Chapter 118
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118
I had a mountain of complaints to vent, but with the Duke's loyal right hand right in front of me, I couldn't bring myself to say a word. I quietly followed Rico as she led the way.
Rico was about my height. Staring at the back of her head as she walked, I asked her about Lady Agera.
"Lady Agera didn't seem to remember you. Aren't you hurt?"
Rico's stride faltered for a split second before she continued on as if I'd said nothing.
"Lady Agera has forgotten all recent events. She doesn't even know her own age, so it's only natural she doesn't remember me."
"But she remembers 'Amaranth,' doesn't she?"
"No matter how firmly the Duke severed ties with her, Lady Amaranth is still Lady Agera's daughter."
Please, the words 'I'm hurt' were practically written on the back of her head, yet she was pretending otherwise.
Rico probably hadn't liked the late Amaranth, which would make her the type to take that resentment out on Amaranth's daughter—me—and act hostile.
Since the mistress of the house suffered from dementia, Rico was likely the one pulling the strings of House Hosaquin's domestic affairs. That would explain why the servants walked on eggshells around her.
It made perfect sense for her to view me as a thorn in her side. Out of nowhere, an estranged granddaughter had shown up at the perfect time to claim a share of the inheritance, threatening her interests.
She was probably bitter, thinking, I've dedicated my entire life to this family, and in the end, blood still wins out?
Therefore, Rico was highly likely to be a major obstacle in my quest to trigger a "family regret" arc in this household. I needed to keep a close eye on her. The fact that she could completely ignore the daggers I was staring into her back proved she was no ordinary woman.
"Your Grace, it is Ricoradca. I have brought Lady Rohanson."
"...Come in."
The room Rico led me to wasn't a drawing room but the Duke's private study. Towering stacks of documents were piled high on the desk where he sat. Does he have to get through all of that?
No wonder he had dumped the mansion tour on Rico and rushed off. With that mountain of paperwork, every second must be precious.
Considering Count Rohanson also pulled all-nighters every day, it seemed paperwork was a passive skill for all nobles in this world.
"Sit."
I expected him to leave me standing, but to my surprise, the Duke offered me a seat. He gestured not to his cluttered desk but to a separate, nearby table meant for taking brief breaks. I sat down first, and the Duke took the seat opposite me.
"I assume we won't be needing tea."
"No, thank you. I'm fine."
My stomach was already stuffed. Perhaps because Evangeline had been sickly her entire life, her stomach was tiny, and she couldn't eat much. The Duke got straight to the point. Without even a cup of tea between us, the atmosphere felt incredibly stark.
"Seeing as you've come to find me, you must have met Agera."
I nodded. He was playing dumb, even though he had undoubtedly already heard about my tea party with Agera in the greenhouse.
"...I see. How was she, seeing her in person?"
I chose my words carefully. If I said something like, "Her illness seems severe," or "You must be terribly worried," the Duke would probably fly off the handle, accusing me of pitying them. Since we weren't on warm terms, it was best to strip away all emotion and stick to the facts.
"She was absolutely convinced that I was her mother."
My answer must have been what he wanted to hear, as the Duke gave a slow nod.
"Then you know what you must do."
"I simply need to stay by Lady Agera's side and pretend to be her mother."
Of course, that was just the surface-level answer. My true goal was far grander. I couldn't win the Duke's favor just by playing the part of Amaranth. If I wanted to trigger a proper "family regret" arc, I had to get the Duke wrapped around my finger first.
Based on my data, the best way to build favorability in these situations was to save either the target themselves or someone close to them. Canna and Daisy were prime examples of this.
And what do you know? The Duchess just happened to be ill. The situation was practically screaming for me to cure her.
Sure, there's no cure for dementia in the real world, but this was a fantasy novel where ridiculously overpowered holy water existed. There was bound to be something like a Seed of the World Tree lying around, and all I had to do was find it.
Oh, wait. Did the setting say this world has the Sun Goddess and demons, but no spirits? Well, then I could use some holy relic of the Sun Goddess or something. Either way, there had to be a way.
If I could somehow cure Agera's illness, the Duke would be in the bag. A grandmother who becomes her granddaughter's biggest ally after being saved, and a tsundere grandfather who yields to his wife's nagging and secretly dotes on his granddaughter...
Ah! It was the absolute textbook formula!
Of course, that was a story for the distant future. For now, I had to remember that the Duke's favorability toward me was currently hovering somewhere below zero. Sure enough, he was glaring at me with a fierce, piercing gaze.
"At least you seem to know your place. That is a relief."
How humiliating. This was the first time I'd been so thoroughly looked down upon since transmigrating into this villainess's body. Usually, people bowed and scraped the moment our eyes met, but this villainess's grandfather was cut from a different cloth. Still, this only fueled my fighting spirit.
Having said his piece, the Duke fell silent as if he had nothing more to say. Sensing that he was about to dismiss me, I quickly changed the subject.
"Were the rats in the greenhouse your work, Grandfather?"
I'd been thinking about it, and the Duke seemed the most likely culprit. Agera clearly had no idea, and there was no way anyone would pull a stunt like that in the greenhouse without the master of the house's permission.
Besides, he wouldn't have gathered all those rats just to torment me. There had to be another reason. Was it perhaps related to the illness?
This was an era where people blamed cats for Evangeline's illness and slaughtered them. It was highly likely they believed rats carried some plague and had rounded them up for that reason.
No wonder the Duke had asked Pudding in the carriage if he was good at catching rats. I hadn't realized he meant literal rats and not some kind of euphemism.
I had no idea why they had submerged them in water instead of burning them, though. Surely they weren't making... rat wine, right? Just the thought made me want to gag.
"...Rats? You saw them?"
The Duke frowned, his brow furrowing. He looked as if he couldn't believe his ears. So it wasn't his doing after all.
I was about to explain how the maid serving Agera had dramatically pulled back the cloth like a magician revealing a trick, but before I could, the Duke looked past me and locked eyes with Rico. Ah, so he trusts Rico's word over mine.
"What happened?"
"I only heard of it from Lady Rohanson, but..."
Rico began to explain. However, the way she brought me up first felt like a subtle attempt to shift the blame. Granted, I was the one who had told her. Still, her calculated choice of words made it clear she was not to be underestimated.
"My apologies, Your Grace. Had I been by Lady Agera's side, such a disturbance would never have occurred..."
"Enough. You cannot be expected to be by her side at all hours."
The Duke waved his hand dismissively. Despite failing to properly supervise the mistress, Rico managed to escape any reprimand simply because she hadn't been present—and she even managed to score some loyalty points in the process.
Look at her! I was the one who cleaned up the mess, and she's swooping in to take all the credit!
"How is Agera?"
"She appeared deeply exhausted. She should be resting in her chambers now."
He didn't give me a single shred of credit... I won't forget this.
"I see..."
The Duke let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. In that fleeting second, he looked incredibly old and weary. But when he opened his eyes again, the vulnerability was gone, replaced by his usual sharp, fierce gaze. He glared at me.
"What's your angle, bringing this up all of a sudden?"
Excuse me? How could I possibly ignore a mess like that? If you found a massive pile of dead rats while having tea in a greenhouse, wouldn't you immediately ask what on earth was going on?
"Did you think you had stumbled upon some weakness of mine?"
But the Duke seemed convinced I had some sort of ulterior motive. His guard was up. Well, in times like this, I just have to stay positive.
What did it matter if his hatred for me was through the roof? That just meant things could only get better from here. Before I could lose any more points, I quickly spoke up.
"I wish to make a deal."
"A deal?"
I nodded.
"You brought me to your estate because of a deal you made with Sir Gabriel, correct?"
"Indeed. Had I not owed a debt to Sir Gabriel, and had it not been for Agera, I would never have allowed you to set foot in my home."
The Duke was an incredibly strict, calculating man. My presence in this estate was undoubtedly the result of cold, hard calculations. To break it down, his debt to Gabriel was repaid by my pardon, and my presence here was the price for pretending to be Amaranth for Agera.
To win over the Duke, I needed to make myself indispensable. While curing Agera's illness would undoubtedly yield the best results, I should take advantage of any other opportunity that presented itself.
"Then let us make a deal of our own. I will take care of the 'rats' for you."
"You claim you can dispose of them?"
"Yes. After all, I have a cat."
I offered a bright smile, confidently bringing up Pudding. If he were just an ordinary cat, it would be out of the question, but my Pudding was a beastkin with passive magic. Rats? They'd be nothing more than a light snack for him. That's what the food chain is for, after all.
"Ha. It seems that cat of yours is no ordinary feline."
"You already suspected as much, didn't you?"
The Duke fell silent, seemingly weighing his options before coming to a decision.
"And what do you want in return...?"
His tone made it clear that if I asked for too much, the deal was off. Fortunately, I had no intention of demanding something grand like a share of the inheritance. If I inherited anything, it would only benefit Count Rohanson—and I had absolutely no desire to grant the wishes of a traitor who had sold out his own daughter.
"It doesn't have to be every day, but I would like you to spare some time for me after lunch, whenever your schedule allows."
"Time..."
"I want time to speak with you, Grandfather. During those moments, would you please tell me stories about my mother?"
If my instincts were correct, the key to winning over the Duke lay in nostalgia. I would break down his walls by meeting with him regularly, talking, and taking trips down memory lane. Let's do this. Time to trigger the family regret tag.
"If I am to play the part of my mother, you must tell me what she was like."
The unexpected request seemed to catch the Duke off guard, and a flicker of discomfort crossed his face. I quickly tacked on a plausible justification, fearing he might refuse. After a long moment of deliberation, the Duke finally nodded.
"Very well."
Yes! I was busy throwing mental uppercuts and cheering in my head when the Duke threw cold water on my parade by adding a condition.
"However, you must prove yourself first."
Seriously, he's so incredibly stingy. Why can't he just be cool about it?
"First, dispose of the rats in the water tank you saw."
The condition he set was surprisingly simple. I'd gotten worked up over nothing. A little bonfire tonight would be enough to burn them all to ash, right? Of course, I fully intended to delegate the fire-starting duties to Pudding.
Oh, Jelly is probably bored out of his mind by now, too. I should summon him and put him to work as well.
"Get rid of them all, leaving absolutely no trace behind. Remember, our deal only begins after that is done."
"Of course."