Chapter 85

“When your revenge is complete, take over the Count title, Lady.”

Nine and Norman’s eyes lit up at my suggestion, and Iris stared at me with a surprised expression.

“M-Me?”

She was genuinely flustered, seeming to read the sincerity in my serious face. She awkwardly parted her lips for a while before rapidly spilling out words.

“I… I may be the former Count Laurel’s daughter, but I’m an orphan and I can’t even read or write…!”

Iris, who seemed to have only considered her parents’ revenge and hadn’t planned anything for the aftermath, began listing reasons why she couldn’t become the Count, rambling incoherently. Having lived as a commoner, it was understandable that she hadn’t considered becoming a Count. But I had no intention of letting her settle for less.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

“Wait a moment, Lady Laurel.”

Norman, whose eyes had changed at my suggestion, cut her off.

“That is not a problem.”

“Pardon?”

“The important thing is your will, Lady. The issues of not being able to read and basic education can be resolved starting now.”

“That is correct. If the Lady has the will, we can certainly assist with the other parts.”

Nine added to Norman’s words. Having quickly grasped the benefit the Eclipse Duchy would gain if Iris inherited the Count title, the two men lent weight to my opinion.

Aside from the justification and benefits the Eclipse would gain, I also thought it would be better for her to inherit the Count title. She was too young to live the rest of her life focused solely on revenge, and the time that would follow the revenge was too long.

Furthermore.

“Lady, the current Count Laurel has no successor. Since he cut off all other collateral branches, there is no one from the cadet families to take over the title either. You are the only one left in the Laurel family.”

“I-Is that so.”

“So, if the Lady does not inherit the Count title after her revenge, in the worst case, the Imperial Family will reclaim the title.”

If that were to happen, all the inheritance left by the former Count Laurel, Iris’s parents, would disappear. Iris’s face turned pale as she understood my meaning. She had only thought she couldn’t become the Count, but she hadn’t considered what would happen to the family after that.

Seeing her wavering eyes, Norman, Nine, and I quietly waited for her decision. But since she only had one choice, I silently sipped my tea.

“…I understand.”

Iris nodded with a resolute expression, as if she had finally made up her mind. Was it because she was the heroine of the original novel? Despite being just a girl who had just decided to become a Count, she was already showing the makings of a successor.

“What kind of requests are you referring to? And… three seems like a lot…”

A truly ordinary person would not have reached this thought immediately after making such a big decision. Of course, as she said this, she was not dignified, but trembling and even squeezing her eyes shut. Her appearance clearly showed she thought she was speaking shamelessly.

I exchanged glances with Nine and Norman and nodded. In truth, we didn’t necessarily need to receive three requests.

“You don’t need to be so afraid. We will ask for something within your means to grant. Please understand that we cannot give you a definitive answer right now as we also need time to consider.”

The Eclipse Duchy was a family that already lacked nothing in terms of wealth, honor, or power.

‘So, the requests would likely be something like her acquaintance with the Magic Tower Master, a leading granary region in the North, or the Laurel family heirloom, the ‘Eternal Promise’.’

Acquiring just one of those would be more than enough compensation for the Duchy helping her.

“However, if it is too burdensome, how about we reduce the number of requests to one?”

Iris’s face visibly brightened at the drastic reduction in the number of requests, and she nodded immediately.

After that, things proceeded smoothly. We, gathered in the drawing room, discussed how to overthrow the current Count for a long time before ending the meeting.

***

Since that day, Nine and Norman had been spending busy days digging into the current Count Laurel’s affairs. In their stead, I took over assisting with the Duchy’s estate management and administration. Iris, who was at the center of this matter, was also spending equally busy days. This was because she had so much to learn from the moment she decided to inherit the Count title.

Iris was diligently acquiring the fundamental knowledge required, from reading and writing to noble etiquette, history, and the management and administration of a fief.

Knock. Knock.

“Duchess, it’s Iris!”

“Come in.”

Iris suddenly visited me while I was working in the office. I was puzzled because there was no particular reason for her to seek me out, but I offered her a seat anyway.

I sat across from her and asked, “What is the matter, Lady Iris?”

Her education was primarily handled by the tutor we hired, but I occasionally assisted, so I thought it might be related to that. At my question, Iris blushed like a young girl and hesitantly began to speak.

“I, I! I wanted to have tea time with you…”

“…”

I was momentarily speechless at the unexpected request. As the only other woman her age in the castle, and having met frequently for her education over the past few days, Iris seemed to have developed a sense of closeness with me.

However, I felt not only surprise but also discomfort at this sudden tea time request. Even to me, Iris seemed lovely, kind, and a genuinely good person. Knowing that, I was currently worried that her relationship with the amnesiac Nine would progress.

‘Could someone like me properly respond to such pure goodwill?’

Could I treat her without revealing this miserable truth within me?

However, precisely because I couldn’t reveal my true feelings, I couldn’t refuse Iris’s offer of tea time.

“It’s difficult right now, but if after dinner is acceptable…”

“That’s wonderful!”

However, there was something that bothered me even as I accepted. I had a feeling that her face was not just red from the embarrassment of the tea time invitation.

‘Is that look similar to the one other friends of Helena had before they asked for dating advice?’

“Then, I’ll see you after dinner!”

Iris smiled brightly, seemingly very happy with my answer, bowed, and quickly left the office.

I desperately ignored the faint suspicion in my heart, returned to my seat, and picked up the documents. But the content of the documents, which had been reading smoothly just a moment ago, wouldn’t sink into my head. Contrary to my will to work, my mind was already filled with the worst-case scenario.

‘…She isn’t going to ask me to step aside because she and Nine have fallen in love, is she?’

Crumple.

I unconsciously crumpled the document and was startled, quickly smoothing it out again. However, the creases on the paper would not disappear even when flattened. Like this mark, I felt an unerasable wound was left on my heart.

I couldn’t stop the unpleasant thoughts. The imagination of the two of them getting together as in the original story. The future where I become the villain obstructing the love of the heroine and the male lead.

‘…It’s an excessive delusion.’

Even though I knew that, I kept falling into bad thoughts. The thought was like a deep swamp—the more I indulged, the deeper I sank, unable to easily escape.

In the end, I put down the documents I was holding and slumped back deeply into the chair.

“…I miss him.”

I missed the Nine who loved me. Would his memory really ever return? What would I do if it never came back?

‘If only I hadn’t known.’

If it had been an unrequited love with no hope for a lifetime, it wouldn’t have been this painful.

I had seen the amnesiac Nine often because of the Count Laurel matter. But he had never sought me out separately, unlike with Iris. Even when we passed each other, he only looked at me with a gaze that felt like observation.

“…”

Recalling that gaze made my heart ache. I buried my face in my hands and murmured, trying to calm my mind.

“It’s okay.”

Everything will be fine.