The Villainous Family is Against Independence

Chapter 72. I'll Take Care Of It

I was aware that the Duchess was wealthy, but I couldn’t follow her mindset of scrimping and saving despite having such enormous wealth.

Jansi, who was sitting next to me, leaned in and affectionately said, “If there’s something you want, just tell me. I’ll buy it for you, Lili.”

“No, it’s alright,” I replied, cutting off Jansi’s kindness with a smile.

“You don’t have to worry about the burden, Lily.”

“Haha.”

In response to my polite refusal, Jansi smiled gracefully and resumed eating. I tried to eat as well, but the food didn’t go down easily.

Thoughts of the love triangle between my birth parents and the duke kept coming back to my mind.

To make matters worse, I was sitting right across from the duchess, which made me feel even more uncomfortable.

“Are you thinking about Sylvester?”

“I only have you, Richard.”

“But didn’t he desperately cling to you?”

‘The Duke of Perdia wooed my mom, but she chose my biological dad……. But he never got over it until now, so he didn’t let me talk about my mom. He must be a very romantic man, but what about the Duchess?!’

I was chopping up my food, lost in thought.

“……die.”

“…….”

“Elodie.”

Startled by the duke’s voice calling me, I replied in surprise, “Oh, yes!”

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Oh, no, it’s just…”

Unbeknownst to me, it seemed that I had been staring at the duke. 

In a casual manner, he spoke to me in a nonchalant tone. “If there’s something you want, just say it. What do you desire?”

It seemed that he misunderstood my gaze as one filled with desire for something.

That wasn’t the case, but since I happened to have a favor to ask, I quickly nodded my head.

“I do have a request.”

“Speak up.”

“Can I stay out overnight?”

It was a lighthearted question, but for some reason, the atmosphere in the dining room quickly turned heavy.

Both the duchess and Jansi stopped eating and looked at the two of us.

‘Why is the atmosphere like this?’

The Duke of Perdia narrowed his eyes and slowly opened his mouth.

“…Stay out overnight…?”

His reaction was one of disbelief.

Feeling anxious that I might not receive permission, I quickly added an explanation.

“I just want to hang out at a friend’s house for a couple of days.”

“A friend?”

The puzzled question came from Jansi’s direction.

The meaning of the question was clear.

You? With a friend? Something like that.

I was famous enough in society that everyone knew there was no lady close to me.

‘But still, maybe I secretly have one friend hidden away!’

…… Enough. I’m becoming pathetic.

Anyway, Jansi’s suspicions were valid, and I needed to explain.

“Actually, I made a new friend recently.”

“Which noble family’s daughter is she?”

It seemed that the Duchess naturally assumed that my friend was a lady from a noble family.

“She’s not a noble; she is a mercenary by the name of Urania, a member of the earth hawk Mercenaries.”

“A mercenary…….” The Duke of Perdia murmured as he narrowed his brow in disapproval.

“She’s a good friend.”

Urania was indeed a good friend. Good enough to say yes to my request to pretend to be a friend.

“Elodie, since you speak so highly of her, I’d like to meet her sometime.”

Fortunately, the duchess’s assessment was not bad. The problem was the Duke of Perdia.

“You can’t stay out overnight, Elodie. It would be better to invite that mercenary to the estate instead.”

I stiffened at the bluntness of his words. There was nothing I could say if he refused while offering an alternative.

But I couldn’t just give up like this.

“I already made plans to hang out, you see. I’ll only go this time.”

“Hmm.”

“Urania is also a mercenary, so you don’t have to worry about an escort…….”

My voice trailed off as I glanced at the Duke of Perdia, whose expression remained unchanged.

‘What if I just sneak out without permission?’

Just as I was about to go to the extreme, someone spoke up.

“Do you have a reason to oppose her spending time with a friend?”

It was the duchess.

I was surprised, as I hadn’t expected her to stand up for me.

“It’s her first time asking to hang out with a friend. How about granting her request?”

“We still haven’t found who was behind the last ambush.”

“We can tell the mercenaries and have them hire more mercenaries and post them near the house.”

“…….”

The gazes of the duke and duchess clashed intensely. In the midst of the tense atmosphere, as they seemed to be reading each other’s minds, the duke asked me, “What was the mercenary’s name?”

“Urania!”

“I see.”

Permission was granted.

If I were alone, I would have never received permission for the overnight stay, so I was grateful to the duchess.

As a gesture of thanks, I glanced at her, and she smiled before returning her focus to the meal.

I looked at her in admiration.

‘Your composure is so cool…….’

***

When the family meal was over, I started to quicken my pace, intent on getting back to my room and packing my suitcase.

“Lili.”

The owner of the unfairly long legs, who, in just a few steps, had walked down the long corridor I had worked so hard to traverse, came and stood in front of me.

“What?”

I looked up at Jansi as if urging him to speak if he had something to say. As always, Jansi responded with a gentle smile.

“Just. I feel like we haven’t talked much lately.”

“We talked during dinner today, didn’t we?”

“Not just during the family meal, but personal conversations. I can always make time for my beloved younger sister, so don’t feel pressured.”

“Ah, yes.”

I nodded indifferently. Jansi’s harmonious family stories had become so tiresome to listen to.

‘He’s smiling so affectionately, but what is he really thinking?’

I was curious about Jansi’s true thoughts, but at the same time, I didn’t want to know.

“We’ll talk later, then.”

I brushed past Jansi, mumbling something like “Let’s grab a meal when we have time.”

“Felix Hicklemeyer, I heard you had met.”

His words stopped me in my tracks. I quickly turned my head and our eyes met.

“Don’t worry, Lili. I have no intention of telling Father.”

I felt irritated by Jansi’s hypocritical words, pretending to be considerate of me.

‘What are you saying after investigating me? Seriously.’

If he was going to continue prying into my affairs, I wished he would at least keep it a secret from the subject of his spying, which was me.

Under normal circumstances, I would have laughed it off and moved on, but this kind of thing had happened more than once, and it seemed like I couldn’t hide my emotions this time.

“Lili?”

“No, it’s nothing. Yes, I met him. But why?”

Trying to quickly regain composure and mask my expression, I asked, wary of Jansi’s tone.

“I heard you met him, so I looked into it personally, and it turns out he has a complicated relationship with a woman.”

“Ah…….”

“He was famous abroad, but that’s not yet known in Wallentian.”

“Oh.”

I unintentionally found out about my cousin’s complicated relationship with a woman.

Wow, that was the last thing I needed to know.

I don’t know how my disgusted expression was interpreted, but Jansi’s face briefly hardened.

“That’s why it’s better not to get too close.”

“Mmm.”

“Lili, I know how you feel about that guy.”

It seemed like Jansi assumed I had some kind of relationship with Felix. I was about to immediately deny it, but I stopped myself. What did it matter what Jansi thought?

“I appreciate your concern, Brother,” I met Jansi’s gaze as I spoke. “But I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Lili. I–”

Jansi called my name with concern, but I scoffed.

It was actually amusing.

In the past, when Jansi was only pretending to be affectionate towards me, he had no genuine interest.

If he had even a shred of sympathy, he would have approached me when I stood alone in the vast banquet hall.

What did it matter what Jansi thought?

“Thank you for your concern, Brother,” I repeated, making firm eye contact with Jansi. “But I’ll take care of it.”

So, regardless of whom I meet or what I do, Jansi has no right to interfere. As always, the responsibility was mine, and I bore the judgment for it.

“…….”

“Like always,” I added pointedly.

***

The next day, I was getting ready to leave for the Hebote estate.

Martha, who thought I was going to a new friend’s house, was helping me to get ready.

I felt a pang of guilt as she added the finishing touches to my hair, which would be ruined by riding.

“Miss, when did you make friends with someone without my knowledge?”

“Why? Martha, are you jealous?”

“Of course, I am. I’m feeling terrible now.”

Martha, ever the outspoken one, confessed her jealousy. I giggled and looked at her in the mirror.

“I’ll introduce you later. You will like her.”

With Martha’s outgoing personality and Urania’s lack of restraint, they might surprisingly get along well.

“Hmph, but you can’t get closer to her than me.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Pouting her lips, Martha looked out the window as if she had remembered something.

There was Greed frolicking in the garden.

“Well then, I’ll take good care of Black while you’re gone.”

“It’s okay. I’m bringing Black with me too.”

“Tsk. I was hoping to get closer this time.”

Martha curled her lip at the sight of Greed outside the window. She could see him pacing around, his body shaking as he chased a dragonfly.

Martha put down the comb and took a step back.

“Alright, all done! Have fun, Miss.”

“Thanks, Martha. I’ll be back soon.”

The excuse of going to a friend’s house had left me dressed in a way that wasn’t appropriate for traveling.

‘I’m glad I packed my own luggage.’

I had prepared comfortable clothes to wear outside.

When I left the mansion, I found Raeyan already waiting for me.

“Shall we depart right away?”

“No, I have somewhere to go first.”

We actually stopped at Urania’s house, just in case the Duke of Perdia was investigating our whereabouts.

Urania’s house, located in the district where commoners mainly reside, was modest and comfortable.

“Urania, thank you for helping us.”

“Oh, don’t mention it! It’s a request from lovely Lili, of course I’ll help!”

“Let’s go eat something delicious afterwards. I’m about to get rich.”

“Wow, sounds great! I’ll brag about it to Stephen and Milo.”

Wearing comfortable clothes, I bid farewell to Urania and slipped out through the back door.

There were two horses that Raeyan had prepared in advance.

[What. We’re going on horseback? No carriage?]

Greed, who popped out of the sealing stone, grumbled in discontent. 

I looked at Greed and asked, “Oh? Our little Greed is going to run there on its own feet? Wow, it’ll be an intense cardio workout, right?”

[……mistake.]

Greed’s reflection was quick. I playfully shook my head while looking mischievously at Greed, and suddenly glanced back at Raeyan.

For some reason, he was staring at the horse with a serious face.

“What’s wrong?”

“…I didn’t think about that. I’ll prepare the carriage right away.”

“Forget about the carriage. It’s fine.”

Passing by Raeyan, I effortlessly mounted the horse.

In that moment, Raeyan’s expressionless eyes widened slightly in surprise. Apparently, he didn’t expect me to be good on horseback.

Well, I do have some experience in horse riding.

“Why? Does Raeyan need a carriage? Or should I give you a ride?”

As I was teasing Raeyan playfully and looking down at him, he responded seriously.

“I don’t need a carriage, but riding together wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

What, what are you talking about?