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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: A Drastic Negotiation
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After the little disturbance had passed.
Having barely composed myself, I sat across from Priest Andrea, who was perched uncomfortably in the prayer room. His son had been apprehended by Sir Lily and locked away elsewhere.
Priest Andrea sat at an angle, trying to avoid eye contact with Eric and me.
“...Ahem.”
*Bang!*
Just as Andrea was clearing his throat to speak, I slammed my hand on the desk. Frozen stiff, Andrea looked at me. I scoffed and said.
“I hear the capital diocese received a lot of money from the Duke…?”
Andrea shook his head, his face pale.
“Wh-What a terrible thing to say! He did not donate to me, but to the temple for our Father in Heaven!”
“Right. And with that money, you sent your son—who should be in jail—to a boarding school and bought a few houses? Our Father in Heaven would be absolutely outraged to see this!”
I yelled.
‘I’m angry about the priest’s corruption, not because my own ally doubted me!’
Eric grabbed my arm, as if worried someone outside might hear.
I glared at him for grabbing my arm and made a sharp hissing sound. He quickly let go and muttered with a troubled expression.
“Imeline Wedgwood. It’s not that I didn’t believe you...”
Meanwhile, Andrea shot up from his seat and said firmly.
“Wh-Whatever the case! Your parents are already bound as a couple and set to marry, so how dare you come to a priest and th-threaten me! If the D-Duke were to find out about this...!”
Hearing the tremor in his voice, I scoffed.
“Oh? So we’re making threats now?”
‘How should I handle this guy?’
I looked at Eric. Far from devising a solution, he was just pinching his forehead and sighing.
‘What can I expect from him...’
Seeing the weary looks on our faces, Andrea shouted with a surge of confidence.
“Th-That’s right! The Duke must not know! If all of this gets back to him...”
‘He thinks the Duke will solve everything, including his son’s problems?’
Is that what he thinks? How absurd.
I glared at Andrea.
Does this idiot really believe the Duke will fix his problems? The Duke is the biggest scoundrel on this continent, the kind who’d even swindle a family of swindlers like us, you fool.
‘He’ll probably report you to the diocese, have you excommunicated without a trace, and then drag you off to be a slave in some remote rural parish to keep you quiet.’
This idiot.
I whispered to the other idiot beside me, Eric.
“Do somethinggg?”
“...What?”
“Threaten him, obviously. It’s more effective when someone with money and power does it...”
Before I could finish, Eric stood up, his face set with determination.
*Thwack!*
Eric moved behind Andrea and struck him hard on a vital point with the palm of his hand. Instantly, Andrea’s body went limp, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
“...?!”
I covered my mouth and asked in shock.
“What did you do?”
“Threatening him.”
“But... he passed out before you could even threaten him.”
Eric asked with a troubled expression.
“You told me to do something, didn’t you?”
Eric casually slung the unconscious Andrea over his shoulder. After a moment of stunned silence, I looked at the fainted priest and licked my lips.
“Well... I guess this works too.”
Locking him up first and threatening him later might not be a bad idea...
I scowled at Eric, who looked like a puppy thirsting for praise. He glanced at me nervously and said.
“Th-Thanks for helping with the... negotiation.”
Hard to call it a negotiation when the other party is unconscious.
I clicked my tongue inwardly. *Tch. Serves you right for doubting me. It was so much work getting this far.*
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Eric.
“...You didn’t believe me, did you?”
Eric looked down at me and said seriously.
“I may have wavered a little, but I believed you.”
“Liar.”
“...Look...”
“Oh, oh, he’s waking up.”
I pointed to Andrea, who was stirring on Eric’s shoulder and pawing at him. Eric easily knocked him out again.
“Ugh...!”
Andrea went limp again.
Eric gave me a slight smile.
“See? Who else would I do something like this with, if not you?”
I frowned.
“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Doing something together is always a good thing.”
Eric wiped the sweat from his brow and said.
“Besides, you’re the only one who could come up with such a ruthless solution.”
Eric gestured to the priest slung over his shoulder. I put my hands on my hips and nodded.
“That’s right. No one else could. Absolutely no one but me.”
It wasn’t my idea... but I’ll take it as a compliment. Even if it feels a little off.
I walked right up to Eric.
He flinched and took a step back.
“...You gave me that hundred thousand gold on purpose, didn’t you? To test me.”
Eric bit his lip and glanced away.
“So it’s true.”
A sense of betrayal washed over me.
“It was for that and other reasons...”
Eric said, as if trying to placate me.
I turned away from Eric and slammed my hand on the desk again. Eric flinched.
I gritted my teeth and warned him in a low voice.
“If you keep doubting me, I’ll really just take off. For good.”
Eric quickly shook his head, telling me not to.
Damn it. I should’ve just run off with the 100,000 gold. While I was thinking that, Eric spoke cautiously.
“By the way, why do you switch between formal and informal speech? If you’re going to be like this, just drop the formalities altogether.”
I told Eric firmly.
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly do that. Not to our dear Young Lord. Formalities are a sign of respect, a sign of respect.”
Eric looked unconvinced.
“...And isn’t it more insulting when I switch from being formal to informal?”
“Yes... Your second point is more persuasive.”
Sir Lily opened the door and came in. She saw the unconscious Andrea and called my name as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Lady Imeline!”
“It wasn’t me.”
Why me? Why is it always me?
“That’s right. She didn’t do it.”
When Eric replied, Lily looked at him, her face pale with despair.
“Our... Young Lord...”
What? What are you trying to say? That I corrupted him? I glared at Lily, dumbfounded.
‘...Though I can’t exactly deny it...’
Eric looked tired as he said to Lily.
“Let’s move him for now.”
“Young Lord, this is the temple of the capital diocese.”
Lily gritted her teeth.
“I know... Oh, gods...”
Eric muttered with a solemn expression. With the priest still slung over his shoulder, he looked up at the ceiling and made the sign of the cross.
I asked calmly.
“Do you think praying now will earn you forgiveness?”
“Prayer is for repentance, not for forgiveness.”
“Yes, yes, of course. ...But let’s move it!”
Losing my patience, I yelled. Eric reluctantly finished his prayer and ordered Lily to get the knights moving.
‘Knights?’
What knights?
Lily let out a short whistle into the seemingly empty corridor. Instantly, men appeared from god-knows-where, rushed over, took Andrea, and vanished.
“...?”
I muttered, somewhat bewildered by their swift actions.
“Don’t tell me you were prepared to kidnap him from the very beginning...?”
I glanced over at Eric.
Our Young Master doesn't seem to have been so innocent in the first place.
Feeling a bit uneasy, I handed Lily a letter I had prepared.
“I was originally going to leave this myself tonight, but we had to leave so suddenly. Later, when my mother looks for me at the mansion, tell her you found this in my room and give it to her. That should keep her from looking for me, at least for tonight.”
To pull off the surprise sham marriage tomorrow morning, I had to stay at the place Eric had prepared for at least tonight.
“What did you write?”
While Lily hesitated, Eric, who had been listening beside me, glanced my way.
I held the letter out to Eric, indicating he could read it if he was curious. He seemed surprised that I offered it so readily, but he hesitated only a moment before taking it.
His expression shifted constantly as he read the letter. He glanced at me midway through before continuing. By the end, his face was red, and he was glaring at me.
He asked.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just write that you ran away?”
I shrugged and said.
“Then she’d worry and come looking for me. But if I say I eloped with a man, she absolutely can’t search for me publicly.”
My mother is obsessed with the idea of a handsome, rich, noble son-in-law with a good character and power.
Eric crumpled the letter in his hand, standing still for a moment as if trying to cool his flushed face.
Soon, he put the letter back in the envelope and handed it to Lily. Then he cleared his throat, adjusted his clothes, and strode off down the corridor by himself.
He even stumbled once on a groove in the marble floor for no good reason.
‘...’
My letter was a bit... creative, I admit. But to get that flustered.
This is what my letter said.
I met a man two days ago at the Rose that Blooms at Night who is completely my type.
He’s exactly what I look for in a man. Handsome, tall, and a great body.
You know that actor from the play you took me to when I was little? He looks just like the lead actor. Really. I’m not lying.
It wasn’t a lie that he resembled that man. Except for the fact that Eric Orleans was about twice as handsome as that actor.
But Philip would definitely read this part and declare it a lie. He had a tendency to be jealous of any man more handsome than himself.
And most importantly, he’s kind.
Mother will...
I can’t predict my mother’s reaction at all.
He’s an honest and good person.
His smile is cute.
Will she feel betrayed? Or angry? Surely she won’t cry.
When I’m with him, even being trapped in a dark, narrow place isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Is it because he’s a completely different kind of person from the Violodes or the Wedgwoods?
Surprising, isn’t it? I was surprised, too.
I think my life might have turned out completely different if there had been just one person like him in it until now.
At least that part—‘I think my life might have turned out completely different if there had been just one person like him in it until now’—was sincere.
The problem was that there had never been anyone like that. Not once in my entire life.
...Of course, the letter didn’t end with just sincerity and truth.
Because it continued like this.
So, you want to know why I’m running away? Well, about that...
At this point, I came up with the perfect reason why my mother would never be able to look for me.
I’m pregnant!
Pregnant!
Come to think of it, what could be a more perfect reason? Her unmarried daughter, pregnant.
It was a disgrace, a humiliation, an utter scandal that she could never speak of, especially the day before the wedding.
Haha, congratulate me!
I’m thinking of naming our baby Rose. So we’re going to his hometown to meet his parents.
So don’t interfere, and make sure the wedding goes well, okay? That is, if you want to see your cute granddaughter’s face!
Bye, bye!
Philip, take good care of Mom!
Mom, keep an eye on Philip so he doesn’t cause any trouble!
I’ll be back soon, everyone! I’ll miss you!
‘Imelineeeeeeee!’
I could already hear my mother’s booming voice.
It’ll be a shock, but what can I do? This is the only way to keep her from looking for me for a day.
Once she receives this letter, my mother will muster every last ounce of her nonexistent patience and wait for me. She has to.
“What on earth did you write?”
Lily asked, utterly bewildered as she watched Eric stumble away. I silently patted her on the shoulder.
Poor Lily.
She was definitely going to face a great deal of humiliation from my mother at the mansion.
