Chapter 8
“Grrr…! W-What’s so impressive about that?!”
“Count Floret! I knew you’d come back safely!”
Giselle greeted him with a bright smile.
Just then, Abisan stuck out his chin and grumbled, ruining the moment.
“…Tch. Stop showing off. Uncle! I’m better than her!”
Count Floret looked at the sulking Abisan and spoke firmly.
“Abisan, not everyone can use Light Magic. It may be a basic spell, but only those with highly refined mana can create light as beautiful as that.”
Giselle folded her arms across her chest and proudly tilted her head.
“Oh, is that so? Then, Abisan, what are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to kneel?”
“…W-What?”
“You promised. If you lost to me, you’d kneel.”
Abisan looked flustered before sneering.
“What? When did I ever say that? I don’t even remember making any bet.”
“Oh? Then I’ll help you remember.”
Giselle casually snapped her fingers a few times.
A powerful gust of wind suddenly rushed toward Abisan.
The wind slammed into his knees, knocking him to the ground.
“Uwaaah!”
“I just helped your knees kneel for you! Remember now?”
“Ahhh! M-My knees!”
Abisan stared at his bleeding knees, trembling as if the sight had completely shocked him.
“What have you done to my precious son’s knees, Giselle Floret?! Did you use Wind Magic?”
“M-Mother…!”
“You!”
Mariposa gritted her teeth.
“Even if Abisan isn’t related to you by blood, how could you do something so cruel?!”
“Yep~ Giselle is suuuper cruel~!”
It was the kind of carefree attitude no noble lady in high society would ever dare show.
Mariposa felt the heat rise to the back of her neck and exploded in anger.
“That girl…! Haa… Brother, I’m sorry. Giselle, do you remember?”
“Hm? Remember what?”
“That recently you’ve been under a lot of stress, and on the day your engagement was announced, you caused a huge scene.”
Count Floret’s gaze turned cold.
“An engagement was announced?”
“Yes.”
“When? Who would dare announce Giselle’s engagement without my approval?”
I couldn’t help smiling.
Good. I was worried she’d get angry and say something that only hurt herself.
At least Count Floret still didn’t have any prejudice against me.
“Yes! Lady Mariposa told me to marry a man who was thirty years older than me!”
“…A-Apart from his age, he was a good man. That’s why I arranged the match. Giselle, you wanted him, didn’t you?”
“Huh? When did I ever say that?”
With an unreadable expression, Count Floret rebuked Mariposa.
“Mariposa. Do you truly think it’s appropriate to pair a child with a man thirty years older than her?”
She stammered nervously.
“I-I’m sorry, Brother. Giselle has been under a lot of stress lately, so she hasn’t been thinking clearly… and I ended up believing her words too… Of course it wasn’t appropriate!”
He stared at his younger sister with icy eyes before speaking.
“Never do something like that again.”
“I’m sorry. But Brother! Giselle’s terrible behavior was printed across the newspapers, and I worked so hard to restore our family’s reputation. Please understand that.”
Mariposa began explaining everything Giselle had supposedly done.
“I see?”
“Yes. Her outrageous behavior—”
As Count Floret listened to every detail, his expression gradually changed.
By the time Mariposa proudly finished her accusations, Count Floret looked… impressed.
“Giselle, you truly are Count Sehera’s daughter.”
“…What? Brother?”
He didn’t even glance at Mariposa.
“This brings back memories.”
The moment I heard that, I became completely convinced.
Yep. My real father was definitely a lunatic.
There had been a side story in the original novel that existed solely to make Giselle’s life even more miserable.
“You damn…! You son of a…! Damn it! Damn you all!”
As Count Sehera rampaged in fury, Count Floret watched him with a deeply satisfied smile.
“C-Count Floret… are you… alright?”
“Yes. I think my dear friend’s behavior is quite beautiful.”
“…You’re being sarcastic, right?”
Meanwhile, the magical equipment caught in Count Sehera’s hands continued to shatter.
“Ah, damn it… Those worthless…!”
“Sometimes I wish I could curse people that freely myself.”
To sum it up in one sentence…
My real father was crazy… and Count Floret was just as crazy.
Normally, the heroine in a romance fantasy gets close to her supporters by acting cute, flattering them, and building a good reputation.
That’s how they survive.
But Giselle was different.
If I become an outrageous troublemaker, they actually think I’m just like my father, become closer to me, and my reputation improves.
Compared to other romance fantasy heroines who transmigrate, reincarnate, or return to the past…
This is ridiculously easy.
And I absolutely loved it.
Life is so much more fun when it’s this easy.
Just then, Count Floret walked straight toward Giselle.
For a moment, she forgot to keep smiling innocently and simply blinked.
“You really resemble your father.”
His eyes grew distant, as though searching through old memories.
He personally placed the necklace around Giselle’s neck.
“You are the rightful owner of this keepsake… no, this necklace. Take it.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Neither Mariposa, Abisan, nor even the original Giselle had probably ever seen him smile like that.
Everyone stood frozen.
“Would you like to take a walk with me?”
Giselle was the first to recover.
She flashed a bright smile and nodded.
“Yes! I’d love to!”
* * *
“My goodness! Giselle can actually use magic! Mother, did you see when I knelt? That wind was practically a hurricane!”
“Stop making such a fuss, Abisan. Have you no backbone?”
“Huh? Mother, what does ‘backbone’ mean?”
Mariposa tried to calm herself, but her anger kept growing.
Her bloodshot eyes stared at Giselle in the distance.
Her goal had always been for Abisan to become the next head of the Floret family.
The biggest obstacle had always been Count Floret’s adopted daughter, Giselle.
So she had spent years suppressing Giselle, making sure she could never show her abilities or establish any place for herself within the family.
Where did she get power like that? I was planning to marry her off to some insignificant family!
She trembled with rage.
Meanwhile, her foolish son spoke in admiration.
“Mother, my teacher said that only someone with incredibly pure mana has the potential to become a Grand Mage! What if Giselle becomes one? What if she gets revenge on us?”
A Grand Mage was one of the Empire’s greatest treasures, respected simply for existing.
Mariposa glared at Giselle, who was happily laughing while walking with Count Floret.
“That will never happen. Giselle is still Giselle.”
“The same foolish Giselle.”
* * *
As I walked alone with Count Floret…
“Giselle, have you been well?”
I tried to stay calm, but my heart skipped a beat.
Count Floret was asking how I was doing.
That had never happened in my previous life.
Well, in that case…
“Yes. Other than Lady Mariposa trying to marry me off to Baron Milpianne.”
Naturally, the first thing I should do was tell on her.
