FBWOW 29

Chapter 29…

Catherine, ordered by His Highness the Crown Prince to wake her father, reluctantly shook his body and called out to him.

“Lord Desant, wake up. …Honestly! I said wake up already!!”

“Hm? …Let me sleep a little longer. I’m exhausted because you kept begging for it.”

Was Catherine the one with the stronger sexual appetite?
Maybe she had tried to seduce me because Father’s stamina had begun to wane.

“That’s not it! We were seen—look!”

Without turning her face toward them, Catherine pointed. Her father followed the direction of her finger and turned pale when he saw us standing there.

If it had only been Mother and Kevin, he might have bluffed his way through, but since both Grandfather and the Crown Prince were present, his face drained of color.

“Good grief… an unfaithful affair between a son’s wife and a live-in son-in-law, right inside the mansion—unthinkable, Count.
You know there’s no room for excuses here. I understand both you and Kevin intend to proceed with divorces, so once you’ve dressed yourselves, come along.
Count, would the reception room be better than your office?”

“Y-yes, that’s right. I’ll take you there immediately.”

It was our own house, but the Crown Prince was the one in charge now.
Well, that was only natural.
Before being told what to do, Mother wouldn’t have been able to act promptly as the Count.

Thanks to His Highness’s words—“Let’s leave this suffocating room quickly”—we all headed to the reception room.

About thirty minutes later, Father and Catherine arrived.

Which would they prioritize: tidying their appearance or not keeping His Highness waiting?
The Crown Prince seemed to be waiting with amusement to see which choice they’d make.

Judging from the secretary Kaizel’s demeanor, this kind of sudden visit must be his usual pattern.
Thirty minutes was probably on the faster side.

Father didn’t need much time, but Catherine had done her best.
No makeup, so she must have dismissed her maids and handled everything herself—just changing clothes and brushing her hair.

“We apologize for keeping you waiting.”

“Ah, still within acceptable limits, so I’ll forgive it.
That said, to commit adultery inside your own mansion while being merely a son-in-law—such arrogance.
Divorce is only natural. But that isn’t the main issue.”

The Crown Prince pressed on before Father could attempt any excuses, treating the divorce as a settled matter.

Kaizel readied his pen, as if saying now’s my part to record this.

“I hear you intend to have the Carmine title inherited not by Kevin, but by the girl Marianna. Why is that?”

“Because Marianna is the child of my late eldest son, Lucio.
If Lucio were alive, she would naturally have been his heir. Therefore, she should rightfully inherit.”

“Then why do you intend to skip over Kevin as the temporary successor?”

“That is because… I feared Kevin might grow greedy and prevent Marianna from inheriting later.
In fact, hasn’t he already dragged the former Count and Your Highness into this just to demand the title for himself?
It’s shameful for a son to disgrace his family like this.
We will handle it properly among ourselves—this is not something to trouble Your Highness over.”

It seemed Father believed Kevin had schemed to take the Carmine title from Mother by involving Grandfather.
He wasn’t entirely wrong, but that wasn’t the whole story.