Chapter 14 - 14

Whoosh. The rain was pouring heavily.

I stood facing Askin, getting rained on without any roof to shelter me.

His blue eyes were filled not with sympathy, but with anger.

"Brother!"

I felt things had gone very wrong, but seeing Aria, I thought there was still a chance.

'Living in this body is truly a perfect course for an early death.'

See this. Even in a situation where any normal person would listen to the reason, one wrong move and I'm facing death.

Of course, even now, I feel like telling him that I'm not Charlize, that he's taking his anger out on the wrong person, and cursing at him.

But calm down, Ji-hoo. My ten billion won asset is waiting for me, calling me 'Master'...!

Just as I was about to calmly explain.

"What is the meaning of this situation?"

An angry voice pierced through the rain.

Turning my head, I saw a very bright light. I frowned at the brightness.

Soon, the sound of footsteps running reached my ears, and someone politely extended their hand.

I took the hand, and my body lifted into the air.

Only then did I realize the person who lifted me was a knight wearing an Altsbeit knight's uniform.

Standing in the light, surprisingly, was my maternal grandfather, the Duke of Altsbeit.

"What have you done to my beloved granddaughter now, Duke of Lemut!"

Grandfather looked at my appearance, messed up by rain and mud, and his shoulders shook.

Uh, uh-oh? Wait, wait, Grandfather? Calm down first. First...

"What have you done? Answer me immediately!"

Honestly, seeing my grandfather trembling with rage, saying 'How dare you', was quite touching, even though he's a stranger. But this isn't the time for sentiment.

"Aren't you the fiance of my precious granddaughter? As a lowly fiance, you may not do your best for my granddaughter, but how dare you let her roll around in the dirt like this?"

"...Have you forgotten that I sent you a letter of engagement break? Or shall I send you another one personally?"

"Ha, insolent. I helped you when you were struggling, and now that you've become somewhat stable, this is how you act? Do you think you can break off the engagement just because you want to? Do you think I'll let you go, treating my granddaughter like this?"

Oh, wait, wait. Grandfather. Stop the sudden acceleration. Stop!

Sensing danger signals in my head, I hurriedly tried to get up.

For some reason, my body was trembling, not listening to me.

"Did you say break the engagement? Then try it. Repay all my money immediately, plus interest and the penalty: 10 billion gold. And for this incident, quadruple the interest for this month. If not, we'll proceed according to the contract!"

"..."

"If all this is too difficult, then instead of breaking it off, get married and have the Lemut family join the Altsbeit family."

Amidst the pouring rain, I heard an astronomical amount.

Grandfather's angry voice even silenced Aria, who had been pulling on Askin's arm.

I groaned and got up.

"Put me down. Now."

I told the knight to put me down. He hesitated, but when my gaze turned cold, he quickly let me go.

"...Your family, which sees people only as money, truly sickens me."

"How amusing. It was you, Duke of Lemut, who borrowed money from that family. This is the price for not cherishing my granddaughter."

"Grandfather."

I stepped in front of my grandfather. The rain was still pouring, and I, without an umbrella, got drenched. Grandfather, surprised, covered me with his umbrella.

"Please listen to me first."

"Heh. Aga, Char, are you okay? How dare that bastard push you..."

"No. He didn't push me."

I wrung the water out of my hair, which was dripping wet, and answered lightly.

"I fell on my own. Grandfather misunderstood."

For a brief moment, surprise crossed Grandfather's face.

Soon, he looked like he didn't believe it.

Anyway, this grandfather seemed cold when he told me about the broken engagement, but seeing him now, although his methods are a bit mean, he seems to care for Charlize.

"..."

Askin looked at me with an unreadable expression.

He might be curious why I'm defending him, when he's the one trying to break up.

It's all because I need to score points with you.

It might have been better if I had the option to seduce another man.

But for me, the only option is to get along with you.

"And I have no intention of breaking up with the Duke. So, Grandfather... don't talk nonsense to my fiance."

"...Heh."

Grandfather's mustache twitched.

I saw very well, even so, your appearance earlier, demanding 10 billion gold because mud got on your granddaughter.

"You're being immature."

Grandfather clicked his tongue and turned around. I knew this was a kind of end to the situation.

I glanced back subtly.

Aria parted her lips as if to say something just as our eyes met.

"Countess!"

Susan approached and covered me with an umbrella. I handed it back to her so she could use it herself, then used an umbrella a knight offered and followed my grandfather.

'Hey there, pretty young lady. Please, talk nicely about me to your brother...'

Anyway, the vibe with Aria wasn't bad, so maybe I can hope for good news?

Even if I don't expect him to not break the engagement, I hope he'll see me a little differently.

'At least so we can talk.'

I shivered slightly.

I thought I felt a gaze behind me, but I didn't look back and just kept walking.

* * *

"Achoo-!"

What I could have expected, happened. I caught a cold right after returning.

Not just any cold, but a severe body ache.

But that's the beauty of money.

A healing mage came at my grandfather's orders, and even a priest came to boost my recovery. So what body ache? It just turned into a sneezy, itchy-nose cold.

'Money really is good...'

Moreover, the mage who came to treat me this time is a skilled person, second to none in the capital, said to heal severed limbs.

It's also amazing that such a person was called just for a body ache cold.

"Hmm? It's unusual for the Countess to be the patient. Isn't it usually for cleaning up after something she did?"

Actually, that was the sentiment I felt from the mage's added words, tilting his head.

Indeed. It seemed this mage had often been called to clean up after Charlize.

The rain that day was so heavy I thought a hole might have been punched in the sky.

Sure enough, I heard that it rained incredibly heavily throughout the Lemut territory.

After I left, the rain continued, causing flooding and severe water damage throughout the territory.

'...I wonder if Aria is okay?'

Seeing her briefly in the carriage made me worry.

That afternoon, I felt a bit better.

And as soon as I felt better, my grandfather immediately summoned me.

'Summoning me right away, as if he knew the moment I recovered. This means there's definitely someone reporting my every move nearby, right?'

I thought this, but hid it well and faced my grandfather.

"Have you come?"

My grandfather had a stubborn expression, as if my taking his side at the Lemut territory had never happened.

Hmm, but I already saw your affectionate side.

I smiled brightly. Then my grandfather's mustache twitched.

As I smiled more brightly, his expression crumpled.

"Grandfather."

"You're using tricks so I won't scold you."

"Thank you."

"..."

"My cold is almost gone, thanks to you."

"...I can't let my granddaughter suffer from a mere body ache."

My grandfather briefly dropped his majesty, then cleared his throat.

Then he put on a stern expression, which was now useless.

"Let's talk about that day."

"What do you mean, that day?"

I pretended not to know, but it was useless.

"Why on earth did you pull the hair of the Duke of Lemut's sister?"

"...Pardon?"

Gasp, I knew pretending not to know was useless, but I never thought this would come up!

My face fell.

'No, more importantly, how do you know I touched Aria's hair?'

"Were you watching me?"

"Watching? Huh, that young lady's state was clearly that of someone who had her hair pulled."

"..."

Suddenly, I feel really sorry for Aria. I hope her hair was fixed after that day?

...I should send her a good comb as a gift next time.

"Who else could have pulled her hair if not you? You've always found that young lady annoying."

Thankfully, he wasn't having me watched. I almost suspected Susan for no reason.

Instead, it seems I'm deeply misunderstood.

"Hmm, you're right. Come to think of it, I was quite interested in her. I don't have any sisters."

I smiled casually.

"So, maybe my interest was expressed in a bad way..."

My grandfather slightly frowned, as if he couldn't understand.

"Do you want a toy? But that one could die any time, no? If you need something pretty, I'll get you one."