My Sister Took My Fiance And I Was Married To An Ugly Prince

10 - The Failed Duke

"Hmmm..."

For some reason, her father found it difficult.

And then he spoke admonishingly to Rosa.

"The Countess of Tilya is a woman who is known as a 'walking royal decree.'

She once served as the nanny of the king - my cousin.

This is a very honorable position, and she is still ranked as one of the best noblewomen in the country."

--She is still ranked as one of the finest ladies in the country?

"Even the queen has to listen if she is being chided. In other words, you should reflect on your actions and work on your manners."

Rosa's face turned bright red with anger.

"What? That was not justified, it was just bullying!"

The Duke of Seravalle seemed somewhat puzzled by his daughter's rage.

"What's the matter? It's not like Rosa.

What's good about you is that you're always smiling and can get along with anyone."

"Well, that's...!"

The only thing Rosa is smiling about is her mask.

It was only when she was little that she realized that if she looked good and smiled, adults would indulge her.

When she didn't get what she wanted, Rosa's nature was to feel like she was being forced to work for nothing because she had been made to smile, which made her even angrier.

"And you thought that if you were a countess, you could never go against royalty?

You thought so, didn't you? You're several ranks below them!

You've been watching too many operas, you idiot.

The court world is not that simple. Take this opportunity to study hard."

Rosa couldn't believe it when her father scolded her.

Her father had never scolded her before, but today he was enraged.

"Be patient. Since the circumstances of the engagement were such that Lucrezia broke it off, the ladies might scold you for a while, but it cannot be helped.

That's what it means to sleep with a man."

"Don't you dare... talk to me like that!"

"Listen to me. It's nothing. It's something a courtesan would forget in a heartbeat.

Just smile like you always do and you'll be able to blend in."

Her father admonished her, and Rosa was forced to drink the water.

—Oh, my God! Why does Dad always say horrible things when I'm hurting so much?

I met Falco-sama just a little too late, but to call him a bitch is just too much!

Yes, I just met him a little later than my sister. It's not Rosa's fault.

It was my sister who was at fault. She has a bad personality, is jealous, and harasses Rosa just because she's cute.

I can only think that she should improve herself if she had time to harass me.

At the next tea party, Rosa delivered a sermon of that nature to her friends, which was again well received by the people around her.

—You know. There are so many people who don't like my sister.

I'm not doing anything wrong.

***

The next day, Lucrezia was taken by the butler to the bank.

At first, the bank clerk was a bit wary of the well-dressed noblewoman's arrival, but when Lucrezia gave him the name of a banker she had known in her homeland and politely explained that she wanted to withdraw her personal funds, he finally understood.

"I would also like to retrieve the contents of the safe I left with the Illuminati, how about that?"

"It's a special safe and we can't take it out without your permission, even if you request it. You'll have to withdraw it locally."

"Yes. That's fine. Please give us some cash as well.

We will bill you for all purchases for the time being, so please take care of it."

After arranging her purchases, Lucrezia took advantage of the moment when the banker left and stretched.

"I still get tired when I come to the bank."

She called out to the butler who was standing beside her, and he gave her a gentle pat on the back.

It was a little scary to let a stranger get involved with her personal finances, but he seemed trustworthy.

Lucrezia had inherited some assets from her mother, and she had an agent to manage them. 

Normally, she left all the complicated procedures to him and rarely stopped by the bank herself, but today she had no choice.

—I'll have to contact the agent and have him move over here.

The office that manages Lucrezia's personal finances is located in the Illuminati.

Since it's inconvenient, it would be better to move the whole office, but the important thing is that the engagement is not yet clearly fixed. 

I don't want the engagement to break up as soon as we move and I have to go back to the Illuminati.

It looks like I'll have to ask my agent to travel back and forth between the two countries for the time being.

--When he comes, let's first request him to fire the entire servants employed in my name by the Seravalle family and bill my father for them.

Since I'm getting married, there's no need to continue supporting my parents' family.

Lucrezia made up her mind quickly and approached the butler again.

"I would like to have a few dresses made, can you call the tailor for me?"

***

The Duke of Seravalle noticed something strange one day when he went home in the morning drunk after eating and drinking a lot at a party.

No matter how many times he called for his servants to come home, they never showed up.

I went to the trouble of finding the butler and asking him to come, but he just slurred his words and was not clear.

"Food, food. Bring me whatever you can."

"The cooks are on strike, sir."

"Why? I don't remember treating them badly."

"That's why..."

The Duke of Seravalle looked at the invoices handed to him by the butler and his eyes widened.

"What's ...this?"

"It is for the employment of the servants, sir."

"I know that when I see it. Why is it coming now? I thought your employment contract was up for renewal."

"The person claiming to be Miss Lucrezia's agent has sent me documents to change my employer, and if you do not sign them, I will be dismissed immediately with severance pay."

The Duke of Seravalle rubbed his head, foggy with drunkenness and sleepiness, and tried to understand what the butler was saying.

"Who let Lucrezia do all these things. Where is Lucrezia?"

"The young lady has already left the house."

At that moment, the Duke of Seravalle's drunkenness and sleepiness blew away at once.

It was the Duke of Seravalle himself who had driven away his daughter Lucrezia.

***