ITIF Chapter 96

I Assure You, It’s Not Jealousy

Giselle Grante looked toward the door in surprise. Soon, Olla’s voice could be heard from beyond it.

“Miss, it’s me. I heard you just returned home—do you have a moment?”

Giselle Grante had given Lindsey and Olla, who had decided to stay at the Cardia ducal residence, a few days off.

She thought they needed time to adjust to their changed environment.

The active Lindsey spent her time building friendships with the staff, while Olla seemed to spend her time quietly alone.

Especially today, as it was the last day of their holiday, the sisters had said they were going shopping together in the commercial district.

So she thought they’d return late.

‘Are they back already?’

Giselle Grante opened the door, feeling somewhat puzzled.

However, Lindsey and Olla, who had returned from their outing, wore dark expressions.

“Could we come in and talk for a moment?”

At Lindsey’s question, Giselle Grante nodded and stepped slightly to the side of the door.

“Did something happen?”

Lindsey, who had walked into the bedroom, cautiously began to speak.

“Well, you see, we heard some rather strange rumors in the commercial district. We thought it would be better to inform you quickly, Miss.”

Walking toward the sofa inside the bedroom, Giselle Grante gestured to the seat opposite her.

“Let’s sit first.”

When Giselle Grante sat on the sofa, Lindsey and Olla sat across from her.

However, the two who seemed ready to speak immediately only looked at each other.

“What is it?”

When Giselle Grante gently pressed them, Lindsey finally spoke.

“Do you happen to know someone called the daughter of Marquis Berilston?”

“Ah……”

A small exclamation escaped Giselle Grante’s lips.

‘Come to think of it, I had forgotten.’

She remembered hearing rumors that marriage talks with Kavelaseth were in progress.

“I remember. But why are you asking if I know the daughter of Marquis Berilston?”

“Oh my……”

Lindsey let out a frustrated sigh and patted her chest, and watching her, Olla spoke.

“Today, while my sister and I were walking through the streets, we saw someone mentioning your name, Miss. We were concerned, so we eavesdropped on what they were saying……”

Having said that much, Olla let out a light sigh. Giselle Grante nodded for her to continue.

“……I mean, really. They were saying that you, Miss, broke up the marriage talks between the daughter of Marquis Berilston and Duke Cardia and inserted yourself in between? And that’s why the two of them broke off their engagement……”

Olla’s voice grew somewhat louder, perhaps angry as she spoke. However, she soon trailed off, watching Giselle Grante’s reaction.

“Who on earth is spreading such ridiculous nonsense!”

Lindsey also clenched both fists tightly and huffed, saying she wouldn’t let them off easy if she met them.

“It’s probably not entirely wrong. I remember hearing rumors that marriage talks were going on between the daughter of Marquis Berilston and Duke Cardia.”

“What?!”

Lindsey and Olla’s mouths dropped open simultaneously.

“That was actually true?”

When Giselle Grante nodded slightly, Lindsey and Olla looked at each other with bewildered expressions.

“Even so, isn’t the intention of bringing up something from the past too transparent?”

“That’s right. The marriage talks between them ended a long time ago.”

At Lindsey’s words, Olla nodded in agreement.

Since news of her and Kavelaseth’s engagement had begun to spread, it wasn’t strange that past matters would become a topic of conversation.

However, seeing Olla and Lindsey so indignant, she became somewhat curious about what kind of rumors were actually circulating.

****

The next day, Pratt from the Radcliffe Trading Company came to the Cardia ducal residence.

Thanks to him, Giselle Grante was able to hear about the rumors spreading about her and Kavelaseth.

“So, these rumors are circulating among commoners?”

“That’s correct.”

At Pratt’s answer, Giselle Grante fell into thought.

‘This is definitely strange.’

Duke Kavelaseth Cardia and Lady Giselle Grante Amaterasu were famous figures in the Empire, and it wasn’t only nobles who were interested in news of their engagement.

It was said that the grain produced from the fertile lands of the Cardia duchy made up half of the Empire’s dining tables, and thanks to its geographical location adjacent to the Solzakai Kingdom and the Eastern Continent, the Amaterasu duchy had flourishing commerce and trade.

If Duke Amaterasu and Duke Cardia decided to raise prices for profit, it would be entirely possible.

Since the movements of the two families directly affected their own lives, interest in their engagement was high regardless of noble or commoner status.

As such, various rumors spreading was unavoidable.

Usually, rumors that spread among nobles would be passed to commoners through the mouths of servants, but this matter followed a different order.

It seemed the rumors had started circulating primarily among commoners.

If the rumors had spread through nobles’ mouths, Countess Tarel, Count Frederick, or Lady Howard would have given Giselle Grante a heads-up first.

“Pratt, could you find out where these rumors started spreading from?”

“I’ll investigate immediately.”

“Please do.”

Pratt, who had risen from his seat, bowed deeply toward Giselle Grante and left the drawing room.

It was just as Giselle Grante was taking her eyes off Pratt’s retreating figure.

Pratt exclaimed in a slightly excited voice.

“Oh! Duke Cardia. It’s an honor to meet you.”

When she turned her head, Kavelaseth was standing in front of Pratt.

‘Who is this person?’

With exactly that kind of look, Kavelaseth pointed at Pratt with his eyes.

Before Giselle Grante could speak first, Pratt answered.

“My introduction is late. I operate the Radcliffe Trading Company under the orders of Lady Amaterasu.”

At Pratt’s words, Giselle Grante pressed her forehead.

‘Ah…….’

“Ha……”

Meanwhile, a chuckle escaped from Kavelaseth’s lips.

“Oh, you didn’t know? I thought you surely knew……”

Only then sensing the awkward atmosphere, Pratt looked back and forth between Giselle Grante and Kavelaseth, reading the situation.

“If your business is finished, you may leave. My fiancée and I seem to have something urgent to discuss.”

Pratt made a tearful face and glanced at Giselle Grante.

Since the milk was already spilled and couldn’t be gathered up, Giselle Grante waved her hand at Pratt, telling him to go.

Pratt only turned around after apologizing to Giselle Grante a bit more.

“…….”

A shadow fell over Giselle Grante, who was gently pressing her brow with her elbow resting on the sofa’s armrest.

Giselle Grante only rolled her eyes to look up at Kavelaseth.

When their eyes met, Kavelaseth’s eyes curved slightly.

“To think the owner of the Radcliffe Trading Company was my fiancée—this is news to me.”

At his gaze that seemed to demand an explanation, Giselle Grante quickly spoke.

“It’s such a small trading company, I didn’t feel the need to tell Your Grace about it.”

“A small trading company……”

Trailing off his words and briefly lowering his gaze, Kavelaseth soon met her eyes directly again.

“……That must have been it. The channel through which you could gather information about the Empire while staying quietly within the mansion.”

To hide her startled feelings, Giselle Grante pulled up the corners of her mouth.

‘Really, his intuition is far too quick.’

After only briefly considering denial, Giselle Grante decided to admit it honestly.

“That’s right. I wanted to hide my identity if possible.”

Contrary to her expectation that he would press her about why she had hidden her identity, Kavelaseth smiled slightly.

“It was a wise choice. I’d like to praise you.”

With that, he sat down beside her. Giselle Grante glanced at Kavelaseth sitting next to her and spoke.

“I also have something I want to ask you. Is it true that marriage talks with the daughter of Marquis Berilston were ongoing before your engagement with me?”

Kavelaseth, who had been blinking for a moment, curved his eyes into an elegant arc.

“Does the existence of the daughter of Marquis Berilston concern you?”

Giselle Grante’s fist, which had been resting lightly on her knee, tightened.

To handle the situation before strange rumors spread further, she needed to know the truth.

She had only asked about the past for that reason, yet somehow it had become a ridiculous situation where she seemed jealous of his past woman.

It was the moment Giselle Grante turned her head toward Kavelaseth to protest.

Kavelaseth’s large hand gently covered her clenched fist.

“Do you know that the daughter of Marquis Berilston and Count Preston are relatives?”

Without even thinking to pull away her captured hand, Giselle Grante silently waited for what would come next.

“As you know, I have no other family. To attend gatherings that require a partner, I need a partner.”

Only then did a small sigh escape through Giselle Grante’s teeth.

“Ah……. Then the rumors about marriage talks weren’t true.”

Kavelaseth laughed softly and lightly pressed his lips to her forehead before pulling away and saying,

“It was flustering, but well, not bad.”

When she looked at him with an expression asking what he meant, Kavelaseth immediately added,

“I mean you misunderstanding and being jealous over a past woman on your own.”

At his answer, Giselle Grante’s eyes widened.

Absolutely not! She hadn’t been jealous.

She had only been trying to confirm the facts and handle the situation?

Unaware of how wronged she felt about being so misunderstood, Kavelaseth cupped her cheek.

And turned her slightly toward him.

Kavelaseth’s gaze looking at her was quite intense.

“Wait……”

Giselle Grante hurriedly opened her mouth to say it wasn’t jealousy.

But Kavelaseth was a bit faster.

“……!”

While harboring dissatisfaction with Kavelaseth’s habit of kissing her so routinely, for some reason Giselle Grante couldn’t refuse him.