I Was Happy to Be Dumped by My Fiancé, But Something Seems Off - Episode 6

Bertina was surprised by Riet’s exaggerated shock. He had probably expected her to desperately try to avoid being abandoned by the duke. In reality, she was just waiting for the announcement of either being disowned or married off to some noble as a second wife. She had been idly thinking she could either disappear by having Argent stage an accident on the way to the convent, and then this happened.

“Are you surprised?”

“O-of course I am! You would speak of the duke that way.”

“Let me ask you this instead – if Your Highness had to watch the king and queen shower all their affection only on the Second Prince right before your eyes, would you still respect them as parents?”

“…”

“Your silence says everything.”

When Bertina put herself in his position, no one could say anything.

“…The duke… not just the duke, but the duchess and Bianco too, they all love you.”

“I’m no expert on illnesses, but perhaps you should have your head examined by a doctor immediately upon returning to the palace.”

“Y-you’re mocking me!”

“Aren’t you the one who’s mocking me? After seeing how they’ve treated me all this time, you think I’m loved?”

“…”

Riet fell silent whenever things became inconvenient for him. Just when she was enjoying a delicious cake, her good mood turned sour.

Even when coffee arrived, Riet didn’t reach for it.

Moved by the cake’s deliciousness and wanting another, Bertina called the server and ordered the same cake.

“What about Argent?”

“I’ll have some too.”

“Two of the same,” she instructed. After the server finished writing the order and left, she sipped her tea.

Though exasperated by Riet’s intensified glare, she glared back defiantly.

Argent, holding his teacup, called out, “Your Highness.”

“If you came chasing after the young lady, perhaps you could be a bit more honest? The young lady is quite dense – if you remain silent or speak indirectly, she won’t notice anything.”

“Silence! Know your place as a servant and don’t speak to me so familiarly.”

“My, my, my apologies.”

No matter how much Riet threatened in that low, angry voice, Argent remained cool as he drank his tea, flashing a smile at the instantly irritated Bertina. Bertina reluctantly suppressed her irritation, though she maintained her fierce glare at Riet.

The two glared at each other. Bertina broke first. She asked a passing server to have the cake wrapped to go and handed over the order slip.

“We’ll cover the coffee. So please go home, Your Highness.”

“Don’t mock me! I’m not finished speaking.”

“Then why not go to Clarissa? Or better yet, go cry to her that ‘Bertina won’t listen to me, comfort me, Clarissa’?”

“Enough…!”

“…I absolutely hate you – you, the duke’s household, and Clarissa too. If you’re going to endlessly repeat how cute Clarissa is like an idiot, you should have made her your adopted daughter and fiancée from the start.

—Not having to become your princess is the greatest happiness of my life.”

Irritation doesn’t disappear quickly – when forcibly suppressed deep inside, it only needs a trigger to reach boiling point. However, in her extreme irritation, her words became disordered and her negative emotions were laid bare.

Seeing Riet’s stunned expression as emotions drained from his face, she gasped, realizing she’d gone too far. She almost apologized, but remembering how Riet had treated her until now, she justified it by thinking that saying this much wouldn’t make her seem cute anyway.

She made the wryly smiling Argent stand up, placed payment on the table, and left the shop, leaving the stunned Riet behind.

No longer in the mood for shopping, she headed to where the carriage was waiting and returned to the mansion.

After arriving at the mansion, she unfortunately encountered Bianco. As Bianco started to speak, Bertina stopped her with her most intense glare. “I’m quite agitated right now, so could we do this later?” she dismissed him, quickly entering her room.

When Argent came in later and mentioned that the glared-at Bianco had turned pale and was crying, she didn’t care.

“Don’t tell such obvious lies even that fool would see through.”

“Ah, hahaha!”

“What’s so funny? I’ll get angry!”

“Sorry, sorry. Hey, let’s go to the Grand Cathedral tomorrow.”

“Go… is that alright?”

“It’s fine.”

“Well… if Argent says so, I suppose we could go.”

But Bertina confirmed once more if it was really okay to go.

The Grand Cathedral was the continent’s most sacred place, dedicated to Maria, the Goddess of Love worshipped by the kingdom. Argent, whom Bertina had picked up, wasn’t human but the prince of the demon world where demons lived. While ordinary demons would have their power weakened and suffer physical harm in the cathedral’s overflowing sacred atmosphere, Demon Prince Argent seemed perfectly fine.

He had business with the immortal high priest at the cathedral.

“A demon having business with the high priest… why?”

“Various reasons.”

“You could at least tell me.”

“No way. If I told you, Bertina would get angry, right?”

“That depends on the content.”

“Then no.”

“How stingy.”

“I am stingy.”

“Don’t admit it!”

Since Argent was being this firm, he wouldn’t tell her. She pulled Argent closer and stroked his silver head.

“Do all demons wish to be picked up by humans like you do?”

“Nope. Just me.”

“Why is that, Argent?”

“I wanted to live an apathetic life.”

“My, what a shame.”

“Maybe not. Life with Bertina is quite enjoyable.”

“Fufu, thank you.”

When she first learned he wasn’t human but a demon prince who wanted to live apathetically, she genuinely worried he’d gone crazy from hunger. But when he showed her magic impossible for humans as proof of being a demon, she knew it was true.

‘Will you cast me out now that you know I’m a demon?’

‘No! Since I picked you up as a pet, I have an obligation as your owner to care for you until the end!’

‘Then keep me as your pet until Bertina dies.’

‘Of course.’

They’d had such conversations too.

Stroking his silver head while reminiscing, she hugged his head.

“Bertina?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just want to stay like this. Is that bad?”

“Not bad at all.”

“Thank you.”

Riet, with his incomprehensible mind, would probably give up on Bertina completely after today.

She sincerely hoped he would.

—Or so she thought, but the next day. While returning to her room after breakfast, the butler handed her a letter.

“It came express from the palace.”

She had a bad feeling.

Thanking him and taking the letter, she checked the sender. As expected, it was from Riet. She wanted to immediately tear it in two, shred it into tiny pieces, ball it up and throw it in the trash to test her self-control, but they were still in the dining room. With her parents and brother watching, tearing it would invite loud criticism, so she took it back as is.

Returning to her room with Argent, she immediately cut the seal with a paper knife and read the letter. It said they should have the tea they couldn’t have yesterday, today. It specifically stated Clarissa definitely wouldn’t be present.

When Bertina balled up the letter and threw it in the trash, Argent asked about its contents. After she relayed what was written verbatim, Bertina heaved a great sigh while Argent gave a wry smile.

“Your ‘I absolutely hate you’ declaration must have really gotten to him.”

“Why would His Highness be affected just because I said I hate him? If anything, he’s the one who hates me.”

“True enough.”

“Bring me stationery and an envelope – I need to write a reply.”

“What will you write?”

“Why don’t you go have tea or whatever by yourself? Bye.”

“Haha!”

Whether Clarissa was there or not, she simply didn’t care.

On the stationery Argent brought, she wrote exactly what she’d declared and put it in an envelope. After sealing it with wax, she ordered Argent to deliver it express to the palace, then began preparing to go to the Grand Cathedral.

Calling her maid, changing clothes, and setting off for the Grand Cathedral as soon as Argent returned. When leaving the mansion, she encountered Bianco again, but he said nothing today. Though he clearly seemed to want to speak, Bertina passed by without engaging.

When Argent glanced at him, Bianco hung his head deeply and trudged slowly deeper inside.