“Raw strawberries are a bit sour. I like the sweet processed side or the one with only the strawberry scent.”
“The perfume smells like roses, not strawberries.”
“I prefer the smell of flowers rather than the smell of food for perfume.”
Killian nodded his head with a face of being learning the new information, then leaned toward her and smelled the perfume.
“Not bad.”
‘Ugh, why is he like this today?’
Uh? Wait a moment… Was he, by any chance, trying to arouse Lise’s jealousy? Should she help with this? It was a bit complicated, but she didn’t have time to think it over. For now, she decided to pretend to be on good terms with Killian. Even if it’s a mistake, there’s nothing wrong with pretending to be friendly.
“Not bad… Are you saying it’s not good?”
She asked, lowering her voice in a slightly flirtatious manner, and Killian stared at her, then he answered again.
“I mean… better thing… it’s not the same.”
“I’m glad that the scent I always wear also appeals to Killian.”
Lise and Cliff’s gazes were stinging, but she stubbornly pretended not to know and only looked at Killian. Killian also smiled softly, keeping his eyes fixed on her. At that time, as if to refresh the atmosphere, Lise started pouring tea into a teacup.
“This is the strawberry black tea I bought from <Martinez>. I don’t know if it will suit Edith’s taste.”
“The tea you gave me the other day was also delicious. Lise’s taste is trustworthy.”
When she praised Lise, it was only then that Lise’s laughter began to be heard again. With her, the four of them chatted lightly and enjoyed tea and tea food leisurely. Even in the middle of it, she was complicated in my head thinking about how the story would flow.
‘Things that didn’t appear in the original are happening… Doesn’t the existence of the three-step exception condition mean that the ending of the original work itself will not change unless the higher steps are met?’
If she could not die without meeting the 3rd level condition, there was no reason for the 3rd level exception condition itself to exist. While she was thinking about that, Lise spoke to Killian in an apologetic voice.
“By the way, Killian. Excuse me, but could you please go to Rue Le Belle-Marie with me next Friday? I received a call saying that the shoes I had ordered with Killian in the past were completed.”
“Ah! It’s already been that long.”
“Yes. It’s okay if you’re busy…”
“No, no. Let’s go together, whatever.”
Killian lightly accepted, and Lise smiled brightly. And she was conscious of me a step later.
“Ah! If Edith is offended, Killian doesn’t have to go with me! Ho, I can go alone.”
It was cute to see her hurriedly waving their hands. But she found her attitude strangely awkward. Before making this proposal, she had seen Lise and Cliff meet eyes, so why did she ask Killian and not Cliff to go with her? Even though it’s the shoes she ordered with Killian, she didn’t have to go with him when she looked for them, right?
‘Strange… Lise Sinclair… I mean, every time I see her, I can’t figure it out. Or am I really weird?’
Now, she couldn’t even tell whether it was because of Lise’s strange behavior that she was having these thoughts, or whether it was because she had an inferiority complex towards Lise. The bigger problem was, not too long ago, she was able to pat Killian on the back and say, ‘Okay, go play with Lise!’, but now she couldn’t.
‘Why am I so upset…?’
Killian didn’t seem to attach much importance to going out with Lise. She knew that. She knew, but she felt a bit depressed. It broke her heart to think that he would be as kind to Lise as he was when Killian went out to the opera with her, no, more than that.
‘My… I guess it’s a big deal…’
There was nothing she could do about being jealous of Lise, and if she seduced Killian, she might be treated as a prostitute again. She couldn’t do this or that, she just had to wait for Killian to dispose of her.
That was bittersweet.
* * *
It was three days after the outdoor tea time that an uneasy harbinger began to loom over the strange happiness she was enjoying recently. This was because Count Sinclair and his eldest son, Damien Sinclair, who should hardly appear in Volume 4 of <The House and Envoy>, visited Duke Ludwig.
‘How did this happen? Why does the Count of Sinclair suddenly appear?’
In the interim, the Count Sinclair and his friendly extras touched their temper, but she didn’t expect them to appear so directly.
‘Duke Ludwig didn’t make a meeting with Count Sinclair, even because of Lise. What on earth is going on?’
She was curious, but she couldn’t come forward and ask what was going on. Then, when Anna came and informed her that her guests were leaving, she put on her nonchalant expression and went down to the lobby on the first floor. In the lobby, Cliff and Killian, as well as the Duchess, were standing together to see Count Sinclair off.
“Please drop by again sometime. My wife is waiting for the day when she will take care of the Duke and his wife. ha ha ha!”
The slim man, who must have been quite handsome in his youth, smiled softly at Duke Ludwig. Although Lise and his eyes looked similar, the image was completely different. If Lise was like a bright sunlight or innocent blonde angel, Count Sinclair just looked like his bastards or little mice.
“I will definitely stop by when the time is right. Thank you for visiting today.”
Duke Ludwig didn’t look too upset. No, on the contrary, it seemed a little harmful. She quietly walked over to Killian’s side. Lise looked around, wondering if she hadn’t come down, and at that moment, her eyes met Damian Sinclair.
‘Huh? Are you glaring at me now?’
It was momentary, but Damian gave her a very unpleasant look.
‘Are you admitting that the world’s aristocrats are successful if they don’t have good manners? Why is everyone like this?’
She wanted to run right away, catch him by the collar, and then yell at him to take good care of his eyes. However, it was clear that she would be attacked again if she showed a bad mood here.
“Good bye.”
“…goodbye.”
In the end, she held back her arrogance and smiled. Of course, it was irresistible for Damian to have a crooked gaze. As they rode away, she tugged at the end of Killian’s sleeve and asked in a low voice.
“Why did he come?”
Killian pretended not to know even after hearing her question, and after looking around, he took her to her room and answered slowly.
“I think you or the Rigelhoff family will get into some trouble.”
The start wasn’t very good.
“It looks like the Sinclair family will sign a distribution rights contract with a northern iron ore mine owner soon. It seems that the behind-the-scenes work has already been completed.”
She thought about what it had to do with them having the right to distribute iron ore, and the reason why she was able to marry Killian suddenly came to her mind.
‘It was thanks to Count Rigelhoff’s family having distribution rights for southern iron ore, really.’
If it were just a wealthy county, Duke Ludwig wouldn’t have cared too much whether the Rigelhoffs sided with Prince Langston or not. However, Count Rigelhof was almost the only family with a stable supply of iron ore, and he was a difficult opponent for Duke Ludwig, who was also active in making new weapons. It would have been unsettling for such a family to turn to the Grand Duke.
‘That’s why he had been turning a blind eye to Count Rigelhoff’s actions, but if the Count Sinclair suddenly gets the right to distribute iron ore…!’
Needless to say, she would become a duck egg in the power structure. However, it seemed that there was something more besides the superficial circumstances.
“By the way, you’re saying that he is already talking about the iron ore distribution rights he hasn’t had yet?”
Killian opened her door, pushed her in first, and then quietly closed the door.
“The Sinclairs are plotting to take the place of the Rigelhoffs.”
“…Then, in their eyes, I must be very intrusive, but didn’t you talk about me?”
“They would have thought it was not the time to do it yet. But eventually they will.”
Seeing Killian talking about other people’s business, she became a bit bitter.
‘Well, what’s wrong with him?’
She became more and more anxious about Killian’s reaction to this incident, along with accepting Lise’s offer to go out casually.
“Edith. Why is your expression like that?”
“No, it’s nothing. Damien Sinclair looked at me a little badly earlier.”
“Were you even thinking of getting revenge?”
Killian asked playfully.
“I would do it whenever I could.”
“I look forward to that day.”
How nice it would be if she could live with Killian and joke like this.
‘I can’t just trust Killian.’
He was the one who accepted the marriage even though he loved Lise. How easy would it be to play with and throw away the one he didn’t even love? She smiled brightly at Killian, who was returning, but inwardly she pondered the bleak thoughts.
* * *
She tended not to let herself get depressed. It’s a habit she had developed since her second year of middle school when she realized that even if she was depressed, no one would look after her.
She still remembered the day this habit was formed.
How do you feel?
