I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 30

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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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We can’t go on living like this forever, either. We need to start preparing to become rich little by little. And to do that, first I had to throw away the shabby habit of clinging to old things.
“Sis~”
“It’s fine. If it’s a pin, it should actually clip onto your hair, right? I’ll buy you ten brand-new ones!”
“…But can you really put ten in Rose’s hair? Won’t that be heavy?”
“Hmm… that’s not the point. Anyway, I’ll buy you something even nicer and prettier!”
When I sparkled my fingers to show her, the smile came back to Rose’s lips, which had been worried a moment ago. Prettier things seemed to have set her heart fluttering.
“Then, th-then what about this one, Rose’s dress?”
“Throw it out!”
“What about yours, Sis?”
“Throw it out, throw it all out!”
Ah, I’d really wanted to say something like that! Sitting Rose down and tossing everything away left and right made all the stress of the past few weeks seem to melt off. Is there anything else? As I glanced around, I pulled off a pair of gloves whose lace had completely frayed.
“Rose, what should we do with this?”
I tossed it up like a wad of cash and shouted, and the kitten, brainwashed to the level of a sparrow’s chirping, called out loudly.
“Thr-ow!”

◇ ◆ ◇

“Yaaah!”
“…Seems they’re fighting with their voices.”
Clang! Sir Lear, who had charged in with his sword aimed sharply forward, was knocked flat on his back. While his neck bulged with taut veins, Kiers, who was studying his own blade, looked utterly indifferent.
“Is that all?”
“Y-Your Grace, no more, I beg you…”
“Disappointing. I thought you’d hold out a little longer.”
Kiers’s sword, which had been humming through the air as if riding the wind, slid into its sheath in a single motion. How pitiful. Sir Lear’s face flushed and then went pale as he hung his head at the unspoken verdict that was plain to see.
“F-forgive me, Your Grace.”
“Just do better next time.”
“….”
At Kiers’s composed reaction, the twins watching from the side wore faces of pure dismay.
Sir Lear’s skill was not merely outstanding; he had reached the realm of a true swordsman. One kingdom in the Balik Islands had even offered him a marquisate and the post of knight commander just to recruit him, so there was no room for doubt about his ability.
“…What?”
As Kiers shrugged off his cloak with an irritated look, the twins cleared their throats. Even knights who prided themselves on extraordinary skill found it nearly impossible to bring a blade to bear before the Grand Duke. In truth, not just Sir Lear but every knight present could not promise to hold their ground even if they all charged at once.
Awe and admiration for an overwhelming opponent. That was also the reason they had sworn their loyalty to the Duke.
“Your Grace, are you leaving?”
“Mm.”
As the Duke turned away without a single breath out of place, as though he had merely sipped a cup of tea, the mood among those left behind grew solemn. Though this was a routine that repeated day after day, it was never something one could get used to. Not that any of them would dare hold a grievance against the Grand Duke, but they did harbor a small wish: that he might grant them even a moment to catch their breath.
“Your Grace, so you were here?”
“Count.”
The expression on the Count as he entered the Training Ground was anything but ordinary. He was not one to frown easily, and lately there were quite a few people whispering that he must be walking on clouds.
But the moment I saw the golden envelope the Count was holding, I could not help but guess the reason.
“…News travels fast for matters like this.”
Kiers, too, glanced only at the outer envelope before smiling bitterly, as if he already knew. When the Count handed it over, Kiers frowned before even looking at it closely.
“Looks like His Exalted Majesty is finally going to send someone.”
“I-I believe he intends to confirm it.”
“Whether my half-brother, who has turned into a monster, is really getting married or not?”
“….”
Kiers merely returned the letter with a self-deprecating smile, yet it was the Count who showed his displeasure.
“Calling it a congratulatory envoy is obviously just a pretext. Duke Verna and his wife, of all people.”
“…Well, whoever it is.”
“Still, they’re surely desperate to find something to pick at. Shouldn’t we make some preparations on our side as well?”
“What good is it to curry favor with them?”
Kiers ran a hand through his hair with an air of indifference. Duke Verna was the Emperor’s other half-brother, so they were related by blood as well. But unlike Kiers, who had become a threat to Imperial Authority, Verna had long ago crawled on his belly and claimed his current position; he could be called the “unofficial Emperor’s dog.”
“Still, you should prepare at least somewhat. If something were to happen to Lady Eliya because of this…”
“Who?”
Who, dares, here, to make that possible.
The weight of what Kiers left unsaid pressed down on the shoulders of everyone watching. The knights all kept silent, but he ran his tongue lightly over his lips, as if hiding a smile.
“And I’d rather you put your preparations toward something else.”
“Huh?”
“We need technicians. As soon as possible, and as many as you can get.”
It was an out-of-nowhere order, but since it came from Kiers, I couldn’t afford to brush it off.
Technicians? The Count glanced around the training ground, now a wreck.
“Is there something that needs repairing?”
“No. It’ll just get broken again anyway.”
“Then what sort of technicians are you talking about?”
“…”
Kiers, his hand resting on his mask out of habit, finally lifted his head toward something far off.
Though there was nothing out there but the endless Grand Duke’s Castle, and within it only the Winter Garden with its skeletal trees. His gaze swept slowly across the grounds until it landed on the knights holding their swords, and something in his expression turned meaningful.
“Well, I suppose that won’t do your training any harm.”

◇ ◆ ◇

I held Rose’s hand tight in one of mine, and in the other I carried a large basket. Inside were the remnants of our shabby lives, the things that would be the end of our pitiful existence. Rose’s hair ribbon pins, my worn-out clothes, and a whole heap of things that had to go.
They say you have to throw out the old to make room for the new, and a future divorcée who’ll be living it up and flaunting her enormous fortune has no use for such rags.
“Sis, does this all go in the ‘trash-trash-throw-away’ pile?”
“Of course! We’re going to burn every last bit of it now!”
Standing before the incinerator, I showed Rose the basket, now full to the brim. Those who know nothing will no doubt voice concern that it’s a shame to discard the memories tied up in old things, but that’s the mistake of people who have sentiment and no experience.

“Oh my, memories are the most precious treasure of all!”

Anyone can say that sort of thing. Wearing pretty clothes, sitting in a warm living room, eating food someone else provided, what’s so hard about talking big?
Memories are the lace gloves a first love left behind, not the gloves you wore while gathering firewood and got stabbed by a splinter, stained with blood. I’d bet my entire fortune that the people who throw such words around have never known real poverty. No, wait, I’d rather not bet it all, since I’m about to become quite wealthy.
“Hehe, Rose, do you remember this? There was no ribbon to tie around your waist, so I tore up my skirt and made one for you. The back’s worn out completely, and the threads have come loose.”
“Mm-hm. But when I’m bored, it’s fun to play with it like this with my fingers.”
“Oh? Then let me try too… No! What do you think you’re doing!”
Without realizing it, I had been squeezing out memories of those lean days, and I jerked the basket away in a panic. I should be throwing out this poor mindset of mine too. Living with so little for so long, even tossing out a single object wasn’t easy.
“…Sis.”
The same went for our Rose. She couldn’t find a single proper toy, so she took pleasure even in a waistband with its threads all unraveled, and now she sagged in disappointment.
“Should we just not throw it away, Sis?”
“No way! We have to get rid of the shabby stuff! Only then will good things come our way!”
“…Mm. Okay.”
Rose, if you try to talk me out of it one more time, your sister is really going to turn back.
Determined to hold onto my wavering resolve, I quickly tossed the basket into the incinerator. I hugged Rose, who was staring at me with wide eyes from the shock.
“There, we’re all set to become rich!”
“Sis.”
“Shall we go, Vice Guild Leader of the Platinum Guild?”
I deliberately put some spring into my step.
Hmm, at a moment like this, a new face should show up and liven things up.
Strangely, not a single one of the many knights was in sight today. Maybe they were all training. Or maybe they’d been caught in some trouble after tailing Rose around for days.
“Rose, if we go around this way, we’ll reach the Winter Garden, so let’s see if there are any berries there… Oh my!”
“Lady Eliya, Lady Rose. So you were here.”
“Sir Jerome!”
The moment we rounded the corner of the last castle wall, a handsome man with brown hair popped out in front of us. He had given such a start that I pressed a hand to my heaving chest, and he lowered himself into an apologetic bow.
“Ah, no. Please don’t do that.”
“Not at all. Anyway… you’ve been out somewhere, I take it? I stopped by the Main Castle first, but you weren’t there.”
“Yes. I was just doing a little… cleaning up of the old corruption. But you were looking for me?”
He had stopped by the Main Castle? Sir Jerome looked rather frantic, and I tilted my head. Come to think of it, why was Sir Jerome here and not at the training ground?
“Yes. There’s something I really must show you.”
“…Me?”
“To be precise, Lady Rose as well.”
Rose, who had let go of her ribbons and was still a little downcast, gazed up at me with wide, round eyes. Being sought out by someone, even as a child, seems to make her both shy and pleased.
“…Sis.”
That kind of call means she’s willing to go along, pretending to be reluctant. Fine. We needed something to lift our spirits anyway, so I smiled and nodded.
I tried prodding him about what this was all about as he walked a step ahead, but for some reason he only smiled faintly.
“Let’s take it slow. There’s a breeze today.”
“Yes. Which is why I’d like you to hurry a little.”
What sort of scheme is this, from such a kind and handsome big brother?
“…Rose, you have to keep your wits about you.”
When I whispered this playfully to Rose, she grew solemn without even understanding why. “Okay!” Having nodded first, we followed him without letting him out of our sight.
Not that anything could really happen now, but since this is the Grand Duke’s Castle, I couldn’t let my guard down. The place is ruled by none other than the fearsome beast who conquered the North!
“…S-sis.”
Little Rose, who had just stepped into the Winter Garden with a light, bouncing gait, was stunned senseless. And I, who should have been steadying her and keeping us both grounded, had my whole soul knocked clean out of me.
I turned in a slow circle, taking in the garden, and then my knees gave way beneath me.
“W-where are we?”

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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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