Antagonized Bachelorette Enjoying a Simple Life - Chapter 54
Cesare is quick-witted, like a devil who has lived for thousands of years. Needless to say, she must have noticed that Catherine’s hometown was Orléans.
He simply tapped the table with his fingertips without answering, then pointed at Catherine with his chin.
“The key.”
When he said something, he seemed to point to a magic key that was hung around her neck along with a royal pendant.
“There is no need to have a horsepower car. With that one key, any door can be opened.”
“Ah—”
“You must be thinking of going to see your father.”
“No. There are things I left behind because I was rushing out of the house. I’m thinking of stopping by my room and going to Chen.”
“Chen?”
“My younger sister is getting married there. So— not Maggie you saw last time, she’s the youngest.”
Catherine felt very strange calling Anne the youngest.
Anne was the child who stole her ex-fiancee and eventually forced her to run out of the family.
But, as a result, she had an incomparably satisfying life in the past, and she’s not sure whether to call this an enemy or a savior—.
‘No. The enemy is enemy. Enemies are enemies, even when they die. Even if the enemy kneels for 100 years and apologizes, the enemy is the enemy.’
Is it the aftermath of living a happy life for the past few days? She seems to have forgotten the sense of disappointment she felt at that time.
No matter how much she was relieved of going home, she was suffered before. If she had lived her whole life as a stranger, she would have forgotten it neatly—but in the end, Anne’s wedding invitation came into her hands.
“She stole my ex-fiancee.”
Cesare made a rare startled face. Catherine shrugged her shoulders in response.
“Um. Is it too private?”
“No, not really. I just don’t think a great person like Miss Catherine would sit back and watch herself suffer through”
Staring at Catherine, he opened his mouth.
“I don’t think it’s interesting.”
“Where? My ex-fiancee?”
“Whether your ex-fiancee or your sister. Because Miss Catherine—.”
Cesare’s voice faded slowly. He quickly loosened his slightly wrinkled brow.
“Because you’re pretty.”
What are you talking about?
Unsurprisingly, it was an inconsistent way of speaking. Catherine, wondering what he meant, came up with the most plausible answer.
“By any chance, do you mean indifferent?”
He raised one eyebrow. It meant that Catherine’s prediction was correct.
“I’ve heard this a lot since I was young. It doesn’t hurt my feelings, so you can speak comfortably.”
So, Cesare is also conscious of others. Or is he thinking a little bit more because she’s a contractor? She didn’t feel bad about being special.
“To be exact, I was going to say that you are only interested in what you like.”
“Did I?”
“Did you forget your conversation a few days ago? You asked me when you would learn magic.”
“Magic… I want to learn it.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you until the day you whine that you don’t want to learn.”
Cesare moved his gaze back to the puzzle without any hesitation.
“So. Miss Catherine, are you saying that you will attend the wedding of your ex-fiancee and sister?”
Of course, she has to attend.
She was planning to attend Anne’s wedding and, if possible, her ex-fiance’s wedding too.
“The groom is not my ex-fiancee. He’s Count Chen.”
“I wonder how charming she is. If Miss Catherine is okay with me, I’d like to attend too.”
“Well, you’ll probably be disappointed.”
Neither the scenery of Orléans nor the charm of Anne will fall in Cesare’s eyes. As the Grand Duke of the Iterana Empire, he must have lived only to see the most splendid things.
“Then let’s go see how disappointing the younger sister is.”
Catherine thought quietly and nodded her head. It’s a family she’ll never see again in her lifetime, so it would be nice to introduce them to him at least once.
So how are you going to get revenge?”
“You think I’ll get revenge?”
Cesare looked at Catherine as if she was asking something so obvious.
“Then isn’t that so? In my opinion, Miss Catherine is… As I said earlier, I don’t think you’re a person who’s going to suffer and just live.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to help?”
If Cesare was added to the work she would do alone; it was sure to be even more fun. Of course, she meant to trick her quietly if she wanted to save face—.
“I think it’s going to be pretty fun.”
Seeing the smile on his face, it seemed that he had no intention of doing so.
******
Last late afternoon of the cruise trip. The Lilith set sail in Christopher’s Harbor. It was a return after ten days.
The dock was already crowded with families who had already come to meet passengers. Madam Pompadour returned to the beautiful appearance of Madame, saying she wanted to walk on two feet as much as when getting off.
Catherine left the cabin and delivered the schedule she had planned with Cesare to Madame Pompadour.
“Oh my.”
“How about it? It sounds like a lot of fun, right?”
Madame Pompadour shook her head with her shining eyes. It was the expression on the face of the person hearing the happiest ending in the world of romance novels.
“It’s absolutely the best. It’s so much fun. It’s already fun!”
「It’s something the old ladies would like.」
“Because I like to get attention. There are a lot of dresses of the type you want. Would you like to check it out now?”
“No. I think it’ll be enough to check that day.”
For the time being, Madame Pompadour decided to stay at Catherine’s mansion. It was because she needed her help more than anyone else to mess up Anne’s wedding.
When Madame Pompadour heard about the situation between the sisters, she snorted and ranted.
“Does Anne or someone else have something wrong with me? What? She dare steal your sister’s fiancee? Besides, what? Steal it and throw it away? To become obedient, you must grasp that thing.”
Damian, who was guarding closely, whispered in Catherine’s ear.
“I think that old lady will really pull it.”
“Hng. Still, it was tiring to run away from Busperfields. I need to rest for a while, watching the Grand Duke by the Lady’s side.”
Cesare was waiting for Catherine in front of the stairs going down to the dock with Prime Minister Cole.
“Miss Anne Maggie!”
Calling her, Prime Minister Cole’s face was noticeably paler than before.
“It was nice to see you, Prime Minister Cole.”
“It was nice to see you, too. When will we meet again if we part away today? Why don’t you visit the island sometime and meet my daughter? If she’s a wizard she’ll be dead, haha!”
Even though a big incident occurred during the voyage, Prime Minister Cole calmly shook hands with her. Facing such a Prime Minister, Catherine suddenly wondered what Cesare would choose.
Will he inform the Emperor that the Great Devil Behemoth has finally been summoned? Or will he quietly shut his mouth?
“I will consider it positively.”
“If possible, I would like to ask the Master, His Highness the Grand Duke, as well.”
Prime Minister Cole, who had glanced at Cesare, whispered in Catherine’s ear as he went down the stairs.
“I’m about to die because the people of Imperial want to see him.”
“I can hear everything, Count.”
“Hahaha! That’s what I said to make you hear.”
The group boarded the train and left the port. Prime Minister Cole said he would visit Duke Christopher’s residence instead of returning to the Islands right away. Before boarding the carriage returning to her home, Catherine called Cesare alone to express her gratitude.
“Thanks to you, I had a pleasant experience, Cesare. I bought a bed, a chair, a dining table…”
“If you’re satisfied with buying a bed, that’s a relief.”
「Best satisfaction!」
Cesare, who was silent for a moment, nags at Catherine in a kind voice, as if dealing with a little child.
“I’ll tell you just in case… If you think it’s dangerous, don’t delay and call my real name. There’s no need to call it out of your mouth. If you want me, I’ll know.”
“I will do that in the future.”
“And it would be better if you be careful with other Great Devil’s contractor. I recommend you not get involved if possible.”
Another Great Devil’s contractor.
A sense of alarm that she had not felt before began to rise upon hearing the word.
That day, recalling Percyville, the Behemoth contractor she had unintentionally found, she asked.
“With me… Is there any more Devil’s contractor?”
“As far as I know, there are two more. Miss Catherine will be able to notice just by making eye contact.”
I see. Well, she wouldn’t have known for the rest of her life that he was the Great Devil if she hadn’t signed a contract with Cesare. As such, there would have been Great Devils that melted among humans hiding their true selves.
“They and I are the same. Is there any reason to be careful?”
Cesare narrowed his forehead at her question.
“Same?”
He had such a disgraceful face that Catherine had to remind herself that she had made a great mistake.
Cesare sighed briefly.
“We are beings who can change the human history, Catherine. And we need a sacrifice worth 10,000 lives to summon. What kind of person hopes for such a contract with the Great Devil and then makes it happen?”
Catherine understood at once what Cesare wanted to say.
There are not many beings in the world who want to offer 10,000 sacrifices to achieve their goals. The being who made the plan come true even more.
‘How lucky I was.’
The chance of meeting the Great Devil Leviathan by chance and signing a contract with him without offering. It is more correct to assume that it doesn’t exist.
“I don’t want you to be harmed physically or mentally. The most basic prevention for that is to stay away from madmen.”
Madman. A few faces immediately came to mind. It would be nice if she could stay away from it.
Catherine nodded straight away, easing Cesare’s worries.
“I understand.”
Because her wish was also to have a smooth life for her. The first day she returned home, she fell asleep right after she showed her room to Madame Pompadour.
It seems that accumulated fatigue was present even after spending ten days in one of the finest rooms. When she woke up again, it was early morning with birds chirping. She had been lying down for nearly half a day.
There are three days left until Anne’s wedding. Catherine led her refreshed body down to the kitchen.
“…Do you really think I don’t have to follow you?”
“It doesn’t matter because I’m only going to bring things. Damian stays in the mansion and takes care of the garden properly.”
Don’t do it roughly. Take care of it properly. Catherine looked at Damian with strength in the last sentence. Damian turned his eyes away and opened his mouth with a shameless face.
“Still, the human head can fly away in the blink of an eye—”
“It’s noisy and just get out here, young man! You’ve made the garden a lot worse.”
At the sudden shout, the two eyes turned out of the window. In her perfect gardener’s outfit, Madame Pompadour was glaring at Damian with a large shovel.