Chapter 37
The wind blowing outside was so cold it stung my skin, and perhaps because the window was open, my breath came out white. I pulled the large fur shawl, big enough to wrap around my whole body, up to my mouth.
"Close the window, it's cold."
Sitting in front of the fireplace and gazing dreamily at the necklace she received as a gift, Mother complained. She seemed quite relaxed, but wasn't she supposed to be welcoming Count Rotish?
"It looks like Father has returned."
"I was wondering why the window was open in this cold—were you waiting for him? Come to think of it, is Celestia with him?"
The only one who got out of the carriage was the Count.
He said he would bring her back, but did he fail...?
"Useless..."
Muttering while biting her neatly manicured nails, the door to the room was knocked on, and the maid I'd recently grown close to opened it rudely.
For a maid of the Count family, her work was sloppy. She spoke ill of her coworkers without hesitation and only cared about flattering me and Mother—a pitiful girl.
But that made her just right. The dumber the girl, the more useful she was.
"......Lady Mirabel, Madam. Lord Bram—"
"Bram, that's Father's butler, right?"
"Yes. He said to come to the master's study."
"What does that mean? ...Let her in."
"Um, no, he just said that and left."
"What!?"
Calling us in right after returning must mean something happened.
Whether that something was good or bad, it didn't matter—if we were summoned, we had to go.
"Mother, Father must be tired as well, so let's go to him right away, shall we?"
"......Yes. Mirabel, you really are such a good girl."
I tossed the fur stole onto the chair and pulled out a plain, thin shawl from the closet.
Mother and the maid tilted their heads in confusion, but this was fine.
Anything custom-made would be obvious at a glance. Even if the Count didn't care about women's belongings, if I wore something even Celestia didn't have, he might think something of it.
Until I entered the Count's doting route, I had to be careful.
Yes, I thought I had been acting cautiously, so how did things end up like this?
"Sit down."
When I visited the study with Mother, the Count, accompanied by the butler, stared coldly at us and told us to sit without even giving us time to greet him.
Not knowing what to do, I obediently sat on the sofa across from him and kept my mouth shut.
He didn't seem to be in a bad mood, but I had never seen the Count like this before, so I couldn't help but feel confused.
"Sorry for calling you in so suddenly."
"No, it's fine... Um, where is Celestia?"
I only answered in place of Mother, who was shrinking under the tense atmosphere, yet for some reason, the Count frowned.
Normally, he would greet us with a much softer smile... Something was definitely off.
"Celes remained in Taurus and will be entering the military school."
"......A noble daughter, going to military school? Why didn't you stop her, Father!?"
"It was her own wish."
"But what will people say in high society..."
Perhaps too shocked, Mother placed a hand to her forehead and sank into the sofa, unaware of the Count's increasingly cold gaze.
"Whatever rumors there may be about Celes, they have nothing to do with Soleia."
"......Nothing to do with us?"
"I hadn't told Mirabel yet, had I?"
Suddenly being addressed, I didn't even have time to compose my expression before my smile stiffened.
Clutching the shawl tightly, I glanced up at the Count and racked my brain, but I had no idea what was going on.
"......What do you mean?"
"Soleia and I are in a contractual marriage. Once Mirabel is married off, we will dissolve the marriage."
I knew that because Mother had told me.
I had pretended not to know because it was more convenient that way.
Telling me it was a contractual marriage was like drawing a clear line that we weren't a real family.
I didn't think he was the kind of person who would say something so cruel to a child who had lost her father, but it seemed I had been naive.
"Do you... hate me, Father?"
I made my voice tremble and let tears well up in my eyes.
Playing the pitiful child was easy. Just that alone could earn sympathy and help me cover up anything inconvenient.
That's why I had thought the Count, who had cried at the funeral saying he was my father's best friend, would immediately reach out his hand to me...
"I only stated the facts. My wife will always be Lumière and no one else."
"I... I always thought of you as my real father..."
"The only daughter I have is Celestia. Don't forget that."
He cut me off and declared it one-sidedly, leaving me wide-eyed in shock.
"Soleia."
"......Yes."
"The other day, a gift arrived addressed to the lady of the domain, didn't it?"
Mother's hand, which had been resting on my shoulder, trembled, and the necklace at my neck swayed.
"It seems the sender misunderstood. We'll return it along with a letter explaining the details, so give it to Bram later."
"Understood..."
"And Mirabel."
Still more...? I braced myself and turned my gaze back to the Count with a bright smile.
"You don't need to accompany Celestia and Floyd anymore."
Am I smiling properly?
Even though I wasn't having any fun and everything was irritating, a cute heroine has to smile even at times like this.
Besides, I had heard from Mother that it was the Count's idea for me to accompany those two...
Capturing Floyd was incredibly easy.
It started with running into Floyd by chance when he visited the mansion and greeting him.
Repeating that over and over would raise his favorability, and eventually he would start talking to me.
In the game, it was just a matter of choosing the garden or terrace as the location, but in reality, it wasn't that simple. I had to deal with Celestia and Floyd's guards and maids to even get there.
Pretending to bump into them by coincidence was difficult, and if I forced my way in, my reputation would suffer.
So when I was told to accompany them, it was a stroke of luck for someone like me who was wondering how to approach them.
Every time, I pretended to talk to the two of them, but in reality, I would bring up topics that made it hard for Celestia to join the conversation. Maybe because she was a noble daughter with a lot of pride, she would just frown and never force her way into the discussion.
Whenever Floyd brought something up, I would always ask, "Sister, are you bored?"
Just that one line would create an awkward atmosphere, and if I acted scared when Celestia occasionally glared at me, it was perfect. Their relationship kept getting worse and worse.
I was only staying with them because the Count asked me to. I provided conversation topics for the awkward pair and, being still young, didn't know how to gauge the distance with my sister's fiancé.
That's the role I had played all this time... and now I'm no longer needed?
Just a little while ago, they were even thanking me—can things really change this much in just a few months?
Maybe Celestia said something to the Count.
"......Why?"
"In a few years, the two of them will become adults. They need time to talk things through before then. And Mirabel, you can't stay with Celes forever."
"I don't mind. I want to stay by Sister's side until she gets married."
"No. You're not a little child anymore. It's time to start separating."
"......I see."
When I quietly replied with my head down, Mother, thinking I was sad, blamed the Count with a "Darling..."
But I wasn't sad, nor was I angry. I had expected this to happen.
If I were in Celestia's shoes, I'd want to get rid of a stepsister who predicted her terrifying future and mocked it.
There are many ways to get rid of someone, but telling your father first is the standard move.
Yes, it was Celestia, who had stayed silent for years, who was strange.
"Mirabel."
Called out in a cold voice, I raised my face slowly, making sure not to seem too deliberate, and let my shoulders tremble.
"Did you know that Celestia was going to enter military school?"
A question that made no sense at all.
The only one who understood the intent behind that question was me.
"No, I didn't know."
"I see."
I was certain from the brief look of relief on the Count's face.
So he really did hear about the prophecy from Celestia...
But he must still be half in doubt.
After all, in this world without magic or supernatural powers, prophecies simply don't exist.
"Celes is scheduled to return once for next year's music festival. Other social events will not be forced until she comes of age."
Hearing the words music festival made my heart flutter.
I might be able to clear the event with the Crown Prince that I was about to give up on...!
"I see."
There still seemed to be room to recover in the Count's doting route, but it wasn't something I needed to cling to.
I was a little worried about Floyd's favorability, but raising it too much would be bad, so maybe I shouldn't interact with him until I enter the Academy.
Since I'll be able to attend the music festival before entering the Academy, isn't everything going my way?
"Well then, I look forward to seeing you at the music festival, dear sister."
Poor Celestia.
No matter what she does, it's all for nothing.
"......Are you looking out the window again?"
Finally free from the Count, I relaxed in my room and leaned my elbow on the window frame.
Maybe because I was staring out the window, my mother, who had just put away her favorite necklace in a box, came and stood beside me.
"What are you looking at... Oh, isn't that Bram over there? I wonder what he's doing..."
Bram was chatting with a maid under the cold sky.
Judging by the maid's outfit, she was probably about to run an errand.
"......Is it interesting?"
"Who knows? Maybe it's about to get interesting."
"About to...?"
I smirked as I saw Bram pull something from his chest and hand it to the maid.
It was probably a letter.
"......Ahhh, Floyd is dangerous around this time of year."
If the Count, who just returned to the territory, wanted to send a letter, it would be either early the next morning or, if urgent, delivered by horse using a retainer.
The maid with Bram was assigned to Celestia, and given the time, the only possible recipient was Floyd.
Was it an apology for the engagement anniversary? Or maybe he was tattling about my prophecy like he did with the Count?
I could guess the contents without even reading it.
"Did you say something?"
"Nope, nothing. Oh, right! I need to order a dress for next year's music festival!"
"My, you're already ordering a dress?"
"Well, I might not find a design I like."
The pure white dress the heroine wore... I had to match the color, the shape, even the hairstyle.
On the day of the music festival, all I have to do is stand by the lake.
Just that alone... and I'll have both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.
"......Sigh. I really can't wait."