Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

Unlike the ancient city built as a fortress by the margrave during wartime, the mansion was new and purely a living space.

It was always decorated with flowers and crafts, a warm and cozy home.

But today, because everything was moved out to the engagement ceremony venue, it was empty and bleak. The cold atmosphere, a stark contrast to the luxurious engagement ceremony, left my parents speechless as they sat discarded on the floor.

At the far end of the entrance hall... there was only one chair in the vast empty space. An old man sat there alone.

Noticing him, Lord Cyrus gave a wry smile.

“Father. I didn’t expect you to come. Are you feeling well?”

“...Du-Duke Granado...?”

My father widened his eyes in shock, looking back and forth between Lord Cyrus and the old man.

Duke Alfred Granado ignored both his son and the baron. He simply looked at me and then Lord Cyrus in turn, wearing a gentle smile so much like Lord Cyrus’s.

The Duke Granado — a true high-ranking noble, descended from the royal bloodline, and one of the top five in this kingdom. Naturally, I, and my mother, who was originally just a village girl, were completely intimidated. Collapsed on the floor in the position Mio had thrown me, I was unable to move.

Yet my father was not yet trembling in fear. Perhaps because the man was old, he did not hesitate to raise his voice without any embarrassment.

“Duke Granado! This engagement is not yet finalized. Today, I will be taking Marie back with me.”

In response, Lord Cyrus murmured quietly.

“...If she has a home to return to.”

“What!?”

I turned around to see my father face it, then Lord Cyrus handed him a single document. My father looked suspicious for a moment, then immediately let out a scream.

“Ah... ahh...!?”

“Surely you can’t say you don’t understand the kingdom’s language, Baron Chadelan. This is a list of the lordship duties you were supposed to perform. The checkmarks are reports written in your own handwriting... not a single one exists.”

My father immediately tried to snatch it back. But there was a huge height difference between Lord Cyrus and him. With a swift dodge, Lord Cyrus lifted it high out of reach. Even though the motion was playful like a child’s game, his gaze was sharp as a demon’s.

“This document clearly shows how you have utterly neglected your duties as lord. Of course, documents you forced Marie to forge, tasks you pushed onto her — all recorded here.

You wore the face of the family head but offloaded everything onto your daughter, still amassed unpayable debts, and in the end, tried to sell your own daughter!”

Lord Cyrus’s words were so harsh they made even me tremble. They were fatal. It was clear he already understood everything; that paper was nothing but a memo.

Yet my father still jumped up, unable to speak or even make excuses... only desperately trying to grab that sheet of paper.

Like a frog being boiled alive, struggling just to snatch away a single slip of paper.

Ah... I felt utterly drained.

Truly... my father... the man I had blindly believed in for eighteen years.

Panting from jumping so much, he muttered.

“Give me that… now…!”

Lord Cyrus no longer raised his voice. He quietly told Gregor Chadelan the truth.

“—Fool.”

“Haha. What a bother.”

Lady Ryuu-Ryuu shrugged her shoulders, smiling in disbelief. She rested her elbow on the duke’s chair and said lightly,

“As you can hear, Baron, with work like this, you cannot be entrusted with lordship duties. Therefore, the Gregor Chadelan household will be dissolved, and the current Chadelan Territory will henceforth be managed by the Granado Family.”

“Nonsense! By what authority do you say that!?”

My father shouted, stepping forward — then shuddered and froze.

The old man had stood up.

—He was huge. The elderly man with long white hair and beard was astonishingly tall. Not only in height but also broader shoulders and thicker build, far larger than my father, who was probably a decade younger.

His finely chiseled, handsome face combined with the deep intellect that comes with old age — no, more than anything, an indescribable presence. My father was completely cowed by this man, the margrave of the time, descended from the military nation Dilz Royal Family.