Chapter 49
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Gon ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
“…Provincial estate?”
At this time, Lyas asked with a stern face.
Although I had finally cleared my name, he still seemed anxious if I were not in sight.
I expressed my opinion in a voice as calm as possible.
“The false accusation has been cleared, but there will still be many people who have doubts.”
“But, Daphne…”
“And I have to meet with the duke and get his seal to annul our engagement.”
“…”
When I said I wanted to break off the engagement, Lyas didn’t utter a word.
To break off an engagement, the seals of each of the family heads were required.
However, the current head of the Peregrine family, Duke Chadan Peregrine, had not arrived at the capital yet.
Roderick probably sent a letter of annulment there as well.
Nevertheless, the fact that there has been no news so far did not sit well with Daphne.
For her future, breaking off the engagement took utmost importance.
‘Since he won’t come here, I have no choice but to go to him myself.’
Currently, the Duke was staying in a manor called Regarta, with good air and water.
It was where Daphne’s mother went to recuperate, and it was also where Maria–the original heroine–went to do medical work.
‘There, I’ll meet Nocturne Cairohan, the second male lead, and another duke.’
But that happens about halfway through the original story.
Maria will be helping people on the battlefield by now, so we won’t meet her at the Regarta.
What does that mean? Although this has nothing to do with the original story…
‘It fits very well with the business direction I’m pursuing.’
Is there any place better suited to healing than a sanatorium?
We can stamp the annulment letter and conduct market research in advance. It was killing two birds with one stone.
While I was thinking about this and tapping on the calculator, Lyas kept muttering something.
“Breaking off… Breaking off the engagement. Yes, breaking off the engagement is important.”
“Yes. It’s important.”
Livnell and Cyan agreed.
Then the three of them made eye contact, as if sending an unspoken signal.
‘What are they talking about?’
I was curious, but I couldn’t pay attention because the twins were whining.
“Sister, must you go…?”
“I wish you wouldn’t go…”
Ermano and Julius looked at me with tears in their eyes.
When I saw those sparkling eyes, my conscience pricked me.
“Well, it’s not like we won’t see each other ever again.”
“But…”
“But…”
Ermano and Julius pouted their lips.
They were so disappointed that they didn’t even bother to look at the chocolate parfait that was served for dessert, which the twins loved.
‘Ugh, this makes me feel weak…’
After giving it serious thought for a brief moment, I finally made eye contact with the twins and said.
“If you sleep for a hundred nights, play to your heart’s content, and sometimes study hard for the spelling test that your elder sister put together, I’ll be back soon.”
“…Really?”
“…For real?”
When I gently comforted them, they seemed to relax a little and glanced at me.
“That’s right. So, you two have to keep your promise.”
“Okay…”
“Mhm…”
The twins nodded with a small sigh.
They had a tendency to yell at me not to go, but it was admirable when they accepted it calmly this time. I stroked their round heads.
Meanwhile, the three adults looked at me again, as if the story had ended.
“Then let me pack your bags. We will have to select servants and knights and send them along.”
“Huh?”
The only maid I needed was Sukia…?
Besides, selecting knights. Wasn’t he making too big a deal out of this?
Lyas shook his head firmly at the confused me.
“It’s a long way to the countryside. Of course, we have to provide an escort, right?”
“That’s right, Daphne. It might be dangerous.”
“Yes, I think the same, Daphne.”
Livnell and Cyan agreed.
‘Well, that’s true, but…’
I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a little something more too all of this.
‘Daphne committed so many evil deeds. But even for regular adults, it would be safer to have safety precautions in place.’
When I nodded, the three adults sighed as if they had been holding their breath for a while.
‘Permission has been received, so now all that’s left is to go down?’
According to Daphne’s memories, Duke Peregrine was still the head of the family with beast-like charisma.
As scary as it may be, I still had to get the Duke’s seal to break off the engagement.
‘It won’t be easy, so it would be a good idea to give myself plenty of time to go.’
As I was assessing the schedule, I suddenly stopped.
‘…Now that I think about it, if I go down, I won’t be able to see Luciel for a while.’
My personal life was important, but keeping my promises to my business partner was also important.
‘It was a good thing I prepared all the medicine in advance. Give it to Luciel, and if it’s not enough, give it to the employees instead.’
After thinking, I glanced at my watch.
Today was the day I met the agent Luciel introduced me to. I couldn’t be late for my appointment.
‘Now that the meal is over… I guess one person leaving won’t be a big deal.’
I slowly got up from my seat.
But as soon as I stood up, the eyes of everyone eating was focused on me.
Four pairs of eyes looked at me, asking, ‘Why are you getting up all of a sudden?’
Since I couldn’t stand still, I smiled awkwardly and said,
“Uh… Oh, I’m going to go somewhere for a while.”
“Sister, where are you going?”
“But you didn’t even finish the dessert…”
“Is it very urgent, Daphne?”
Everyone wanted to hear specifically where I was going.
‘Why is everyone like this all of a sudden?’
I was sweating inside.
However, it was impossible to simply say that I was going for an agent interview.
I had no choice but to come up with a plausible answer.
“I remembered an urgent appointment.”
“An appointment?”
“Yes. I personally placed an order at my favorite dessert shop, and the pick-up date was today.”
Thanks to the bakery’s continuous delivery every day, everyone knew that I liked desserts.
Then Lyas, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be okay to send someone else instead?”
“…”
“There is no need for you to go there yourself.”
Those green eyes that resembled mine seemed to be able to pierce into my thoughts at any moment.
At the sharp question, my throat went dry and I quickly shook my head.
I can be allowed to go out, but alone without anyone accompanying me…?
I quietly lowered my gaze, then spoke in a weak voice.
“I want to get it myself.”
“…”
“I haven’t been able to go out comfortably for a while.”
“…”
“Something like that also happened…”
I trailed off on purpose.
If this were a real interview, it would be something you should never say, but in real life, this naturalness works better.
As expected, Lyas’ eyes deepened.
Lyas also knew what had happened at the bakery. He was furious.
‘It’s not because of me, but because it was a slight to the Peregrine family.’
Anyway, it was my job.
“So… I wanted to go out a little and walk confidently down the street today.”
When I finished speaking in a sad voice, everyone closed their mouths as if they had made a promise.
“…Okay. I get it.”
After some time, permission fell from Lyas’ mouth.
It seems to have been a model answer, as expected. I internally pumped my fists.
“Instead, you should come home early. Now that the article is out, there will be a lot of eyes on you.”
Soon after, Lyas added a warning.
The warning was clear: do not make a rash move.
“Yes. I’ll come home early. Don’t worry.”
I answered meekly and left the room.
I’ve often thought I should use that phrase.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
After Daphne left the dining room, the atmosphere inside went dark.
“It looks like Daphne was really going through a lot of trouble.”
“Daphne…”
Livnell and Cyan sighed sadly.
“This is the first time I’ve seen my sister leave dessert behind.”
“She didn’t have an appetite…?”
“I thought it was okay until the meal…”
“I guess the story about annulling the engagement made her feel bad…”
Ermano and Julius’ shoulders slumped.
“…”
Lyas remained silent and stared at Daphne’s empty seat.
He thought she would be happy because her name was cleared, or angry at him for not trusting her earlier.
But Daphne’s reaction was the opposite of what he expected.
Daphne’s face, staring down and saying she wanted to go out, still lingered before his eyes.
That face that appeared depressed and sad at first glance…
“…”
Lyas, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth, as if remembering something.
“It seems like Daphne has been eating a lot of desserts lately.”
Daphne had only expressed her intention to go out twice, including today.
Every time she said that she was going to ‘Rose Bakery’.
“Oh, that’s right. Daphne brought dessert from that bakery last tea time as well.”
“I also overheard the maids talking. Daphne said the desserts she bought were really delicious, and all of them had good reviews.”
The testimony of Livnell and Cyan continued. The twins also nodded, saying they had tried it before.
“That’s right…”
Lyas muttered softly and tapped the table with his index finger.
He was lost in thought as if calculating something. After a while, he called his aide.
The aide, who quickly responded to his master’s call, paused at the serious atmosphere in the dining room, but soon came to his senses again and asked him.
“What can I do for you?”
“Go and bring me back someone.”
Then the assistant’s face hardened.
He can’t believe his lord gave such an order before he had even finished his meal.
It was clear that this was definitely a serious issue.
The aide answered solemnly with a look of duty on his face.
“Yes. Please speak.”
“The most famous pastry chefs in the empire.”
“All right. You want the heads of all the finest pastry chefs in the empire… what?”
The aide who was speaking looked at Lyas with a dumbfounded expression.
TN Divine: GAHHH finally back from the dead. Will be racing towards Chapter 55 so I can hand off the next parts to Sienna and Bree orz
