Count Bonita’s drawing room.
Kaien was working.
If you wonder why he was working in someone else’s house, it’s because this was his designated work time.
The visit to Count Bonita’s house was unexpected and unavoidable for Kaien, who is a stickler for scheduled appointments.
His aide, Gio, looked at him impatiently as he quickly flipped through the papers.
Then he whispered softly in Kaien’s ear.
“Count Bonita is here.”
“Ah.”
Kaien had forgotten that Count Bonita was in front of him.
Count Bonita was sweating profusely and fidgeting.
Kaien glanced at her and pushed the documents aside.
“If you need to use the restroom, feel free to go.”
“Oh, no, that’s not… no, yes, yes…!”
Unable to bring himself to disagree with the Duke’s words, Count Bonita once again found himself unable to decide whether to stand up or not.
Seeing him like that, Kaien narrowed his eyes.
“I said feel free to go, didn’t I?”
“Oh, yes!”
Count Bonita promptly stood up and left the drawing room.
Left alone in the drawing room without the host, Kaien looked comfortable, as if it were his own home.
If anything, Count Bonita, who had just left, looked like a guest.
“Why did you chase the owner away like that?”
When Gio pointed out his peculiar behavior, Kaien shrugged confidently.
“I didn’t force him out, did I?”
“Whatever you said must have felt like an order to Count Bonita.”
“So, I’m supposed to keep watching him fidget like a dog that needs to go to the bathroom?”
Thinking of Count Bonita, Kaien narrowed his eyes and shook his head.
“How long has it been since we arrived here?”
“It’s been 30 minutes.”
“Surely she’s not still asleep, right?”
Well, that would be awkward.
Muttering to himself, Kaien paced around the drawing room.
“Hmm, Gio. What’s Count Bonita’s financial situation like?”
“Not good. Count Bonita has accumulated considerable debt from multiple failed business ventures.”
“Wasn’t Lady Philome the former Madam’s child?”
“Yes. The former madam gave birth to Lady Philome and passed away a few years later. Count Bonita immediately accepted his own concubine as the Countess. They already had a son between them.”
“A troublesome household.”
With just one sentence, Kaien summed up Count Bonita’s situation.
Gio let out a shallow sigh.
“I still don’t know if this was the right thing to do. I’m starting to regret not stopping the Duke.”
“Well, it’s already too late. We’ve gone through with the engagement ceremony, haven’t we?”
“Yesterday’s event wasn’t exactly a proper engagement ceremony, though…!”
“Then we should have a proper engagement ceremony.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Gio spoke cautiously, unwilling to raise his voice too much in someone else’s mansion.
“Whether as a substitute or whatever, I entered the venue as Lady Philome’s fiancé.”
“…I’m still worried. Even if you were in a rush, how could you skip the matching test?”
At least a matching test was done with Nadia.
Of course, it wasn’t with her consent; they had conducted the test secretly, finding ways to get blood samples without her knowledge.
While others might not think much of it, for Kaien, a 30% compatibility rate was quite satisfactory. He boasted nearly universally abysmal matching rates with everyone.
“If Lady Philome is below 30%… we must find someone else at any cost or bring Lady Nadia back.”
“Gio, that’s quite cruel. We’ve already gone through all the trouble of signing the contract, and now you want us to break it?”
“This concerns the Duke’s life…!”
Someone watching might think it was his own life on the line, not the Duke’s. Gio was becoming increasingly frustrated at Kaien’s lack of reaction.
At that moment, there was a gentle knock on the door.
Soon, the door opened, and Philome, dressed neatly, entered.
Philome had her head slightly bowed.
Kaien raised an eyebrow at the two people who followed her in.
It was Countess Bonita and her son, Aiden.
“Duke Wintbel, it’s an honor to meet you.”
Countess Bonita greeted them with an exaggerated flourish, while Aiden, with a tense expression on his face, quickly bowed at the waist.
Since it was a familiar sight, Kaien nodded casually.
Then, Countess Bonita, still standing beside the silent Philome, discreetly jabbed her elbow into Philome’s side.
Despite the probable pain, Philome neither groaned nor flinched, but slowly bent her waist to greet Kaien.
“I was quite surprised to hear that you came to see my daughter.”
Countess Bonita approached Kaien, smiling to the point of wrinkling her face.
The overpowering scent of perfume nearly made Kaien’s face contort.
Unaware of this, Countess Bonita continued.
“If you had given us notice, we would have made preparations in advance… I’m worried that we may have shown a lot of inadequacy. Oh! This is my son, Aiden.”
Aiden greeted Kaien as if he had been waiting.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Aiden Boni—”
“I got it. I’m here to see Lady Philome, so please leave.”
“Excuse me?”
Kaien looked at the bewildered Countess and pointed politely to the door.
“You can go out through that door.”
“But… Your Grace! Since Philome is quite nervous, I think I should stay by her side as her mother.”
“Is that right, milady?”
Philome, raising her head for the first time since entering, met Kaien’s eyes.
She glanced briefly at Countess Bonita and Aiden before turning her head again.
“No. I’m not a child, and I don’t need my mother or anyone else by my side.”
Countess Bonita widened her eyes.
“You… you, you…!”
“If Milady said so.”
As Kaien interrupted and intervened, Countess Bonita barely suppressed her anger.
“If you will… excuse me.”
Aiden dragged Countess Bonita out of the room.
‘At least the son has some sense.’
As the door closed, Kaien turned to Philome.
“Lady Philome, please take a seat…….”
“HAHAHA!”
Kaien and Gio looked at Philome’s sudden laughter in surprise.
With her hand over her mouth, Philome was trying to suppress her laughter.
Kaien couldn’t help but laugh along with her. Of course, it was a laugh mixed with bewilderment.
“Ha, milady, is it that amusing?”
“Oh, sorry. I couldn’t help but laugh.”
Philome spoke, still smiling, as she sat across from Kaien.
Kaien rose from his seat and approached Philome.
He grabbed her chin and lifted it up slightly.
The sudden contact startled her, but she remained calm as there was no force in his grip.
Kaien stared at Philome’s cheeks. Suddenly, his smooth brow twitched and narrowed.
“Milady, do you often get hit?”
“What? Ah.”
Philome remembered receiving a slap just moments ago.
“It happens quite often at home.”
“First, let’s get you treated. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No. You’re just in time; if you’d been any later, you’d have had to leave without seeing me.”
Philome, who had been smiling brightly, became puzzled as she looked at Kaien’s serious expression.
“Didn’t you already investigate everything?”
“Yeah, I did.”
He was aware of the Count’s mistreatment of her, but he hadn’t anticipated it to be this severe.
“We can do the treatment later. Why are you here anyway?”
Kaien, feeling taken aback by Philome’s calm demeanor, slumped back into his seat.
“Didn’t you properly read the contract yesterday?”
“No.”
After the confident remark, Kaien glanced at Philome for a moment before adding,
“I’m here to pick up the lady.”
“Me?”
“Did you expect me to leave my prospective wife in a place like this?”
“There’s a clause in the contract stating that you’ll stay at the Wintbell Ducal House from the moment the contract is signed, milady,” Gio kindly explained.
“As for luggage…”
Kaien looked Philome up and down.
Her outdated clothes sharply contrasted with Count Bonita’s attire, which had just come into fashion a week ago.
Considering the household’s significant debts, there was no way they would spend generously on a daughter they disliked.
“It seems like you don’t have anything to pack; you just need to come as you are right now.”
