Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

The next morning, everyone gathered together in the inn’s dining hall for breakfast.

Disguised as I was, along with Anastasia, Lord Cyrus, Lord Ruifeng, Mio, Wolfgang, my younger brother, and my parents.

I kept watching everyone, sometimes stepping away, sometimes drawing closer.

“What is this tea?! It’s hot!”

Father shouted at the serving girl.

“Y-yes, it was freshly brewed—”

“I know that. Summer is coming soon; you should be more thoughtful and serve iced tea instead.”

“B-but everyone ordered hot tea…”

“Don’t make excuses; you’re a merchant, aren’t you? Give me my money back!”

“It’s the Granado family paying anyway,” Mio muttered, stacking pancakes almost touching the ceiling.

Lord Cyrus spoke to the serving girl.

“My companion spoke rudely. I apologize. May we order something cold?”

“If you could give us a moment, I’ll bring ice from the icehouse.”

“Thank you. Baron, what will you have?”

Though Lord Cyrus asked Father, he just turned away, took a sip from his teacup, and cried out, “Ouch!”

After breakfast, we boarded the carriage. We tried to sit in the same arrangement as yesterday, but suddenly Father shouted angrily.

“Elvira, why are you boarding first?”

Mother looked puzzled, seemingly unable to understand the reason for the sudden outburst. Still, she apologized first, then asked Father what was wrong.

Father hesitated for a moment, then said,

“Don’t you know I get motion sickness easily? You didn’t even consider giving the window seat to your husband. You’re so thoughtless.”

“Oh… I see. I’m sorry.”

Mother got off the carriage and gave Father the seat further inside. I reached across Father and opened the window.

“It’s the first time I’ve heard the Baron gets motion sickness. Why didn’t you ask to open the window yesterday?”

“Ah… um…”

Father lowered his head, neither apologizing nor thanking me for opening it.

The road grew rougher from here, and even the war carriage shook violently. Lord Cyrus asked Father several times if he needed a break. Father neither answered nor responded properly.

Just before noon, Mother turned pale and groaned quietly. Lord Cyrus noticed immediately and signaled to the coachman, Mio.

As soon as we got off the carriage, Mother vomited on the ground. When I handed her a handkerchief, she coughed and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry… I’ve always been bad with carriages…”

She looked very sad.

“What shall we do? I’ve soiled your handkerchief. It’s such beautiful lace.”

“Don’t worry about it. Is there anything else you’d like?”

“Ah, then a glass of water… thank you. You’re so kind, even though you’re a man.”

“—Get out of the way!”

Father jumped out of the carriage and almost trampled Mother. Sprinting toward the bushes, Lord Cyrus chased after him, determined not to let him get away. After a while, the two returned together. Lord Cyrus smiled wryly and shrugged.

“If you both need to ‘go,’ whether from above or below, just say so earlier.”

“...I’m sorry. Thank you.”

Mother bowed deeply. Father stayed silent, looking awkward and keeping his head down.

After an early lunch break, Mother and Anastasia switched carriages. Because the Granado Castle carriage was larger and had better cushions, it was a consideration for Mother’s susceptibility to motion sickness.

As soon as Anastasia suggested this, she immediately said, “Ugh, no way.”

“I’ve been watching since yesterday, but Father speaks terribly to those beneath him, doesn’t he? If I were a ‘servant boy’ sharing the carriage for hours, I’d definitely get involved. I’d probably punch him.”

“Y-yeah. Then… how about this?”

I whispered to my elder sister and Lord Cyrus.

When the ‘servant boy’ joined the carriage, as expected, Father brightened up. Though his words were still shouts, his expression was cheerful. He scolded the boy for being born to a bad family, mocked him as useless for not caring about Father, and so on.