Moreover, the content was quite substantial.
The handwriting is remarkably similar to Count Sehera’s. Is it because she’s his daughter?
Just then, Count Florette’s aide, who had entered, glanced at the book he was reading and exclaimed in admiration. “Oh? That’s the bestseller I saw at the bookstore recently. I bought it thinking it might help me keep up with the empire’s trends, and it reads so smoothly. It’s incredibly entertaining!”
“Indeed. It deserves to be a bestseller.”
“Yes! It’s been quite the sensation lately. It even broke the sales record set by the former Marquis Berto’s book. I had no idea you owned a copy too, Count!”
“I see.”
Count Florette had been staring intently at the front page when he suddenly looked puzzled. Giselle never even attended the academy, so how exactly did she help with the editing? He was wondering if perhaps her tutor had been exceptionally capable when he noticed his aide tapping someone’s shoulder with the book’s spine.
“Ah, you should read this book too.”
“No, the title’s a bit… it seems like the kind of book you’d have to read in secret.” But even as he said this, his hand seemed to reach for it naturally. He must be curious about how exactly one makes a hundred billion.
One by one, the pages turned faster, and other vassals gathered around him.
“How is it? Does it have a commercial appeal?”
“…Huh?”
“Wow, this is actually really interesting! So this is what it’s about. I’ve never read a self-development book before!”
“Come to think of it, the very first page says, ‘Thanks to Giselle.’ I wonder who this Giselle is? It’s the same name as our young lady.”
A gentle smile naturally formed on Count Florette’s lips. “That Giselle is indeed her.”
That’s when it happened. A vassal who had been watching Count Florette’s satisfied smile added skeptically, “Eii, no way. That Lady Giselle? Does that make sense? Did she just add her name for the show or something? What is this?”
That vassal was someone who had been close friends with Mariposa and had come here to help verify the receipts. Everyone’s gaze turned toward the vassal. Among them, with the coldest stare of all, Count Florette whispered.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Do you usually make such remarks about the lady of the house you serve?”
“T-That…” The clueless vassal looked flustered. His expression showed he hadn’t expected to be reprimanded, which made it even more absurd.
“Leave immediately.”
“W-What?”
“I ordered you to leave right now.”
After dismissing the vassal, the atmosphere turned chilly. Count Florette recalled what Giselle had said. Mariposa had arranged a fiancé thirty years older for Giselle. And didn’t she say she didn’t even have a maid?
Normally, Count Florette would be too busy to even think about Giselle. Managing the receipts for a business under a pseudonym and calming the unsettling mood that hinted at territorial disputes took up all his time. But ever since Giselle had gifted him a book, the spark she left behind had slowly begun to ignite.
There’s definitely something suspicious about the atmosphere in the mansion.
Count Florette hadn’t taken good care of his friend’s daughter, using busyness as an excuse. Perhaps he thought he had fulfilled his duty just by taking her in. But now that he sensed something amiss, he couldn’t continue to neglect the child.
“I should repay the second gift I received.”
“Pardon?”
Count Florette vaguely remembered receiving a thick book. And the crumpled letter the child had handed him with her tiny hands when she first arrived at his mansion. Back then, he had vowed to protect the timid child.
“Find out in detail what happened to Giselle while I was away.”
“Yes.”
He furrowed his brow again, recalling how Giselle had told him not to trust her reputation. “…And find out, at least briefly, what Giselle is working on these days.”
“Yes, understood. I’ll find time to look into it!”
At last, a secret investigation began—something that never happened even once in [Will You Regret It When I Die?]
* * *
At the same time.
“Huh? Duke Kalinos—so, my brother—found a lady to marry?”
The eyes of Count Teren, better known as the ‘Duke family’s idler,’ widened in surprise.
Watching the flustered count, his aide cautiously added, “Yes, the senate has given their approval. It seems he fell in love at first sight!”
“My brother, falling in love at first sight with a lady? That’s impossible.”
The only things that ever stirred his brother’s heart were swords designed to slay monsters, high-quality leather armor, and healing potions, and distributing these widely to knights and mages.
“After falling in love at first sight, he seems to have decided to marry! I cross-checked with the senate, and it’s true.”
The look on his aide’s face made it clear he wasn’t lying.
The reason my brother suddenly wants to get married… As Count Teren pondered the current situation and his brother’s personality, his face turned pale. “Wait… It can’t be, but just maybe… Could he be planning to ki-kidnap the lady? Did we pressure him too much to get married, and he snapped?
“Eii, no way!’
“Think carefully. Did you notice anything odd?”
“T-That can’t be. Well, I mean, there are some trashy guys out there these days. They call it ‘bride kidnapping,’ I think?”
A terrifying image flashed through Teren’s mind.
“No, it can’t be. You’re imagining things!”
After his eldest brother died young due to monsters, his second brother became the head of the family at a young age. Though that brother had some peculiarities, he bore the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. Surely, such a brother wouldn’t commit such a vile act…
“…Let’s just keep an eye on things.” Teren’s instincts pointed ominously in that direction.
It was the next morning at the Kalinos family’s dining table. Sitting across from Duke Kalinos, Count Teren set down his utensils, feeling uneasy. Brother really does seem a bit more cheerful than usual today.
Duke Kalinos, who always wore suits as dark as mourning attire, had a white handkerchief tucked into his breast pocket today. There was another difference. He didn’t bring his usual research materials to the breakfast table. It was the first time this had ever happened.
Is something wrong with brother? He’s not even eating properly today. Count Teren furrowed his brow with concern. He wouldn’t really kidnap and imprison the lady, would he? While he wished for his brother, burdened with heavy responsibilities, to find happiness in starting a family, he certainly didn’t want him to resort to kidnapping someone to get married!
“…ren, Teren.”
Lost in thought, Count Teren was startled back to reality by his brother’s voice calling him.
“Ah, yes. What is it?”
“I have something to tell you.”
Though his tone was calm, Teren couldn’t hide his racing heart. He was anxious that his brother might say, ‘I’ve kidnapped a lady.’
Duke Kalinos quietly made a declaration like a bomb dropped onto the cheerful breakfast table. “I have a lover now.”
Furthermore,
“I’ll be getting married—within this month.”
It was a massive bombshell.
Teren slammed the table and shouted without realizing it. “Y-You’re getting married? To whom? Who is the lady? It’s a lady, right? Surely not a man…”
“It’s a lady.”
Count Teren’s eyes widened like a pufferfish as he jumped up, shouting in surprise. “W-Who is it! Who on earth!”
“Lady Giselle Florette.”
“What?”
“Do I need to say it again?”
Completely flustered, Teren slumped back into his seat. He was well-versed in high society and, of course, knew the name ‘Giselle Florette.’ If it’s Lady Giselle, she’s an incredibly delicate lady!
