“Pff—haha… peanuts, pfft, the peanuts…!”
Ah, this was driving her insane.
A cultured young lady would never burst out laughing in a public place like this.
For a brief moment, the real Yvel emerged from beneath the flawless mask she always wore, and Victor's eyes softened with amusement.
Yes.
He liked this side of her.
Her performance as the perfect lady was impeccable, beyond question—but did she really need to keep acting when it was just the two of them?
The sight of her laughing freely, wiping tears from her eyes, her trembling eyelashes, her parted lips...
Victor cut off the thought before it could fully form.
It was too embarrassingly sentimental for him to even admit to himself.
“I-I'll eat them well,” she said between giggles.
“So you really do like peanuts. I was worried my memory might have been wrong.”
“I'm genuinely curious. What would you have done if I hated peanuts?”
Yvel asked cheerfully as she picked one up and popped it into her mouth.
Crunch. Crunch.
Victor watched her contentedly and shrugged.
“I would have fed them to some unfortunate birds that failed at hunting. My situation would have been equally pitiful.”
“Oh, goodness.” She laughed. “There are far too many for me to finish anyway. Let's scatter some for the birds.”
“Sounds good.”
“And make sure to buy beer too. Peanuts are always best with beer. Though the birds wouldn't understand such refinement.”
Before long, birds gathered around the pair.
After confirming that plenty of passersby had already stolen curious glances in their direction, Victor suggested they leave.
Their objective had been achieved—and then some.
No one would ever know that one of his goals for the day had simply been to make Yvel laugh.
[Mysterious Woman Seen in Secret Meeting with the Grand Duke of Bayern?]
[Shock! Grand Duke of Bayern Enjoys Daytime Date!]
[Has the Future Grand Duchess Already Been Chosen?]
The next morning, as if every newspaper in the Empire had coordinated in advance, special editions flooded the streets.
Most articles ended with the same question:
Who was the mysterious lady?
None of the gossip papers dared make any concrete claims.
The reason was simple.
Victor von Bayern's romantic history had always been spotless.
“She wore a modest yet elegant dress believed to be a creation from Madame Rougien, the capital's most renowned fashion house...”
The stories multiplied and spread until they reached the Bayern Grand Duchy itself, far from the capital.
Genevieve Bayern had been reading the morning paper while her hair was being styled.
Halfway through the article, she nearly jumped from her seat.
Frantically searching for her spectacles, she reread every line carefully.
The more she read, the more absurd it seemed.
Victor had disappeared without even saying where he was going.
She had assumed some new mission had called him away.
His promise not to leave the territory?
Naturally she had thought it was either a joke or an empty statement.
And yet—
“...How dare he? How dare he try to bring in a mistress without telling me?”
Crunch.
Crunch.
Genevieve bit her nails furiously until she tasted blood.
Only then did she stop.
Anger surged all the way to the top of her head, with nowhere to go.
“Honestly! To think he'd pull something like this!”
Newspapers always exaggerated.
That was how they sold copies.
So the claim that this mystery woman might become the future Grand Duchess was clearly a wild leap in logic.
And yet...
Why do I feel so uneasy?
To Genevieve, the Bayern Grand Duchy was everything.
She had grown up there.
Every corner of the estate carried memories of her parents.
No matter where she looked, she saw familiar sights.
Just as her mother once had, Genevieve managed the household.
With Lady Susanna gone, she had never doubted that this was her duty.
But how had Victor treated her recently?
Managing a household was difficult and exhausting work, yet he showed not even the slightest appreciation for it.
Grinding her teeth, Genevieve practically threw the newspaper aside and stood.
Whoever she is, just let her try coming here.
She's obviously after Bayern itself. Clinging to Victor so she can swallow everything whole.
I'll make sure she regrets it.
A few minutes later, while she was still fuming alone, the butler approached.
“Lady Genevieve, regarding the donation amount you designated for the charity exhibition, I have something to discuss. The figure is rather excessive—”
“Ah, Willen. I'm feeling dizzy. I think I need to rest.”
“...It's morning, my lady.”
“A lady's dizziness cannot be helped. My nerves seem to be acting up again. Here, read this article.”
Willen was one of Genevieve's least favorite people.
The man constantly nagged her over what she considered insignificant amounts of money.
She shoved the newspaper into his hands and escaped before he could continue.
Heading for the garden to calm herself, she grumbled internally.
The charity exhibition is my event.
Of course my donation should be the largest.
I bear the Bayern name. The family's reputation demands it.
Why couldn't anyone understand that?
It's not as if I'm doing anything harmful to the family.
How exhausting.
Sighing deeply, Genevieve turned her attention toward the flowers.
Looking at beautiful things usually helped restore her peace of mind.
But then—
SPLASH!
“KYAAAH!”
A torrent of water came crashing down on her.
Within seconds she was completely soaked.
The familiar, obnoxious laughter that followed made her tremble with rage.
“You! Damian! It's you again!”
Damian's head disappeared behind the balcony railing as he snickered.
Blood rushed to her head.
Storming inside, Genevieve charged up to the second floor.
As if deliberately provoking her, Damian had not even bothered to run away.
The bucket sat neatly beside him.
“You little monster! If only you didn't exist, everything would be so much better! You're the reason my condition keeps worsening! I should have had you locked away in an asylum and beaten those habits out of you!”
Normally Victor would have ignored such remarks.
But for some reason he had been unusually firm about Damian.
That little beast.
That monster.
That malicious fairy child.
He belonged in a hospital.
The infuriating part was that Damian's violent tendencies never surfaced when Victor was around.
“Come here this instant! Seize him! If you fail, all of you can go hungry together!”
Damian stuck out his tongue and darted away.
Unfortunately for him, several servants loyal to Genevieve quickly caught him.
“AAAAAH! AAAAAH!”
“Be quiet!”
SMACK!
Under the guise of discipline, Genevieve slapped him hard across the face.
Then she froze.
The look in his eyes...
It was always like this.
Susanna's leftover trash.
Whenever she looked at this child who barely seemed human, revulsion churned in her stomach.
“Oh? So that's how it is.”
A cruel smile spread across her lips as she stared back into those savage eyes.
“Animals only learn when they're starved.”
The boy glared at her murderously.
“Lock him in solitary confinement. For two days he'll receive nothing but water. We'll see whether you learn obedience or not.”
“AAAAAAAH!”
The child screamed and struggled violently as he was dragged away.
Had Victor witnessed this scene himself, he would have been horrified.
But—
He's not here right now, is he?
Damian's eyes burned with hatred.
For a moment, even Genevieve flinched.
Yet she quickly shook her head as though accustomed to it.
Instead, she began thinking about what she would ask Victor for when he returned.
Specifically, she intended to demand an increase in the amount of money she was allowed to spend.
