In a Political Marriage, Isn’t It Normal to Treat Your Fiancée Well? - Chapter 21

It’s a cursed day.

That’s what I thought.

Well, I couldn’t think of it any other way.

While cursing internally, I greeted the customer who entered the shop with a “Welcome.”

“Ah, hello. It’s been a while,” the customer said cheerfully.

A reunion after so long.

The man smiled bashfully, his eyes seeming to ask, “You’re happy to see me, right?”

It’s the opposite, you fool!

I never wanted to see your face again!

“Ah, yes, hello,” I managed to force a smile and reply.

I couldn’t stop my cheek from twitching.

“I’m sorry for not visiting for so long.”

“No, no. So, what brings you here today? To a place like this.”

I ended up making a sarcastic remark.

But you know, I’d like to be forgiven for this much sarcasm.

I’m still angry about what this man did.

“I came to see Rosa.”

“Hah!?”

“I was finally able to come pick her up.”

“……”

“So, where is Rosa?”

This is exactly what they mean by being left speechless.

I was dumbfounded for a while.

How many years does he think have passed since then?

Came to see her?

Came to pick her up?

Ha! What the hell are you saying now!?

“Lord Duke’s Son. Pardon my rudeness, but you were supposed to have parted ways with our young lady. You said you were going to marry a noble’s daughter. So, what do you mean by coming to pick her up now?”

I strengthened my tone and pressed him. Of course, I would.

I don’t care if he’s the son of a duke or she’s the daughter of a count.

It doesn’t matter if this man is the heir to a ducal house or whatever.

This man betrayed our young lady.

There’s no way I can forgive that!

“At that time, there were unavoidable circumstances. I couldn’t possibly involve Rosa in noble affairs. And I couldn’t risk displeasing the nobility and causing trouble for this shop. But it’s alright now.”

“……”

Haha, that’s quite the heartwarming story.

He didn’t want to cause trouble for the woman he loved.

What pure love! …It makes me sick.

“I hear you have three children with your wife.”

“Eh? Yes. As promised, I made three. That’s why I could come pick her up.”

“……You haven’t divorced your wife, have you?”

“No.”

Are you planning to make our young lady your mistress!?

Don’t screw with me!

“I also have a mansion to live with Rosa.”

“That’s impossible.”

I couldn’t help but interrupt.

I couldn’t listen to any more of the man’s nonsense.

“What you’re saying basically means that, right? You want to make our young lady your mistress, right? You lowlife scum!”

“Wh-what!? What are you saying!? I love Rosa! I would never do anything to make her sad!”

“Who the hell do you think you’re fooling!? Then why did you go to the ducal house? You could have refused. You should have abandoned your noble status and stayed with our young lady!!”

“Th-that’s…”

“You wanted the ducal house. And you wanted the woman you loved too. You couldn’t give up your noble status. So, you came to pick up our young lady to make her your mistress, right?”

“…!”

“You let our young lady go once. Even if you say you’ve come to pick her up now, there’s no way I’d say ‘here you go’! And what’s with that face of yours? It’s all your fault! Why are you acting like the victim, you trash!!”

I was furious to the core.

I wanted to punch this idiot out.

Did he think we didn’t know anything?

Rumors about the ducal house have been circulating even among commoners.

“A man who can’t even become the heir couldn’t possibly keep a mistress, right? The only thing you should be doing now is taking good care of your wife and children.”

My words seemed to strike a chord with the man.

His face twisted visibly.

Apparently, I hit the mark. Of course, I did. Originally, this man was the son of a mistress. The ducal house isn’t stupid either. They knew they couldn’t make the son of a mistress the heir, so they took him in as a stud. Ah, you certainly fulfilled your duty. The third child was born long ago. Yet you never came here until now.

Involve our young lady?

Cause trouble for the shop?

Ahahahaha! You’re not that noble of a man!

“First of all, our young lady is already married. There’s no way she could become the mistress of a ducal son.”

“Eh?”

The man’s face turned pale at my words.

Why is he surprised now?

“Wh-why would Rosa get married…?”

“Why? Considering our young lady’s age, it’s only natural, isn’t it?”

“That’s a lie! That can’t be…”

“A child who’s about to be born needs a father, doesn’t it?”

“Ah… ahh…”

The man collapsed on the spot.

It seemed he didn’t know our young lady had gotten married.

What a foolish man.

He actually thought a woman would wait for him forever. The arrogance!

And what’s more,

This man even went so far as to make it seem like he wanted her to wait.

“You being you, you thought our young lady was raising your child while waiting for you to come pick her up, right? But that’s impossible.”

“……”

“There’s nobody in this entire area who doesn’t know about your relationship with our young lady. She took in the poor viscount’s freeloading son, even paid his tuition for that super prestigious, difficult university. Of course, everyone thought you and our young lady would get married. The prevailing rumor was that they were investing in a future son-in-law. But you and our young lady broke up. And that’s not all. Our young lady got pregnant while unmarried. Yes, with your child.”

“……”

“Do you know what they say about a woman who gets pregnant after being dumped by a man? She receives terrible slander. The guild master was the same. He poured money into what he thought would be his daughter’s husband. And in the end, he was just used and discarded. A shrewd merchant thoroughly fooled by an amateur young master. It’s fraud! But there’s nowhere to file a complaint. Right? He provided food, clothing, and shelter to his daughter’s lover, her future husband, out of goodwill, and out of goodwill paid for his university education. This is what they mean by repaying kindness with enmity!”

Ah, it’s so infuriating!

Remembering those times makes my blood boil.

“And you know, neither our young lady nor the guild master is here anymore.”

“Wh-why…?”

“It’s obvious! Because the bad reputation made business impossible, and they couldn’t stay in town anymore!”

“Th-that can’t be…”

“I’m the one running this shop now.”

“Where did Rosa go…?”

“Who knows. We got a letter saying she got married, and that was it.”

“Th-that can’t be… no way!”

The man was completely stunned.

It seemed he finally saw reality.

It seemed he finally noticed that things hadn’t unfolded the way he’d imagined.

But it’s too late now.

It’s already beyond repair.

“It’s too late now.”

“Uu… aah…”

The man fell face down on the ground and cried.

There’s no room for sympathy. He got what he deserved.