CH prologue 4

Sitting in front of me was a man with divine handsomeness.

His overwhelming aura silenced my father and stepmother, who were sitting next to me, and my half-sister, who was sitting on the sofa beside me.

However, my half-sister was not only silent, she was also looking at the man with an enraptured expression.

While checking the man out of the corner of my eye, I, who was sandwiched between my family, observed him without looking too closely as he sat in front of us.

Then, perhaps noticing my gaze, he drew the cup away from his mouth, which he’d been slowly sipping tea, and returned it to the saucer without making a single sound.

He was indeed elegant.

As expected of Claude Lindbeld, the current head of one of the only three duchies in the country.

Needless to say, even I, who was unfamiliar with social circles in the kingdom, recognized this super big-shot.

It was really hard to believe that someone I’ve never seen up close or even from a distance was now in such close proximity.　

“What a nice tea.”

Of course.

It was the most expensive tea leaves in our house.

By the way, I believe I’m probably the only one who has been educated to understand the taste of tea leaves.

But I also understood that it was a social nicety.

Even if the tea leaves were the finest in my family, they were not for this man.

“Yea-yeah! This is how we must entertain the Duke of Lindbeld. Hahaha, a girl in our family is well-versed about tea. She said that this is a really rare item and very hard to find.”

My stepmother glanced at my half-sister.

She was desperately trying to show that her daughter was an elegant, aristocratic, and talented woman, who understood tea.

The man probably saw through everything effortlessly and ignored everything my stepmother said. Of course, he also ignored my half-sister.

I, on the other hand, felt totally embarrassed.

I’d like to tell my stepmother; her claim that it was her finest show of hospitality…

Was like digging her own grave.

Frankly, my stepmother was telling him that she didn’t know anything about tea or the value of tea leaves.

“That’s a surprise…This is loblolly needle tea, isn’t it? Even I don’t get to taste it very often. Thank you for such a rare and valuable item.”

“Ahaha, that’s nothing to our family.”

I envy her at times like this, when she’s so insensitive and ignorant to something.

Various thoughts passed through my mind while sweat trickled down my back.

Speaking of which, the loblolly needle tea that His Grace mentioned is one of the high-grade teas that are readily available.

I’m sure it’s cheap for the Duke of Lindbeld, but I’m impressed that he recognized the taste.

However, it isn’t because of the tea that my back is sweating.

It’s because of what my stepmother said.

“Yes, it would be difficult for a Duke’s family ・・・・・ to serve this kind of tea. As expected of the historic Count’s family ・・・・・I’m impressed.”

My father froze in place.

He seemed to have registered what his mistress, a commoner, implied to one of the most powerful Dukes in the country before him.

Yeah, I’ve also been trying to say that dukes don’t keep such cheap goods, but has anyone else got the message?

It doesn’t look like it.

“M-My apologies! She didn’t mean to undermine you…”

“Yes, I know. Your wife is a commoner and a former prostitute. It’s no wonder that her education is not up to par. Of course, it’s not the Count’s fault that the child she gave birth to isn’t polite either, since that’s probably a problem with her mother’s bloodline.”

His artlessly frank insults made their faces flush red.

But at least, they were not stupid enough as to explode at that point. Instead, they looked daggers at me for some reason.

I didn’t do anything, so their glares at me was a mystery.

The Duke of Lindbeld, who is refreshingly goading them into making a fool of themselves, definitely likes none of them.

His lips are arched, but his eyes are unsmiling.

He’s too scary.

He’s been like this since he arrived at the Count’s mansion, and I don’t know why they’re trying to fawn on him.

Nevertheless, I really admire their inability to read the atmosphere.

“Now then, Count Verdigo, my visit here today is in fact to ask you for a favor. I’m sure you’ve received my previous message, so you should know my purpose here…”

“A-About that, I’m surprised and puzzled as to why…”

Truth to tell, I’m surprised and confused too.

First off, as I have said many times before, I have never met the Duke of Lindbeld.

I can assure you that we never even crossed paths.

And yet, he suddenly sent a notice and an offer.

When the message arrived, my stepmother and half-sister were beyond astonished.

For the first time ever, they asked me why it was me, or told me that my name was mistaken.

I, too, thought the same.

Reality remained that there was no mistake, however.

“I don’t understand your confusion. The Count of Verdigo is a family that has been protecting the territory since before the founding of the country. It is an ancient lineage that traces back to the imperial family. Is it so strange if you were to be related to my family?”

He mentioned it so sleekly.

――Yes, this Duke of Lindbeld has come to ask for my hand in marriage.

It was a maneuver that was truly shrouded in mystery.