?”
Aveline wiped her face with the back of her hand. There were still damp tear tracks she hadn’t wiped away earlier.
“I asked if you cried!”
Ares looked ready to dash off somewhere immediately if Aveline confirmed it.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
She was bewildered by his outburst, as he had never seemed to care whether she cried or not before.
However, calming Ares down was the priority.
“No, it’s not that. I just yawned too big earlier…”
“Do you drool when you yawn too?”
What? Drool?
At Ares’ words, Aveline hurriedly felt her face to check. Indeed, as Ares had said, it wasn’t just tears that had flowed.
‘So I talked to Duke Ribes looking like this?’
An overwhelming sense of shame washed over her. What must Duke Ribes have thought, seeing a woman jump into his carriage with tears and snot all over her face?
‘No, the duke was quite a weirdo himself. Let’s think of it as a case of the pot calling the kettle black.’
She wouldn’t be seeing him again after today anyway.
Aveline tried hard to compose herself. Then, to soothe her still fuming brother, she spoke.
“It’s nothing. Let’s just go home and talk.”
“Tell me. Which one is it? Viscount Berta or the owner of that carriage?”
Ares showed no signs of backing down easily. He was snorting even more fiercely now, sending a fiery gaze her way.
“You expect me to believe you just yawned? Is it common for you to cry so hard you’re drooling? You haven’t cried like that since you locked yourself in your room, clutching that book and refusing to eat when some blonde sub-male character or whatever died.”
Ouch. Aveline felt momentarily embarrassed by the sudden mention of her dark history.
Well, there had been such a time. But how does he still remember something from so long ago?
“…I’ll tell you honestly, so please listen quietly, okay?”
Surrendering to Ares’ unwavering determination, Aveline finally began to explain the whole story.
* * *
“…So you’re saying you punched Viscount Berta in the face and called Duke Ribes crazy to his face?”
“That’s right.”
“And this was the first time you met both of them?”
“That’s correct.”
“And Duke Ribes, after being insulted by you, got excited and went into the restaurant to personally deal with Viscount Berta?”
“Exactly that.”
The two were squatting against the alley wall, discussing with serious faces. Their pink heads looked like they were floating in the dreary alley.
“You’re really something else.”
Ares spoke in a half-admiring tone. Aveline felt a bit proud at hearing praise from her blood relative for the first time, but her shoulders quickly slumped as reality hit her.
“What should I tell Father?”
“Just trust your big brother.”
Ares pounded his chest, trying to look reliable. When Aveline looked at him with eyes that seemed to ask what he could do, Ares wore a satisfied expression.
“I already talked with Father about canceling this engagement anyway. Duke Ribes getting involved is a bit unexpected, but given his notorious reputation for being strange, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
Ares, who had stood up at some point, flashed a dependable smile.
“Let’s go home for now.”
“…Thank you.”
As Aveline took the outstretched hand, for the first time, she felt that her brother was somewhat on her side.
* * *
“The carriage is gone?”
“The coachman said it was the Count’s order and that he was returning to the mansion with the carriage.”
“…Father did.”
When they went to look for the carriage they had come in, it had already left. Aveline felt even more betrayed as she understood her father’s intention in not leaving a carriage for her to return in.
“Looks like he expected me to spend the night with that viscount.”
“Stop saying such horrible things. I’ll talk to Father again too. Ugh. The more I think about it, the more it makes me want to throw up.”
Ares furrowed his brow as if feeling sick.
“Then how are we going to get back?”
“I came with Beauty, so let’s ride her for now.”
Aveline knew Beauty well.
It was the handsome horse that Ares cherished. He often boasted about the amazing combination of a handsome horse and his handsome self.
