Chapter 36 - Your Family Owes A Debt (1/2)

Chapter 36 – Your Family Owes A Debt

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Why would Countess Cornohen request for a private meeting with me? I riffled through various reasons in my head, but there were too many answers to choose from.

As I looked at Countess Cornohen sitting across from me, I finally opened my mouth to speak.

“Does the tea suit your taste?”

The tea served was the one gifted by Xavier. Countess Cornohen answered my question with a rather wry smile.

“…Yes.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I answered. I took a sip of my own tea, then delved right into the topic. “So you have something to say to me…”

“…”

Countess Cornohen’s eyes gleamed, as if she didn’t expect me to be so straightforward. However, she didn’t waste any more time dilly-dallying either.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Please tell me,” I prompted with a soft smile, and Countess Cornohen spoke without hesitation. She must have really wanted to tell me this.

“I wanted to meet you because of Roth.”

“…”

I remained silent on the subject, and she continued to speak.

“Roth said she had an argument with you,” she said.

“I see.” I tried to keep my words to a minimum. I knew intuitively that it would benefit me.

“May I ask what happened?” she said.

“I suppose Dorothea didn’t tell you?”

“She just said that you suddenly became angry.”

“I didn’t ‘suddenly’ become angry, Countess,” I disputed. “If that is all you heard, you must think I have anger management issues.”

“Then I would like to hear your explanation firsthand.”

“Dorothea carelessly spoke about my private life at a tea party. I was taught it was rude to speak about someone else’s personal information without permission from the person concerned.”

“…Did Roth really do that?” she asked.

Goodness, this wasn’t a meeting where a teacher called in a parent to discuss a child’s bad behavior. I sighed inwardly and affirmed the facts once again.

“She did.”

“…”

After hearing my words, Countess Cornohen remained silent for a long time. Then, she spoke once again.

“What did she say about your personal life that made you angry?”

“Regardless of what it was, I was upset she spoke without permission. Wouldn’t you feel the same way, Countess?” I asked her.

“Even so, I’d like to ask what she spoke about that you wanted private,” she said insistently.

In the end, I decided to tell her. “…Before my accident, I went to Thurman Palace. His Highness the Crown Prince invited me there to give me something.”

In truth, I didn’t intend to say the details, but I couldn’t stop myself. It felt like the mother sitting in front of me wasn’t truly reflecting on her daughter’s error, and I had to make sure she wouldn’t say anything unfair later.

“As you know, the Crown Prince is a full-fledged adult, and so am I,” I further explained. “At a time when the selection of crown princess is a major topic, Dorothea made the situation difficult between me and the Crown Prince by saying useless things.”

The more I spoke about it, the more I remembered and the more my anger was rekindled.

“I don’t have to tell you how embarrassed I was. You’ve been in high society much longer than I have. There, just a small word can cause false rumors, is it not?”

“Hmmm…” Countess Cornohen’s expression turned thoughtful. However, the next words that left her mouth left me absolutely dumbstruck.

“But it’s not really my child’s fault, is it?” she said.

For a moment I thought I misheard her, and I blinked my eyes confusedly. “…What?” I blurted.

“It became clearer to me once I heard your story. My child is not the only one in the wrong, is she?”

“Countess, what are you—”

“To be honest, you were also acting misleadingly. Why did you behave in a way that could cause a misunderstanding? It was only natural that such rumors would arise if you went to the Imperial Palace, and just when the Crown Prince is considering marriage too,” she concluded.

“…So are you saying it’s my fault now?” I said, feeling indignant.

“You should have acted in a way so that this wouldn’t come out, but you didn’t. If you had anything to receive from the Crown Prince, you should have done so through a servant. Why did you go to Thurman Palace yourself?”