Chapter 14 Delusion And Rampage
After making plans to go to the library with Halesia, Rhiannon returned home to Mrs. Wezelt's townhouse and noticed that Kaine was already back from being out.
Kaine welcomed Rhiannon at the door, a polite smile on his face.
"Welcome back, milady. Did you have tea at Lady Halesia's place today?"
"Yeah, I did. It was fun as always."
"Lady Halesia has been taking care of you quite a bit lately. I should bake a cake someday and pay her a visit..."
"Come on! Kaine, you're not my mom, you know? You don't have to go that far! ...But I might want to eat your apple pie again."
Rhiannon's eyes sparkled as she clasped her hands together and pleaded.
Kaine's apple pie was simply the best.
He nodded respectfully, saying, "I would be happy to make it for you, my lady".
"Still, it's amazing that Lady Halesia gets along so well with you, Lady Rhiannon."
"Ahh... yeah, she's a good kid."
Rhiannon hesitated.
Although various suspicious behaviors of Halesia flashed through her mind, she decided to keep her mouth shut.
(If I accidentally slip and mention that Halesia somehow knows all my part-time job shifts, Kaine would definitely get suspicious and say something like 'Meeting Lady Halesia is forbidden!' I can easily imagine it!)
Kaine almost never joins Rhiannon and Halesia for tea.
Apparently, Kaine sees Halesia as a "harmless young lady who gets along with Rhiannon." Of course, that's a complete misunderstanding, but Rhiannon didn't want to lose the chance to see her new friend Halesia.
So, she had no intention of correcting Kaine's misunderstanding.
Recently, Kaine has been going out a lot, looking pretty busy with personal stuff.
To avoid worrying anyone unnecessarily, Rhiannon is trying to be considerate in her own way.
In fact, she's been pretty quiet lately, not causing any trouble at all.
Rhiannon Mimi Clahsen is capable kid when she put her minds to it.
Rhiannon casually changed the subject.
"By the way, isn't the social season coming up soon? Haven't you gotten any party invitations yet?"
"I haven't received any invitations, but I did get a letter from Sir Werner. It's on your desk."
Upon hearing Werner's name, Rhiannon made a face of disgust.
"Ugh, just throw away Sir Werner's letter. It's probably just another one-sided order like 'Come to the palace garden tomorrow afternoon'."
"Understood, my lady."
"Let me know as soon as the party invitations come in! Like, right away!"
Rhiannon emphasized her point.
This time of year, known as the social season, is when parties are held all over the capital to celebrate the founding of the city.
Rhiannon, who absolutely loves parties, was looking forward to it.
She spread her arms wide and twirled gracefully.
"It'll be so much fun to make lots of friends at the party. And then, I'll have tea with my friends and Halesia!"
"Lady Rhiannon, before looking for friends, you should be looking for a life partner. The reason you came to the capital was to find a partner and get engaged!"
"Hmph, I haven't forgotten that! But there's no rush, right? I already have my fated person in my heart."
Rhiannon turned her head away with a huff.
Kaine looked at her with an obviously exasperated expression.
"Are you still searching for this fated person? Maybe it's time to give up?"
"Hey! You were the one who said that if I worked part-time at that bakery, I'd run into my fated person again!"
"You've been working part-time for 3 months now. If you still can't meet after 3 months, the chances of meeting in the future are extremely low. Let's give up and look for someone else."
Rhiannon puffed her cheeks at Kaine's indifferent words.
"I'm not giving up! Oh, right! How about asking the bakery owner to put up a notice saying, 'I'm looking for the person who saved me from a thug a few years ago' on the wall or something?"
"Please don't do that. There will be a ton of scoundrels pretending to be the hero. Absolutely do not do it."
"But..."
"Absolutely not."
With a bitter expression, Kaine emphasized his point.
Rhiannon was completely unaware that there were men frequenting the bakery just to catch a glimpse of the "Ice Beauty." If such a notice went up, it would cause a huge commotion throughout the town.
Kaine cleared his throat dramatically.
"Honestly, I wish you would face reality a bit more, my lady... A gentleman from a good family will quickly be taken by another young lady. You need to find someone soon!"
"W-why are you so eager about this, Kaine..."
"It's solely for your happiness, my lady. By the way, I've also compiled a rough list of suitable partners for Lady Rhiannon."
With that, Kaine pointed decisively at a thick stack of papers on the desk.
Rhiannon grimaced in distaste.
"Wow, what's this? It seems pretty thick for a gentleman's profile."
"It's a list of potential fiancés that I've compiled late at night. I've ranked noble gentlemen close to your age on a 4-tier scale."
"...That sounds like quite the effort. Is my butler really that free?"
"If I may recommend, the second son of the Gewerth family, Lord Galrathis, is quite the catch. My Kaine Ricciardi rating is top-notch! His family background is impeccable, and while he may be a bit slow on the uptake──."
Ignoring Rhiannon's sarcasm, Kaine started passionately rambling about the profiles of the noble sons.
Rhiannon, in response to Kaine, scrunched her face up.
A vague, unidentifiable anxiety began to spread within her.
Lately, every time she talked to Kaine, it was always like this, and it was getting annoying.
(Kaine really seems to want me to get married quickly. Well, it's probably to protect that Sarah Belts. If I get engaged soon, I'll have to return to the Clahsen family estate right away. Then, there won't be any obstacles for Sarah and Kaine in the capital, and they'll be safe and sound. Happy ending, right?)
As usual, her imagination was racing off in a ridiculous direction.
At this point, it was practically paranoia.
However, once Rhiannon got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her.
(Well, of course, I'm the villainous lady, so I'm Sarah's enemy... Kaine, even though he hates me, wants me to be happy for Sarah... Sarah is kind, pure, and carefree, unlike me, so it makes sense that Kaine would want to protect her at all costs...)
"──That's right, I'm just a hindrance to their happy future──..."
Rhiannon, her head spinning from overthinking, finally let slip what she had been mulling over.
Her mind was racing, and it couldn't keep up with the flood of information.
Kaine tilted his head, looking at Rhiannon with a puzzled expression.
"My lady, what's wrong? It seems like you're saying something in a low voice..."
"...It's because I'm the villainous lady, so you see me as a hindrance, right!?"
"Wha──!?"
Kaine's face went pale at Rhiannon's unexpected outburst.
Rhiannon, her face flushed, continued speaking without a care.
"You want me to get married quickly and go back to that castle in the countryside, so you can live happily with Sarah, right!? That's why you're making a list of my potential fiancés, isn't it!?"
"Lady Rhiannon, wait a sec! Calm down! Why are we talking about Sarah Belts right now?"
"Well, I'm just a nuisance anyway──!!"
After Rhiannon blurted that out all at once, she saw Kaine's stunned face in front of her and instantly snapped back to reality.
(Oh, I was supposed to just quietly watch the two of them, but I ended up saying it out loud. This totally ruins everything...)
By the time she truly regretted it, it was too late.
An awkward silence hung heavily between the two.
Rhiannon couldn't take it anymore and spoke up first.
"Uh, um, Kaine, I, I just..."
"My lady──..."
"Uh, I'm sorry, Kaine. I shouldn't have made such a personal comment. Just forget it."
"Um, my lady──"
"Hope you find happiness with Sarah...!"
With just that, Rhiannon, her eyes glistening with tears, hurriedly dashed out of the room, ignoring Kaine's words.
Kaine was left alone in the spacious room.
"What's wrong with me? I couldn't keep up with the tsukkomi... What a lifelong blunder..."
Kaine's stunned remark echoed emptily.
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