Episode 38: The Enemy Brought Their Natural Enemy
Great Madam is coming to visit again.
This time, at least there’s a proper warning.
I just have a bad feeling about this.
I highly doubt someone like Great Madam would change her way of thinking that easily.
She probably realizes that I have different ideas than her.
It feels like it’s going to be a battle of the titans where neither side backs down. My stomach is already hurting.
Apparently, everyone at the Karamanlis Estate felt the same way, as the housefolk I passed in the hallway kept muttering “Please, do your best” to me.
Why do I have to be the one to mediate?
If she doesn’t come at me, I’ll settle things peacefully.
Tell her, tell her that.
By the way.
What’s the purpose of this visit?
Even when I asked the Marquis, he just turned pale and said, “I don’t know.” Turning pale, really? Even though she’s his mother? …Well, I understand not liking your own mother. I don’t like mine either.
At the time Great Madam was expected to arrive, the Marquis and I stood side by side at the entrance to greet her.
The tense atmosphere filled the entrance once again.
The silence was deafening. Everyone held their breath and didn’t make a sound. What is this? Everyone’s acting like soldiers heading to their deaths.
…Not that I can talk.
The sound of a car engine could be heard.
–She’s here.
It’s been a while since my own tension made my heart pound so loudly.
The Marquis, standing next to me, had been gripping my hand tightly since earlier. It hurts. How scared is he? But, since he looked so anxious, I squeezed his hand back.
The moment the entrance door opened, we let go of each other’s hands.
And then, we greeted Great Madam, who appeared like Niō, with the sunlight behind her.
“So Tsanis is here too. How unusual.”
Is that the first thing she says? This isn’t your house anymore, so at least start with a greeting.
Just like before, Great Madam appeared with a straight back and a smileless, iron face. Her presence is as imposing as ever.
“Welcome, Mother.”
As the Marquis bowed his head, I bowed deeply along with him.
Great Madam didn’t even bother to acknowledge our gesture.
A faint smile appeared on the corner of her lips.
“I’ve brought a guest with me today.”
That’s right, you’re a guest too now–a guest? Huh? A guest??
I don’t even know what she’s here for, and now there’s a guest on top of that?
…Like father, like son, I guess. Why doesn’t he say anything? I’m not an esper.
“Now, come this way.”
Great Madam, who had already entered the entrance, called out to the person who must have been behind the door.
That person made slow, deliberate footsteps as they entered the entrance.
“Well, it’s been a while, Selene.”
My body froze at the sound of the person’s voice.
Ugh… Great Madam, of all people, brought the worst one!
Wearing the simple formal uniform of the National Army, with a well-worn, rugged saber hanging at his waist. A man with reddish-brown hair that seemed to burn red when held up to the light, and a dazzlingly white set of teeth–
“Levan… when did you come back here…”
I managed to force the words out of my mouth, trying desperately to maintain composure while bitterly calling out his name. My throat probably tightened up, and my voice didn’t come out properly.
“Selene, do you know him?”
The Marquis, standing next to me, looked at me with a puzzled expression.
That’s right, she–Great Madam–didn’t bring Levan to introduce him to the Marquis.
She brought him to introduce him to me.
“Oh, Tsanis, you don’t know him? I thought you would have heard about him from ‘this person’.”
Great Madam had a full smile on her face. Just now, Great Madam called me “this person.” She doesn’t even call me her daughter-in-law anymore. The denial of my existence is so casual. How annoying.
And, just because she can’t handle me herself, she brings this guy of all people? What a jerk!
“This person is–”
“Madam Karamanlis, it’s alright. I’ll introduce myself.”
When Great Madam gestured to introduce him, the person being introduced interrupted her.
This guy, with his unnecessarily dazzling white teeth, walked briskly through the entrance and stood in front of the Marquis.
Then, he placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head.
“My name is Levan Sophocles Mercuri. My title is Count.
Selene’s husband.”
“Ex-husband!!”
I knew he’d say that! I immediately denied it!!
However, as if he hadn’t heard my voice at all, Levan stared straight at the Marquis’s face.
And then, he extended his hand. Is he asking for a handshake in this situation? Is he crazy?
The Marquis didn’t take his hand.
His face, which had been pale until just now, was expressionless, as if he had put on an iron mask.
“Nice to meet you. I am the master of this house, Tsanis Theo Karamanlis.
This isn’t the place to talk, so please, come this way.”
With a face devoid of any emotion, he jerked his chin and instructed the housefolk to take the two of them to the lounge. The moment I tried to follow the two of them, who were being led by the housefolk–
My waist was suddenly grabbed. By the Marquis.
Surprised, I looked up at his face.
“Later, in detail,”
He whispered in my ear in a low voice filled with something like anger.
Ugh… this is going to be a pain in the ass.
I covered my forehead with my hand, my head already aching at the incredibly troublesome developments that awaited me.
“To be clear. Levan is my ex-husband.”
After entering the lounge and being served tea by the housefolk.
Before anyone could open their mouth and start saying whatever they wanted, I launched a preemptive strike.
After all, the people here will definitely only say things that are convenient for them.
They’ll tell blatant lies with some truth mixed in, making the other person think it’s all true. They’ll also speak with certainty about predictions and hypotheses, causing misunderstandings.
All nobles are like that.
Oh, crap. That includes me too.
…I won’t deny it. If necessary, I’ll do it too.
Great Madam, sitting leisurely on the sofa, enjoyed her tea with an oblivious expression, as if she hadn’t heard my words.
Similarly, Levan, with a constant smile of composure on his face, looked not at me but at the Marquis without saying anything.
In contrast, the Marquis sat shallowly on the sofa, leaning forward slightly.
…Huh, did I say something?
Can you hear me?
Do I exist here?
Why isn’t anyone looking at me?
“There seems to have been a slight mistake. I came here today to tell you about it.”
Levan is a Count, so his status is lower than the Marquis’s.
However, he exuded composure from his body, with his naturally large build and imposing presence.
“There’s no mistake. We certainly divorced.”
I denied Levan’s words, but again, no one said anything.
Huh? Have I become invisible??
“Is that so, Tsanis? Because you didn’t have a proper wedding ceremony, no one noticed the mistake. It’s your fault.”
Completely ignoring my statement, Great Madam continued Levan’s line.
She put her cup on the table and chuckled softly.
As if a child had done a cute prank, and she was scolding them. She wasn’t angry. In fact, she seemed to be having a lot of fun.
“No, it was a formal wedding ceremony. The documents were submitted and accepted.”
I tried to deny it again, but still, no one reacted.
Why?
The Marquis, who had been pursing his lips until now, exhaled slightly and opened his mouth.
“Mother. We have confirmed it properly. Selene is divorced, and the marriage registration was properly accepted.”
“Really? Did you check properly?”
“Yes.”
Great Madam responded to the Marquis’s words.
…Great Madam, she’s planning to completely ignore me this time. She realized she couldn’t make me kneel in a fight.
So, she’s planning to undermine me. How infuriating.
“No, in the first place, that procedure was a mistake.”
Levan, teaming up with Great Madam, possessed an unfounded confidence that I don’t know where he got from, and made an exaggeratedly troubled face, as if he were on stage.
I really hate this theatrical side of him.
“There’s no mistake. You’re the one who filed for divorce, and my family just accepted it. How is that a ‘mistake’?”
I’m not going to bother speaking politely anymore since no one’s listening to me.
I somehow endured, gripping the skirt on my lap to keep myself from grabbing Levan. And I forced out the words of denial, but
“Someone in my family filed for divorce without my permission. I had no intention of doing so…”
Levan seems to hear me, as he indirectly acknowledges my words.
The instant I heard those words, the blood rushed to my head.
“Huh?! You! Directly! Handed! Me! The divorce papers, didn’t you!!!”
I was so infuriated by this man (Levan) who spoke as if what he said was the truth, completely different from what actually happened to me, that I couldn’t help but raise my voice.