~Chapter 4~
“Looks like Marquis Nor and Count Herald wanted to marry off their children to make their alliance even stronger.”
“What are you talking about…?”
Baron Bertha coughed and tried to speak, but Theron’s beautiful smile suddenly disappeared.
“Count Herald is really something. Trying to keep me in check by marrying his daughter to an ugly, old guy like you.”
That’s why Theron was at the restaurant—to stop two big families in the emperor’s faction from getting closer.
Of course, he never expected Count Herald’s daughter would jump into his carriage herself.
“But that daughter seems pretty clever. Instead of marrying you, she decided to go after me, the real threat.”
If Aveline heard this, she’d probably jump up and down, but no one was there to correct Theron’s misunderstanding.
Now that the meeting was ruined, Marquis Nor would never bring up this engagement again.
Theron was very pleased with the result.
“What are you even saying…?”
Theron was lost in thought, but Baron Bertha’s weak voice brought him back to reality.
“Anyway, how is your affair with Count Juan’s wife going?”
“How did you know about that?!”
Baron Bertha’s eyes shook with fear at the mention of Count Juan—a key figure trusted by the emperor.
If it got out that Baron Bertha was having an affair with Count Juan’s wife…
Gulp.
Bertha forgot his pain and hurriedly got up, kneeling before Theron.
“Duke! I’m sorry! I’ll do anything you say, just please don’t tell my father or Count Juan!”
Theron looked down at the begging baron with a satisfied smile.
Aveline, who had no idea what Theron was thinking, was facing a new problem.
She searched the whole carriage, but couldn’t find any documents—there wasn’t even a single scrap of paper. All she found was a piece of jelly someone must have dropped.
At first, she was just surprised that someone like Duke Ribes ate jelly. But soon, her stomach made a loud growl.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything today.’
She had squeezed herself into her dress so tightly that she barely ate at all.
Now, just looking at the cute, pink jelly on the carriage seat made her mouth water.
‘No matter how hungry I am, I can’t eat something off the floor…’
Her pride held her back. She was afraid someone might see her.
But every time she looked at the tiny jelly, her stomach rumbled even louder.
‘It’s just on the seat. Maybe it’s okay?’
She tried to talk herself into it.
‘He wouldn’t take back a jelly that dropped, would he?’
As soon as her hunger beat her pride, Aveline carefully picked up the jelly, just planning to smell it.
“Hm?”
It smelled really good.
‘Maybe just a little taste?’
She thought about nibbling a corner or maybe just licking the outside.
Just as she was about to give in and forget her pride, the jelly in her hand began to glow.
“Huh?”
Then, right before her eyes, it melted away and disappeared.
“…What?”
She stared at her empty hand in disappointment.
“Did he put some kind of anti-theft magic on a jelly…?”
Maybe Duke Ribes really would do something like that, since he was impossible to predict.
‘I should get out of here.’
She didn’t want to stay and have someone see her trying to eat dropped jelly.
The vanished jelly still bothered her a little.
Just then, things got noisy outside.
“Hey, sis! Where are you!”
“You can’t be here!”
“Let go! I’m looking for a pink-haired girl—not ugly, well, not that ugly, just not as good-looking as me, but anyway, pink hair! Is she here?”
“What do you mean, sir?!”
Aveline heard the commotion and peeked out the window.
She saw her pink-haired twin brother, Ares, outside.
If she’d seen him right after leaving the restaurant, she would have been glad, but now she felt embarrassed.
Aveline crouched in the carriage, thinking, and then made up her mind.
“Ares!”
“Who…? Why are you coming out of there?”
Ares turned around, eyes wide at seeing his sister.
Then he saw the family crest on the carriage and his face turned dark.
“Let’s talk later—let’s get out of here first.”
Aveline grabbed her brother’s wrist and pulled him away, scared the duke would hear the noise and come out.
“Did you come here on a horse? Let’s hurry and go home.”
She only let go once they reached a side street far from the restaurant. Ares was still fuming.
“What happened? Why did you come out of the wrong carriage? And what happened to your face? Wait… Did you cry?”
Aveline wiped her face. She still had tears she hadn’t cleaned off.
“Did you cry?”
If she admitted it, Ares looked ready to go back and start a fight.
‘Why is he acting like this?’
He always seemed not to care, but now he was making a fuss.
Still, calming him down was more important.
“No, I just yawned really hard…”
“You get snot when you yawn?”
What? Snot?
Aveline hurried to check her face. Sure enough, it wasn’t just tears.
‘Did I really talk to the duke with this face?’
She wanted to scream from embarrassment.
‘No, the duke was just as weird. We’re even.’
She tried to comfort herself. Anyway, she probably wouldn’t see him again.
Aveline forced herself to stay calm and spoke to her brother.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go home and talk.”
“Tell me. Was it Baron Bertha or the carriage owner?”
Ares didn’t look like he’d back down. His eyes burned fiercely.
“You want me to believe you just yawned? You never cry unless it’s something big, like when that blond sub-male in a novel died and you didn’t eat for days.”
Ugh. Embarrassing memories.
He really remembered everything.
“…I’ll be honest, just listen quietly, okay?”
Aveline gave up and started telling him everything.
“So you punched Baron Bertha in the mouth and called Duke Ribes crazy, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You met both of them for the first time today?”
“That’s right.”
“And after you cursed him, Duke Ribes got excited and went to deal with Baron Bertha?”
“Exactly.”
The twins sat in the alley, leaning against the wall, talking seriously. Their pink hair stood out in the dingy street.
“You’re really amazing,”
Ares said, half in admiration. Aveline felt a bit proud at her brother’s praise, but reality hit and her shoulders slumped.
“What will we tell Father?”
“Just trust your big brother.”
Ares puffed up his chest. Aveline gave him a doubtful look, but Ares looked proud.
“I already talked to Father about canceling the engagement. It’s surprising the duke got involved, but he’s so famous for being strange, nothing much will happen.”
Ares stood up and smiled confidently.
“Let’s go home.”
“…Thanks.”
Aveline took his outstretched hand and, for the first time, felt like her brother was really on her side.
“The carriage is gone?”
“The coachman said he was ordered by the count to take it back to the mansion.”
“…Father.”
They tried to find their carriage, but it was already gone. Aveline felt even more betrayed, knowing her father had not left a way home for her.
“Guess he wanted me to spend the night with the baron.”
“Don’t say gross things. I’ll talk to Father again. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me sick.”
Ares frowned.
“So, how do we get home?”
“I came with Beauty, so let’s ride back.”
Aveline knew Beauty well—Ares’s beloved, handsome horse. He always bragged about how good they looked together.
