If You Cheat, Just Don’t Tell Me - Chapter 23

“…Maybe it isn’t prejudice after all.” (Freya)

The Fidel household, as expected of the nation’s top financial guild, was spacious and luxurious. Unlike the nouveau riche households in the city, there were no tacky furnishings instead, the room was tastefully decorated with valuable, carefully curated items that still managed to create a relaxing atmosphere for guests.

Even among nobles, few could maintain such an impressive mansion. It was proof of the Fidel family’s power, and it made their desire for noble blood all the more understandable.

“Well, there’s still some time before the appointed hour. Please make yourself comfortable here until then. Feel free to act as if this were your own home.”

“I’m still an outsider, so I’ll refrain from doing so.”

After being shown to the Fidel family’s guest room, I was told something like that. The implication seemed to be, “This will soon be your home too,” but that precisely meant it wasn’t my home yet.

…Sigh. I knew there was no benefit to being so prickly. If things continued this way, I would need to build relationships with the household staff and learn to manage the inner household affairs properly.

My own feelings on the matter were irrelevant. This was simply the way things were for someone born into a noble family.

My parents had looked apologetic when this arrangement was finalized, but I knew they had no intention of breaking the promise with the Fidel family. They were probably in another room now, finalizing the last details. At this point, there was nothing I could do.

“Well, do as you like. I have some business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. If you need anything, a maid is waiting outside the room, just ring for her.”

Lucius stood up, pointing to the bell hanging on the wall near the door. His demeanor was gentlemanly, and his face was undeniably handsome—rare even among nobles. Superficially, it was understandable why girls would swoon over him. Some of my classmates were infatuated with Lucius too. …But his noble-like conduct didn’t strike me as cool in the slightest.

Sitting across the table from Lucius, I simply replied, “Understood.”

“…I don’t know what you’re expecting, but you’d better snap out of it. After today, you and Dicca Regis will be complete strangers. He’s not going to show up here like some hero and whisk you away. Besides, he doesn’t even know about this, does he? Even if you had told him, there’s nothing he could have done anyway.”

Lucius’s expression, still standing, held a hint of exasperation.

His words made my heart skip a beat.

“…Did it seem like I was expecting something from him?”

“At the very least, it’s obvious you’re still not satisfied with our engagement. I’m not a monster, so I can understand how you feel. But that’s beside the point. Keep that attitude until today, and no further. I doubt you want to start off on the wrong foot with this family, do you?”

…Lucius was right, and I had no way to refute his words. I had told Dicca about this, but I hadn’t made the shameless request for him to do something about it.

Dicca had no obligation to shoulder my—the Spirits family’s—debts. Under normal circumstances, no family would continue an engagement with a debt-ridden household unless there was some significant benefit.

So, this was purely a matter of my feelings. I needed to accept reality and start thinking about my future with Lucius and my life in the Fidel household.

There must be many things I needed to do and learn. Once I became a member of the Fidel family, I would have to master the household’s customs and acquire knowledge about their business.

Finance wasn’t my specialty, and I had little prior study in it, but I didn’t think I would struggle too much to learn. It wasn’t arrogance, I was confident in my ability. …Perhaps the Fidel family had proposed this arrangement precisely because they valued that ability.

Honestly, there were plenty of noble families who would be swayed by the Fidel family’s financial assets. Not all noble households lived in wealth, after all. Among them, the fact that they had chosen to lend to the Spirits family and set these terms suggested they wanted to incorporate the most capable noble bloodline possible.

“Forget about Dicca Regis as soon as possible. That’s the easiest way for you to move on.”

“…”

“Well, if you can’t forget him, that’s fine too.”

Lucius bent down from his standing position, bringing his face close to mine.

His eyes seemed distorted, surely that was just my prejudice against him.

“Having a woman who can’t forget another man. Taking my time to make her mine doesn’t sound so bad.”

With those words, he averted his gaze from me and left the room with light footsteps.

…Maybe it isn’t prejudice after all.