“I’m NOT all right, you idiot!”
Silence descended at Cassia’s furious shout.
Vita and Fleurette, who had been tangled together in complete chaos, Paul, who had been watching the unbelievable scene from behind, and even Jester, who had just been confronted head-on by the angry outburst of a refined noblewoman—all of them simply blinked at her in stunned silence.
Cassia stared intently at Jester’s surprised face as he looked down at her, then let out a long sigh.
Calm down.
She wanted nothing more than to throw away all pretense of being a refined noblewoman and unleash every swear word she knew to vent all the frustration she felt toward Jester.
But that would only hurt her.
Who would understand that this anger had been building for ten years?
To anyone who knew nothing of the circumstances, she would simply look like a deranged noblewoman.
She had no intention of ruining her own reputation for no reason.
Cassia turned toward Vita, who was standing behind her, her expression becoming rather fierce as she tried to scatter everyone’s attention away from herself.
“Let Miss Roselyn go.”
Cassia spoke to Vita in a frighteningly cold voice.
Just as she intended, everyone’s attention immediately shifted toward the new confrontation.
Vita frowned.
“My lady! This courtesan…”
“You insolent—!”
Cassia snapped sharply, her eyes terrifying.
Vita was startled, and her grip loosened for a moment.
Fleurette finally managed to escape her strong grasp, quickly getting to her feet and straightening her disheveled clothes.
“Do you perhaps mistake yourself for the mistress of this castle?”
“M-My lady? That’s not what I…”
Contrary to her angry voice, Cassia’s face was completely expressionless.
That made her even more frightening.
She was so different from the angelic Cassia who had behaved so kindly for the past week that Vita felt a chill run down her spine.
“Since the Baron considers you almost like a real sister, I thought I might allow you to continue staying in this castle despite your ambiguous position. But as the mistress of this castle, how am I supposed to overlook your reckless behavior when you can’t even distinguish when you should and shouldn’t interfere?”
“W-What do you mean?”
Vita’s trembling voice did nothing to stop Cassia’s sharp reprimand.
“Not only did you assault a guest who came to this castle, but you also challenged my authority as the mistress of this household. I cannot simply let that pass. Everyone in the castle will make a fool of me.”
Cassia looked down at Vita sprawled on the floor before turning her head toward Jester.
For some reason, that subtle glance felt more frightening than spears and arrows flying across a battlefield.
Jester swallowed hard.
“You seem to behave so arrogantly because you believe you have someone who trusts you. I cannot bring myself to throw you out when I don’t know what that person might do… So I shall have to think carefully about whether you should be allowed to continue staying in this castle. Until then, you will remain in your room and reflect on your behavior.”
“What?!”
“How dare you look at me so insolently? Just because I have treated you kindly, do you mistake me for your friend?”
Vita stared at Cassia’s cold eyes, unable to find the words to answer.
Her lips trembled.
“Baron! Did I really do something wrong? Please, say something to my lady!”
Vita shouted desperately.
Cassia turned toward Jester.
If he dared to oppose her even over the order restricting Vita to her room, Cassia had no intention of tolerating it any longer.
But despite Vita’s desperate plea, Jester merely blinked blankly without responding.
“I really am being treated unfairly. I only did it for the sake of the Baron and my lady…”
“Miss Vita! I think it would be best if you followed my lady’s orders for now. Go back to your room.”
Paul, who had been watching Cassia’s expression nervously from behind, hurriedly intervened.
For some reason, he had a feeling that the mistress was absolutely determined this time, and that they should not provoke her any further.
But foolish Vita was too busy insisting on how unfairly she had been treated.
Paul clicked his tongue inwardly.
“To think you’re being this sensitive over a woman coming out of a man’s room. Let me tell you one thing: I don’t care even if she is a courtesan. What problem would that cause? It’s quite common for nobles to call women to see them.”
“No, wait. There’s been some misunderstanding…”
Jester, who had been listening quietly, tried to interrupt.
But his muttered words were drowned out by Cassia’s icy voice.
“If you understand, then disappear from before my eyes immediately. And properly reflect on what you did today, because what you did was certainly not for my sake or the Baron’s.”
Apparently, the mistress they had all assumed was merely an easygoing angel was far from ordinary.
She raised the corners of her eyes coldly, making it clear that she had no intention of taking back her decision.
Vita turned toward Jester standing beside her and looked up at him desperately.
He’s the only one I can rely on now.
But Jester didn’t even seem particularly concerned about the humiliation Vita was suffering.
Instead, he looked pitifully at Cassia’s profile, like a dog desperately needing to relieve itself, and moved his lips.
“Wife. There’s been a misunderstanding…”
“Can’t you hear me? I told her to go back to her room.”
Cassia didn’t even realize that Jester was anxiously shifting his feet beside her.
Only when she sharply shouted at the hesitant Vita did Jester finally turn his attention toward her.
Vita finally met the eyes of the person she had believed would save her.
Her gaze desperately pleaded with him.
Please save me.
But the words Jester finally uttered after frowning at her were utterly unexpected.
Vita froze in shock.
“…What are you doing? Why aren’t you listening?”
She told you to leave.
Had the shy appearance Cassia had shown when she first arrived merely been the awkwardness of their first meeting?
Jester compared the Cassia from a week ago with the completely different woman standing before him now.
And then he realized something for certain.
She hadn’t acted like a completely different person simply because she disliked their marital relationship.
She was simply the kind of woman who could clearly express herself when she disliked something or found something unpleasant.
And right now, she clearly disliked and resented this situation.
Paul had said that Cassia must have misunderstood the reason Jester had invited Lady Fleurette.
Jester agreed with him.
When Paul said he would apologize to Cassia and clear up the misunderstanding, Jester stopped him and decided to go himself.
If there was any fault to be found, he figured it probably belonged to him.
After sending Vita away, Cassia had immediately disappeared with a cold breeze trailing behind her.
Jester had stood hesitating outside her door for several minutes before finally gathering the courage to knock.
“It’s me. May I speak with you for a moment?”
“Come in.”
There was still a chill in her voice.
Jester swallowed dryly, nervous, and stepped into Cassia’s room.
She was out on the terrace.
He was secretly concerned that she was standing outside in nothing but a thin indoor dress despite the weather not being particularly warm.
Jester fiddled with the coat he was wearing and hesitated for a long time.
Something as simple as saying that she looked cold and putting his coat around her seemed incredibly difficult to him.
“Did you have something to say?”
Unable to bear watching Jester hesitate any longer, Cassia asked first.
“It was my fault.”
Those were the words he had intended to say all the way to Cassia’s room.
Of course, unlike the way he had practiced saying them, he had ended up cutting out almost everything before and after them.
The moment he stood face-to-face with Cassia, his mind had gone completely blank.
Cassia felt uneasy hearing Jester readily admit his mistake.
She was having difficulty adjusting to this strange version of Jester.
From the fact that he hadn’t stopped her when she reprimanded Vita, to the fact that he was now apparently taking Cassia’s side—there were too many suspicious things.
Could he have figured out my entire plan to expose their relationship and humiliate them by catching them with proof?
Cassia sighed inwardly.
After going through one exhausting ordeal, she found herself thinking that she no longer cared about any of that.
The old nightmare of Vita’s behavior had returned so vividly that Cassia felt as though she might tremble.
It was merely an affair disguised as a childhood friendship.
It wasn’t even a particularly extraordinary scandal.
Cassia no longer had the energy to keep Vita by her side simply to drag that secret into the open.
She had decided to live comfortably this time, yet she was already under enormous stress.
Clearly, something was going wrong.
Well, if two people care about each other, what can I do about it?
She had absolutely no intention of playing the role of a loving wife with her husband anyway.
Perhaps it would be better to simply wish that both of them could have a healthy relationship with whoever they chose.
As long as they keep proper boundaries so I don’t have to deal with any trouble.
Cassia decided that was the only promise she needed from Jester.
Once she reached that conclusion, she felt much more at ease.
“What exactly did you do wrong?”
“Lady Fleurette. I… I didn’t meet her with any improper intentions. There were circumstances…”
As soon as Cassia asked, Jester answered as though he had been waiting for the question.
She would probably ask what those circumstances were.
Then he would have to tell her the truth.
But he was so embarrassed that he feared he wouldn’t be able to get the words out.
Still, he had to explain.
Jester moistened his dry lips with his tongue and waited for Cassia to ask.
But instead of asking, What circumstances?, Cassia said something completely unexpected.
“Wasn’t this supposed to be the time when you admitted what you did wrong? Why are you bringing up Miss Roselyn?”
“Ah. Because I invited her to the castle and caused you to misunderstand…”
“That’s strange.”
Cassia frowned and tilted her head.
“Why are you apologizing for that? That’s not what you should be apologizing to me for. It’s extremely common for nobles to have mistresses or call upon courtesans. It isn’t anything special at all. You don’t need to be embarrassed or hide it.”
“No, please. I didn’t invite Lady Fleurette for that purpose.”
“Whatever your intentions were, I’m saying that it doesn’t matter to me. The reason I’m upset is because the hierarchy in the Baron’s castle is such a mess that Miss Vita feels comfortable enough to look down on me, the mistress of this household.”
“Ah… Vita. You’re right. I should have properly introduced you to each other…”
“I’ve already heard about what kind of relationship Miss Vita has with the Baron and why she’s staying in this castle. You don’t need to explain that again. But she can’t keep causing problems like this.”
There was nothing he could say.
That was clearly his own fault.
Jester rubbed his forehead wearily as he remembered Vita’s behavior when she had caused such a scene.
His childhood friend, Vita Berkeley, whom he had practically taken responsibility for and allowed to stay at the castle because of their history together.
It was true that Vita treated him casually.
Sometimes, she even accidentally called him by his name.
Paul had also advised Jester to keep Vita in check because the way she behaved disrupted the hierarchy within the castle.
It wasn’t as though Jester had never tried.
But both Vita and Jester had only ever corrected the behavior in the moment.
After more than twenty years of being Vita and Jester, it felt awkward to suddenly draw a strict line between them based on their difference in social status.
So whenever Paul scolded him about it, Jester would regret having brought Vita into the castle in the first place.
Jester was naturally rather indifferent, so he lacked the attentiveness to notice and consider the confusion the servants experienced because of the ambiguous hierarchy.
Nothing had ever caused a serious problem, so he had simply thought, If everything is fine, then there’s no need to make an issue of it.
But now, realizing that such a careless attitude had caused all of this, Jester swallowed a groan.
It was one thing if Vita behaved that way toward the servants.
But if she was trying to place herself on equal footing with his wife, that was a serious problem.
If he had properly established boundaries with Vita from the beginning, his wife wouldn’t have been shocked by Vita’s reckless behavior or become disappointed in him or his castle.
For some reason, he couldn’t understand why he kept making mistakes whenever it came to his wife.
I’m sorry.
Just as he was about to apologize, Cassia spoke first.
“I am supposed to be the second-most respected person in this place after the Baron. So it is extremely unpleasant to find myself being humiliated because you failed to properly manage the people under your authority. If I am supposed to receive an apology from you, it should be for that reason, not anything else.”
What does she mean?
Jester frowned, unable to understand.
Cassia kindly explained what she meant.
“I’m saying this because you were about to apologize to me for Miss Roselyn visiting earlier. I have absolutely no intention of interfering or bothering you by questioning whether you invite women to the castle or go out to meet them. So please don’t worry about my feelings over things like that. And furthermore…”
Her voice was as gentle and warm as sunlight on a spring day.
But her words were anything but gentle.
Jester had suffered countless wounds on the battlefield, and after everything he had endured, ordinary injuries barely affected him anymore.
Yet that day, his heart strangely ached at every one of his wife’s casually spoken words.
“…Whether Miss Vita is the Baron’s mistress or not doesn’t matter to me either. But please make sure that a mere commoner girl never behaves insolently toward me. If you can promise me that, then I will gladly tolerate your freedom to pursue whatever romantic relationships you wish.”
