Chapter 11│Read translated stories and daily updates at: Awebstories.com
When she woke up, it was almost noon.
Although she was tired, she was surprised that she had overslept. She hurried to get up and get ready.
If she had been a real maid, she would have been fired immediately.
“Ara, Marian, you’re awake.”
Minerva, who seems to have been enjoying an elegant tea time in the garden of the duke’s house, smiles when she sees Marian rushing to her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect to fall asleep like that.”
“It’s all right. I’d rather you think of your stay here as a vacation and take it easy.”
Minerva said to her, but she felt uncomfortable as a houseguest.
“Onii-sama should be awake by now, so let’s talk to him about what has happened since then.”
“Yes, definitely.”
Marian also wanted to know what happened to Nick and Emilia when the guards took them away.
“Then let’s go to Onii-sama’s room.”
Minerva said, and stood up.
“Eh? his room?”
Marian follows, but is taken aback by what she says.
Whenever she met him (Leo), it was always in the reception room with the maid or a servant present.
Marian had never been in a room with people of the opposite sex, not even Nick’s room, even when he was her fiancé, so she was pretty nervous.
“It’s all right. He should be awake now.”
“T-That’s not what I meant…”
They reached the room in a hurry.
Knock, Knock
“Onii-sama?”
“Is it Mina? Come in.”
Minerva knocked on the door, and Leo’s voice came from inside.
The fact that he didn’t leave it to the maid to open the door showed how well they got along.
“I brought Marian with me. Tell us about yesterday.”
“… Marian?”
When Marian appeared from behind Minerva, Leo, who seemed to be relaxing on the sofa, stood up in a panic.
“I’m sorry for being dressed like this…”
He was dressed in his loungewear and his hair was still down.
Marian, who had never spent intimate time with either her father or her brother, had never seen a man dressed like that, and although she should not be ashamed of it, her cheeks flushed.
“N-No. I’m sorry to barge in like this.”
It was all she could say back, with averted eyes.
“No, that’s all right. Mina brought you here, didn’t she?”
His voice was calm, which you rarely hear from him, and it made her heart pound a little.
It sounded like a different person from the usual Leo, and she felt a little nervous.
Minerva then asked the maid to bring her some tea and sat down across from Leo.
“Marian, sit here, too. So, Onii-sama. What has happened since then?”
At her prompting, she hurried to take a seat next to Minerva.
“Nick seemed shocked that his lover had rejected him so much. I was going to take him to the reception room to talk to him, but he got so excited and stormed out that I had to put him in the dungeon to calm him down.”
“Nick is…”
He resisted the knights and even injured Leo, who accompanied them.
If he went that far, it’s no wonder he was thrown into the dungeon.
—I don’t think he’ll get away with just house arrest…
It would be a big problem if he defied the knights guarding the palace and tried to harm Leo, the son of the Duke of Sazaria.
“U-Um, were you hurt?”
Leo’s eyes widened in surprise, and he smiled slightly.
“Nothing to worry about.”
Leo was also present during Emilia’s interrogation, but she was too scared to speak.
When the knight who was looking into her asked her about it, she wept and said that Nick had beaten her many times before and that she was too scared to disobey him.
“…That can’t be true.”
Hearing this, Marian can’t help but laugh.
After such a passionate embrace, no one would believe her if she told them she had been threatened.
“If you only witnessed the scene where she was beaten up by Nick, you might believe it.”
(Awebstories.com: Remember that Marian was in the maid’s waiting room when that scene happened?)
Minerva expressed her displeasure.
“Indeed, some of the knights who investigated the case felt sympathy for her. Some even insisted that she should be treated as a victim.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Rather, I think she set her sights on Nick first.”
“Yes, I’m sure of it.”
Leo nodded at Minerva’s assertion and then turned his attention to Marian.
“Of course, we rejected such a ridiculous claim.”
A female knight who looked for signs of violence on her and found none.
Emilia claimed that it was not violent enough to leave a scar, but her testimony was different from the previous one, so it seemed to be a lie.
Relieved by these words, Marian dropped her hands, which were clenched.
“Thank you very much…”
Emilia was trying to get through the situation with her acting ability to fool the knights.
She’s glad that Leo was present.
“Many people saw them embracing and whispering their love in the royal garden. They can’t get away with it, and I won’t allow it.”
Minerva also told her that she would prepare witnesses when it came to the crunch.
Even if she wanted to abandon Nick now and escape on her own, it wouldn’t work.
“After the interrogation, Emilia was taken back to her family’s viscounty. She was ordered to stay there until her punishment was decided.”
Violating the order would only make the charges more serious, and the Viscounts would want to avoid any further publicity. Once the sentence is confirmed, the viscountess may be sent to a convent.
Nick, on the other hand, is likely to be kept in a dungeon for the time being. After the riots and violence he caused in the palace, he is unlikely to be released so easily.
It seems that Crate, the second prince, is trying to free Nick from the dungeon at the behest of his sister, Rietta.
Leo was aware of all these moves.
“Will the Prince continue to get involved with the Marquis of Deedaloid, or will they cut Nick down the middle? Either way, it’s going to be noisy. Maybe it’s safer for Marian to stay in this house for a while.”
“…Yes.”
Marian nodded her head, surprised that things had turned out to be bigger than she had imagined.
If she goes home now and confronts her father…
—He would only use me as a pawn to increase his power.
It was better to stay with Minerva, whom she trusted.
The conversation continues…
