Chapter 36 - Your Family Owes A Debt

Chapter 36 – Your Family Owes A Debt

***

Why would Countess Cornohen request for a private meeting with me? I riffled through various reasons in my head, but there were too many answers to choose from.

As I looked at Countess Cornohen sitting across from me, I finally opened my mouth to speak.

“Does the tea suit your taste?”

The tea served was the one gifted by Xavier. Countess Cornohen answered my question with a rather wry smile.

“…Yes.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I answered. I took a sip of my own tea, then delved right into the topic. “So you have something to say to me…”

“…”

Countess Cornohen’s eyes gleamed, as if she didn’t expect me to be so straightforward. However, she didn’t waste any more time dilly-dallying either.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Please tell me,” I prompted with a soft smile, and Countess Cornohen spoke without hesitation. She must have really wanted to tell me this.

“I wanted to meet you because of Roth.”

“…”

I remained silent on the subject, and she continued to speak.

“Roth said she had an argument with you,” she said.

“I see.” I tried to keep my words to a minimum. I knew intuitively that it would benefit me.

“May I ask what happened?” she said.

“I suppose Dorothea didn’t tell you?”

“She just said that you suddenly became angry.”

“I didn’t ‘suddenly’ become angry, Countess,” I disputed. “If that is all you heard, you must think I have anger management issues.”

“Then I would like to hear your explanation firsthand.”

“Dorothea carelessly spoke about my private life at a tea party. I was taught it was rude to speak about someone else’s personal information without permission from the person concerned.”

“…Did Roth really do that?” she asked.

Goodness, this wasn’t a meeting where a teacher called in a parent to discuss a child’s bad behavior. I sighed inwardly and affirmed the facts once again.

“She did.”

“…”

After hearing my words, Countess Cornohen remained silent for a long time. Then, she spoke once again.

“What did she say about your personal life that made you angry?”

“Regardless of what it was, I was upset she spoke without permission. Wouldn’t you feel the same way, Countess?” I asked her.

“Even so, I’d like to ask what she spoke about that you wanted private,” she said insistently.

In the end, I decided to tell her. “…Before my accident, I went to Thurman Palace. His Highness the Crown Prince invited me there to give me something.”

In truth, I didn’t intend to say the details, but I couldn’t stop myself. It felt like the mother sitting in front of me wasn’t truly reflecting on her daughter’s error, and I had to make sure she wouldn’t say anything unfair later.

“As you know, the Crown Prince is a full-fledged adult, and so am I,” I further explained. “At a time when the selection of crown princess is a major topic, Dorothea made the situation difficult between me and the Crown Prince by saying useless things.”

The more I spoke about it, the more I remembered and the more my anger was rekindled.

“I don’t have to tell you how embarrassed I was. You’ve been in high society much longer than I have. There, just a small word can cause false rumors, is it not?”

“Hmmm…” Countess Cornohen’s expression turned thoughtful. However, the next words that left her mouth left me absolutely dumbstruck.

“But it’s not really my child’s fault, is it?” she said.

For a moment I thought I misheard her, and I blinked my eyes confusedly. “…What?” I blurted.

“It became clearer to me once I heard your story. My child is not the only one in the wrong, is she?”

“Countess, what are you—”

“To be honest, you were also acting misleadingly. Why did you behave in a way that could cause a misunderstanding? It was only natural that such rumors would arise if you went to the Imperial Palace, and just when the Crown Prince is considering marriage too,” she concluded.

“…So are you saying it’s my fault now?” I said, feeling indignant.

“You should have acted in a way so that this wouldn’t come out, but you didn’t. If you had anything to receive from the Crown Prince, you should have done so through a servant. Why did you go to Thurman Palace yourself?”

“Are you saying I should have refused His Highness’ invitation? You should know how difficult it is to refuse a command from the Crown Prince.”

“No. But you should have conducted yourself better. This is a sensitive time for everyone right now. After all, didn’t you dance with His Highness at the banquet?”

“…”

I could only stare at Countess Cornohen, who stubbornly refused to lay any blame on Dorothea for her faults. What could make her realize that her daughter was at least a little in the wrong?

It didn’t take me long to give up the effort, however, because I had a strong feeling that Countess Cornohen wouldn’t change her mind. If there were any hope of that, she wouldn’t have accused me of being in the wrong without a hint of apology in the first place.

“So you’re saying it’s my fault?”

“No…not necessarily. I just wonder if it’s something you should be upset about. Frankly, why would you be reluctant to say anything?” she asked.

“It’s rude to speak about one’s personal life without permission,” I reiterated. “That’s fair and obvious. Even if a couple has a wholesome and honorable partnership, you don’t talk about their sex life.”

“Wh-what?” Countess Cornohen stammered, blushing at the provocative example, but I didn’t care.

“It’s just an example. It’s not shameful for a couple to be with each other, is it? But you don’t say what’s going on in their bed.”

“Lady Bellafleur. That’s very offensive,” she chastised.

I tried to give her an example that would best make her understand me. I wanted her to feel the same way I felt back then and now.

“Indeed, Countess Cornohen,” I said with a casual smile.

“…”

“Your feelings now and the feelings I had then are not much different. Shall I go into more detail?”

“No thank you!” she sputtered in indignation, and stared at me as if to say ‘Who is this crazy bitch?’ I ignored her gaze and sipped my remaining tea as she composed herself. “I didn’t know you were such an imprudent person, Lady Maristella,” she said.

“I didn’t know either, Countess Cornohen. I didn’t know that your daughter was an imprudent person who talked about other people’s affairs without permission.”

“…”

“I’m glad I found out now.” After that, I set down the cup on the table and looked into the Countess’ eyes. She did not hesitate to shoot back an unpleasant glare. Mother and daughter were strikingly similar.

“So, why did you want to see me?” I asked again.

“…”

Strangely, the Countess’ eyes seemed to withdraw their sharpness. She unexpectedly remained silent for a long time. I started to become uneasy as the quiet lengthened, then I finally broke it.

“Countess?”

It was then that she seemed to snap out of her thoughts and she looked me straight in the eyes. Her expression didn’t look as harsh as before, but I still felt the weight of her gaze because of what happened earlier.

“…Are you never going to see my Roth again?” she asked.

“I tried to do that,” I said with a brief sigh. “But this is the situation now.”

“Then, Lady Maristella. Let me get straight to the point.” Countess Cornohen’s voice was sharper and colder than before, but with a note of earnestness behind it. “Please be friends with Roth again.”

“…You seem to have forgotten everything I said earlier,” I said tiredly. “I don’t want to be friends with your daughter. I was hurt last time.”

“Please, Lady Maristella. Do so.” It sounded more like a strong demand than a request.

I snorted inwardly, but I kept my polite expression on my face. “I’m sorry, Countess.”

“…Are you really going to do this?”

Can you ask your daughter, ‘Are you going to keep doing this?’, Countess?

“I’m sorry, Countess.” I felt like I was repeating myself like a parrot, and Countess Cornohen narrowed her eyes at me. To be honest, that was the facial expression I wanted to make at her, but it was a pity that I couldn’t.

“Then I will take my leave,” I said.

In fact, it was proper for her to get up first instead of me, but I didn’t want to keep sitting in this unpleasant atmosphere. But just as I was standing up, Countess Cornohen caught my arm.

“Young lady,” she said shortly, and I stared at her.

“Yes, Countess. Do you have anything else to say?”

“Sit down. I knew it would turn out like this, so I prepared something.”

My eyes flickered as I gave her a once-over, but she didn’t look particularly ‘prepared’ for anything. I was forced to sit down again, since it was rude to ignore her and leave the room. I looked at her with tired eyes.

“Tell me, Countess.”

“You already know this, but your family is in debt.”

“Huh?”

“Your family owes a debt to the Cornohen family. Why do you pretend that you do not know?”

“…”