I Was Happy to Be Dumped by My Fiancé, But Something Seems Off - Episode 11

“Mmm…”

Bathed in the morning sun’s glare against her eyelids, Bertina blinked several times as she heavily opened her eyes, then leisurely sat up. She stretched widely with a yawn, then glanced toward the dressing room. There was a slight gap, Argent was already awake. Forcing her sleepy consciousness awake, she approached the window. Small birds were flying in formation toward the blue sky. She remembered how Argent used to take her flying often when she was a child. She felt deeply envious of the birds who could fly freely without anyone bothering them. Argent had told her she could ask to fly anytime she wanted, but she’d only just recalled that.

Since Riet had started doting on Clarissa, Bertina’s queenly education sessions had grown longer, and the time she spent with Riet afterward had also been extended. Was it because the content had become more serious? It didn’t feel that way. Even when they met, they’d just drink the tea set on the table in silence. Bertina would read a book she’d brought, and Riet would just stare intently at her. He stared so hard it felt like he was drilling holes through her, making her unbearably uncomfortable.

Thinking of Riet, she hoped there wouldn’t be another summons so soon after yesterday’s. She didn’t know how he’d figured out she was at the cathedral, but she had absolutely no desire to see him. Even if she did, Clarissa would be there. Having to watch the lovey-dovey antics of those infatuated lovers right in front of her was quietly infuriating.

The book she’d finished last night, “Sibling Relationships,” hadn’t offered any useful hints. So, was it abnormal for Agnes to still cling to her brother even as an adult? Or was there a world Bertina knew nothing about? The mystery only deepened.

“As for people who know Father and Aunt in detail.”

Her paternal grandparents were at the estate, but it took half a month by carriage to get from the royal capital to the estate. Moreover, the two were currently traveling. They’d said they’d stop by the mansion in the royal capital once they returned, but that would take time too. If she asked Argent, he could fly her to them in an instant, but her grandmother had a weak heart. It was entirely possible she might shock her into. Besides those two, there was one other person she had in mind.

“Oh, good morning, Bertina.”

“Good morning, Argent. Sorry to ask so early, but there’s someone I’d like you to fetch for me.”

“Who?”

“The head butler.”

The man who had served since her grandfather’s time as duke, the longest-serving person in the Annaloro household. Someone who knew her father and aunt well from their childhood.

Argent did as asked and returned with the head butler—Ricardo.

“You called for me, young mistress?”

“Yes. Sorry for the early hour. It’s just, I’ve been thinking about yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yes, about Father and Aunt.”

Ricardo’s expression clearly changed.

“I always thought Father and Aunt were close, but seeing how Father didn’t get angry even when Aunt was clinging all over him yesterday, I started to worry that they might be too close. You knew them when they were children, right?”

“Yes! Lady Agnes has always been attached to the master, Lord Crow. She followed him everywhere he went, and whatever he did, she was always by his side.”

“Did Mother never say anything? Even if they’re siblings, isn’t that a bit too.”

“No! To my knowledge, Her Ladyship has never once interfered in Lord Crow and Lady Agnes’s relationship. She always carried a smile and watched over them from a distance.”

Just hearing about it felt utterly bizarre, and it seemed the people involved thought it was strange too. Even if it was her beloved husband’s beloved sister, some tolerance might be necessary, but to accept their relationship without a word for years suggested she didn’t actually love her father. Yet, her mother deeply loved her father, and her father, in his own way, loved her mother.

“When Lady Agnes caught the eye of Duke Moldio and readily accepted his proposal to marry him, I was relieved. I thought Lord Crow’s eyes would finally open a bit.”

But instead of opening his eyes, Agnes frequently exchanged letters with Crow. When she visited her family home periodically, she brought her husband, Duke Moldio, along, but she never left Crow’s side.

It was a creepy story, but Duke Moldio, who was smitten with Agnes, would just watch the two of them displaying their excessive closeness with a fond smile.

Argent, listening beside her, was deep in thought, while Bertina, feeling a headache coming on, pressed a hand to her forehead.

“This is abnormal! Why does no one else find it suspicious?”

“I don’t know! Both Lord Crow and Duke Moldio adore Lady Agnes. Her Ladyship also has an excellent relationship with Lady Agnes. Perhaps because of that…”

Even so, it was abnormal.

After thanking the head butler, she saw him out of the room.

“Aunt must love Father, then.”

“As a brother?”

“As a man. Otherwise, that level of clinging is abnormal.”

Wanting more information, she decided she’d like to hear from someone who might know in a different sense. But first, breakfast awaited. It was bothersome to go all the way to the dining hall, but if she skipped it, her father would come yelling. He’d get angry if she didn’t show her face where the family was gathered, even while excluding her. He was such a troublesome father.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she rang the bell to call her maid. When she told Argent to leave the room, he stood there with a strangely sinister look on his face.

“Bertina. What kind of demon do I look like in your eyes?”

“A lazy demon who’s oddly fond of taking care of others, perhaps?”

“Only for you, Bertina.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m kind to you, but that doesn’t necessarily apply to other humans.”

Not quite grasping what he meant, she was still mentally sending out a flurry of question marks when the summoned maid appeared. Argent had no part in helping her change, so he had to leave the room. Just before exiting, he whispered near her ear, “Don’t forget that even as a servant, my essence is still a demon.” Staring at the door through which Argent had vanished, she tried to figure out what he meant but came up completely blank.

“Young mistress?”

“Ah, sorry. Please help me change.”

“Yes.”

Bertina kept pondering what Argent had meant all through changing and on her way to the dining hall, but she never figured it out.

When she took her seat, her father, who usually made snide remarks, was quiet today. He’d been like this since last night’s dinner. He and her mother were both staring at her. A glance at Bianco showed the swelling in his eyes had gone down. If it had still been swollen the next day, it would have meant he’d been crying all along, which would have been off-putting in its own way.

As she cut into her pancake with a knife and fork, piling on whipped cream and strawberry jam, her father cleared his throat and called her name.

“Bertina, regarding yesterday’s broken engagement, I’ll speak to His Highness. So, stop being so stubborn over trivial matters.”

“Excuse me?”

Bertina stopped and stared intently at her father.

“Honestly, if you were panicking over His Highness breaking off the engagement, why didn’t you say so? This is why I say you have no charm. It can’t be helped that His Highness fell for Clarissa. Unlike you, she’s a very cute girl. Your engagement to the Crown Prince holds great significance for the royal family as well. I’ll arrange a meeting later, so make sure you apologize properly to His Highness then. Understood?”

“Then all the more reason, shouldn’t His Highness’s fiancée be Clarissa?”

“Wh—, are you even listening?”

“You’re making Clarissa your adopted daughter, aren’t you? And getting rid of the nuisance, me by sending me to a convent. Clarissa is the daughter of Duke Moldio. Even if she becomes our family’s adopted child, she’s still a duke’s daughter.

Since all of you keep saying how cute, cute Clarissa is, wouldn’t it make more sense for Clarissa, as the adopted daughter, to become the Crown Prince’s fiancée? That way, the cute Clarissa would stay.”

“Clarissa is indeed a very cute girl, but she doesn’t have the brains to be Crown Princess. Even without charm, you have the qualities to be Crown Princess, making you the most suitable.”

She desperately swallowed the words that rose to her lips, her grip tightening on the knife and fork. What had her father just said? That way of phrasing it made it sound like Clarissa was a fool with nothing but cuteness. Did he not understand his own words? He seemed unconcerned about having insulted his specially doted-upon niece and just kept eating his pancake. Her mother was the same. She agreed with her father’s words and added some misplaced scolding about how women’s jealousy is ugly.

A quick glance at Bianco showed he was looking at their father with disbelief. At least Bianco still had some semblance of sense.

She couldn’t stand being in the same space with them anymore and quickly finished eating before leaving the dining hall. Argent, walking behind her, also seemed shocked by her father’s earlier statement.

“To the Duke, is Clarissa just a doll to dote on or something?”

“I don’t understand at all. My head is starting to hurt. Bring me some painkillers later.”

“It’s psychological, so don’t expect much effect. How about going out with me to take your mind off things?”

“That sounds good! Ugh, I don’t want to be in the same space as those people anymore.”

“Hmm… In that case, maybe it’d be better to leave the mansion altogether?”

“No! I’ll endure until I finish my research. If it becomes unbearable, I’ll ask you.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Yeah…”

She didn’t want to believe that the people she felt like calling “incomprehensible” hundreds of times were her own parents. Since the engagement was broken, there had been too many inexplicable events. First, it was Riet’s actions, and now it was her parents especially her father’s mindset.

Back in her room with Argent, she hugged him as he closed the door, and he stroked her head.

“Is it my lack of understanding? Or is there some other meaning?”

“Hmm, I wonder. Your brother was also confused by the Duke’s statement, so it’s not that your understanding is lacking.”

She didn’t know about Clarissa’s abilities. Even when they met at soirées, parties, or tea parties, Bertina would immediately change locations, so they were never in the same place for long.

“Sigh…”

“That’s a big sigh.”

“I can’t help it. What do you think the reason is for making Clarissa their adopted daughter?”

If they wanted Clarissa to be Crown Princess, she would have sufficient backing even as Duke Moldio’s daughter; they didn’t need to adopt her.

“Because she looks just like Lady Moldio. Perhaps Lady Moldio wants to become a pseudo-family with the Duke by adopting Clarissa?”

“Ah! That’s scarily plausible.”

If Argent was right, then Agnes’s feelings for her father transcended normal understanding, entering the realm of extraordinary thinking.