CHAPTER 70…………………………….
“By the way, I don’t see the Countess’s partner.”
As soon as someone said this, the atmosphere sank even further.
Of course—the Count, who was supposed to be her partner, wasn’t in sight.
“Ah, I almost forgot to introduce her.”
In the midst of the frozen tension, Ortega’s cheerful voice rang out.
“Today, my partner will be Miss Alisa.”
Alisa, upon being introduced, greeted everyone with graceful movements.
“Thank you all for being here. I hope you enjoy your time.”
Immediately afterward, questions began pouring in—not directed at Alisa, but at Laseille.
“Who exactly is she?”
“As you can see, she’s Alisa Gielea, the Count’s younger sister.”
“I’ve never seen her before!”
“She’s been quite sickly, so the Count worried about her a lot.”
“Yes, he’s really overprotective!”
Alisa chimed in with a bright voice, though the content of her words was far from cheerful.
“Honestly, he wouldn’t even let me go for a walk for more than ten minutes because the cold wind might be bad.”
“Excuse me? But that’s…”
“He also wouldn’t let me read books with anything stimulating in them.”
“Excuse me?”
“Even letters sent to me, he read first in case they contained anything strange.”
Her tone seemed almost boastful of the Count’s protective attitude.
Even after the social gathering ended, the Count would have no way to argue about this conversation. Claiming she was proud of his protection would leave him speechless.
“Really, every time I went outside, he worried too much.”
“Exactly. He was so kind… he didn’t even assign me a personal maid.”
“Excuse me? But that’s—”
“He probably feared that leaving me to a single maid might cause harm.”
As Alisa and Ortega continued talking, the expressions of those around them became uneasy.
They likely realized quickly that this wasn’t an ordinary situation.
It made no sense for a Countess not even to have a personal maid.
“M-Mr. Zae-n? Is that true?”
A nobleman had approached Laseille with the question.
Of course, Laseille already knew what to answer.
“Of course it’s true. The Count even came to check on Ortega’s condition personally.”
“Excuse me?”
“Since he’s been quite ill, he seemed worried he might be under a curse.”
“Yes, though in the end it was just a simple incident!”
Murmurs spread again, naturally.
It was typical for matters related to curses to be handled quietly within a family. Talking about them openly could easily cause scandal.
‘Basically, he had no intention of just watching over her.’
On the other hand, the Count Gielea’s attitude must have seemed quite strange.
It almost looked like he wanted to eliminate the Countess as a potential problem.
And in a way, that was half true.
“So… she’s fine now?”
“Yes, she wasn’t cursed, after all.”
Even after hearing Ortega’s reply, the expressions of the others didn’t relax.
It seemed they couldn’t tell the difference between being cursed and simply being sick.
If they were a married couple, they would have noticed such subtle changes immediately.
‘They must be starting to suspect.’
Laseille quietly observed the surroundings, listening in on the conversation.
Exactly the situation he had intended was unfolding.
“No matter what, how could this happen…”
“Did she even have proper authority?”
“…No wonder the Count said…”
“Her authority as Countess…”
Those discussing the Countess soon shifted the topic to Alisa.
“Isn’t she an adult now? She should be independent.”
“Still being kept in the mansion feels a bit…”
“It’s not that the Count cherishes her… he just wants to use her, right?”
“Well, if that’s the case, raising her naive is better.”
‘Do they really think that far?’
Laseille paused, caught in thought while listening.
From the conversation, Count Gielea seemed like a terrible villain.
They were speculating that he raised his sister innocently ignorant, only to marry her off to strengthen the family’s power.
‘Well… partly, that’s not wrong.’
The Count had indeed obsessively isolated Alisa from the outside world.
From the way people were talking, it seemed he wanted to raise her to his liking.
‘…Then it’s all true, isn’t it?’
As Laseille was lost in this confusion, a loud noise came from outside.
All the gathered guests turned their gaze toward the door.
“Alisa!”
The Count burst in, loudly, heading straight for Alisa.
He didn’t even glance at Ortega.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were attending the social gathering? What if something happened?”
‘She didn’t tell him?’
Laseille turned his gaze to Ortega.
He had told her it would be fine since there were two Swordmasters present.
But judging from Ortega’s eyes, it seemed there was another plan.
‘Better not intervene—it would only get in the way.’
Concluding that, Laseille shifted his attention to Irenes.
Her body was trembling slightly, likely from worry over the sudden situation.
Since the space was smaller than expected, their bodies were close, and the tremor was more noticeable.
‘Are you okay?’
Laseille quietly held Irenes’s hand.
Even just physical contact could stabilize her mind somewhat.
Whether it was the wrong method or not, Irenes’s body began trembling more.
Still, she did not try to pull her hand away.
In fact, she held his hand a little tighter.
‘She must be very anxious.’
Meanwhile, the conversation between the Count and Alisa continued.
“You should have told me beforehand!”
“Why would anything happen?”
“You even have trouble going outside.”
“That was when I was a child! How long will you keep me from walking?”
“You don’t know enough. What if something happens? I worry for your sake…”
The Count suddenly stopped speaking and looked around.
His expression seemed to finally realize the situation.
“Ah, my apologies. I caused a commotion. I was worried about my sister.”
“Your sister?”
“Yes, she doesn’t know much, as you can see. My sister hasn’t been rude, has she?”
It was a statement that clearly belittled Alisa.
Due to the prior conversation, the reactions of the others were not very positive.
The Count seemed genuinely flustered by this.
‘Until now, he must have always gotten the same reaction.’
He probably thought himself a good older brother for being so considerate.
Alisa likely ended up making many inadvertent breaches of etiquette.
Whether the Count even taught her proper manners was another question…
‘Today, it’s a bit different.’
For one, everyone now had a rough idea of how Alisa grew up.
They also noticed the Count’s unusual state.
Thanks to Ortega’s support, Alisa’s behavior was not particularly impolite.
The Count, barging in and shouting, was the one being disrespectful.
“You too! What exactly are you thinking?”
The Count seemed to falter slightly, then turned his shout toward Ortega.
“If anything happens, you’ll take responsibility—”
“It’s better not to say more, Count.”
Ortega’s calm voice cut him off.
“Or do you really doubt Sir Sieren and Sir Zae-n’s abilities?”
“What do you mean…”
Only then did the Count notice Irenes and Laseille and fell silent.
He must have realized that adding unnecessary words would cause problems.
“…Anyway, you should have reported this to me…!”
“Isn’t the social gathering under my authority?”
Ortega’s voice was quieter than before.
The atmosphere among the surrounding nobles mirrored it.
“You took Alisa!”
“Miss Alisa is an adult. I requested to be her partner, and she accepted. Is there a problem?”
“She just became an adult. Her judgment is still immature.”
