“Yes, I really married...my husband.”
"Phew..."
Adalyn breathed a sigh of relief.
[Well, now everything is falling into place. There could be no mistake.]
[So Shane Blanchard is a budding cheater? And almost a criminal too? What a transformation! Once a hero, but now he's become real trash.]
[She urgently needed to make it look like Shane was the only culprit, and she herself was the poor, deceived victim.] Hope flared up again in Adaline's chest.
“Listen, Genevieve. About your husband..."
"But I am not married to the Duke of Blanchard."
"What?"
“My husband is a knight of the Crown Prince's Imperial Guard. He has no title, no lands."
"…What? What about all these newspaper articles?”
[In newspaper photographs, Shane and Genevieve stood side by side, beaming with happy smiles. And the articles detailed how their relationship became stronger after she was recognized as a candidate for the role of Saint... It all looked like an official confirmation of their happy marriage.]
“They never directly wrote that I became the Duchess Blanchard.”
“But they didn’t refute it! This is a lie!
“Yes, it seems that way...”
“This madman also faked my mother’s death?!” Can he do such a thing, being a Duke?!”
“Usually - no...”
[Genevieve answered calmly, like an experienced assistant, accustomed to handling the follies of her superiors. Not as a heroine for whom the main character fights, but as a tired civil servant.]
Moreover, she directly said: she could not help Adaline.
[You’re kind...You have to save me...]
But instead, a cold shower.
“Usually, no. But His Lordship is not an ordinary person..."
“And so much the worse! He should be an example for the whole country!”
"He says it's okay because he only fooled one person."
"..."
“I had no idea that this person would be you, Lady Adaline.”
“...Are you saying that all this was started to deceive me?”
“Exactly.”
[He's definitely gone crazy...]
Adaline just lowered her head heavily, while Genevieve spoke with a slight coolness in her voice:
“And yet...Compared to faking your death, a couple of fake articles is a mere trifle.”
“This...I had very good reasons...”
“Discuss this with His Lordship personally.”
"Genevieve...You've changed..."
Adaline sounded like a jilted boyfriend who couldn't let go.
Genevieve thought for a second, and then, with a slight grin, said:
“Changed. The last five years have been... really difficult.”
"..."
“Come here. I’ll treat you, just in case.”
“But I’m not even wounded...”
“You don't take good care of yourself. You never know."
“Is there some hidden meaning in your words?”
“Did you feel it? I couldn't use healing magic before. And now, if you die on the spot, I will definitely save you. Even if you throw yourself under the beast.”
"...Sorry..."
[Like this: I save you, but in the end I still apologize.]
[Yes, she did put herself in danger. But in the end, Genevieve was saved... It’s unfair that now they only scold her.]
"Lady Adaline."
"Yes?"
"Please don't ever do that again."
“Even if I want to... I can’t.”
"No need."
"Um...okay."
[Soft, kind...and frighteningly adamant.]
“I don’t know what happened to you, but...for now it’s better to just obey.”
“...What if I don’t obey?”
"..."
Genevieve looked at her calmly, almost lucidly, like a sage or an exhausted office worker. Like an older sister looking at a capricious younger one, she said with a sympathetic smile:
"I really don't want to see you bloody again, Lady Adaline."
[Which meant only one thing.]
“So...someone is going to shed my blood?”
[And the fact that she said this with such a kind smile was even more frightening.]
“It’s better not to anger His Lordship. Just a warning."
“Are you talking about Shane? But he’s not some kind of criminal leader...”
“In that case, Lucian is much more reliable.”
"..."
“Although...no, they are equally bad.”
"..."
[What the hell did she just hear?]
[And, most importantly, it turns out that Genevieve and Luciana knew?]
“Will you...let me go already?”
“If I do this, His Lordship will kill my husband.”
"..."