CHAPTER 52….
“…You mean the Captain of San Fidelio?”
“That’s what I heard.”
Hearing the servant’s report, Noella bit her lip.
She had summoned someone as soon as she returned to her room, but she couldn’t focus at all.
Even having seen it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it—so how could she simply take someone’s word for it?
“That’s impossible. How could someone like that be the captain of San Fidelio?”
“I heard he was only appointed recently. The position had been vacant for quite a while, too.”
“…Which family is he from?”
“That I’m not sure of…”
The servant, who had been telling her what little they knew, faltered at the sharp glint in Noella’s eyes.
But when Noella handed over the ring she was wearing, the servant bowed deeply.
“You’ve done well. It would be even better if you could do a little more.”
“O-of course. I’ll find out somehow.”
“Then my sister is in her room now?”
“Yes. The Captain personally escorted her up to her room. Everyone’s whispering that for someone like the young heir to be so unconcerned about being seen together, their relationship must be unusual.”
“…”
Noella’s expression clouded, as if something had been covered over.
The servant realized they’d said more than they should have and, at her curt gesture, fled the room.
Even so, Noella’s expression didn’t improve. The same went for Xerox, who had been standing silently in the corner.
“Brother Xerox, what are you doing?”
“…Hmm? I was just wondering if it’s right to be asking about Adele behind her back. She wouldn’t like it if she knew.”
“That’s true. But this isn’t just some ordinary matter.”
Noella, who usually leaned on him in a fragile manner, straightened her back, surprising Xerox slightly.
But his restless thoughts were too dull to fully register her change in demeanor.
…Why is Adele with that man at this hour?
Even he, who had been her closest friend for over ten years, had never once been inside her room.
For all her boldness, she never allowed anyone into her private space.
The fact that she was with the Captain there, openly, without caring about prying eyes, left Xerox’s mind tangled.
“Why do you look like that? As if you’re disappointed that she’s found a lover.”
“M-me? No, of course not.”
Startled, Xerox fidgeted awkwardly before moving closer to sit across from her.
Seated, Noella had returned to her usual gentle, beautiful self.
Her pure, round eyes were filled only with concern, just as when she had first sought his comfort.
“You may think otherwise, Brother, but this is for her sake. There have been more than a few men who went after my sister for her wealth, haven’t there?”
“Well, yes, but this man—”
“If he were from a respectable family, we’d have heard rumors by now. For someone with those looks and that position to remain completely unknown until now, there are only two possibilities: either he was hiding himself, or his family isn’t worth mentioning.”
Noella was a member of the Sergio family as well.
Even the calm, deliberate way she explained things demanded her listener’s full attention.
“And that means…?”
“It means he might have approached my sister with ulterior motives, to make up for what he lacks. So how can we just sit back and do nothing?”
Her voice was steeped in concern as she took Xerox’s hand.
A little sister who only wanted her sister’s safety and happiness—that’s exactly how she appeared.
But after quietly listening, Xerox suddenly shook his head.
“No! There’s no way Adele could be fooled so easily.”
“…Brother.”
“You know as well as I do that she’s sharper than anyone. No matter how good-looking he is, for her to just fall for him… impossible. If anything, it’d be the other way around.”
“The other way around?”
Noella widened her eyes and leaned forward, propping herself on the armrest.
Seeing her so attentive only made Xerox’s voice grow more confident.
“Unless Adele approached him first, there’s no way she’d just be taken in like some fool—”
“That makes sense. Maybe, just as you say, she was the one to act first!”
“…Huh?”
“No one knows my sister better than you do. You understand her far better than I do as her younger sister.”
A dimple formed in Noella’s cheek—she had finally drawn out the answer she’d been waiting for.
Only just realizing it now?
She had held her tongue until he said it himself, twisting with impatience all the while.
…Completely oblivious, isn’t he.
No matter how much she whispered suspicions about Adele, Xerox would only insist that Adele would never do such a thing.
He might be her lover now, but his connection with Adele was even older.
Unless he himself found something suspicious, he wouldn’t even think to doubt her—a frustrating man indeed.
“Honestly, why would my sister stake her life on such a foolish idea? I don’t have any ulterior motives at all.”
“Y-yes, that’s true.”
Xerox comforted the seemingly downcast Noella. To him, she was far too gentle to harbor such schemes.
“Wait here. I’ll go see Adele right now and tell her there’s no need—”
“Do you really think she’ll believe us?”
“…”
Smiling sweetly, Noella let her hand drift subtly higher, past his arm. But her clear, untainted expression left no room for suspicion.
The contrast made Xerox swallow hard.
“Th-then what do you suggest?”
“Obviously, you need to become someone she can trust and rely on.”
“Huh? You mean Adele?”
“If she couldn’t trust you, then she wouldn’t have acted so rashly, don’t you think?”
“…”
“Instead of just saying you’d never hurt her, you can show her. Prove that we could never be any kind of threat.”
Her hand slid from his shoulder up to his neck.
When her slender, pale fingers brushed against his skin, Xerox couldn’t resist any longer and pulled her into his arms.
“Noella!”
“That’s why we should hurry and get married. If she sees that we’re married and nothing changes between us, she’ll let go of her suspicions. And if a wedding takes place in the family, it’ll be months before the next one, so by then she’ll surely be convinced.”
“…That won’t be easy. Adele’s the eldest, and the Count makes all the decisions. Maybe instead of that, I should just speak to the Count about her—”
“Brother…”
Are you out of your mind?
Noella smoothed over her frown with a picture-perfect smile.
Talking behind her sister’s back to their father?
Even after years working in the trading company, Xerox still didn’t understand her father—that alone made her sigh.
Of course, that same innocence was what had made him so easy for her to win over, but compared to the man she’d seen today, he was hopelessly outmatched.
“…Noella?”
“We were first. I won’t let us be pushed aside by someone entering a sham marriage.”
To corner Xerox, you had to go for the emotional angle—otherwise, he wouldn’t budge.
“Would you rather she misunderstand you a little, or have her life ruined by a fake marriage?”
“…If it’s fake, then why did the two of them just now…”
“They weren’t like us, were they?”
She rested her cheek on his shoulder, but her teeth clenched as the memory of Adele in Killian’s arms flashed in her mind. Even from that brief glance, his broad chest was incomparable to Xerox’s narrow shoulders.
“If we look closely, I’m sure… we’ll find some weakness.”
