Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

Mio immediately took action.

“Nice to meet you! Sorry to intrude. My name is Karina Barton, I went to the same school as Lady Marie!”

She announced herself loudly and awkwardly bowed with a curtsey. The baron and Mio had met properly before. Still, Mio showed no sign of worry, looking the baron straight in the eye through her round glasses.

The baron wore a stern expression.

“...The same school? There should only be boys there now. And Marie doesn’t have any female friends.”

Without hesitation, Mio presented her student ID. It was a certificate proving that Karina Barton studied at that school before dropping out.

“I quit this spring. Now I live in the royal capital. That’s where I met Marie and became friends with her.”

“...In the royal capital...”

“Yes. I was asked to run an errand. To fetch something Marie forgot in her room.”

“...Tania. Why have you brought a guest here?”

Instead of questioning us, he addressed the maid. She puffed up her chest.

“That’s because that girl asked me to take her to Lady Marie’s room.”

Even I, unrelated to this, was a little annoyed at the maid’s foolishness. I half-expected the baron to roar in anger—but instead, he surprised us all.

He laughed brightly.

“Hahaha! Tania, you little prankster, you’ve done it again, haven’t you? Sorry about that, guest. As you can see, this is just a storage room. You must have been surprised!”

...What?

Mio, I, and even the maid were left standing dumbfounded with question marks over our heads. The baron laughed heartily, first patting the maid on the back, then gently patting our shoulders in turn.

“There’s no way I’d assign such a filthy room to a lovely girl like her, right? Hahaha—Let me show you around the manor. Follow me.”

He spoke abruptly and turned his back.

The maid seemed to realize her mistake and fell silent. We couldn’t get any more answers.

Mio acted quickly. She grabbed the shoulder of the boy trying to follow the baron.

“—You must be Cedric, Lady Marie’s younger brother?”

The boy froze completely. He seemed terribly shy. Trembling, he barely nodded.

“Y-Yeah. I...”

“Cedric!!”

At his father’s call, the boy jumped violently. The baron spoke in a low voice to the shrinking boy.

“You go back to your room and continue studying.”

“Y-Yes, Father.”

“Don’t leave your room until you solve that problem. You’re not smart, so you have no time to rest.”

“Understood. I am very sorry.”

The boy bowed repeatedly to his father and ran off. We didn’t stop him.

The baron quickly returned to a smile and led us through the manor.

“This is the first time a friend of Marie’s has visited. She’s shy, a bookworm, gloomy, right? I’m glad someone became her friend.”

“Ehh, really? Marie is bright, kind, always smiling, and well-liked by everyone!”

Mio immediately responded. The baron was momentarily speechless but soon replied cheerfully.

“Haha. As her father, that makes me happy. …By the way, you said you came to fetch something. What is it?”

“Ahaha, it’s a secret! It’s an important girl’s item.”

“...If you won’t tell me, I can’t help looking for it.”

“No worries. If you just guide me to the room, I’ll look myself. Marie gave me permission.”

“...I see. Then if you can’t find it, it can’t be helped. Hahaha.”

The baron stopped at the center of the manor.

“Here you go, this is Marie’s room.”

We entered—I was relieved. So there really was a proper room after all. Good. It was spacious and bright, pastel pink overall. Cute curtains and floral bed sheets created a thoroughly girly space. The large closet must be filled with dresses.

But Mio glanced around quickly and burst into laughter.

“No way! Even the baron! This isn’t Marie’s room, it’s her sister’s!”

“...Why do you think that?”

“Because there’s no bookshelf or desk. Marie studies hard; it’s strange to have neither.”

“...Ah... well.”

“Cut the jokes. I’m not fooled.”

—For a few seconds, the baron narrowed his blue eyes and looked down at Mio. Then with a gentleman’s smile, he apologized for the prank and said he’d really show us the way this time. Of course, I no longer believed him.