I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Phew, I should’ve known. I let out a hollow laugh and pushed the book away.
“It’s all right, Rose. Don’t worry about it. I was just asking, that’s all.”
“…Sorry. I don’t really understand what you mean, Rose.”
“It’s fine, really? Honestly, even I don’t know. Who knows what happens when someone commits fraud….”
“Mm. Rose only knows that ‘debts owed to the victim are settled first, and when the defendant shows no intention of repaying, the district court intervenes to seize assets.'”
“…R-Rose?”
“I really only know that. Hmph. Sorry, sorry.”
At the sight of Rose’s sulking face, my lips pressed together on their own.
What on earth. I looked down at the page and let out the breath I’d been holding. Of course that’s all she knows. The page only goes that far!
“Ah….”
A cold sweat suddenly trickled down my back. How could I not have noticed before? The truth is, all I’ve ever done for Rose is feed her, put her to bed, and dress her. I was so busy just getting by that I kept repeating those same three things, and I never had a chance to discover whatever other talents she had.
…No wonder. She learned to read so quickly. I’d only thought of her as smart, never imagined it would be this much. Whether it’s just a sharp memory or something more, I’ll have to look into it further, but one thing was clear. …Our Rose was born to terrible parents, and I was blessed with a sister beyond anything I could have hoped for.
“Rose-yay! Come here, my treasure!”
“Yes, sis.”
Overcome with emotion at the way Rose smiled and threw her arms around me, I buried my face in her hair.
“Oh, what am I going to do.”
I’d thought just watching her grow up pretty and healthy was enough of a job done, but our Rose kept delivering joy beyond anything I’d imagined. It’s like I raised a duckling because it was cute, and it turned out to be laying golden eggs every single day.
“Sis, so I can stay here now, right?”
“Of course! I’ll make sure of it! Nobody’s going to say a word!”
I boasted loudly, as if there was nothing I couldn’t do. An ordinary NPC is about to pick up the Dragon Sword, so of course I’m confident! Conquering the world might be hard, but I might at least be able to fend off that beast.
Well, now.
What if I look after a kid like this properly from now on?
What if she gets into the best academy and is scouted by the Platinum Guild the moment she graduates?
What if, through a crash promotion, she becomes head of the guild and gets me, her older sister, a cushy post as honorary director?
Then I get posted to an overseas branch in Aren or Pelona, and there a younger new hire throws himself at me, and it turns out that new hire is an imperial prince hiding his identity?
“Ah….”
Yes, that’s enough. As my fantasies ran wild, I shuddered at the dizzying thrill. And so that very day, half of my all-in stake in wasteland alimony stocks passed over to our Rose. Honestly, whether it’s this country or that one, diversified investing is the way to go!

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“…From what we saw, she didn’t seem likely to draw much attention in the Grand Duke’s Castle, Your Highness.”
“That’s right. The young lady is so small, after all.”
“And cute, so… well, what I mean is.”
“Do you all have any idea how rude you’re being to His Highness?”
“…Count.”
“All of you, out now. Quickly!”
Unable to stand the knights still murmuring inside the hall, the Count drove everyone out. Even so, he shot a sharp, narrowed-eyed warning at Devon and Aiden, the brothers who were still trying to make one last impression.
“…Whew.”
Once he had finally seen them out and turned around, the Grand Duke was already standing by the window. The Count said nothing, walked over slowly, and took his place behind him.
“Everyone’s secretly soft-hearted, isn’t it? Seeing a child after such a long time, and since the little lady doesn’t seem all that finicky, I suppose they can’t help but look at her.”
“…You speak as if you’re not one of them.”
Kiers, who had been gazing out the window absentmindedly, finally turned his head. Seeing the faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth, the Count also relaxed and let out a long breath.
“Honestly, Your Highness, you were a bit harsh.”
“How so? Because I pushed that little girl out without a shred of mercy, insisting she be sent away?”
Seeing the Count stand stiffly, unable to deny it, Kiers fully turned his body around. In front of the Count, at least, there was no need to hide anything, and hiding it wouldn’t have fooled him anyway.
“Why do you think I wouldn’t send her away?”
“If Your Highness had made up your mind from the start, you wouldn’t have bothered calling her to a place like this.”
“….”
“Then why did you do it?”
It was a question carrying many meanings, but Kiers didn’t probe for them either. They knew each other well enough for that.
“Well… out of curiosity?”
As if mulling it over himself, Kiers furrowed his brow, seemingly more puzzled by his own answer than anyone else.
He had accepted it as the fate of being born the Empire’s second prince and the emperor’s rival.
“Anyone can see it’s a hopeless situation, yet she’s trying so hard to push through it anyway. That’s what’s curious. Most people would give up at that point. And that day, too, she was just like this, so I suppose….”
“…That day?”
“Never mind. And I don’t think she’s the type to simply obey just because I told her to leave.”
Recalling her face as she had looked up at him just moments ago, eyes wide and bright blue, Kiers moved the corners of his mouth in a way that was hard to read.
“I’ve spent more than ten years running from one battlefield to the next. So I suppose it’s just a bit strange, seeing something alive after all this time. That’s all.”
“But Your Highness.”
“What is it? Wasn’t it you, Count, who arranged this marriage of mine?”
Now that the Count had gone quiet, Kiers glanced at him sidelong, as if the silence had begun to bother him. The man had been the one who most eagerly recommended this arrangement, along with that “thing,” as the surest way to fully free himself from the Imperial Family’s reach.
“Report to me on her father and her family the moment the information comes in.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He could have been trusted to handle it without being told, so repeating the order could only mean one thing: leave. Understanding him perfectly, the Count stepped forward, then stopped halfway and picked up something from the table.
“Hmm… You hurried out and left this behind, Your Highness.”
The corners of the Count’s mouth had already begun to lose their composure. He stole a glance at the Grand Duke’s expression, then coughed unnecessarily.
“Ahem, I’m not sure if I should call her ‘Lady’… but the little miss does look just like her sister.”
“They’re sisters, so that’s to be expected.”
“Even so, sisters rarely look that alike. In any case, she was… extremely small, and quite… well, she was simply *that*.”
‘Simply *that*’ carried a great many feelings folded inside it.
Under Kiers’s sideways stare, the Count belatedly pushed up his silver spectacles, as if to deny something. Then he looked at Kiers with a faint air of reproach, faulting the man’s indifference.
“Your Highness has never cared much for such things, of course, but the Lady didn’t cry at all, and she played so nicely. She dragged that chair over there, and then—”
“The chair beside it, you mean.”
“…Pardon?”
“Enough. If you’re finished, go.”
To the Count, it was more surprising that Kiers, a man who never rushed anything, was now plainly pushing him out, than that a little lady as sweet as sugar had been there at all.
Carefully, he brushed the dust from Rose’s doll.
“Then I’ll take my leave. I’ll return this on my way out.”
“Wait.”
“Pardon? Why the change of heart?”
The Count’s expression wavered again at being called back, after having been ordered out only moments before. His eagerness to leave was written all over his face. Kiers shook his head coolly at him.
“Leave it. Someone in a hurry will come looking for it.”
“B-but it’s hardly a difficult task.”
“The Count is my chief adviser and, in practice, the ruler of the North. It isn’t fitting for him to run errands carrying a child’s doll.”
“Ah… yes.”
Kiers’s voice cut off any room for argument, and the Count had no choice but to set the rabbit doll down. His hand moved slowly, reluctant to let go, but he could not refuse his lord’s command. Just as the Grand Duke had said, he drew himself up with the dignity befitting his station as chief adviser, closed the door behind him, and left. The great hall fell silent.
Thud, thud. Kiers crossed the floor and stopped before the table, his gaze lowering. As he looked at the worn-out doll, something he had never expected to see with his own eyes, his lips curved softly at some point.

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Once I’d been granted, grudgingly, permission for Rose to stay, my heart felt considerably lighter. Who knew when Kiers might tell us to leave again, but at least Rose no longer had to be kept inside the box. Seeing her trot after me wherever I went, bouncing along, made me smile at once. I should have done this from the start.
The moment we stepped outside, I took her hand, and Rose skipped along, delighted. But there was another reason she loved these outings so much.
“Sister, look at this! It’s candy!”
“Hm?”
“There’s more candy on the ground! This much!”
Rose was beside herself at the candy scattered along the path leading to the garden. I pretended I knew nothing and joined in her surprise, making a great fuss.
“Oh my! There’s so much candy lying around again!”
I made sure to say it as loudly as I could, preferably loud enough for the knights hiding behind that tree over there to hear.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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