Ah, so that’s why you started smoking again. Because my smell is disgusting?
Come to think of it, I think I heard somewhere that Viego dislikes lily-of-the-valley. Is it because the fragrance isn’t to his taste? But the smell of cigarettes is even more repulsive.
How annoying. I pressed those words under my tongue while maintaining a smiling face.
“Is it done now?”
“A bit.”
“…”
Really annoying.
Maybe that’s why, but a mischievous thought crossed my mind. Do I really need to solve it right now?
I quietly observed Viego Windsor’s face. A man who always showed a perfect image was, for once, in a completely defenseless state. Will there ever be another time when Viego is cornered like this?
No, there won’t be.
At that moment, Viego quietly asked. “So, what are you planning to do?
I didn’t answer. Viego looked at my face as if urging me to respond. It’s not bad seeing him look at me like that.
I stared at the cigarette smoke rising between his long, straight fingers.
What would happen if I kept not answering here? Would those hands, now cornered, desperately reach out for help? Wouldn’t it benefit me more to hold his hand at that point?
Yes. That’s what I’ll do. To let him suffer a little more.
Hiding my malicious thoughts, I smiled gently. “Well, since it’s an important issue, I need to think about it a little more.”
“Think?”
“I’ll gather all the knowledge from the world I live in. There must be a way to prove it’s fake.”
“…Right. You said you’re not from this world.” Viego muttered as if suddenly remembering that fact. “You’re neither from this world nor Danae Windsor.”
You know that well, so why are you bringing it up again? How annoying.
I pushed aside all those emotions and just smiled. “Yes. So, give me some time.”
At least for this, I was grateful to Ignis. He had cornered Viego Windsor like this. This opportunity would never come again.
Until then, may your insides burn in turmoil. So that I can become your savior.
* * *
“Ignis and Dana, don’t they make a great pair?”
That afternoon, at the dining table, Sandra spoke up with enthusiastic support.
“I’ve always felt sorry for Danae. Even if she marries the crown prince, she would live a life without love and be unhappy forever.”
Her eyes sparkled with such bright joy.
“A woman must always live receiving love from a man.”
“…”
Her gaze was filled with an intense desire for my misfortune. And that wasn’t all.
“There’s also been a strange rumor circulating among the servants lately.” Sandra sighed deeply, looking back and forth between Viego and me as if the situation was beyond help. “Do you know that there’s a nasty rumor going around about the two of you?”
“…”
“The ladies have been asking me about it, and I didn’t know what to say. It’s so embarrassing, really.”
A rumor?
I frowned. Suddenly, the memory of this morning came to me. Now that I think about it, there was that strange article.
This morning, I read an article about us in a gossip magazine. An article too scandalous to mention it aloud.
“They say the two of you are… well…”
Sandra recited the exact title of that trashy article with a sigh.
“They also say that Viego Windsor has never had a mistress.”
Sandra grumbled with a face full of frustration. But her face was brimming with barely concealed delight. She must have seen it as an opportunity to take revenge on us, who had slighted her daughter, Allice.
So, the source was Sandra.
Since it was known for publishing absurd stories, no one believed it to be true. That gossip magazine was famous for publishing wild tales like how Raios was actually a woman or how Emperor Yustio was secretly gay.
“It seems you have a lot of free time, Aunt.”
As expected, Viego didn’t take it seriously and just threw out a mocking remark.
“You must be distant from Uncle Carl these days. Seeing as you have time to indulge in such third-rate magazines.”
No, it seemed Viego was a bit annoyed. The fact that he bothered to throw that kind of insult…
“Of course, Uncle Carl doesn’t have such poor taste as to be attracted to a woman who enjoys lowbrow gossip.”
“…”
Correction. Viego wasn’t just a little annoyed. He was extremely angry.
Sandra’s fingers trembled as if she were in shock. “How could you say such a thing?”
“What did I say?” Viego smiled coldly and calmly resumed eating. “Nothing I say could be lower than what you just said, Aunt Sandra.”
“I-I was just mentioning what I saw in the article!”
“To bring up such a vulgar topic at the dining table, that’s quite improper.”
“…”
“Moreover, I’m soon to marry the young lady of the Rolland family. It’s hardly appropriate to say such things in front of me. Do those crude manners come naturally to the Rolland family? Since it’s starting to make me question the dignity of Rolland, I ask that you please refrain.”
Sandra seemed dazed as if she were losing her mind under the barrage of criticism.
H-He must be really angry.
This was the first time I had seen Viego criticize someone at such length. Not even when I revealed that I was a possessor did he get this upset.
But it didn’t end there.
“Oh dear. I’ve lost my appetite.” Viego wiped his lips with a napkin and gave Sandra a glance. “My stomach is quite delicate, so could you please excuse yourself, Aunt?”
“What… do you mean?”
“I’m asking that you end your meal and excuse yourself so I can feel at ease.”
“…”
To say ‘get lost’ in such an elegant way was a skill in itself.
* * *
Sandra’s POV
“How could he say something like that!”
That day, Carl returned from his trip to the Kaltusa territory.
“Listen to me, Carl!” The moment he returned, I cried to him. “Do you know what I went through today?”
Of course, I didn’t ask anything about what Carl had been working on in Kaltusa or how things were progressing. It was because I was not interested.
“Viego said that to me!”
I clung to Carl and burst into tears, unable to contain the humiliation.
“I’ve never been so humiliated in my entire life!”
Naturally, I expected Carl to take my side. And sure enough, Carl frowned.
Of course, he’s angry too!
But then,
“…Did you say you supported Ignis and Dana’s marriage?”
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