I Was Happy to Be Dumped by My Fiancé, But Something Seems Off - Episode 33

Anyone with sound judgment would stop a wife trying to sleep with her own brother or oppose attempts to have children. Even if they couldn’t compromise on the matter of children, couldn’t they have been more proactive in stopping the rest? Luigi spun words that, in a way, pushed Agnes into the abyss, all while wearing a gentle smile.

—Something’s off about this.

The couple was famously close, well-known in social circles for their good relationship. Wanting a child with the wife you love is a natural feeling for a loving couple, but Bertina couldn’t help wondering if that was really the case with Luigi. Even if he certainly loved Agnes, something felt undeniably wrong.

“B-But my lord, you made my brother take contraceptive medicine? How…?”

“You see, I told you I’d gotten some healthful tea for you and gave it to your brother as a gift several times, right? You trusted me, so you gave it to him without suspicion. Thanks to that, his seed was mostly ineffective, and I was able to have a lovely daughter with you.”

“But I also took contraceptive medicine when with you…!”

“The medicine I gave you was actually one to make it easier to get pregnant. I wanted a child with you as soon as possible.”

“Th-Then… Clarissa isn’t my brother’s child…?”

Agnes’s stunned gaze turned to Clarissa, whose slender shoulders jerked. After trembling and looking at Agnes, Clarissa saw Agnes’s expression change as she pointed at her.

“I don’t want you if you’re not my brother’s child!!”

“M-Mother…?”

“Agnes.”

Luigi reached out to calm Agnes by touching her shoulder, but she shook him off violently. Everyone was shocked by Agnes’s sudden change, frozen stiff. The grip on her hands, resting on her lap, tightened with anger this time.

Bertina herself disliked Clarissa and found her disagreeable, but she couldn’t possibly think it was acceptable for her to be rejected by the mother she adored and then insulted just for not being her brother’s child.

Listening to Agnes’s utterly selfish outburst, Bertina nearly forgot she was playing the part of Inanna and almost let her true self show. If Argent hadn’t sharply rapped the back of her chair, sensing her agitation, she might have leaped out.

Facing forward, she whispered, “Thank you,” and he replied, “Endure this for now.”

“And you, my lord!! You knew how much I loved my brother, yet you betrayed me!! I won’t forgive you!!”

“Calm down, Agnes.”

“How can I possibly calm down!? Even though he’s under the charm, why did you interfere!? If you love me, don’t get in my way!!”

“Unfortunately, Mrs. Moldio,” Argent said in a calm tone, seizing control of the situation, and explained that Luigi was not under the charm. He refuted Agnes, who stared wide-eyed and shook her head in disbelief.

“It’s the truth. Duke Moldio showed none of the symptoms characteristic of those affected by the charm, like the Duke and Duchess of Annaloro. There are cases where the possessor isn’t charmed because they love the wielder from the bottom of their heart. Duke Moldio falls into that category. Using contraceptives to prevent a child with Duke Annaloro, and giving you medicine disguised as contraceptives to make you more fertile; it can be inferred that these actions stem from his love for you.”

Finally, he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Bertina to hear, “Though I can’t understand it,” and Bertina, hearing it, was taken aback and almost turned toward her family.

Her parents’ faces turned pale, and Bianco, noticing the change, cried out, “Father! Mother!”

“Your Majesty, please grant permission to take Father and Mother to the infirmary immediately!”

“Don’t you dare act on your own!!”

Right after Bianco pleaded with the king for urgent medical attention for the two, Agnes broke free from Luigi and rushed to Crow’s side, shoving Catarina and Bianco aside before hugging Crow, who remained seated.

“My brother is mine! I won’t give him to anyone!”

“Aunt is insane! Father is Aunt’s—”

“What if he’s my real brother? I’ve loved him as a man since we were children! And he loved me as a woman too! What’s wrong with us, in love, having a child!?”

“That’s enough! Agnes!!”

The queen stood up and raised her voice.

“I always thought there was something off about your relationship with Lord Crow. But the previous duke and duchess and those around you never saw it as abnormal; just a close sibling bond. Now I understand why. Agnes, don’t you feel empty?”

“What do you mean?”

“Relying on a charm to receive love, that kind of love is a sham. Even without the charm, there was someone who loved you for who you are, yet you clung to a false love and are now heading toward ruin.”

“False? You call it false!? My brother’s love for me is false!?”

“I agree with Her Majesty the Queen.”

Staying silent the whole time would have raised suspicions about whether she was really Inanna or rather, she just couldn’t hold back. She glanced at Argent, who nodded and pulled a bundle of papers from his pocket. They contained excerpts from Crow’s diaries, written since childhood, detailing his inner thoughts. He handed them to the king.

The king read through the words, his eyes wavering as he flipped through the many pages. Though Agnes screamed at one point, he silenced her with a single word, read to the end, then closed his eyes painfully and shook his head slowly.

“The queen is right. Mrs. Moldio, Duke Annaloro does not love you. Rather, the opposite is true.”

“What are you saying!?”

“The duke has been afraid of you since childhood, terrified of the abnormal affection you showed him, feeling it was wrong. But he was afraid that if he complained to your parents, he’d be seen as a brother who didn’t care for his sister and would be punished, so he played the role of the brother you desired.”

Agnes, who had possessed the power of the charm since childhood, used it to make her parents absolute allies. She would cry to them about Crow’s rejections, leading them to use violence and harsh words to make him obedient, molding him into her ideal brother and man.

“I’d like to think what’s written here is a lie. You said these are excerpts, are there more?”

“Yes. According to Miss Bertina’s attendant, who read the duke’s diaries, these were chosen as the more moderate and clear entries. There are even worse ones. Would you like to hear them?”

“I’ll pass…”