TN: Thank Nepper for the chapter. 13 more to go.

“Why are you so nonchalant?”

When I accepted Pamela’s proposal without even considering it, she looked at me incredulously and asked.

In response to Pamela’s question, I blinked slowly and shrugged.

“What’s the big deal?”

I was planning to visit at some point anyway, so it didn’t matter much. Besides, there were things I needed to receive from Marquis Degrosis.

Unaware of this fact, Pamela just let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.

“And you ask this on the day of?”

“Would my answer have changed if you’d asked earlier?”

“Well, no, but…”

Come to think of it, Pamela was on her way home, while I was heading to someone else’s house, yet she seemed more nervous.

I calmly boarded the carriage sent by Marquis Degrosis. Seeing me naturally enter the carriage before her, Pamela sighed deeply behind me. I had to try hard not to burst out laughing.

“Hmm, it certainly seems to be an expensive carriage.”

“… It’s a different level from the ones sent for me.”

“Well, I’m an esteemed guest. Of course it is.”

“You know you’re a really annoying type, right?”

Pamela said to me with a frown as she sat beside me.

But since this was something I always heard from Pamela, it didn’t affect me at all. I sat down calmly and turned my gaze to the window.

“… Aren’t you curious?”

“About why the Marquis summoned me?”

“Yeah.”

I thought we’d travel in silence since we didn’t have much to say to each other, but unexpectedly, Pamela spoke up first.

When I turned to look at her in response to her question, she was watching me with a slightly tense expression.

“But I already know why…?”

Pamela knows nothing about my relationship with Marquis Degrosis. She probably just thinks he is preparing to recruit me.

“So you’re saying you know why you were called?”

“More or less…?”

As I casually answered Pamela’s question and turned my gaze back to the window, she let out deep sighs, seemingly dissatisfied about something.

Seeing her like this, I smiled slightly and looked at the scenery flowing by outside the window.

‘It’s about time.’

Time to resolve this issue too.

***

Pamela Jean Degrosis of the Degrosis marquisate family.

In the original novel, she appeared as the villainess noble lady who tormented Sylvia, but now her character has become quite ambiguous.

This is because she realized that tormenting Sylvia was meaningless and is now living a normal academy life.

…Though it’s a bit strange to call it normal.

Anyway, except for the fact that she wears a mask in her daily life and only takes it off in front of me, she’s an utterly ordinary character.
Aside from occasionally throwing harsh words at Sylvia or Helena, that is.

I already knew the reason why she had changed like this.

‘Marquis Degrosis.’

After briefly recalling his face, which I had seen momentarily at the Crown Princess’s investiture ceremony, I turned my gaze to the tea.

The scent of quite luxurious black tea was lingering in the room. From the moment we arrived at the mansion, Pamela headed elsewhere, and only I was able to meet with Marquis Degrosis.

This was rather convenient for me, as it made it easier for me to speak, so I didn’t mind much. Still, it certainly wasn’t a normal situation.

“… It’s been a while.”

“Indeed it has.”

When I calmly replied to Marquis Degrosis’s words, he stared at me intently before curling up the corners of his mouth into a grin.

“Do you know why I asked to see you?”

“I have a rough idea.”

Originally, Marquis Degrosis would have struggled to maintain its current prestige. The stern and principle-oriented Council of Elders would not have accepted Ashillya as the Crown Princess. If they hadn’t ridden the tide, they would have ended up no different from other families.

It’s not like I had accomplished something incredibly significant, either.

Marquis Degrosis must have known to some extent of Ashillya’s inauguration as the Crown Princess.

Someone with eyes as excellent as Marquis Degrosis at reading the trends of the times couldn’t have been unaware of this fact.

Nevertheless, the fact that the Degrosis family had received much help from the Council of Elders and had grown based on that was also true, so it must have been difficult to completely disregard their opinions.

Moreover, he couldn’t have been certain. Whether he should grasp the thread of Ashillya even now or whether grasping it belatedly would benefit the family.

I had merely given a push to him, who was pondering such concerns.

A new wind called Ashillya is blowing in the Empire, so prepare to ride that wind. At the same time, Ashillya probably wouldn’t have considered rejecting such a Degrosis either.

Whether it was because of my words or not, Marquis Degrosis had grasped the thread of Ashillya. Because of that, the Degrosis family was able to survive.

From my perspective, it wasn’t much, but from his, I saved everything his family had built up.

I would have ‘appeared’ to be influential enough to escort Crown Princess Ashillya at her investiture ceremony, and such a person advised not to let go of Ashillya’s hand.

At the same time, she had embraced the Degrosis family.

In fact, everything happened because of Ashillya’s generosity, but Marquis Degrosis could not know that.

So, I had to diligently take advantage of his misunderstanding.

“Did you like the ‘gift’ I sent?”

“…Are you talking about Pamela?”

“She’s the most beautiful doll in our family. I hope you liked her.”

Medieval times.

No matter how prevalent the social aspect of treating children as tools is, hearing such wording never gets familiar.

Barely stopping my expression from distorting, I looked at him, and he seemed to realize my discomfort, showing a faint smile.

“Even Her Highness Crown Princess Ashillya has approved, so please don’t look at me so frighteningly.”

Is it because she’s a doll, not a person, that she accepted it?

I couldn’t guess Ashillya’s intentions, but in any case, her decision didn’t automatically become my decision.

But no matter how unacceptable this part was to me, Degrosis’ proposal was also welcome. Therefore, I slowly opened my mouth.

“I’d like to talk about that doll.”

“…By all means.”

***

Pamela is a doll.

She’s not called one because she was born with outstanding beauty, has rarely changed her expression since her mother’s death, or is particularly well-managed.

The reason she’s a doll is that her very existence is meant to be a gift.

To a stronger family.

To a family that will make Degrosis stronger.

Because she was a gift to be sent to others to revive Degrosis, she was a doll. After all, no family would send a ‘person’ as a ‘gift’. So, she wasn’t just a doll in name; her purpose was to be a doll.

A doll must not show its emotions.

A doll must not have its own will.

A doll must be managed better than anything else until it’s sent as a gift, and after that, Degrosis won’t interfere, no matter what happens to it.

That was what it meant to be a doll, and that was Pamela.

Therefore, I could make a demand.

Because I was in the position of ‘receiving’ the doll as a ‘gift.’

“Please transfer complete ownership of the doll.”

“…Does that mean we can understand that you intend to fully own the doll we gifted?”

Fully owning the doll meant the same as officially accepting Pamela.

In other words, as a ‘concubine.’

“It’s difficult right now as the main wife hasn’t been decided yet, but that’s the plan.”

“…I see.”

I stared blankly at Marquis Degrosis, who seemed to have an uneasy expression at my words.

In fact, that was for Pamela to decide. I was only planning to help as much as I could.

But there was no need to honestly tell Marquis Degrosis about that fact. He needed to think until the end that Pamela had served her purpose as a doll.

If a doll is sent as a gift and then discarded, he would think it’s not the fault of the person who received the gift but the fault of the doll.

I nodded while drinking tea with the calmest expression I could manage.

“The tea tastes good.”

“……”

Marquis Degrosis said nothing to my meaningless mumbling.

I wonder why?

Although everything flowed exactly as he wanted, he seemed unable to shake off an uneasy feeling.

Because…

“Everything is going too much according to my taste.”

Because everything flowed too easily according to his wishes.