Someone almost burned to death. Of course, no one was hurt, but even though their beloved youngest nearly faced a terrible disaster, not a single person checked if she was okay.
“Your daughter and younger sister almost died.”
As Seraphie spoke, an inexplicable emotion appeared on Peonia’s face as she stood crookedly, staring at the count’s family.
“How can they act like that?”
Hadn’t they even blamed Lunie, who cried in fear and frustration?
At Seraphie’s cold remark, or rather his rebuke, which couldn’t even be called a critique, Count Mars hugged Lunie with a sorrowful expression.
“My daughter, I’m sorry. This father was just so shocked…”
“Huaang! Get away from me!”
Lunie pushed him away fiercely. Count Mars, who had fallen on his rear in surprise, looked at his youngest in disbelief.
“You did it last time too! When my shop caught fire, no one comforted me! Not you, not mother, not brother!” Lunie, truly heartbroken, finally expressed the resentment she hadn’t been able to before.
…Is she really going to cut ties with them?
Seraphie, watching the chaos, felt his heart tighten. After all, she had cut ties with her father, who seemed beyond redemption, a man so vile that he might have killed not only the family but also his child.
“…”
Seraphie reconsidered his thoughts. Perhaps Lunie, though different from her, had also experienced difficult and painful emotions toward her family. She was the youngest daughter of the richest family in the empire, having received everything she wanted, so Seraphie had arrogantly thought that she could endure that much.
“Don’t pity her.” Peonia, having approached quietly, whispered in her ear. “Lu is happy right now, thinking about what she can devour.”
“…”
“She’s more delighted than she’s sad.”
When Peonia said that, Lunie’s lips, though sobbing loudly, seemed to curve into a slight smirk.
“Count Mars.”
Seraphie spoke up. It was time to end this absurd play.
“We might need to reconsider the contract for distributing the god’s treasures.”
Count Mars’s face turned as pale as moonlight. Of course, it wasn’t nearly as beautiful as the moon.
* * *
“The Mars family is undoubtedly the richest in the empire.”
Orkis had said that before.
“But it’s not like Count Mars and his sons have exemplary personalities, is it?”
The muttered remark about how he couldn’t understand how someone like Lunie had been born from such people was a veiled compliment to his sister’s friend.
“But it’s important to stay close to them, right?”
“For now, that’s probably the best course of action.”
“And if we’re going to get along, it’s better to be in a position of advantage, isn’t it?”
“That would be even better.”
Of course, Orkis had added that for that to happen, their reputation and influence needed to grow even more. Unfortunately, he was right. At the moment, Seraphie finds it challenging to act as an equal to Count Mars. But now, having narrowly escaped death by fire, she had a chance to gain the upper hand.
“It was clearly written in the distribution contract, wasn’t it?” Seraphie flipped through the contract Count Mars had brought with him grudgingly and pointed to a section with his finger.
Cancellation and compensation. Seraphie recited it smoothly without even looking at the clause.
“If an incident occurs that breaks the trust between the parties, the injured party may demand contract termination.”
Count Mars’s trembling eyes followed the words as Seraphie spoke.
“And the party at fault is responsible for fulfilling that demand. Ah, it also mentions separate discussions for compensation, doesn’t it?”
It was written clearly.
“I nearly died because of your son, so that qualifies as a legitimate reason for ending the contract.”
Count Mars now saw nothing but darkness ahead.
“On top of that, it wasn’t just me, but even Lady Felicia was there—”
“W-Wait!” Count Mars desperately pleaded in a trembling voice. “Countess Vallidus! No matter what, this is too much!”
“I haven’t said anything yet, have I?”
Not a word had been spoken about the disadvantages of breaking the contract.
Seraphie, squinting one eye, looked at him with a hint of pity. “Oh goodness, Count Mars…!” Seraphie’s pity contained a sneer directed at the count, who seemed incapable of rational thought.
Count Mars’s face flushed with both shame and anger. Being insulted like this by someone his daughter’s age—this was the most humiliating moment of his life.
That damned brat! This mess was all because he hadn’t handled things properly!
It was Count Mars himself who had ordered the fire to be set at his youngest daughter’s shop. The previous fire incident was no different.
Count Mars needed to empty Lunie’s shop for reasons of his own, but since she was too attached to it, the only solution he could think of was arson. His place was to scare her so that she would quit her business. So, the first arson had been carried out by his eldest son, and the second by his second son.
I’ve spoiled her too much. Count Mars’ anger naturally turned toward Lunie. Why did she have to be in the shop that night, creating a weakness that Countess Vallidus could exploit? Though he had tried to arrange a good match for her, thinking she had matured, he was now deeply disappointed.
This is why you need to choose your friends wisely.
Peonia was one thing, but Seraphie was no ordinary force to reckon with. If it weren’t for their families, he would have scolded Lunie for even considering such people as friends. They were nothing but a bad influence on her.
“…Count.”
The call made Count Mars open his eyes wide.
“I understand you must be very shocked.”
Seraphie spoke in a much softer tone.
“Please understand our behavior earlier, both mine and Peni’s. Our friend almost got killed by her own brother…” Seraphie bitterly smiled as if the outburst had been out of concern for her friend.
Count Mars was stunned but secretly relieved.
“No matter what, how could I possibly terminate the contract with Count immediately?”
“Y-Yes, of course not!” Count Mars laughed forcefully. “Countess Vallidus must be quite shaken as well. We should all take some time to compose ourselves and then discuss this matter again.”
To an outsider, it might have sounded like Count Mars was being lenient toward Seraphie. At that, Seraphie barely managed to suppress a scoff.
“…I’ll contact you soon.”
As Seraphie was about to leave, there was a commotion outside. When she stepped outside, Lunie was in the middle of severing her familial ties. She stood there, clutching large suitcases in both hands, facing off against her family.
“Put those suitcases down right now! Where do you think you’re going!”
The countess sternly warned, but her words fell on deaf ears.
“How can I live in this house?!” Lunie’s tear-swollen eyes glared sharply at them. “My brothers tried to kill me! And even worse, my mother was ashamed of me for it!”
“T-That’s because you’re causing this uproar in the middle of the night…”
“It’s not me who’s out of line! It’s brothers!” Lunie screamed, her voice breaking. “You knew how much I loved that shop…”
Lunie glared at her brothers. The second son looked away, but the eldest had the nerve to stare back, annoyed.
“You think I don’t know?”
Lunie growled as she got in her eldest brother’s face.
“Do you really think I don’t know?”
And their father was standing behind Seraphie.
“I’ve always fulfilled my role as the ‘beloved youngest.’”
She didn’t covet titles, listened to his brothers, and even when she whined, she ultimately complied as her parents said. But what did she get in return?
“You’ll regret this,” Lunie warned. “From now on, make sure to keep your knees clean every day.”
“…”
“Because you’ll definitely end up kneeling before me.”
From that day on, Lunie, the daughter of Count Mars, never returned to her family.
* * *
“Let me make this clear in advance.”
Since leaving her family, Lunie had been staying at Seraphie’s mansion.
“I’m not running away. I’m leaving home for good.”
“If Lunie says so…”
“Lu!”
“…If Lu says so, then that’s it.”
Seraphie looked at Lunie, who had barged into her office early in the morning and made herself comfortable, with a puzzled expression.
“Goodness, were you planning to do all this by yourself?”
As a form of repayment, Lunie was helping Seraphie with tax-related work. ‘Helping’ was putting it lightly—Lunie’s skills were on par with those of a professional.
“I was planning to hire an accountant and related experts.”
“Well, do you think they’d be better than me?” Lunie, confidently writing in the ledger, didn’t look up.
“What are you going to do now?” The door to the office burst open as Peonia entered.
This is my house… Seraphie looked tired as she stared at the people she called her friends.
Peonia had also been commuting from Seraphie’s mansion to the Magic Tower since that incident.
“First, I’m going to take over the shop,” Lunie muttered, biting the end of the pent with a fierce determination as if she was ready to squeeze out every last bit of them. “After that, I’ll completely cut ties and build my own family and business. Sera, you’ll support me, right?”
“Looks like I’ll end up caught in someone else’s family drama…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll stitch you up nicely.”
Peonia’s reassuring words were oddly comforting, so Seraphie rubbed her back unconsciously.
“Where have you been, by the way?”
“Home.”
Peonia’s curt reply was accompanied by a rather troubled expression.
“I went to see my father, but… things are about to get a bit complicated.”
“Why?”
“Lunie, your shop is—”
It was at that moment.
“Master!”
Marine called Seraphie urgently. She often raised her voice, but this time, Seraphie felt something was different.
“The great madam—!”
Before Marine could finish speaking, Seraphie rushed out of the office. Peonia and Lunie followed. At the door of the great madam’s chamber, the youngest of Bia’s five siblings was crying loudly. Next to her, the head maid was desperately trying to prop up the collapsed great madam.
At the door of the grand lady’s chamber, the youngest of Via’s five siblings was crying loudly.
“Mother!” Seraphie knelt at the great madam’s side. “What happened?”
“Sob, Te-Teacher…!”
The child was sobbing so hard that Seraphie couldn’t understand her. Fortunately, the head maid explained.
“The great madam suddenly said she wanted to go for a walk…”
“A walk?”
“But as soon as she stepped out…”
It was only then that Seraphie could understand what had happened. The past had once again assaulted her mother.
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