Chapter 30

"Cordelia-sama, Mr. Tupac is here to see you."

"Tupac?"

Without stopping her hand from flipping through the documents, Cordelia asked in return.

It had been five days since she accepted Leonhardt's proposal.

To eventually accept his proposal in the future, she needed to return to the earldom once.

For that purpose, she was handling the miscellaneous tasks at the mansion in the capital.

"Since I have plans after this, can you come back later—"

"Cordelia!"

With impolite footsteps, Tupac entered the study.

"Tupac, that's rude. Please leave and come back later."

"I need to talk to you! I have something to say!"

"I'm busy, sorry."

"It's about Priscilla! She's your sister, right!?"

Tupac, who was shouting, refused to back down.

Cordelia, feeling exasperated, ordered the preparation of the reception room and tea.

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"…Priscilla is really a terrible person. She's beautiful only on the outside and doesn't care about me at all."

Tupac, looking exhausted, was spilling out a long list of complaints about Priscilla.

While she agreed that her sister had a bad character, it was annoying to have him vent to her.

"If you just want to complain about your sister, why don't you leave? I'm not a trash can for your complaints."

"…I intend to break off my engagement with Priscilla."

"Go ahead, be my guest."

Normally, she should stop a family-related engagement from being broken, but since the other party was Priscilla, it was different.

Her sister seemed to have no interest in Tupac anymore, and continuing the engagement would only lead to a quagmire with no signs of improvement.

"…You're not going to oppose this?"

"If Priscilla agrees, I have no reason to stop it."

"That's good. Then, will you re-engage with me again?"

"Huh?"

Surprised, Cordelia almost dropped her teacup and was a bit flustered.

"Can you save your nonsense for your dreams?"

"I'm serious. You didn't break the engagement because you hated me, right?"

"I do."

"Huh?"

When she bluntly rejected him, Tupac's mouth dropped open.

"Wh-What are you saying, Cordelia?!"

"Can't you consider my situation a little? You unilaterally broke the engagement, left the aftermath to me, and caused me trouble. How did you think I wouldn't hate you?"

"That's… an unfortunate misunderstanding…!!"

"If that's all, I'll take my leave. I have a busy schedule as a painter friend is expected to visit soon."

As she stood up, Tupac reached out to grab her arm.

"Wait!! Is it all because of Prince Leonhardt?!"

"Why would the prince come up now?"

"I know you're favored by the prince!! Are you getting too full of yourself? You and the prince are mismatched. As an earl's daughter, you should be with someone from the same earl's family—"

"Can you stop being ridiculous?"

"!"

At Cordelia's cold gaze, Tupac flinched.

"The prince has nothing to do with it. Even if the prince weren't around, I can confidently say I will never like you and I have no interest in re-engaging."

After saying this, Cordelia tried to leave the reception room, but—

(What?)

Her vision blurred.

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed.

(Disgusting, is this some kind of drug—)

In her narrowing vision, she saw Tupac looking down at her without any panic.

(This is… Priscilla's complaints were just a cover to wait for the drug to kick in—)

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"…So, where are we exactly?"

When she woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.

There were no notable furnishings, just a single candlestick.

She seemed to have been thrown in a corner, but fortunately, she wasn't handcuffed or shackled.

"I was too careless…"

She hadn't expected to be drugged in her own home.

Tupac must have brought her here in a carriage while she was unconscious—

"Big sister, you're awake?"

"…Priscilla."

The door opened, and her smiling sister appeared.

Behind her stood a slightly awkward Tupac and a maid who was close to her sister.

"Priscilla, you drugged me and had the maid help you kidnap me… What do you want?"

"Come on, don't look so scary. This is all for your own good."

"…Can you please speak in human language?"

After kidnapping someone, what was she talking about?

The drug was affecting her, and she was starting to get a headache.

"Tupac, translate. Can you explain?"

"…It is for your own good. Cordelia, do you really think you are suitable for Prince Leonhardt?"

"That's none of your business."

"!! I am your fiancé!!"

"Ex-fiancé. Can you stop twisting the facts?"

"You're the one who's mistaken!! Prince Zayd has approved our re-engagement!!"

"Prince Zayd?"

At the unpleasant name, Cordelia frowned.

"When did you become acquainted with Prince Zayd?"

"The day we went to the theater with Mr. Tupac."

Her smiling sister butted in.

"That day, Prince Zayd spoke to me, and then he talked to Mr. Tupac who followed me."

"Priscilla is right. Prince Zayd saw Priscilla and acknowledged her beauty… and then, he suggested to me yesterday that the beautiful Priscilla, who has no particular talents, would be more suitable for Prince Leonhardt than you."

"…I see. So that's why Priscilla is so cheerful now."

While suppressing her headache, Cordelia managed to speak.

"Yes, big sister. I was told that I am more suitable for Prince Leonhardt than you."

"…Have you forgotten? Prince Leonhardt clearly said he disliked you."

"That was just a momentary lapse. If I spend time with him, he will definitely choose me over you."

At Priscilla's beaming smile, Cordelia felt a deep sense of fatigue.

She didn't want to believe that her blood-related sister could be this foolish.

"…I understand Priscilla's point. But Tupac, why are you involved in such a ridiculous plan? Even if you want to re-engage with me, drugging me… Don't you think it will only make me hate you even more?"

"You're stubborn, so we need to have a thorough talk."

"Are you planning to keep me here until I agree?"

"…I just followed Prince Zayd's advice!!"

"All someone else's fault? How low."

"…Why are you so cold?! My actions were all out of my love for you—"

"Can you stop lying?!"

Cordelia looked at Tupac as if he were filth.

"You don't have a shred of love or affection for me. You just couldn't bear Priscilla's whims anymore. And you realized that after breaking off the engagement with her, no decent marriage proposals would come to you for abandoning both sisters."

"Th-That's…"

"Is there no sense of shame in you?"

"…Shut up!!"

"Coincidentally, I don't want to speak to you either."

Tupac glared at her resentfully.

He was the kind of person who would go with the flow.

Even if he was being bold by borrowing Prince Zayd's authority, once he was defeated, he seemed to have no more will to stop her.

Seeing the pitiful ex-fiancé, Cordelia sighed—when—

"Cordeliaaaa!!"

A scream filled with hatred shook her back.