Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

This is the latter part.

“I suspected you wanted to eavesdrop,” Lord Cyrus said. Come to think of it, he was much stronger than me and had refused to share the table with them. Whatever their true identity, they probably didn’t want outsiders overhearing their business negotiations.

“…To some extent, I had already given up. In any country, when merchants start talking, curious ears naturally perk up. There are always people hoping to catch some profitable tidbit or scraps. That’s exactly why most business talks are done openly. They’re not discussing anything that would be troublesome if overheard, and the other side cannot act unscrupulously, so they deliberately do it that way.”

I knew that too. Merchants often came and went at Granado Castle, but neither they nor Lord Cyrus ever drove anyone away. Of course, there must be secret talks that cannot be revealed, but otherwise, they intentionally laid out samples openly and spoke in the open space.

“If you were after just a little petty profit, there were easier chances to gather information. But you all… forcibly barged into the inn and piled on a mountain of lies, then still tried to eavesdrop on the negotiations?”

“…Heh.”

Ms. Kaede laughed, clearly enjoying herself.

Without answering Lord Cyrus’s question, she turned back to me. She casually pushed back her short hair and giggled quietly.

“So, young lady, when did you realize I might understand Western languages?”

She asked something completely unrelated.

I hesitated, but when Lord Cyrus prompted me, I explained.

“…What made me suspicious was how Mr. Angelo was unusually friendly toward me.”

Both Mr. Angelo and Lord Cyrus looked surprised. I continued.

“To be exact, it was every time Ms. Kaede showed displeasure. At first, I thought it was just a joke or flattery, and that Kaede was overreacting. But if that were true, Angelo wouldn’t do the same thing over and over. He’d be careful not to upset Kaede… At least, if it were Lord Cyrus or the attendants of Granado Castle, they would be considerate and correct themselves.”

Yes—when he complimented other girls, it was obvious Kaede was offended. So obvious that anyone could see it.

Mr. Angelo is a loyal servant; there’s no way he wouldn’t notice his mistress’s feelings.

Yet, Angelo exaggeratedly praised me in front of Kaede. Whether sincere or not, it was insensitive and lacked consideration for Kaede. Each time, the atmosphere between Kaede and me worsened. I found it harder to talk to her, and she had reasons to ignore me.

I thought about it.

Was he trying to steal our chances to talk? To prevent any accidental slip-ups or mistakes.

“All of Kaede’s jealousy and hostile attitude toward me was just a facade. Actually, Kaede was the one ordering Angelo to act like he was interested in me.”

“You’re an interesting girl.”

Kaede shrugged.

“For someone as beautiful as you, to doubt a man’s affection or a jealous woman’s true feelings… You’ve surely seen plenty of such scenes before.”

“Well, it’s complicated… But you admit it, right? You two have been acting all along.”

Kaede smiled faintly, then nodded deeply.

“Wh-what!?”

It seemed Lord Cyrus was the most shocked. Putting aside his feelings for the moment, I checked Mr. Angelo’s expression. His face was complex and hard to read, but when our eyes met, he made a gesture saying “sorry.” I smiled and waved to him, saying, “It’s okay.” I was really sure from the start that Angelo had no feelings for me. Because whenever he spoke sweet words, he was hopelessly monotone! Anyone could tell it was acting or a joke, not meant seriously.

“Putting Angelo aside, I couldn’t quite discern Kaede’s true feelings at first. We hardly spoke and it was hard to read her expressions. The only time I became certain was during the mushroom incident.”

“...Mushroom? You mean that deadly something called Tengu?”

“Yes. At that time, I thought I absolutely had to stop her, so I warned her in a language she would understand—in Shaina—by saying ‘Danger!’”