𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒: 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
“You’re. . . that Chloe’s butler, right?”
“My name is Simon, Oku-sama.”
With a beautifully straightened posture, the old gentleman bows.
“I was managing the villa today, so I thought I’d greet Oku-sama.”
“I see.”
Owenna wasn’t interested in Simon, but she wanted someone to talk to out of boredom. So Owenna spoke to Simon.
“You were Chloe’s butler, why did you stay here?”
“Yes. As for the management of the mansion, I had to stay because there was no one else who could handle it.”
“You’re as serious as Chloe. You don’t have to be loyal to this house that made your Ojou-sama unhappy and took over the Maclouge territory.”
Those were not words that Owenna, who had caused Chloe’s cold treatment, should say.
But Owenna was the kind of woman who could say it.
Even to the blunt Owenna, Simon answers without moving a brow.
“I am simply fulfilling my role.”
“I see.”
What a boring man.
Owenna thought so as she lit a cigarette.
And while they were talking, she asked Simon.
“Where did Chloe go? Her brotherーーthe current Lord Maclouge is a palace magician, right? Doesn’t she have a place to stay?”
“Chloe-ojousama is currently in the Margrave Heyerdahl territory.”
“. . . Heyerdahl?”
Owenna didn’t know the place.
“It’s a mountainous territory at the northern end of the kingdom, beyond where you change from a carriage to a train from the royal capital.”
“Hmm. . . She’s gone to such a countryside.”
“Yes. So she probably won’t come back to the Count Strelitzi territory again.”
At that moment, Owenna reacted to the temperature of Simon’s words that somehow hinted at something.
“What do you mean she won’t come back?”
“Yes. Margrave Heyerdahl is a person with deep ties to the Count Maclouge family. And he is young and single. . . I hope that Ojou-sama will remarry as it is.”
“Remarry. . . You’re joking, right? That plain woman can’t do that well.”
She thought Simon wouldn’t retort here.
But contrary to Owenna’s expectations, the old gentleman smiled.
It was a bright smile, so much so that he seemed somewhat triumphant.
“The Margrave is a compassionate person. Ojou-sama will surely be happy. There’s also a magic stone mine, and she’ll be much wealthier than living in the Strelitzi house. . . Oh, I misspoke.”
At Simon’s deliberate words, Owenna leaned forward.
It was not a time to be lazily smoking a cigarette.
“There’s a magic stone mine here too, isn’t there? What’s the difference?”
“Even though they are the same magic stone mines, all of them here belong to the country. But over there, due to a special case of border defense, most of the revenue from the magic stone mine becomes the property of the Margrave territory. So the more you dig, the richer you become. Ah, I’m envious.”
“. . .What did you say. . .”
Chloe, the legitimate wife who had always been looked down upon.
A stupid, weak woman who always drew the short straw. The thought of such a woman becoming happier than herself made Owenna’s irritation bubble up from the pit of her stomach.
Even though she didn’t have any children. She adopted the child she gave birth to under her own name, lived a carefree married life with a white marriage, and lived comfortably as a legitimate wife.
Owenna doesn’t know about Chloe’s hardships. She doesn’t even try to know.
That’s why Owenna suddenly started to see Chloe as a cowardly woman who always gets the best of everything.
“I can’t stand the thought of such a protected, weak woman becoming happy.”
Simon says nothing.
As Owenna gets up to go inside, she bumps into Anne.
“Okaa-san, what’s wrong?”
“Anne. Get ready. We’re going on a trip.”
“Eh?”
Anne, with her eyes wide open. Simon called out to Owenna’s back.
“If you’re going on a trip, I’ll take care of preparing the passports and such.”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Eh. . . Eh, what’s going on?”
To the flustered Anne, Owenna tells her with bloodshot eyes from alcohol.
“We’re going on a trip. We’re going to see how the former legitimate wife is living now. You’re coming too.”
“Eh. . . Wait. I, I don’t understand. . .”
“The trip is just a pretext. I’m going to sell you to a 25-year-old Margrave.”
At her mother’s glaring gaze, Anne is at a loss for words.
“Me. . . All of a sudden?”
“That’s right. You’re not very talented and you didn’t have anywhere to go as an adopted child, so find a good match and make your mother’s life easier.”
“Wa. . . Wait, Okaa-san!”
Simon just stood still, watching the two of them from behind his monocle.
“Oku-sama. How should I explain the sudden trip to Danna-sama?”
“You can tell him the truth. That I’m going to sell my daughter. It’s fine if it goes well, and there’s no loss if it doesn’t, right?”
“I understand.”
The old gentleman narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, watching Owenna bustling about, making the maids prepare.
“I hope there really is no loss. . . It would be nice.”
