I Was Happy to Be Dumped by My Fiancé, But Something Seems Off - Episode 14

“Argent, were you close with Clarissa?”

“Of course, not… I don’t recall having any personal interactions with her.”

“Right…”

Even when comparing memories, there were no instances of Clarissa addressing Argent with any familiarity. Clarissa wore a shocked expression and began weeping softly. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late. Agnes, her face pale with alarm, rushed to comfort Clarissa, and my attention being drawn there meant I failed to notice Bertina. A sharp pain and impact struck my cheek, making my vision swim. “My lady!” Argent cried out in panic. My legs wobbled beneath me. Argent caught me as I started to fall sideways, preventing me from facing the floor.

“Sorry Bertina, I got distracted by what was happening over there.”

“No… it’s fine, thank you!”

I’d been hit before, but this was by far the most intense.

While thinking that given time it would probably swell up like an apple into an unrecognizable face, I pressed my hand to my throbbing cheek and looked up at my father, who was glaring down at me with furious snorts as Argent supported me.

“You made Clarissa cry!”

“Is Clarissa your daughter, Father? Or am I just the daughter you had with another woman, and therefore not worthy of your affection?”

“How dare you…! Apologize right now, Bertina!” my mother said.

“Please be quiet, Mother. You’re not loved by Father either.”

“What?!”

“Well, isn’t it true? No matter how close Father and Auntie are as siblings, there are limits. How long is a grown woman going to keep clinging cling cling to her brother? And yet Mother says nothing, just watches them with an amused smile. Ah, or perhaps… could it be that Mother doesn’t love Father either?”

Why does no one else question it?

Even close siblings have their limits.

Though initially enraged by the accusation, Mother gradually grew confused by Bertina’s words, and grabbed Father’s hand as he moved to strike again.

“Now that you mention it… Husband… you have always been rather too close with Lady Agnes.”

“Wh-what are you—”

“I… I… Huh, why have I never minded it until now?”

The light gradually faded from Mother’s eyes as she grew vacant. Though she’d finally begun questioning things after Bertina pointed them out, the more she spoke, the more hollow she became. Even Father, who had been furious moments before, began flustering at Mother’s strange state.

Bertina saw it. The considerable panic that surfaced on Agnes’s face. Had Mother not truly accepted that sibling relationship from her heart? There were signs she’d been compelled by some inexplicable force. When Bertina called “Argent,” he too seemed to be watching them carefully, just like her.

Handing Clarissa to Bianco, Agnes approached Mother, who was acting strangely.

“Wh-what are you saying? The master and I are siblings; of course we’re close.”

“That’s right, isn’t it? But… I…”

“Don’t be swayed by Bertina’s words.”

—Ah…

Just from Agnes speaking to her, the light returned to Mother’s eyes. Her confusion vanished. But she immediately began affirming the closeness between Father and Agnes that she’d just been questioning. Seeing Agnes’s obvious relief, Bertina felt intense distrust and glanced at Father. Though he’d been flustered by Mother’s strange behavior, once she returned to normal, so did he—as if remembering his anger toward Bertina, he directed intense emotion at her.

Just as Bertina was about to say to Argent, “Let’s leave this place,” a visitor appeared.

“Pardon the intrusion,” a bewitchingly beautiful woman’s voice reached the room, and everyone’s gaze focused at once on the sudden visitor—Inanna.

“G-Great Priestess?!” Father and Mother were flustered. Of course, they’d be shocked. The highest authority of the Grand Cathedral had appeared without warning. Ignoring their frozen states, Inanna took one look at Bertina’s swollen cheek and furrowed her brow in an unbecoming frown.

“Oh my, what a shame to ruin such a cute face. Who could have hurt this adorable face?”

“I was merely disciplining my child. Even as the Great Priestess, you have no right to interfere.”

“So, the Duke hit her. Why, when you had baby Bertina baptized at the Grand Cathedral, you and the Duchess wept together, saying how glad you were she was born safely. Do the feelings you held when she was a baby disappear with the passing years? How sad.”

“Wh… wha… eh…”

Father froze at Inanna’s words, lost for speech, his gaze darting about repeatedly as his face grew pale. Bertina, who had always believed her parents disliked her from birth, doubted this new information, yet couldn’t believe Inanna would lie. If it were true, it made her parents’ feelings even more incomprehensible.

This time, Father became like Mother had been, and Agnes, growing more frantic, touched Father’s arm and spoke to him as she had to Mother.

“Ah… so that’s how it is.”

Agnes reacted to Inanna’s voice, which sounded as if she’d understood something, her face turning pale with terror. Inanna glanced at Clarissa, then turned to Bertina and Argent.

“I came because I had business with Bertina, but I dislike returning empty-handed, so I’ll be taking these two with me for a while under the authority of the Great Priestess.”

“What are you—”

“Where did that father go, I wonder? The one who desperately thought up the name ‘Bertina’ and was determined to raise her to be a happy girl?”

“Ah…………”

Father could only stare blankly at Inanna’s words, and his eyes met Bertina’s. Bertina looked away without a word, buried her face in Argent’s chest, and had him carry her out of the room. From behind came shouts of “Leave Argent here!!” and “Wait, Bertina!! For Clarissa’s sake, leave your attendant behind!!” but thanks to Argent’s quick pace as he left the mansion, she didn’t have to hear them to the end.

When she later complained to Inanna, who caught up with them, about her being late, Inanna smiled broadly and said, “Sorry! But because of that, I figured something out.” then revealed that the one with charming powers wasn’t Clarissa, but Agnes.