“That’s exactly why she’s cunning. Because she doesn’t appear so.”

Those who advertise themselves as vipers aren’t actually much. It’s more deadly when something ordinary has venom. His voice was gentle, like he’s teaching a child. Meanwhile, his hands had been fondling her br*asts for some time. Ah, this pervert. If she zoned out a little, his hands would be there before she knew it. It was partly s*xual but almost like a habit. When she once confronted him about why he did this, he pondered for a moment before boldly stating, “Perhaps I have a complex from not being breastfed enough as a child,” leaving her with nothing more to say. It was almost as if he thought, “What’s wrong with touching what’s practically mine?”

“One thing’s for sure—” Van began.

“She must know you’re my lover.”

“Whaat?”

Eurene, who had been stupidly watching her br*asts change shape under his hands, was startled. Despite her shock, he merely snickered.

“Would she approach you without knowing? She doesn’t do unnecessary things.”

“Aah! Why, why? Does she want to throw water at me?”

“Why would she do that? Eurene, I told you, she doesn’t do unnecessary things. I already said so.”

Her teacher repeated his words slowly as if helping her understand. But what teacher would be playing with his student’s br*asts? Eurene grumbled in disbelief. Van tilted his head languidly like a satiated predator and nibbled on Eurene’s earlobe as she floundered. Gently, chewing softly. Ah…… Even from this small stimulation, her lower abdomen tingled, making her cross her legs.

No. Think of something else, something else.

“Th-then, why on earth……”

“Well— maybe she’s curious about you, or maybe she finds you cute too?”

“What nonsense is that?”

“It makes sense. You really are cute.”

Hot, passionate, and sexy too. Van kissed her reddened earlobe while breathing laughter into her ear. Warm breath too. He was clearly teasing her. Cute and sexy, what nonsense. Her bowed head turned bright red. He chuckled softly, kissed the top of her head, and got up. As always, it had taken longer than expected. I’m going, honey. With that, he quickly disappeared, leaving behind Eurene whose entire body had turned red. She had always wondered how he managed to leave the mansion without encountering anyone, but in this regard, he was reliable and would have safely exited one way or another. She sighed as if the ground would swallow her up.

“Nngh, what should I do.”

* * *

To summarize the result, Eurene couldn’t decide whether to go to the tea party until the very day it was scheduled. This was the outcome of her indecisiveness, which went beyond her characteristically extreme positivity.

Should I go or not? Hmm~ Should I just close my eyes and go? But it’s scary.

Van’s assessment of his wife as “cunning” also contributed to her fear. While he was a selfish man who lived comfortably as he pleased, he didn’t speak idly on such matters. After all, he had a keen eye and excellent intuition that allowed him to accurately read others’ emotions or conditions even from minor changes in attire or style. There was a reason he received the emperor’s trust despite not being particularly diligent or responsible.

In any case, while Van told white lies as easily as eating meals to avoid troublesome situations or simply because he found things bothersome, he was very honest in some ways. At least to Eurene. This wasn’t about whether he loved or cherished her. No, honestly, even Eurene herself thought there was no need for Duke Carca to mince words with someone like her.

This was because Eurene didn’t have a particularly good memory and was completely oblivious to anything outside her areas of interest—delicious food, sweets, romance novels, basically her own comfort and entertainment. She didn’t have much pride and had no desires beyond her appetite. What an easy and manageable partner! There was no need to lie to her about his wife being a viper-like woman.

“Where are you looking during mealtime?”

Eurene, who had been absentmindedly holding a spoon upside down in her mouth, jumped at the rebuke directed at her. As a result, she bumped the basket of bread that had been appetizingly piled up, and the precariously stacked small morning rolls fell to her feet. Oh, what a waste.

A tsk-tsk sound fell over her curly hair. Count Eifel—Eurene’s brother, who habitually slept late, whose manners were as far from ladylike refinement as the capital was from the farthest village, and who had little fondness for his idle sister—always had something to say at breakfast.

Dressed elegantly in an expensive waistcoat tailored to his round belly and a fancy gold-embroidered handkerchief, the count with his plump face looked exactly like a nouveau riche, nothing more, nothing less. He probably didn’t realize this as he proudly fiddled with his mustache, stiffened with wax. The count cleared his throat. Probably trying to sound dignified.

“Ahem! Ahem! You, if you’re a lady, act like one—wake up early, keep yourself tidy, do needlework, paint, behave like a proper noblewoman. Do you even know how old you are?”

“Brother, do you always have to put on airs at the table? It’s not impressive at all, so just eat your breakfast.”

Though they were now a count and a count’s sister, they had grown up as commoners in their childhood—albeit fairly well-off ones—running around the neighborhood. It was around that time she became lifelong best friends with Rona, the only daughter of a fruit shop owner. While it was good to observe proper etiquette now that they were nobility, Eurene often thought her brother tended to overdo it.

As Eurene yawned lazily and muttered, her nephew, Shuren, laughed innocently without understanding, and Count Eifel’s face turned red. Though he claimed to be more sensible than his sister and aware of his duties, the count was still Eurene’s brother and had an emotional side. In other words, he was quick-tempered. Flustered, he shook his mustache and threw down the napkin tucked under his chin. This startled the countess, who had been watching her husband and sister-in-law nervously.

“You insolent! Wild filly! Is that how you speak in front of your nephew! Damned lazy girl!”

“You’re also saying bad things in front of Shuren right now, brother. Could I have some more soup, please?”

“You, you! Ah! This girl!”

“Darling! Please calm down.”

When the countess grabbed her husband’s arm as he stood up abruptly, the count groaned and sat back down. Being unexpectedly uxorious, he listened well to his wife. His expression as he watched Eurene eating bread with a fried egg on top, her face still drowsy, was as sour as rotten cabbage. The bits of egg stuck to his firmly set mustache trembled.

“I need to marry her off and get rid of her! Damn girl.”

He continued to speak ill of his sister for quite some time afterward. The problem was that this was repeated like an annual event during breakfast, so even the person concerned, as well as his wife and children and the servants, were indifferent to it. As if predetermined, today too he concluded with “What man would take you? Oh my goodness—” and picked up a sausage to chew on it. Eating it with his hands like a beer snack was no different from the habits of common laborers in pubs. Though he tried to act like a nobleman to the bone, it was difficult to eliminate ingrained behaviors, just as his father had been and his sister was.

In fact, the countess, who was from a minor noble family and the most aristocratic by birth among those seated at this table, seemed to accept it all with a knowing look. She had grown up in an unpretentious household with a frugal and modest upbringing and good education. If there was anything lacking, it was that her family’s only wealth was their barely maintained dignity.

Perhaps because of this, she had developed a strong adaptability to reality and a tendency to quickly give up on the impossible, allowing her to appropriately ignore the somewhat frivolous and unrefined behavior of her husband and sister-in-law. In any case, even though he was of common birth, her husband loved her and was affectionate, providing financial affluence and domestic comfort that she could never have had before marriage. That was reason enough for the countess to genuinely love the Eifel siblings as her husband and family.

And thanks to this modest sister-in-law, Eurene could comfortably stick around the count’s household without any prospects. The countess also sometimes saved her from the count’s nagging and interrogations. Though it seemed that her main reason was often more about being embarrassed by her husband’s frivolous behavior than generosity or sympathy for her sister-in-law, it was a good thing anyway. It was Eurene’s good fortune that she could live comfortably without effort, and she had also found a good sister-in-law.

Watching the count’s irritated demeanor, the countess carefully changed the subject.

“Miss, I heard you received a tea time invitation from Duchess Carca?”

“What? Duchess?”

Before Eurene could choke on her soup, the count, who had been continuously grumbling while chewing on hard garlic bread, asked in surprise. The countess pointed out the food particles caught in his mustache with a quiet hand gesture instead of mentioning it directly. The count seemed too startled when he heard her mention such a high nobleman to feel embarrassed.

“A duchess? Wife, what do you mean?”

“I happened to meet the duchess at the previous party, and she was an elegant and kind person. When she heard about Miss Eurene, she said she wanted to meet her. She’s quite friendly.”

“Why would such an esteemed person want to meet this girl? What exactly did you say?”