Chapter 10
If I didn’t know, that’d be one thing, but now that I do, such things won’t happen. Honestly, I wasn’t even surprised because I knew all too well how people like this worked.
“Belle. Now that I know you’ve returned alive, I intend to restore your place in the family registry.”
The Count got straight to the point.
“Do you have any definitive proof that I’m Belle? What if I’m not?”
“…The mark on your hand. It’s neither a common size nor a common location.”
On her hand was a fairly large mole.
“That’s the proof. Besides, do you think I wouldn’t recognize my own daughter? You are my daughter, Belle. There’s nothing to confirm. You’re taking back the Agrita name.”
It’s not the Agrita name she’d take, but the Rothiers’.
In the Kingdom of Aven, it might have been different, but in the Bernou Empire, wives were always required to take their husband’s surname.
The truth was, the Count didn’t care if Belle was truly his daughter or not.
As long as she remained tied to Cedric in marriage, she’d provide him with the benefits he wanted.
“Come now, Belle. Isn’t it better to be the daughter of a count than to live like some absurd commoner named Annie?”
Cedric chimed in from the side.
For an ordinary woman, such words could have been tempting. After all, it was an offer to become a noble rather than a commoner.
“I can’t decide this on my own.”
“What do you mean you can’t decide when your father is guaranteeing it?”
When Belle resisted, Count Agrita became more forceful.
“You’re my daughter. That’s an unchanging fact.”
The same words she’d been subjected to countless times before: ‘The answer is already decided, so just follow it.’
It was infuriating. If she had truly lost her memory, she might have gone along with it in confusion. But not now. Not anymore.
“Mister.”
“…What, what did you say?”
“Well, you never even told me your name, let alone taught me to call you Father. So, I don’t know what to call you.”
“I told you I’m your father!”
“And just because you say you’re my father, I should call you that? I don’t even remember you.”
“Belle!”
Count Agrita’s voice rose in anger.
“Instead of forcing me into your name and declaring me to be Belle with nothing but this stupid mole as proof, shouldn’t you be trying to win me over?”
“There’s nothing to win over!”
“In that case, I don’t want to live as the daughter of someone like you.”
“…What did you just say?”
“I said, I don’t like you.”
Count Agrita’s mouth fell open in shock. Cedric wasn’t much different.
The Belle they’d known—the one who’d always yielded when pressured—was now boldly rejecting them with disdainful words.
“Even if you try to restore my name, I’ll oppose it.”
“Belle Agrita!”
“No, my name is Annie!”
Belle stood up abruptly, meeting their gaze head-on. Count Agrita could only gape in disbelief.
“If you want to make me your daughter, bring me real evidence instead of empty persuasion!”
Cedric, who had been silent until now, seemed to snap out of his daze and tried to reason with Belle.
“…Be—Belle, why are you doing this? Becoming the daughter of a count means you’ll no longer be a commoner, but a noble lady!”
“What’s so special about being the daughter of a count?”
“Ah… It’s just… Do you not understand the status of a count’s daughter?”
“No, I do. But I also know that Ian is the heir to a dukedom, which ranks two levels higher than a count.”
“…What?”
“If I’m marrying Ian anyway, I’ll become the duchess, so why bother…?”
Cedric and Count Agrita blinked in astonishment.
“…Do you even realize what you’re saying? Are you seriously suggesting you’re using Duke Rothiers’ heir to make yourself a duchess?”
“I just said I fell for him and found out he’s a noble. Is that so wrong?”
“If Ian learns of this, he’ll be disappointed in you!”
A chuckle escaped Belle’s lips, causing Count Agrita’s already furrowed brow to crease even deeper.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just amusing. Go ahead, tell him.”
“…Belle, it seems living as a commoner has made you shockingly vulgar. I can’t leave you like this. Come with me immediately.”
If she returned to the Agrita estate, she would undoubtedly be confined under the pretense of discipline.
They would mask abuse as education, and Belle would once again lose all sense of self, becoming a puppet that moved solely according to the Count’s will.
“Have you been listening to anything I’ve said? I told you, I’m not your daughter. And even if I were, I wouldn’t want to be.”
“Belle!”
“What?”
When she snapped at him, the Count stared at her, genuinely shocked.
Belle, on the other hand, felt a weight lift from her chest.
She wondered why she hadn’t done this sooner. If only she had, it might have saved her a lot of grief. But for now, she smiled with a sense of satisfaction.
“You’ve gone completely mad.”
“And who’s the one insisting a ‘madwoman’ is their daughter?”
Count Agrita, clearly unwilling to engage further, stormed out of the room. Cedric hesitated, unsure of what to do, before following him.
As soon as they left, Belle’s legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the bed.
“Ha…”
She had managed to drive them away for now, but there was no way those two would give up so easily.
And Cedric—what on earth was he thinking?
Even if her identity were reinstated, Cedric was already married to Lady Dot Sebine.
A second marriage would be invalid anyway.
Then, a sudden thought struck her.
‘…Could he be planning to get a divorce?’
Ha.
The man who used to sing praises about the prestige of his noble lineage?
If Cedric truly intended to divorce and reinstate her identity to maintain their marriage, that would bring its own complications.
Remaining married to her might actually be easier than expected.
Of course, there would be gossip, but Cedric seemed willing to endure that.
But why?
—
As soon as Ian returned, Belle told him that Cedric and the Count had visited, and that they seemed intent on reinstating her identity and maintaining the marriage.
Ian was furious, immediately declaring such a thing unacceptable.
Belle hated the idea, too—becoming Cedric’s wife again was unthinkable.
But part of her wondered if she could use the position of Cedric’s wife to her advantage, perhaps to exact revenge.
It would be easier to deal with both her father and Cedric if she remained close to them.
Of course, she’d need to plan carefully.
“Cedric’s a fool. Perfect for manipulation.”
Though she had been disgusted earlier by how transparent his intentions were, she realized she could manipulate him to turn the marriage into an asset.
“That’s still out of the question.”
Ian’s stance, however, was firm.
“Do you have a better idea? If they decide to go through with it, there’s little I can do. If my identity is reinstated and Cedric truly divorces…”
The moment they exerted their power, everything would go the way they wanted.
“Then marry me before your identity is reinstated.”
“What?”
Belle jumped in surprise.
If Ian had planned to marry her, they could have registered their marriage from the start and avoided the Count entirely.
But she understood why he hadn’t. Ian didn’t want to stain his family registry.
Even if it was a sham marriage, it could be difficult to explain later if Ian found someone he truly loved.
“This is ridiculous. You’ve already done so much to help me. How could I ask for something like that?”
“I expected this would happen,” Ian replied calmly.
