Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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The first crisis was averted.
After that, the Alloze people returned to Alloze, and Dielo and I returned to the Argenta main house under the pretext of busy Argenta affairs.
And that night.
I sighed and flopped onto the bed.
"Hoo."
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
I didn't expect them to actually come to verify!
I didn't think Duke Alroze would just sit still.
"But still, isn't it too much to ask for proof?"
What kind of proof were they expecting?
And approaching me in the form of a child!
I guess they approached me that way because it's easier to let your guard down around a child.
Even if I was in the form of an adult woman when I showed the proof, it was still embarrassing.
Coming as a child, what was that all about!
"Ugh."
You have to give it to Alloze for being so ruthless.
It was then that I jumped up and sat up on the bed.
—Click.
Dielo's face peeked through the slightly opened door.
"...May I come in, Krua?"
Well, who else would use the bridal chamber alone?
I nodded.
"Of course."
When I patted the spot next to me, he came in with a happy face.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be with you today. There was an urgent matter on the coastal front."
At Dielo's words, I waved my hand.
"It's okay since there was an urgent matter anyway. It would have looked strange for me, who doesn't know Argenta's work well yet, to be in the office."
No matter how sweet a couple we are.
"More than anything, I looked up at the office several times."
"...Yes?"
Dielo blinked.
Why are you so flustered again? I burst into laughter.
"Wondering when you'd come down. Like a newlywed bride eagerly waiting for her husband."
At those words, Dielo, who had been blinking, smiled apologetically.
"And yet I didn't come down. I've become a bad husband."
"But at least Duke Alroze won't think we're a bad couple."
I shrugged. That's all that matters.
"Ah, and about Duke Alroze."
This was definitely information I needed to share.
I tapped my collarbone, showing it to him as he came to sit next to me.
"He checked."
"...!"
Dielo's eyes widened.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked carefully.
"...Directly?"
His face was slightly frowning.
At those words, I also scrunched up my face.
If Duke Alroze had been standing there instead of that watcher, what would I have had to show to whom...?
"No, someone else."
Someone else. A completely different person! A completely different person, even a woman!
I denied it with gestures and expressions.
Dielo, finally calming me down with my desperate denial, took my hand.
"I understand. I almost misunderstood Duke Alloze greatly."
He said in a composed voice.
"No, he's the enemy anyway, so what misunderstanding..."
I muttered, then looked at him.
This was someone who needed to misunderstand Duke Alloze even more.
Because that guy killed the previous Duke and Duchess of Argenta!
"...Anyway, thanks to that, we got through the first crisis."
At my words, Dielo tilted his head.
"The first crisis, you say...?"
"Won't they keep watching?"
I tapped his chest.
"Duke Alroze is waiting for me to erase this Lily, isn't he?"
That was something that faded the more Dielo Argenta sincerely gave his purity to the person he married.
Right now, it was naturally still vivid.
And for the next two months, it wouldn't fade.
Until the real Pero appeared.
"I suppose so."
Dielo's expression became serious. I patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. Until the real Pero comes, I'll be exactly the same as I am now."
Rest assured! Relax your expression! I smiled brightly at him.
"Ah, but. I just remembered something I need to clarify before that."
Then I remembered something I had wanted to ask since the afternoon.
I felt it especially today.
Watching Pielle and the other Argenta maids.
"What is it?"
I looked at Dielo, who was responding seriously, and asked.
"Exactly which people in Argenta know our secret? I know that at least Pielle knows."
At least I needed to figure out who in Argenta knew about our political marriage to make future actions easier.
"Ah,"
At the mention of Pielle's name, he opened his mouth slightly.
He seemed surprised.
He must have thought I didn't know about her.
"I'm not so dull that I wouldn't notice that."
I crossed my arms.
"Wouldn't it be difficult for Dielo if I were an accomplice with someone that stupid?"
At my words, Dielo finally smiled as if he had lost.
"That's right, Pielle knows."
And he readily admitted it.
I didn't bother telling him that I knew Pielle was a cleaner.
It would only make things suspicious.
Instead, I sat closer to him.
And asked secretly.
"Tell me who I can trust for sure in Argenta."
Because I would have to be even more careful in front of those who weren't them.
At those words, Dielo stroked his chin and tilted his head.
"You can rest assured about that, Krua."
Rest assured? About what?
"At least you don't have to worry on the second floor of the mansion."
The second floor of the mansion? The fourth floor where this room is?
I blinked, not understanding what he meant.
That's when he said something shocking to me.
"Anyone who goes to and from the fourth floor of Argenta, you can trust."
"?"
I blinked a few more times. Because I didn't understand.
No, because I didn't want to understand.
Could it be...?
"All the Argenta family members who come and go on the fourth floor know?"
Even if it's just the fourth floor, how many rooms are there on this floor, and how many maids and bodyguards manage the rooms?
At my words,
My innocent accomplice,
"Yes."
Nodded with a bright smile.
...Oh, you idiot.
I covered my forehead, looking at his face shining with untainted innocence.
"You really don't have to worry."
Seeing him speak in a clear voice made me feel like I was going crazy.
—Whoosh!
Then, flames flared from Dielo's fingertips.
He turned to me and said.
"Especially if they have this power and go to and from the fourth floor, you can trust them because they are all True Argenta."
"..."
Clear blue eyes were sparkling as he looked at me.
Can a person... be this innocent?
Where should I start?
Not everyone in the world is kind?
People can sometimes betray you?
"That's..."
I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence. Dielo, who had extinguished the fire, burst into laughter.
"You don't have to think about the possibility of the Argenta on the fourth floor betraying you, Krua."
He patted my shoulder as if to reassure me.
"True Argenta know that betrayal is a foolish thing to do."
Well... I looked up at the ceiling and then turned to him.
"...Dielo, everyone knows that betrayal is foolish. More precisely, they know that they'll be ruined if they fail to betray."
And they also know that if betrayal succeeds, it becomes justice.
Because not all people who betray do so thinking about ruin.
Dielo didn't waver at my calm words.
Instead, he just gave his usual smile.
"I understand your concern, Krua."
He said, looking into my eyes.
Looking into his blue eyes made me feel like I was going crazy again.
How can a person... be so... flawlessly clear and... innocent...?
He folded his pretty eyes and smiled.
"Once you get to know what kind of people the Argenta are, your worries will be greatly reduced."
He wrapped his arm around me as if to reassure me. Then, after hesitating for a moment, he gently hugged me.
Soft lips lightly touched my neck and then moved away. It wasn't as deep a contact as yesterday, but it was enough to be surprising.
"...Is it okay to practice?"
Dielo asked, slightly lifting his face from where it had been buried in my neck.
"Of course."
Of course! I tried to hide my flushed face without realizing it.
—Click.
Fortunately, the lights slowly went out as soon as I finished speaking. It was a light maintained by Argenta's Power.
"Good night."
His arm, whispering softly, laid me down on the soft bed.
And the room was completely filled with darkness.
* * *
The next morning, I was suddenly thinking about my future.
In the future, when the real Pero comes here and Argenta begins to strike Alloze in earnest, I will naturally become someone who cannot return to Alloze.
Strictly speaking, according to the promise with Dielo, I would have no choice but to be a pro-Argenta person.
Although I will give up the Argenta name and leave the mansion, I will live a life closely related to Argenta.
That is inevitable.
But.
"...You want me to do this?"
"Yes, the head of the family asked me to ask you."
Pielle handed over a contract with a bright smile.
This was why I was worried about my future from early in the morning.
