I Was Happy to Be Dumped by My Fiancé, But Something Seems Off - Episode 12

After finishing preparations to go out, I left the entrance hall with Argent. Today, I chose a violet dress. When selecting a dress, it depends on my mood for the day, so there’s no particular insistence on this one. I took the parasol from Argent and held it up as we walked to the carriage. Once we boarded the waiting carriage, the coachman set off, and I watched the scenery slowly pass by. Today, no summoning letter had arrived from Riet. Even if one had come, I had absolutely no intention of responding.

Arriving at the town square, I took the offered hand and stepped down.

“Where are we going?”

“Where? I haven’t decided anything in particular. Don’t you have any suggestions, Argent?”

“I never do. I just accompany Bertina wherever she goes.”

“I see. Hmm…”

I had nothing I wanted and no shops I wished to visit. I just wanted a change of pace. Bertina started walking with her parasol, thinking that if we browsed some stores, she might find something she wanted.

The people passing by were varied—families, couples, men walking busily, women enjoying shopping.

Occasionally, she stopped by general stores to enjoy looking at accessories, purchasing any that caught her fancy.

After leaving a shop, she was asked, “Don’t you want a dress?” and shook her head.

“I don’t need one. I have plenty of unworn dresses in my room. What about you, Argent? Don’t you need new clothes?”

“I’m fine.”

“I see.”

What Argent was wearing was a custom-made servant’s uniform Bertina had a designer create.

Despite his daily training, he might be the type who looks slimmer in clothes, as it didn’t appear that way. When he was a child, he often walked around the house shirtless, making her want to scream. Now, he only left his shirt buttons undone, so she refrained from making a fuss. She wanted to complain, but Argent always teased her whenever he realized she was embarrassed. After spending many years together, she had a good grasp of his personality. His fondness for teasing was partly because he was a demon.

As she walked, wondering where to go next, she spotted a stall selling fruit. Since she was just feeling thirsty, she decided immediately. As she approached the stall with Argent, she heard a familiar voice exclaim, “Eek!”

Looking back, she saw a girl sitting down near Argent. With that familiar platinum blonde hair, she thought, “It can’t be,” and when the girl looked up, confirming it was the expected person, Clarissa, Bertina felt exasperated.

To think she’d end up meeting her again so soon after yesterday.

“What are you doing here, Clarissa?”

“Sister Bertina, you should live with a bit more sense of crisis! If things continue like this, you’ll truly be expelled from the family!”

“Expulsion is fine by me. I’d like to leave that house right now, if possible.”

If she asked Argent, he would take her away immediately. The reason she didn’t was that there were too many things she wanted to know. Disappearing without knowing would be irritating.

Even as Bertina tried to leave the spot with Argent, Clarissa, who had sprained her ankle when she fell, couldn’t move and looked up at Argent with tearful eyes. Aware of the surrounding gazes, Bertina let out a heavy sigh and signaled with her amethyst and gold eyes.

Argent shrugged with a wry smile, said, “Excuse me,” and lifted Clarissa that was the moment.

“!?”

Just as Argent lifted Clarissa, she wrapped her arms around his neck and, for some reason, pulled her face close, drawing him in before his amethyst and gold eyes could turn toward her.

Bertina, who had never seen Argent wide-eyed and frozen before, almost tried to escape reality but snapped back to her senses. As she started to move to pull Clarissa away, who had taken advantage of the confusion to kiss Argent, an even more troublesome voice rang out.

“Clarissa!! What are you doing to my Clarissa!!”

Before she could even wonder why her aunt Agnes, who boasted of only visiting high-end shops, and Clarissa were in a town frequented by commoners, Bertina felt a headache coming on, realizing things had gotten extremely troublesome.

——With no way to escape Aunt Agnes after displaying a kiss in the middle of a crowded street, Bertina and Argent entered a café with a private room. Argent, who had been kissed by Clarissa, couldn’t just drop her, and even if he wanted to put her down, Clarissa clung tightly, refusing to let go, resulting in a prolonged kiss. It wasn’t until Agnes called Clarissa in a sharp voice that she finally released him.

Following Agnes’s suggestion to move somewhere less public, they entered the café’s private room, with Argent reluctantly carrying Clarissa, who couldn’t walk.

“Bertina, what on earth is the meaning of this?”

“Meaning? There’s no meaning. Clarissa said she sprained her ankle and couldn’t walk, so I just had Argent carry her.”

“Just carry her? Then why did that happen earlier?”

That’s what I want to know! Bertina’s headache worsened as her irritation grew, seeing Clarissa crying with a red face.

“I’d like to ask the same. Argent was only trying to lift Clarissa, who couldn’t move. It was Clarissa who brought her face close and kissed him.”

“Are you implying my dear Clarissa would do something so vulgar!?”

“Isn’t she a vulgar girl right now? Approaching a man who’s engaged and calmly, right in front of—”

Bertina’s words were cut short.

An enraged Agnes threw water at her. Splashes also landed on Argent’s clothes, who was standing by.

“What an insolent girl! Not only did you use your servant to defile my Clarissa, but you insist you’re not at fault!?”

The way Agnes blamed Bertina, ignoring all of Clarissa’s past behavior, was exactly like her father. This must be what they mean by blood-related siblings. Being constantly targeted didn’t suit her nature. Seeing Clarissa, who occasionally flashed a triumphant smile at Bertina while acting flustered, only fueled her irritation. Removing her wet gloves, Bertina threw them at the two.

With a mocking laugh at the stunned pair, she declared cheerfully, “Oh, I’m sorry! The wet gloves were bothersome, so I threw them, and they seemed drawn to you two! How impressive to be liked by wet gloves!” Instantly, Agnes’s face turned red with rage, and she leaned over the table, trying to grab Bertina.

In an instant, Argent stepped between them and seized Agnes’s hand.

“Mrs. Moldio, no matter the reason, please refrain from raising your hand against the young lady.”

“Release my hand this instant! I’ll have your brother fire you!”

“As you wish. I am not employed by the Duke, so feel free.”

“Wh-what!?”

Argent had never received a salary from Duke Annaloro. Even when Bertina offered to pay him personally, he refused. With regular allowances from her family and no desire for material things, his savings only grew.

Agnes and Clarissa were shocked to learn just now that Argent wasn’t a hired servant. Of course, they didn’t know, since it had never been mentioned.

“I serve the young lady, so whatever the Duke says is irrelevant.”

Releasing Agnes’s hand, Argent stood right beside Bertina and offered a handkerchief he took from his pocket.

Bertina used the handed handkerchief to wipe her wet face and hands, then glanced at Clarissa, who was averting her eyes in confusion.

“Hey, Clarissa. Why did you kiss Argent? You have His Highness as your lover; that’s quite promiscuous of you.”

“Wha—!? Th-then, Sister, you’re no different!”

“Me?”

“Even though you have His Highness as your fiancé, you keep that servant by your side. It’s too much, just to get His Highness’s attention!”

“Huh? Me, wanting His Highness’s attention? Why?”

“Wh-why… Sister Bertina, you…”

“I don’t like him. Right now, I dislike him, I hate him. I don’t even want to see his face. You and Auntie are the same. I’m actually grateful he loves you. I’ve been waiting for him to break off the engagement.”

Though she was just stating the truth calmly, Clarissa’s face gradually paled, while Agnes glared with hatred and something more—an intense, unsettling emotion directed at her. Thinking about what it might be gave Bertina goosebumps.

After storing Argent’s handkerchief in her bag, Bertina stood up and addressed Agnes, who was about to speak, and Clarissa, who was looking down.

“It’s useless to complain to Father about making Argent take responsibility for kissing Clarissa. Argent is my servant alone and has no obligation to follow Father’s orders. Let’s go, Argent.”

“Don’t think things will end easily once we return to the mansion.”

Just as they were leaving the room, Bertina showed neither panic nor fear at Agnes’s words, smiling beautifully as she departed.

“Bertina, let’s go to the cathedral. If we return like this, it will play right into Mrs. Moldio and the others’ hands.”

“Understood. I wonder what Clarissa’s aim is.”

It’s insane to kiss Argent when she’s Riet’s lover. She’s never shown any sign of interest in Argent before. It’s not some foolish reason like wanting him because he’s with Bertina. She’s not the type of girl who covets what Bertina has.

The luggage in her room could be moved anytime if she asked Argent. After having her wet dress and body dried with magic, they hurried to the cathedral.

Left behind in the private room were Agnes and Clarissa.

Clarissa, though crying, blushed deeply as she recalled kissing Argent.

Meanwhile, Agnes, initially furious at being left by Bertina, now wore a rapturous expression, her strong attitude unbroken, reminding her of her brother Crow.

“Ah, that detestable child. So detestable and so dear, just like Brother. If only she had been Bianco, why, why was she born a girl.”

——Right after Agnes murmured with that ecstatic expression, Bertina, who had been flown by Argent to near the cathedral, sneezed four times in a row, felt a chill, and shuddered.

“A cold?”

“I-I don’t know. I just felt incredibly creeped out.”

“Maybe a cold. Let’s get a warm drink when we reach the cathedral.”

“Let’s do that!”