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IBP 111
While I was frozen in shock, unable to utter a word.
Gillen, seemingly tripping over his own feet in his haste to stand up, went crashing down with a loud thud.
“What is this?”
At my sister's chilly voice, he scrambled up and asked urgently.
“Wha—what? What do you mean? I’m right here, so how could you be engaged? What does that even mean?”
...Wait, those are the words I should be saying. Why is he stealing my lines?
I glared at him with sharp, hawk-like eyes.
Then, Grand Duke Rivera looked down at Gillen, raised a long finger, and gave his chin a light flick.
“What’s this, Lord? Why are you speaking informally to my fiancée?”
“Fiancée? Chloe and I—”
“This feels disgusting, doesn't it?”
Grand Duke Rivera’s attitude was slouchy and insolent, the kind that anyone would find incredibly off-putting.
Naturally, Gillen stiffened his jaw, his pride wounded.
My own lips tightened in sympathy.
I was jealous of how close the Grand Duke had become with my sister.
‘I feel like my face is going to become ugly just like Gillen’s!’
However, I forced my expression to relax.
It was because I saw the corners of my sister's mouth curving upward, as if she found this situation amusing.
The moment I saw her smile, my mind began to race.
‘That’s the smile she wears when things are going according to plan.’
So, I smoothed out the face that had almost crumpled into a scowl.
‘I won’t act like I did when I misunderstood that she brought home another puppy.’
I realized it then.
Hiding away because of a misunderstanding or simply whining wouldn't solve anything.
‘So for now, I’ll help punish Gillen!’
I picked up a scrunchie that had fallen haphazardly on the floor and shouted loudly.
“Oh, what’s this? Something fell on the floor!”
Grand Duke Rivera took the scrunchie from my hand, his brow furrowing.
“This is what you prepared for the proposal. A low-grade scrunchie. It’s worth about 200,000 gold. Am I correct?”
An oblivious naval officer shouted at the top of his lungs.
“That is correct! However, Lord Gillen purchased it from the finest jewelry store in the capital!”
Gillen stomped hard on the officer's foot.
But it was too late; everyone had already heard.
In an instant, the atmosphere turned into a chaotic mess.
“Are you serious? He bought a 200,000 gold scrunchie for a proposal?”
“And it’s a public proposal at that?”
“...He didn't even listen to Lady Chloe’s opinion. It seems they hadn't even been communicating.”
“Wow, what... really? Lord Gillen, that’s unexpected.”
They called it "unexpected," but the faces of those speaking were clouded with simultaneous disappointment and horror.
The ladies looked at one another, as if unable to find the words to continue.
My sister gazed blankly at his expression until Gillen’s face turned bright red.
“Sudden, embarrassing, and even brazen, Gillen.”
The moment those words softly flowed from my sister's lips, the atmosphere became as silent as if cold water had been thrown over the room.
“You never contacted me once, and then suddenly a proposal.”
“...”
“When you were having an affair, what did you say to me? Did you even apologize?”
“I’m a victim too! That woman, Dahlia, was the one who seduced me!”
“It takes two to tango.”
At Grand Duke Rivera’s slyly sarcastic remark, one corner of my sister's mouth curled up eerily.
“That’s why you’re a failure. Do you think there is any lady who would accept such a cheap proposal?”
It was right then.
Unlike me, who had quickly regained my composure, there was someone else still in a state of profound shock.
“Is this... what being family means?”
It was Caligo.
He stood there, stiff as a board.
He looked like a man who had just realized a monumental truth.
* * *
The atmosphere of the ship party became quite heated.
To borrow my sister's cold expression, Gillen fled as if "his backside were on fire."
My sister said there was no longer any need to stay on the deck.
“Since I’ve thrown out some gossip, we need to leave people alone so they can chew on it. They won't be able to talk properly if the protagonist of the gossip is right there, right?”
When I nodded vigorously, showing my front teeth like a wicked puppy, my sister looked as if she had made a mistake.
“Coco, ...you must not remember this.”
But I’d already memorized it all.
And so, the four of us—me, Caligo, Grand Duke Rivera, and my sister—gathered in the cabin.
I tapped the table repeatedly, demanding an explanation.
“What on earth is going on? My sister is engaged!”
“It’s just a temporary contract. I intended to provoke Gillen. It’ll be over soon.”
At my sister's unexpectedly blunt explanation, I narrowed my eyes.
...Whether it was a short-term contract engagement or not, it was time to ask the most important question.
“Grand Duke, can you make my sister happy?”
“Of course.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and squinted.
“Then why didn't you buy any flowers?”
“Ah...”
Grand Duke Rivera looked as if it had never crossed his mind.
“My sister loves wildflowers, so I used to take her for walks every single day. When I first came here, I picked flowers for her, and she liked them very much.”
“Then should I go buy some now? Or should I go pick some?”
I gave the Grand Duke a skeptical look, then firmly grabbed my sister's hand and spoke.
“During the contract period, you have to be incredibly, incredibly good to my sister! Even more than you are to me!”
I crossed my arms and glared at Grand Duke Rivera.
As a bonus, I squared my shoulders like a huge, intimidating guard dog.
“I see. Lady Coco has a quite romantic side to her.”
Then, my sister squeezed my hand back and said,
“How is our Coco so smart and sensible? Coco, no matter what happens, you are my top priority.”
“Oh, this is... I’m getting a bit jealous, fiancée?”
My sister's radiant face instantly turned expressionless. Then, tilting her head slightly, she spoke.
“Please stop with the unfunny jokes.”
“It’s not a joke.”
My sister is prickly, but the Grand Duke looks at her the way one looks at a cat.
As I looked on with narrow eyes, a thought suddenly struck me.
‘Wait, cat? Caligo?’
...Come to think of it, why hasn't Caligo said a single word until now?
All this time, Caligo had been staring at me blankly. Then, Grand Duke Rivera chuckled softly and poked Caligo’s arm.
“What? I thought you wanted to be family with Lady Coco.”
“That is...”
“So now you’re in-laws, or something like that?”
At the Grand Duke's words, a look of intense shock washed over Caligo's face.
It was enough to make me blink in confusion.
“What’s wrong, Caligo? Do you not want to be family with Coco?”
Beyond shock, a despair that looked as if the heavens were collapsing appeared on Caligo's face.
Then, Caligo looked at me and muttered softly.
“I...”
“Yes!”
I looked at Caligo with sparkling eyes.
“I don’t want to be family with you, Coco.”
Thump.
Thump-thump.
The shock was so great my head felt numb.
It felt as if stones had been poured over my head.
While I was unable to even part my lips, Caligo muttered quietly.
“I’m going back to my room.”
After Caligo—who looked even more confused than the shocked me—abruptly left the room.
Grand Duke Rivera also tilted his head with an ambiguous expression.
He left with the unexpectedly gallant words, ‘I shall go comfort my wounded younger brother.’
‘But I’m the one who’s wounded.’
Left alone with my sister, I made a miserable face.
“Sister. Why does Caligo not want to be family with me?”
Caligo said it was okay even if I was a puppy.
He let me be friends with Amius.
He’s my precious friend...
I became utterly depressed.
And I was absolutely certain that my sister would be depressed too!
“Ah, hahahaha!”
My sister was laughing heartily while looking at me.
It was a wicked laugh, similar to the one she wore when she secretly stole my bone toy.
‘Sister is laughing while I’m sad!’
Just as I was looking at her, trembling with a sense of betrayal, she asked with a small laugh.
“I think I know why Caligo doesn't want to be family.”
“...I think I know too. It’s because he doesn't like me enough to actually become family, right?”
Seeing me sulk, the corners of my sister's mouth curled up.
I slumped my shoulders further and asked.
“Caligo dressed up so handsomely today, but I’m just a slightly scruffy puppy, that’s why, right?”
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