I Became The Stepmother Of An Irrevocable Dark Family - Chapter 46

Everyone except the Duke was speechless.

What’s wrong with him?

He even fell flat on the ground.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“…I beg your forgiveness for what my daughter did wrong. So return my account, please.”

“Account? What are you talking about?”

Ian relaxedly reclined to the sofa with crossed legs. A sadistic smile graced his face.

“Please stop pretending you don’t know anything.”

“I told you I don’t know, didn’t I? Account? I don’t have that sort of thing. Why don’t you just explain it to me in detail? Who knows, it might come to my mind if you do. Right, Luca?”

“Yes. I’ll let you know if I remember.”

Luca’s smiling face looked strangely similar to the Duke. A face that looked down at Duke Arvida and Astra with murderous intent.

I wonder why this side of him feels unfamiliar?

“…Are you messing with me now?”

However, Duke Ian only responded in an irrelevant manner.

“The people of the Duke of Arvida are very kind.”

“What do you mean…”

“They welcomed me even though it hadn’t been officially announced yet. They’re very glad to see me. I even thought I was in the Petri residence for a moment.”

I guess it was something that Rere and I didn’t know.

In the meantime, Luca brought a small basket from one side of the drawing room and placed it in front of us as if he thought the show would go on for a little longer today.

“In some countries, people nibble on something while they watch a fun spectacle. So please have fun watching and eat some of these.”

What he put in front of us were star candies in various colors. White, pink, sky blue, etc.

Rere admired the beautifully assorted candies and picked up a handful of them.

“Big bunny, say aah.”

With her mouth wide open, Rere turned back and stuffed three star candies into my mouth.

“Rere, eat some, too.”

“Okay!”

“What about daddy?”

“…But daddy has hands.”

“Leona also has hands.”

“Tch, that’s true. Just this once, okay?”

Then Rere put one of the smallest pieces of a broken star candy into Duke Ian’s mouth.

‘I have no choice but to give you one since you want it’. I felt like I could read Rere’s inner monologue.

This made the Duke smile in satisfaction.

“Duke, just now…were you even listening to me?”

“Ah, you’re still here? I thought you left because it was so quiet.”

At that time, Duke Arvida, who had been looking at us for a long time, soon pulled Astra, who stood behind him, forward. Thereafter, he grabbed his daughter by the back of her head and strongly pushed her down to the floor.

“Kyaaak!”

“Come on, apologize. Come on. Do it!”

“Father!”

Despite Astra’s struggle, the Duke did not let go of his daughter.

“This is all my daughter’s fault….. Please accept our apology and return what you took.”

“Well, you should tell me clearly what I took for me to return it. And Princess Astra should apologize to Rere and my wife instead of me. That apology honestly doesn’t impress me.”

Shrugging his shoulders, he picked up a handful of star candies in front of him. Thanks to him, the star candies that have been beautifully assorted were ruined.

Rere huffed at the Duke, but he continued to munch on the star candies leisurely. As if trying to get close to a kid by playing tricks.

“Duke. Duke Ian Petri!”

“I can hear you well enough even if you don’t scream that loud. Listen here, Duke Arvida. There were so many things I took from you. Do you think I will understand if you speak that way?”

“…Things you stole!”

“There’s so much I’ve stolen. Which one is it? ‘The tears of the sea necklace’ that the first emperor seeks for his lover, or ‘The Tiara of the Sun’ that the head of the merchants made for his beloved daughter?”

“Did you steal those, too?”

“Goodness, is that not it? I wonder what else is there.”

That’s called stealing.

But Ian didn’t seem to feel guilty at all. Rere even nodded at such a father.

“Why didn’t you steal it, daddy?”

“Should I have done that?”

“D-duke! Are you saying you stole all of my family’s valuables?

“Seeing that you asked me if I stole it, it must be the truth then. Duke Arvida. All of those are branded as stolen goods, and their descendants are anxiously looking for them. I never would’ve thought they would be in Duke Arvida’s hand!”

At that moment, Duke Arvida’s body hardened.

“I-It’s not that I have it. Uh, so…I just assumed that those goods existed…”

“Now you’re backing out. How unfortunate for you, Duke Arvida. It’s true that I don’t have the goods. I just sent it to the Emperor.”

“Are you serious!! Duke! Acting just like a thief…. What do you think you’re doing to other people’s belongings!”

“It’s indeed not mine, but it isn’t yours either. So you don’t need to be so angry.”

Rere, who sat comfortably in my arms, chewed on a star candy and yawned as if she was bored.

Seeing that she kept looking at her feet, she must be sad because she couldn’t use her thorny shoes.

“Haa…”

“So, did you find what you were looking for? My daughter is bored, so you’d better get out of here.”

“Not yet…! My account! Give it to me!”

“By the way, Duke Arvida and Princess Astra truly look like a father and daughter in situations like this. The way you both don’t understand what people mean when they talk, to be exact.”

This much disrespect should’ve been enough to make him back out, but it seemed like the ‘account’ was important to Duke Arvida.

To the point that Duke Arvida still pushed Astra’s head on the floor.

“Father…! Let me go now. Please!”

“…I don’t care what you do to my daughter. You can hit her until you’re satisfied, so please return everything.”

“Goodness. Do you think I’m such a trashy guy who hits women? Unfortunately, I’m not a violent person like you.”

What about the last time you threw a money bag at me? Did you not think it was dangerous? What a bastard.

“Give it to me! It’s a record of my important trades! It has a list of the people I’ve bribed and how much I paid for them in order. So give me the account!”

“Oho, you’ve finally said what it is.”

“..Yes… that’s why…”

“What a shame. It’s not in my hands either. You’ve done so many things that I gave it to the Emperor as a gift.”

“Wh-what?”

The eyes of the man, who had been sitting calmly and eating star candies, quickly changed. Then he rose from his seat and slowly approached Duke Arvida.

“That’s why you should know what you can eat and what you cannot eat. If the Duke eats everything, you’ll get sick. Did you think I didn’t know of the things you’ve done?”

“What…?”

“I know your hidden intentions, and how you’ve been digging into my family’s weaknesses, thinking that I’m just a young duke.”

“That’s…!”

“And that you were going to make your daughter my wife for it. How greedy. I can’t believe you’re trying to devour my family with that stupid head of yours.”

It was the most tenacious voice he ever had.

“Unfortunately, it was very easy to find out Duke Arvida’s secret. Like an idiot, you accepted my offer to marry off Princess Astra to me without hesitation. It was so easy that it was almost no fun.”

“No way…that is nonsense…”

“Why would I make up such nonsense? Wasn’t it you who spread rumors about my daughter’s birth? The instant Astra came into this family.”

Rere chewed more of the star candies when the topic of her birth was brought up. With her temper, she would have rushed to them and made a fuss, but she just watched them with a frown.

“Big bunny, stay here. I have something to do.”

“Huh?”

“Whatever happens, stay still. This Rebecca Petri won’t let them slide.”

After saying that, Rere looked at the door. There stood the nanny, holding a strange bucket. But the other maid’s expression didn’t look very good.

Then, Duke Ian spoke again.

“Perhaps you were going to make Princess Astra give birth to this family’s heir? That’s why you’re making weird rumors about my daughter.”

“That’s…!”

“There’s no bigger fool than you. Your scheme is so obvious that it’s boring. Get lost now.”

“…Really…Did you really give my account to the Emperor?!”

“Yes. I asked him to hide the fact that he had received the account until Duke Arvida came to me himself.”

“Ha…”

Like a madman, Duke Arvida began to laugh.

“Damn it…damn it!”

“You’re too greedy. Your stomach is going to burst just as much as you’ve been greedy.”

“…Damn it…damn it…!”

“But don’t worry. Your family will survive.”

Duke Arvida shook Astra like crazy with his hands.

“All because of this wench…this wench!”

Rere, who watched the situation, suddenly jumped up from her seat and ran towards the nanny. I tried to chase the child, but as soon as Rere accepted the bucket from the nanny, she returned inside.

She climbed the sofa and poured it on Duke Arvida and Princess Astra.

“Get lost!”

“H-huh!”

“You assholes! I still remember you slapped my mom. Next time, I’ll have your entire body covered in poop!”

Not long after, I could tell what Rere had brought as a means of revenge.

It was dung water.