Chapter 39

“Who’s calling me…?”

Just as she scratched her ticklish ear—

“Big sister!”

A familiar and welcome voice called out.

It was Melin, her soft hazelnut hair cutely braided into pigtails, smiling brightly.

As expected of the female lead—her beauty was only growing more radiant by the day.

“Melin, have you been doing well?”

“Yup!”

“Don’t get distracted or fall asleep in class.”

“Hehe. I’m a proper Lady Jacqueline now!”

Melin struck a proud pose with her hands on her hips.

Amused by her cuteness, I felt a bit playful.

“Then shall we take a look at your final exam results?”

“U-uh…?”

Her confident expression instantly vanished as she flinched in panic.

Judging by her reaction, she must have barely passed again this time.

“M-Melin, I-I lost my report card…”

She clasped her hands behind her back and rolled her eyes, looking so adorable I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“I’m just teasing.”

“Phew…”

Seeing her visibly sigh in relief, I noticed something odd.

“Melin, didn’t Mion go to you?”

“Ah, Mion’s with a friend of mine for a bit!”

“Oh? That’s nice of them.”

Since Melin could be a little clueless, I had worried about her friendships. It was a relief she had someone close.

“Hm… Normally, she doesn’t warm up to people, but I guess she liked my friend!”

Just as I was about to ask who the friend was, Melin spoke first.

“Sis, when are you going back home?”

“I’ll probably leave this evening.”

Her face briefly darkened at my reply.

“…I see.”

But she quickly flashed a bright smile like nothing had happened.

“Oh right! Congrats on becoming a Countess in advance!”

“Thanks.”

“We should totally have a celebration! I wish I could be there… it’s such a shame.”

“What party?”

I smirked and lightly pinched her cheek.

“You’re always looking for an excuse to have fun, huh?”

“Ow ow! Hehe…”

She grinned as if to say I wasn’t wrong.

‘She’s really just a big kid.’

Well, she is still only twelve.

“Take care of yourself, okay? And let me know if anything happens.”

“Okay! You too! If anything’s bothering you, make sure to tell me!”

She waved and smiled brightly.

Seeing her smile made it hard to turn and walk away.

It felt nice talking to Melin at the academy for the first time—but leaving her behind didn’t feel light-hearted at all.

Meanwhile…

“Waaah! Please let me take a leave of absence!!”

Count Bentley was deeply troubled by his youngest son, Louis, throwing a tantrum in front of him.

“I already told you, no!”

“Why not?!”

“Leave of absence?! That’s something for failing students! What are you lacking that you need time off?”

Louis had been the pride of the Bentley family—he was the only one who hadn’t failed at the academy.

And now, he was suddenly asking for a leave of absence?!

The Count already felt like he was going mad with everything else going on—Louis’s immature whining was the final straw.

“Damn it, Father…!”

Louis Bentley had no choice but to confess about the bet he made with Len.

Upon hearing the whole story, Count Bentley exploded.

“Why would you make such a bet, you fool?!”

“If I don’t take time off, I’ll just die of shame!”

“Why are you so intimidated by some commoner?!”

“T-That’s…!”

Louis couldn’t bring himself to say he was scared of Len. If he did, he might get slapped for being pathetic.

At this moment, he feared public humiliation more than his father’s wrath.

“He’s the top student in the Swordsmanship Department!”

“Hmph! Even if he is top-ranked, he’s still just a commoner! Throw a few coins at him and he’ll lick your boots! Apologize and forget about the leave!”

‘He’s not that kind of guy!!’

Louis screamed internally.

But Count Bentley was too consumed by other concerns to care about his son’s troubles.

‘Damn it… I should never have trusted that idiot!’

His resentment turned toward the man he had met three years ago.

“My lord, I heard you’re looking for ways to make money. I know how! Please, just spare me!”

Back then, the Navy—his biggest business client—had cut ties to work with Tara Transport. As a result, Bentley Transport was going bankrupt.

Desperate for money, he received a pleading letter from Arthur, who had been saddled with massive debt by Duke Dinero.

Arthur proposed a smuggling operation for Rozdella.

“Even a worm can crawl.”

Arthur was skilled in cultivating Rozdella, a rare and addictive herb in constant demand.

As the middleman, Count Bentley made a decent profit.

He even used part of that money for Arthur’s prison allowance after Arthur was arrested for drug crimes.

Arthur had boldly promised more help once he got out.

“I know how to get rid of that woman! Please let me return to the Jacqueline family!”

Count Bentley had been scheming against Duke Dinero anyway, so Arthur’s proposal was enticing.

“If I replace Clemence Jacqueline with Arthur….”

The Jacqueline family was working closely with Duke Dinero. If Bentley placed his own man there, he could sabotage Dinero in many ways.

“A chicken instead of a pheasant.”

He originally intended to manipulate Dinero’s heir selection by backing some hidden candidates. But when that failed to move the duke, he changed his plans.

And now it had all come crashing down.

“Oh, my brilliant Count Bentley! Did everything go smoothly?”

Speak of the devil.

Arthur greeted him at the mansion with a slimy grin.

Without hesitation, Count Bentley stormed up to him—

WHACK!

“Gahhh!!!”

A punch landed squarely on Arthur’s face.

“How dare you show your face to me!”

Sensing the situation had gone wrong, Arthur dropped to his knees and begged.

“P-Please! Just give me one more chance…!”

“Chance?! Damn it, get out of my sight!”

“H-Hiiik!”

As Count Bentley reached for a decorative sword on the wall, Arthur fled in panic.

Count Bentley recalled a conversation he’d had a month ago with Duke Penelope.

“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, absolutely! If this goes well, we can trap Duke Dinero too!”
“…Very well. Then go ahead.”

“If this had worked, I could’ve earned points with Duke Penelope…”

Now, figuring out how to clean up this mess was a headache. Things had escalated far too quickly in just a few days.

Duke Penelope would surely wash his hands of the matter and let Bentley take the fall.

“Wait… did she delay explaining everything on purpose?”

Clemence Jacqueline.

Could she… have planned all this?

If so, she was terrifying.

A moment later—

A woman arrived at the Bentley estate.

“I’ve come on behalf of my house.”

She was a messenger he’d never seen before.

But it wasn’t hard to guess who sent her. There was only one person who would send someone at a time like this.

“Duke Penelope!”

Count Bentley instinctively gulped and looked her over.

Wearing a sleeveless top, she had exposed, muscular arms. Despite her small build, her hands looked like they could knock out teeth with a single punch.