Chapter: 89
“One week. No longer than that. Understood?”
“Yes, I will do my best.”
The attendant answered with a crestfallen expression before hurriedly leaving the room.
Watching his retreating figure, Dietrich pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh.
“……Phew.”
It was understandable. Lately, his nerves had been constantly on edge.
‘Do I really have to keep watching Lady Ancy get entangled with Young Master Gusto like this?’
Even if she refused to accept the marriage and proceeded with a divorce lawsuit, it would take at least three years.
During that process, Larit’s reputation would be torn to shreds.
Of course, Dietrich knew that Larit was not that kind of person, so he did not care about such things at all.
But the perspective of the person actually involved would be completely different.
‘……I have to find a way to keep Lady Ancy from getting hurt.’
There seemed to be no sign that the situation would be resolved.
And so, just as Dietrich’s mood was becoming sharper with each passing day, an unexpected clue fell into his hands.
And the place where that clue was given was……
The regular meeting of the House of Nobles.
It was a meeting attended by the heads of the families registered in the House of Nobles, where matters of state were discussed.
In principle, anyone who was the head of a noble family could attend.
However, since many nobles stayed in their territories outside the capital, the number of people attending the regular meetings varied.
And today.
There was one person who had shown his face at the regular meeting for the first time in a very long while.
“Congratulations, Count Gusto!”
“I hear your second son is finally getting married?”
Dietrich, who had been entering the meeting hall with brisk steps, abruptly stopped.
‘……That man?’
Count Gusto, the corners of his mouth nearly reaching his ears, was surrounded by people offering him congratulations.
Watching the scene, Dietrich—
“……”
—was seized by a violent urge to drive his fist straight into the count’s smug face.
“I heard Lady Ancy and Young Master Gusto had broken off their engagement. I suppose those were all just rumors.”
“Indeed. Who would have thought they would proceed with the marriage registration so quietly?”
Dietrich felt his mood sink to rock bottom once again.
Not a single person in this meeting room was considering Larit’s position.
“I never agreed to the marriage registration.”
The earnest eyes that had looked up at him so intently, and the trembling voice.
As Dietrich recalled that scene, his eyes turned cold.
But then—
“What are you all talking about so enthusiastically?”
A cheerful voice rang out.
At the same time, the nobles hurriedly paid their respects.
“Welcome, Your Excellency.”
“You have arrived.”
“Ha ha! It seems I see the same faces every time!”
The Marquis of Bosejour, chairman of the House of Nobles, greeted the nobles in return with a hearty laugh.
Then.
The marquis’s eyes turned toward Count Gusto.
“It has been a long time, Count Gusto.”
The Marquis of Bosejour extended his hand to the count in a rather friendly manner.
“You should visit the capital more often. At this rate, I might even forget what you look like.”
“Of course. I am honored that the marquis would come to greet me like this.”
The marquis and the count warmly shook hands.
“You should also visit my county sometime, Marquis. I will make sure you receive proper hospitality.”
“Just hearing you say that makes me look forward to it, ha ha!”
Watching them, Dietrich suddenly felt puzzled.
‘Were those two always this close?’
Until now, the two had had almost no connection.
Count Gusto was closer to an influential noble of the provinces, while the Marquis of Bosejour was a central noble whose family had resided in the capital for generations.
Their political views and spheres of life were bound to be completely different.
As proof of that, they had always treated each other almost as strangers until now……
“I hear you are now arranging a marriage with the Viscount Ancy family. Congratulations.”
“Oh, it is nothing. That girl Larit can be a little sensitive, but what can I do?”
Count Gusto shrugged conspicuously.
“Still, we have to encourage the children to live happily together. Fortunately, Gregory has a mild temperament, so I think he will accommodate Larit to some extent.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Of course. Tsk. That girl Larit really needs to learn how to obey her husband.”
The count casually took shots at Larit while endlessly praising his own son.
“She seems to have become unnecessarily conceited just because she is the heir to the Viscount Ancy family.”
“……”
Dietrich felt something twist unpleasantly inside him.
“Our Gregory may be the second son, but he is still a member of the Count Gusto family, is he not?”
“Ha ha, indeed.”
“I wanted to find him an even better match, but what could I do when that boy Gregory said he liked Larit?”
The count continued with a beaming smile.
“They say no parent can defeat their own child. I had no choice but to give in.”
The count’s self-praise continued for quite some time.
“Is that really so? Everyone seems to be speaking as though the marriage between the Count Gusto family and the Viscount Ancy family has already been finalized……”
Unable to endure it any longer, Dietrich finally spoke in a crooked tone.
“Didn’t Lady Ancy say that she never agreed to the marriage?”
The count and the marquis, who had been chatting amiably, turned around with startled expressions.
“……Duke Claudius?”
Why was the duke taking Lady Ancy’s side?
Their expressions were filled with that very question.
Regardless, Dietrich continued coldly.
“I believe it would be detrimental to both families to discuss a matter that has not even been completely decided.”
“N-no, that……”
The nobles glanced at Count Gusto.
Although Dietrich had phrased it indirectly by saying that it would be detrimental to both families, the person who had been going around speaking as though the marriage had already been decided was none other than Count Gusto.
Therefore, Dietrich’s words were essentially saying—
‘It seems His Grace the Duke of Claudius believes that a marriage between Gusto and Ancy is unreasonable.’
Dietrich was, in effect, opposing the count’s claims.
“And furthermore, Lady Ancy is ‘sensitive,’ is she?”
Dietrich’s voice instantly became razor-sharp.
“She has become entangled in a marriage she never even agreed to. Is it not only natural that she would work day and night to prevent that marriage?”
Dietrich asked the question before giving an elegant, faint smile.
There was something strangely chilling about it.
“Am I wrong?”
“……”
“……”
A cold silence descended.
The nobles merely exchanged wary glances, unable to bring themselves to speak.
Then.
Dietrich noticed something strange.
‘Hmm?’
The chairman of the House of Nobles, the Marquis of Bosejour, kept shifting his eyes anxiously.
As though there were some troublesome matter weighing on his conscience……
“W-well, let us begin the meeting.”
After exchanging a secret glance with Count Gusto, the Marquis of Bosejour hurriedly brought the situation under control.
The nobles fluttered into their seats like startled sparrows.
‘Something…… feels suspicious.’
Dietrich’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
After the regular meeting.
“How about having dinner together?”
Count Gusto warmly invited the Marquis of Bosejour.
“……”
For a moment, a troubled expression crossed the marquis’s face.
But that expression quickly disappeared.
The marquis smiled pleasantly.
“Coming from you, how could I refuse? Of course I will.”
And so, the marquis and the count left together amicably.
The two arrived at an upscale restaurant.
It had private rooms and was famous as a place frequently visited by nobles who wanted to have discreet conversations.
The moment they entered the room, Count Gusto’s expression changed completely.
“So, when will this be resolved?”
“Please wait a little longer. You know very well that the situation is not favorable.”
“No, do you have any idea how much money I have spent……!”
Count Gusto instinctively raised his voice before clearing his throat.
“Ahem. In any case, please take care of it as quickly as possible. That bitch Larit is being so difficult that she is becoming a real headache.”
“I am sure it will be handled properly. Please stop rushing me.”
“I am not rushing you……”
After arguing back and forth for quite some time, the two parted with displeased expressions, barely touching their meals.
“I will be leaving first.”
“Very well.”
Count Gusto left first.
Left alone, the Marquis of Bosejour ground his teeth and muttered,
“Damn it. If only that fool Raul hadn’t kept causing trouble……”
Just then, a waiter entered the private room and politely asked,
“Excuse me, what would you like for dessert?”
“Forget it. Get out.”
The marquis waved dismissively while puffing away at a cigarette.
The entire restaurant was a non-smoking establishment, but he paid no attention to that whatsoever.
For a moment, a faint look of displeasure crossed the waiter’s face.
“Please enjoy the rest of your time.”
He soon bowed his head politely and left the room.
And then.
The waiter disappeared beyond the corridor.
Inside a storage room at the end of the hallway.
A man leaning diagonally against the wall had a sharp gleam in his eyes.
“So, what did the count and the marquis say?”
“Well, the thing is……”
