I am living unmarried with my terminally ill lover.
Episode 10
Ines squinted at her quill pen.
Her desk was stacked with papers.
As she signed each one, she suddenly thought.
“I can’t believe I said yes.
This was the third time they’d offered.
If he refused this time, he was going to resort to blackmail.
But Khalad had accepted Ines’ offer.
It must have been an emotional trick.
Either that, or he was convinced of Ines’s abilities.
“The jewelry wasn’t important.
I lied when I said I lost two million.
I had stolen Dihas’s misfortune and faked it.
I got the Khalad and kept the jewelry, so it couldn’t have been better.
I get my powers back, and Kalad Asdeon escapes misery.
The unhappiest man in the world and the woman who sees misery.
What could be more perfect than that?
And it’s not a deal that Kalad would lose.
In any case, Kalad finally accepted the offer.
The next time he came to my house, I’d show him the contract.
“Hmmm…….”
Meanwhile, one question kept nagging at me.
Why was Kalad the heir apparent?
He’s the eldest son, but he’s adopted, and the Marquises seem to favor Dijas.
It was surprising since Dijas was the natural heir.
“Ines.”
Shamor’s call brought Ines out of her thoughts and she looked up.
“As you said, I’ve been compiling a list of those who have recently approached Master Halo.”
“Tell me.”
“Among them, it appears that…… Raniere Harbert is writing to Master Halo.”
Tsk.
Ines put down her pen immediately.
“For what reason?”
“I didn’t recognize it as such.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
Ines smirked.
But his eyes weren’t laughing at all.
“We need to see Ranier Harbert.”
“Yes. That’s why I brought him.”
Shamore held out the invitation.
“It’s a tea party at lunch today. Ranier Harbert will be there.”
Ines looked at the invitation Shamor held out.
“Cancel everything for the afternoon.”
Shamore immediately reached out to the tea party’s host, Count Youngae.
The idea of showing up on the day of the tea party was a surefire way to get rejected.
But this was Innes Elrdin.
The Countess was delighted and wrote back to say that she was welcome to come.
Ines climbed into the carriage to attend the tea party.
Leaning her head against the window, she took in the passing scenery.
“How many years have I seen you?
After her parents divorced.
Ines could not forget Ranier entering the mansion holding her father’s and stepmother’s hands.
-Ranier Harbert.
Ranier smiled shyly and said his last name.
-I’m so happy to have a sister! By the way, can I call you sister?
She acted innocently as if she didn’t know much about her parents’ situation.
-Oh my God, this is so delicious! I’ve never had such delicious food before…….
Playing the poor guy to get sympathy from his employers.
‘Turns out it was all an act.
Ranier acted like he had a hard childhood as a hidden illegitimate son, but the truth was different.
She received a large sum of money from her father every month and lived in luxury.
The money, of course, came from Count Elrdin.
After kicking their mother out, the two women moved into the mansion and began to bully Ines and Halo.
They weren’t openly abusive like fairy tale stepmothers.
They were manipulative, pretending to be pitiful, pretending to be victims.
Ranier was always resentful that she was not the favorite child of her father.
-Ah……, I thought my sister got it too.
It was cute how she deliberately showed him the gift she had gotten for herself and gave him an apologetic look like she hadn’t realized.
She lied to keep people apart, and her intuition was only unleashed when everything became self-centered.
He was incredibly selfish, but his father always stood by Ranier.
Halo and Ines were becoming increasingly isolated from the Marquisate.
He heard that his mother, who had been exiled to the Countess of Elrdin, was ill.
Eventually, Ines broke free of Marquis Harbert’s attempts to keep her and left the marquisate with Halo.
“Turns out he only held her because he didn’t want to pay child support.
A cold smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Did I mention that Lanier came of age this year?”
Ines asked, and Shamor answered.
“She came of age last month.”
How time had flown.
In the meantime, Ines had been too busy building up her family and making money to care about the marquises or Lanier.
Time would take care of that, someone said.
But as the years passed, her hatred for them remained the same.
It just wasn’t time yet, so I was patiently waiting.
And now you’ve touched Halo in the meantime…….
Ines muttered bitterly.
“I suppose I should warn her.”
Finally, the carriage arrived at the location of the tea party.
Ines walked to the patronage, guided by her hired hand.
She could hear the sounds of commotion in the distance.
All the guests had gathered.
When Ines entered the tea party, the manor immediately fell silent.
The young men and women in conversation stopped talking and turned to look at Ines.
Ines smiled slightly and opened her mouth.
“Oh dear, am I late?”
The host of the tea party, Count Youngae, jumped to his feet.
“No, no, welcome. Elrdin Youngae!”
She stomped her feet as if she were going to run to Ines at any moment.
Ines stared at her flushed cheeks and smiled.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
The Countess was so pleased that she didn’t know what to do.
“Sister!”
A woman jumped to her feet.
The woman with brownish-blonde hair turned to Ines with a beaming smile.
“It’s been a long time!”
The delighted voice belonged to her half-sister, Ranier Harbert.
Ines glanced at Lanier, who was smiling broadly.
The Countess saw the look of regret in her eyes.
She was so happy to see Ines, who rarely attended social gatherings, that she had forgotten Ranier’s presence.
The Countess gestured to the seat next to me.
“Please take a seat, Lady Elrdin.”
The closer I was to the host, the better the seat.
But it was also next to Ranier.
Ines made her way over to it, but Ranier let out a short squeak.
“Ouch!”
Ranier smashed the water glass on the table with his elbow.
Instantly, Ines’s seat is drenched.
“I’m sorry, I accidentally…….”
As Ranier stood there at a loss for words, the Countess said in a panic.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll have the chairs and tablecloth replaced right away…….”
“No.”
Standing alone, Ines walked to the far end of the room.
When she stopped, the hired hand pulled out a chair for her.
Sitting down, Ines straightened her back and placed the fan in her lap.
The young ladies who happened to be seated next to her looked like they had won the lottery.
Only the host, the Countess, looked disappointed.
Ines smiled at her across the table.
“It’s nice to have the best seat in the house to see your face.”
“Oh my…….”
Countess Youngae’s eyes widened.
Disappointment washed over her face, followed by shyness.
Only Ranier bit his lip nervously.
When the Countess was satisfied that all the invitees had gathered, she rang a small bell.
As the waiting servants served tea and refreshments, the noble ladies chattered.
“I wasn’t expecting you to be here, Elrdin.”
“The papers have been all over her, she’s quite remarkable.”
“What do you use for balm? Your hair looks so good……!”
Everyone was trying to get a word in with Ines.
When all the attention was on Ines, Ranier spoke up.
“I’ve been hearing a lot about you, too. I’m glad things are going well.”
Ines stared at Ranier wordlessly.
He should have read the warning in her gaze, but she didn’t stop.
“But my sister…….”
Ranier said with a hint of regret.
“I heard the Adrejo sank this time, and I know you invested a lot of money in it.”
There was a moment of silence.
Everyone looked at Ines.
“I was worried,” he says, “because I knew you were heartbroken.”
Despite his concern, Ranier smiled broadly.
“Speaking of which, why don’t you invest in the Tillette next time? My father invested in it this time and made a nice profit.”
He was trying to be comforting, but he was also bragging.
Ranier looked around at the young people seated around him.
“I wanted to keep you informed, and all of you gathered here.”
Ines, who had been listening in silence, laughed out loud.
“Ah. Not again.”
Ines picked up her teacup and said.
“I’ve never invested a lot of money.”
“……, but you invested five million fruels…….”
“Five million fruels is a lot of money?”
The youngsters listening gulped.
Five million francs was enough to buy a mansion with a garden.
Ines sipped her tea and answered leisurely.
“I had forgotten it had even happened until she mentioned it.”
Ranier pursed her lips for a moment, then smiled her trademark bright smile.
“I’m glad you did, then, because I would have felt bad for you if you were upset.”
The chattering was annoying, like a sparrow waking me up in the morning.
It was getting tiresome to listen, so Ines cut him off.
“Thank you for your concern, young one.”
Ranier blinked, and then her eyes drooped ruefully.
“Sister, please call me Ranier. We’re family, and Young Ae is too formal.”
Ines set her teacup down.
The sound of porcelain clinking against metal echoed briefly.
“Family?”
Ranier said, surprised by the coldness in his voice.
“You have the same father.”
“I don’t have a father.”
Ines replied lazily as if correcting a fact.
“That’s why I can’t be related to you.”
A scumbag who cheated on his wife and stole the property she brought home.
Such an animal could not be called a father.
However, Lanier was deeply saddened, as if she had heard a disparaging remark.
“My father would be sad to hear that……!”
Ines laughed as if to say the same thing.
“The Marquis de Harbert and I are legally related.”
Ranier’s eyes narrowed.
“The Marquis was stripped of his parental rights not long ago because he refused to pay child support.”
Ines looked Ranier up and down.
“He said he couldn’t pay child support because he didn’t have the money…….”
Ines smirked at Ranier’s self-promotion.
“I guess that’s true.”
