Meeting Count Crowfield felt extremely strange.
I know Count Crowfield, not just by face, but surprisingly, we’ve had a proper conversation. That time I disguised myself as a maid and infiltrated the Crowfield mansion. When the Count ambushed the tavern.
Especially in the tavern, I rewound time several times to deal with the enemies and to extract information as well.
While absorbing the information stored in the tavern, I pondered whether the Count deserved to die, and even had a separate conversation with him. Who knows? It might just have been because I was being threatened.
After a bang of genuine conversation using bullets as a means, I concluded that the Count was indeed a villain.
And that villain was alive in this world.
“How grateful I am that my daughter could make good friends at the academy.”
The Count’s voice was quite calm, neither terrified, enraged, nor lustful. Contrary to his gaunt appearance, his deep and husky voice was enough to leave a good first impression.
But his looks weren’t exactly charming.
Still, back when I was trying to assassinate him, he had dark circles under his eyes and was somewhat thin but still had a decent face. Now, he looked even skinnier, with bones glaringly protruding.
It seemed he tried to hide that frailness with a mustache, but it didn’t work well. Originally, the shadows under his eyes made that mustache just add to his deteriorated appearance.
“No, it’s rather a blessing that Mia and I could become friends.”
I spoke to the Count in a soft voice.
Next to the Count sat Mia. The Baroness also sat beside the Count. At a glance, their relationship seemed harmonious.
No matter how strained their feelings were, both were nobles to the core. At least in front of guests, especially with two royals present, they wouldn’t show their vulnerabilities.
In the original work and the previous world, Count Crowfield was removed from favor by the Emperor. He might have thoughts brewing now, but he’d probably be on guard against the three of us since we were of royal blood and from the Emperor’s faction.
Mia, sitting next to her father, looked a bit anxious.
“My daughter isn’t very good with words, so I wonder how she could befriend such esteemed individuals like you.”
The Count’s words were literally true. It seemed humble, but in reality, Mia really struggled with conversation. Or rather, she didn’t try to converse much.
They say children growing up hearing their parents fight become timid. Yet, while she opened up before us, she didn’t show any signs of deliberately trying to make new friends.
“I heard it was thanks to you that Mia could join the student council.”
“Mia qualified to be a council member from the start. It’s not just because of our help.”
As I spoke, Claire and Alice quietly observed the Count. The Count seemed to notice this; our conversation was thoroughly revolving around Mia.
…Hmm.
At this rate, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to have the conversation I really wanted to have with Count Crowfield.
After that, we spent over ten minutes on such unnutritious small talk while I racked my brain.
*
It wasn’t clear what the bespectacled man was planning to sell me off to.
But among those candidates afterward, I included Count Crowfield in my thoughts. He liked children and surprisingly enjoyed having twisted preferences.
The original work didn’t specify exactly how Claire ‘killed’ Count Crowfield.
Just that during the escape from the tavern, she killed a noble who was trying to attack her, and that the tavern had burned down.
…Does that mean the noble Claire killed that day could have been Count Crowfield?
I ended up being sold just because I caught the eye more than Claire did.
“…”
Thus, I reached one conclusion.
The way to have a private conversation with Count Crowfield—
“No way.”
—And Alice sharply cut off my idea when she heard it.
After finishing our conversation with the Count and the Baroness, we had gone up to Mia’s room. Mia had briefly stepped out to talk to her parents. She was probably confirming something that shouldn’t be discussed during our conversation. She might even be picking up some tea and snacks.
In a household like the Count’s, it would be normal for a maid to handle that, but strangely, there weren’t any ‘maids’ in this mansion. Although there were male servants and butlers, it wasn’t very polite by the standards of this world for a male servant to enter a room full of ladies.
If Mia were alone, she wouldn’t have to care about such things, but we were in the presence of honored guests. Not that we could tell them to bring it to us, so she’d likely be ordering her daughter.
…This was probably the fault of the Baroness.
No woman could avoid neurosis when her husband goes out rolling around the tavern every night—or even during the day. Especially if she still had feelings for her husband.
And when I infiltrated disguised as a maid, I sensed that the Count had likely messed around with some maids.
The mere fact that I, disguised as a commoner, could infiltrate as a maid in a place as high as the Count’s mansion meant the Count picked someone who he thought could be ‘untouched.’
In the end, if he became suspicious of all the maids and sent them all away, it wouldn’t be unusual.
And because of that, their marriage might have gotten worse.
But thanks to that, we had time to chat like this.
“I may not be a princess now, but I am the daughter of the Baron. No matter how much of a count he is, he can’t just mess with me.”
When I told Alice that, she frowned and replied.
“But if you seduced him first, it would be a different story. Legally, we are still minors, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get married. It’s not completely forbidden for engaged couples to engage in relations. Besides, for a Count, it wouldn’t be strange to have a few wives.”
Um…
“Grace’s Estate might object, but after all, he is still a Baron. If it’s a Count owning a Count’s Territory, and if his daughter personally said, ‘I want to marry,’ there’d be no way to refuse.”
“But I wouldn’t say I want to marry.”
“Which woman would openly tell a man, ‘I want to marry you’?”
At my words, Alice made an extremely boring remark.
No, I thought Alice would be a pretty progressive woman.
“A man’s pursuit is ‘Will you marry me?’ but a woman’s pursuit shouldn’t be so explicit. ‘Is there a wedding happening? Would you like to join?’ would be considered a very direct advance. If others heard, they’d think it’s embarrassing.”
“True.”
Claire, who was listening from the side, nodded in agreement.
Hmm… Since Claire, who had no interest in romance, agreed, it truly seemed like that.
I already know that conversation among nobles is separate from emotions and reason. Even trivial matters that may not require anger in ordinary situations have established formulas for noble conflict, and it’s troublesome if one just ends it by saying they’re no longer angry. Both parties need to show emotional regards to conclude a matter.
However, applying that to advances regarding romance completely is…
Ah.
Thinking about it, one of the couples around me in this world was indeed dating in a manner that deviated massively from the norm.
…Could Jake and Roti’s dating style nearly be considered porn by the standards of this world?
“Is the thought of me seducing someone conceivable?”
Suddenly, that thought popped into my mind, and I asked Alice and Claire.
The two looked a bit dazed, staring into each other’s faces, then returned their gaze to me.
“Right?”
“Yeah.”
Both nodded in agreement.
Hmm.
I paused for a moment and came to a conclusion.
“Well then, it might be a good idea for me to seduce Count Crowfield for a moment.”
If that small flirtation were to block my marriage path and make it appear as though I were engaged to the Count, that would be that.
Because, after all, that’s something I would never do.
Order versus chaos, right?
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