I Was Happy to Be Dumped by My Fiancé, But Something Seems Off - Episode 8

Bertina, who had no intention of waiting for Riet to wake up, left the cathedral with Argent. Just before leaving, Inanna handed her a tacky hand mirror studded irregularly with gems, saying, “Please accept this as a token from me.” Though Bertina tried to return it, Inanna forced it upon her, and she reluctantly took it home.

“Do you know what this is, Argent?”

“Hmm? All I know is that if I touch it, my hand might burn.”

“Really?”

“Let’s see. Hand it over.”

Just to test it, the moment Bertina passed the mirror to Argent, his palm burst into flames. She immediately snatched the mirror back, relieved when the flames vanished as it left his grasp, but now she was worried about the severe burns on Argent’s hand.

“We need to get you to a doctor as soon as we get back…!”

“It’s fine. I can heal it myself.”

Faint, tiny particles enveloped Argent’s badly burned palm, drifting away like dandelion fluff, and his skin returned to its original state.

Demons could effortlessly perform supernatural phenomena that humans couldn’t handle. Demons were beings meant to be feared by humans. How many people in the kingdom alone had actually encountered one?

Bertina touched the hand that had just been severely burned, cupping and stroking it with both hands.

“It’s like a dream…”

“A dream-like reality. One you humans can’t use.”

“That’s fine by me. It would only amplify the arrogance of already arrogant humans.”

“I see. Oh.”

“Hmm?”

The Annaloro residence was coming into view. Argent suddenly spoke up, so Bertina looked outside as well. She thought she saw a familiar carriage.

Even as she told herself it was just her imagination, the moment she stepped out of the carriage, reality confronted her. It wasn’t her imagination at all.

The familiar carriage bore the crest of Clarissa’s family, the House of Moldio. Most likely, the visitors were either Clarissa, the Duchess, or both.

Bertina suggested they sneak in through the back entrance to avoid being seen, but she was a step too late. From the direction of the mansion, the entire Annaloro family except Bertina along with Clarissa and the Duchess of Moldio, emerged.

They were dressed elegantly. It seemed they were planning to go out as a group.

Bertina had properly informed them she was going out before leaving the mansion.

Judging by their attire, this outing hadn’t been decided just yesterday or today; it had been planned much earlier. They had intended to exclude Bertina from the start.

“Well, I don’t have the slightest desire to join that group anyway.”

“What are you talking about? Should I make us invisible?”

“Hmm…”

Whether she faced them now or after the group returned home, the hassle would be the same. The key was determining which scenario would be more troublesome.

“If we meet them now or later, they’ll probably bother me either way.”

“Probably.”

“I don’t want double the trouble. Argent, distract their attention.”

“Understood.”

Clarissa, who loved to pester Bertina, and the Duchess of Moldio, who despised Bertina for becoming the Crown Princess simply because Clarissa was cute. Bertina disliked both Clarissa and the Duchess.

Clarissa, adored by Riet for her cuteness, couldn’t become the Crown Princess, while Bertina, disliked by Riet and her family for lacking charm, could.

If cuteness alone could make one the Crown Princess, the current Queen wouldn’t have struggled so much and would be living more freely.

There was another reason Bertina disliked them.

“Are demon siblings usually close?”

“It varies by individual. I know what you’re getting at, Bertina.”

Her father and the Duchess, who were part of the group that passed by without noticing Bertina and Argent. The Duchess was her father’s sister, and Bertina had heard they’d always been close, but should adults their age still be so physically affectionate?

Bianco seemed bothered by it, but her mother didn’t seem to mind much.

Even if they were very close as siblings, her parents’ marital relationship was good, so it was hard to understand.

“Sister Bertina, you should have come too. The sweets we’re about to eat are absolutely exquisite. It’s such a shame.”

“My apologies, Clarissa. Bertina’s rebellious attitude lately has been intolerable. Soon, she will face severe punishment. For one who is to become the Crown Princess.”

“Oh my? That doesn’t sound like something you, Father, would say while discussing with His Majesty the plan to adopt Clarissa and send me to a convent.”

The words her father uttered were too outrageous to ignore. Just as Argent was about to make them invisible to enter the mansion, Bertina couldn’t hold back and interrupted. The group was stunned into silence, shocked to find Bertina, who was supposed to be out and not yet back, suddenly near the mansion’s entrance.

Furthermore, Bertina added that just the other day, Riet had broken off their engagement and declared Clarissa would become his fiancée. She also mentioned that the King and Queen were aware of this.

“Wh-what is this!? I haven’t heard anything about that!”

Riet hadn’t yet informed her father, Crow, about the broken engagement. Though exasperated that he wouldn’t say anything even if she waited, she pointed to Clarissa as a witness. Under everyone’s gaze, Clarissa turned pale, wearing a frightened expression as she clung to the Duchess, crying.

“M-Mother, Sister Bertina must have misunderstood something.”

“Clarissa, are you saying the Crown Prince falsely claimed the engagement was broken?”

“N-no, that’s not—”

“Then it’s not a misunderstanding. Besides, Clarissa, weren’t you the one telling me, right after my engagement was broken, that the Prince loved you so much?”

Feeling increasingly annoyed, Bertina signaled to Argent, who temporarily took control of the bewildered group’s minds, directing them toward their destination. Their eyes glazed over, they obediently followed Argent’s command and departed.

A wave of exhaustion washed over Bertina, and her head began to ache.

“It seems problematic for Father and the others to find out my engagement was broken off.”

“Why is that?”

“That’s the question.”

She decided to think about the details once she returned to her room.

On the way, she asked a maid to bring tea to her room. Once there, she immediately began forming hypotheses about what had just happened.

“Judging by Clarissa’s reaction, it seems the broken engagement was a lie concocted by the Prince and Clarissa.”

“But as you said, the Crown Prince hates lies, right? Would he really lie, no matter how much he dislikes you or how cute Clarissa is?”

“That’s the point.”

Even if the broken engagement was a lie, it was highly doubtful that Riet, who detested lies, would tell one for the reasons Argent suggested. Another question arose: from her father’s reaction, it seemed he didn’t desire the broken engagement, but then his intention to send Bertina to a convent was unclear. Sending a problematic young lady to a convent, the last resort meant she could never return home or marry. Although Bertina was fully prepared to leave home with Argent before that happened, she surmised that the threat of being sent to a convent was being prepared as a means to force her compliance.

“Father seems to think it’s my dream to become the Crown Princess.”

“Well, isn’t that a position every noble young lady in the kingdom dreams of?”

Her father, who only thought of acquiring more power, saw his daughter as nothing more than a pawn in a political marriage. He didn’t consider her future out of love. No matter how much Riet disliked or mistreated her, he believed it would be fine as long as she became the Crown Princess. When Clarissa won Riet’s favor, he relentlessly made sarcastic remarks to Bertina, all while secretly arranging to adopt Clarissa. If even the King knew, then Bertina was truly being cast aside. The Queen knew as well. Bertina wanted to know how the Queen felt, but she was afraid that hearing she’d chosen Clarissa over her would make all their past memories vanish like bubbles, so she decided not to ask.

“When did you set their consciousness to return?”

“I set it to release when they reach their destination. They’re probably flustered right now, wondering how they got there.”

“I wish I could have seen that.”

“Shall we go?”

“No.”

Just then, a maid brought tea to the room. With practiced movements, she poured the tea, set it on the table, and left the room. She didn’t forget to leave some bite-sized cookies as well.

“If I just leave home, they’ll send people after me. Argent, can you make it look like I was killed?”

“I can.”

“Shall we also make it look like you were killed protecting me?”

“When do you want to do it?”

“Right now!”

Acting immediately upon deciding something was often best. But Argent stopped her with a “Wait.”

“Let’s observe the situation a bit more. A few things have caught my attention.”

“Things that caught your attention?”

“I’ll tell you later. Hold off on running away for a little while.”

“…Fine.”

Since Argent insisted that much, she reluctantly chose to wait.

——Shortly before evening, she received word that the group had returned. Feeling no obligation to greet them, she was brushing Argent’s hair. Keeping a pet’s appearance neat was also the owner’s duty. All the clothes Argent wore were chosen by Bertina. Occasionally, if he expressed a preference for something, she would buy it for him.

As she happily hummed while running a comb through Argent’s smooth, silky silver hair, the butler arrived and announced that the group was summoning her. Reluctantly, she stopped and headed to the salon with Argent.

Unlike before their outing, the group exuded a subtly awkward atmosphere, and Bertina had to suppress the urge to laugh.

“Welcome home, Father, Mother, Brother. Duchess Moldio and Clarissa as well.”

“…Bertina. What you said before we left, about the Crown Prince breaking off the engagement is it true?”

“I wouldn’t say such a thing if it weren’t.”

“…”

The reaction was different from what she had expected, leaving her perplexed. She had anticipated either a furious outburst leading to disownment or being screamed at to go to the convent immediately. Instead, her father, Crow, sighed with a grave expression.

“To think your lack of charm would force the Crown Prince to make such an unnecessary decision.”

——Huh?

“My apologies, Clarissa. Because of Bertina.”

“N-no, I…”

“Clarissa is not suited to be the Crown Princess. We, both Agnes and I do not wish for someone as lovely as you to live in such a den of snakes. We’d like to have you marry as the Crown Prince’s secondary consort, but first.”

Her father’s words didn’t reach Bertina’s ears, as she was in a state of shock.

Among all the times she’d been told she “lacked charm,” this was the most incomprehensible statement yet.

If they didn’t want the cute Clarissa to become Crown Princess, then why was there talk of adopting Clarissa and sending Bertina to a convent? Wasn’t it to eliminate Bertina and make Clarissa the Crown Princess in her place? Perfectly reading others’ thoughts was difficult, especially for those on the political front lines, as her etiquette teacher often said, but this was beyond that. She couldn’t understand what her father—no, what they—were plotting.

Suddenly, Bertina noticed something odd. Clarissa, sitting in front of her father as he spoke freely, was shrinking into herself, tightly clutching her skirt. Even when Bertina first exposed the situation, Clarissa hadn’t looked triumphant; instead, she had seemed flustered.

——…Could it be that the Prince, who hates lies, falsely declared to me that our engagement was broken?

If having Clarissa by his side and declaring her the next fiancée was also a lie, then a different problem emerged.

I can’t just let this be.

“Argent, we’re going back to the room.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Wait! We are not finished talking!”

She turned back with a weary expression to her father’s call, which enraged him, and he showered her with insults, but Bertina maintained her composure.

“Why don’t you enjoy a family gathering with Clarissa, who will soon be your adopted daughter? To you, Father, I am not a daughter but a pawn of the Annaloro family.”

“How dare you speak to your father like that!!”

“Oh my? Once, when I was crying after Brother made me cry and I went to you, you said, ‘You are merely a pawn. A pawn should not come crying to me,’ and you slapped me.”

“Wh… I… Did I really do such a thing to you?”

Now it was her father’s turn to be stunned.

It happened when she was ten. Bianco also seemed to remember, looking awkward and pale.

Sighing at the increased complexity of her thoughts due to her father’s strange behavior, she returned to her room with Argent.

“Did you see that earlier, Bertina?”

“Yes.”

Just as they were leaving the salon, she saw it.

Clarissa glaring at Bertina, who was leaving with Argent on the verge of tears, and Agnes staring back with an intense gaze.

“Putting off leaving home, I’m going to investigate this thoroughly.”

“OK”

Suddenly, she noticed the mirror given by Inanna was glowing. When she approached to look—

‘Ah~? You finally looked~’

“Whoa!”

Reflected in the mirror was Inanna, with the High Priest’s room she had visited today as the background.