Episode 2
…Not only did I become a supporting character from a novel, but the original story hasn’t even started yet. Even just breathing felt painful.
According to the original story,Petunia should have been bedridden with lovesickness for almost a month.
The world-class piece-of-junk, Sonode, who didn’t bother to look at Petunia in that state, pretended to show mercy and canceled the divorce when his prepared plan went awry.
The prepared plan was undoubtedly to manipulate the male protagonist, and Petunia, oblivious to being used, willingly offered herself to have her nose pushed.
“Crazy, this is crazy.”
I shook my head, marking an X on today’s date on the calendar. It was to commemorate the day the junk car was scrapped.
I recalled Sonode repeatedly saying, “You…!” How foolish. Does he only have that one thing to say?
Either way, that damn parrot was sure to come looking for me again. Petunia was an essential pawn for the dark lord, so it couldn’t be omitted.
After all, people aren’t something you fix, and I had no intention of associating with a dark lord. I just planned to enjoy the current leisure and think about how to meet my favorite male protagonist.
Since that day, or more precisely, since the day I approved the divorce papers, the Count and Countess of Incladeaux have been watching me closely. Of course, they were keeping an eye on their precious daughter Petunia, not me.
It wasn’t pleasant to worry the elderly like this. Every time they worried about me, a sense of guilt welled up in my heart.
It was the remorse stemming from the fact that I wasn’t the real Petunia.
So, I had to sweat to act appropriately distressed and put on a forced smile. I had to act as both the good daughter in front and secretly learn manners. It was to alleviate people’s suspicions. Even if I couldn’t perfectly imitate Petunia, I had to be similar enough.
Fortunately, many of the etiquette books Petunia read in her childhood were on her bookshelf. Thanks to that, I could quickly learn various manners and common knowledge. Of course, it was still far from perfect compared to the real Petunia.
Whether they noticed my efforts or not, the Count’s family soon stopped their discreet little games.
Lately, my activities involved idly snacking, reading books, and touring the estate. If I got really bored, I pretended to read a book under a tree and secretly observed the training knights.
As the weather got hotter, the knights’ attire became even hotter. The atmosphere in the training ground became sizzling due to their shirtless training.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt if it got a little hotter…”
I murmured while recalling the fable “The North Wind and the Sun.” Indeed, it was not the wind but the warmth of the sun that makes a traveler take off his clothes…
At first, the maids who shyly screamed and giggled now followed me to admire the knights’ muscles.
“Sir Wayne, how can he be so noble?”
One of my personal maids, Selena, murmured with a distracted look.
“Wayne? Who’s Wayne?”
“There, the knight with black hair on the left.”
“Ah, I see.”
The man with black hair and a bronze complexion exuded a large frame while wielding a longsword. Every time he moved his arms, his wriggling back muscles looked quite impressive.
“I’m talking about Sir Rohan. Look at that white skin shining even under the scorching sun.”
This time, Rene blushed and said.
“Ah, Rohan. I know. The one with crimson hair in the front row, right?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Contrary to Rene’s words, Rohan’s skin was unbelievably fresh for a knight. Even if he briefly turned red from the sun, it quickly returned to its natural white color.
Rohan was a young man with beautiful clear eyes and plump lips that complemented his fair skin well.
However, Rohan was a man with a twist. Despite his seemingly innocent face, his well-defined muscles showed no lack of strength.
“I used to prefer delicate boys, but now I’ve changed.”
“With what?”
“Sturdy boys.”
Rene made dolphin-like sounds and buried her face in her hands, blushing. Other maids also blushed, murmuring about their favorite men.
… At first, they couldn’t control their excitement, but now, it seemed they liked themselves more than me.
As I laughed while looking at these maids, I saw a court lady rushing towards me in the distance.
“Miss, miss!”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
After catching her breath for a moment, the court lady handed me a letter. The tulip-shaped emblem engraved on the envelope’s surface was quite irritating.
“…Sonode Quentin?”
“Yes.”
I opened the letter right there. Actually, it was more like tearing it open than opening it.
“-To my former lover, Petunia.”
Ugh.
I felt nauseous from the first sentence. Choosing such a sickening phrase could be considered a talent.
I barely resisted the urge to crumple the letter and started reading.
“Petunia, I’ve heard about your situation. Did you stop eating and drinking because of me? Hearing such a story, my heart aches. Thinking about the pain you must have felt, I now understand why you threw coffee on me.”
“Oh, pitiful Petunia. You, who were once my everything, a bluebird. How did we end up in this predicament by chance? If only you had understood me a little more. We would have been watching summer roses together by now.”
“Thinking of your pitiful face makes my stomach ache, and my eyes burn. So, I’ve decided to forgive you once again. Giving you another chance will be the last. Perhaps no one in the world worries about you as much as I do… blah, blah, blah…”
I tore the letter in half before finishing it. As a result, the court lady looked at me with surprised eyes.
He wrote a long story about meeting again.
What an arrogant statement to dare to forgive me.
“Ah, miss? Is this not a letter from Lord Quentin?”
“No. You brought it correctly.”
“However, why… is it not the letter you were waiting for?”
“…What do you mean by ‘waiting for’?”
“Weren’t you waiting for a message from Lord Sonode?”
“Why would I?”
I widened my eyes and stared at scumbag. It seemed like an unexpected question, as scumbag’s face turned perplexed.
I genuinely asked out of curiosity. Why would I wait for the contact of that worthless guy?
“I did have some issues with Sonode in the past, but that’s all in the past now.”
“…”
“After everything’s done, is there a reason to wait for any contact? I don’t even care whether he’s alive or dead.”
“…”
“And now, just hearing the ‘Son’ in Sonode makes me nauseous. I’ll ignore any contact from Quentin in the future.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yeah. If you can also convey that I no longer wish for any connection with Quentin, I’d appreciate it.”
“…Ah, understood.”
scumbag, bewildered, nodded and quickly retraced the path I had taken.
I left the maids gossiping behind and took a sip of tea alone.
I had anticipated it to some extent, but I didn’t expect Sonode to contact me so soon. It seemed like my plans were thoroughly ruined, even if they were ill-conceived.
Even without seeing Sonode’s face, I could imagine him coming to criticize me. I thought about preparing some salt to sprinkle in case things went south.
Ignoring the maids, I headed back into the mansion alone. I discovered not the Marquis… I mean, my father, engaged in a conversation with scumbag, but the man who I couldn’t address as my father—a foreigner with blond hair and blue eyes.
It was never an easy task to call someone other than my father my father… This life, like a character from a novel…
Suddenly, my reflection in the window caught my eye.
I, too, had the appearance of a foreigner with blond hair and blue eyes. I scratched my head with an awkward feeling.
“Father.”
I approached him with a friendly smile.
Having noticed me belatedly, my father’s expression briefly showed surprise, then he beckoned scumbag, who was beside him.
Was it such a surprising thing for a parent to see their child’s face in their own house? I felt a sense of suspicion about his attitude, which was quite different from usual.
“Oh, right. Petunia.”
As expected, his eyes, looking at me, shook violently, as if there had been an earthquake.
He even subtly hid the envelope he was holding behind his back. My suspicion escalated twofold.
Putting aside my curiosity for a moment, I opened my mouth with a gentle tone.
“Yes. By the way! You mentioned that you left the table under the oak tree for me in the courtyard. You didn’t even inform me.”
“Haha, why would I go so far as to announce such a trivial thing to you?”
“It may be trivial, but thanks to that, I could rest comfortably. I’m really grateful.”
“It’s fortunate then.”
A faint sense of relief settled on the Marquis’s face. I didn’t miss that moment and probed deeper.
“But there’s something I wanted to ask.”
“…Hm?”
“Regarding that envelope you’re holding…”
“…”
“Seeing that it doesn’t have a seal, it doesn’t seem to be business-related.”
With an innocent expression, I inquired. Over the past few weeks staying in this mansion, I had learned that the Marquis couple was quite soft-hearted.
Their affection for Petunia, their clever and beautiful daughter, was undeniable. They had raised her without any strictness or scolding. Despite that, their love for their son Forte was just as strong.
Allowing Petunia to be engaged to Sonode in the first place was all for her sake. It was the first time seeing Petunia, always quiet and polite, wanting something so desperately.
I knew that everyone in the Marquis’s household loved Petunia and, as much as they loved her, were vulnerable to her. Though I felt a slight pang of guilt, I planned to make good use of this knowledge.
“If it’s not business-related, then what could it be?”
I wore an innocent expression as I asked. The Marquis’s attitude was a bit different from his usual self, which raised my suspicions even more.
“Oh, well. It’s nothing important.”
With a hint of awkwardness, the Marquis replied. I didn’t let go and continued.
“But you’re hiding it. Are you sure it’s nothing important?”
“…”
“Without a seal, it might be a private matter. Father, you can tell me anything. I won’t be nosy.”
I smiled with a sunny disposition, something I wouldn’t normally do, and locked eyes with my father.
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