Chapter 08
“To put it in simpler terms, what Baron Jester did—no, what you performed—with the Baroness on your wedding night was nothing more than the mating behavior of beasts.”
“Th-that…”
“May I borrow a pen?”
Pulling out a chair, Florette sat down, drew a blank sheet of parchment toward herself, and picked up a pen. A few swift strokes later, something had taken shape.
Jester silently stared at the paper before his face flushed crimson.
“W-What is this?!”
“A woman’s body.”
It was an incredibly explicit sketch of a naked woman.
She was skilled enough that, had she become a painter instead of a courtesan, she probably would have been just as successful.
That only made it more embarrassing.
“It seems you already know that intercourse followed by ejaculation leads to reproduction, so I won’t waste time explaining that part.”
“W-wait…”
Jester’s face looked ready to explode from embarrassment, but Florette continued without hesitation.
“While reproduction may indeed be humanity’s ultimate biological purpose for having sex, I can guarantee you that no wife enjoys a husband who strips naked and immediately charges in waving his club.”
“N-no, I…”
“You said you enjoyed the experience very much, didn’t you? While the Baroness hated it enough to shudder at the mere thought?”
“…Th-that’s right.”
“It won’t do if only one of you enjoys it, will it?”
Calmly lifting her pen again, Florette tapped several spots on the drawing, circling them one after another.
“Here. Here. Here. And here.”
With her free hand, she made a slow, suggestive beckoning motion.
“Touch her gently and tenderly.”
“W-What?!”
Scrrrape!
Startled, Jester shoved his chair backward, its legs screeching loudly against the floor.
Florette frowned.
“You’re old enough to know better. Are you really going to react like a child to every single thing I say?”
“H-how could anyone do something like that…?”
“Something like that? Don’t you want a healthy relationship that your wife can enjoy as well? You were the one who summoned me to ask how.”
“Isn’t that… beastly? You’re telling me to grope my wife’s body?”
“Honestly…”
Leaning back, Florette let out a long sigh before turning toward Paul.
She raised two fingers to her lips in a gesture asking for a cigarette, but Paul coldly shook his head.
“Didn’t you ever feel the urge to touch your wife’s body?”
Turning back to him, Florette asked again.
Jester hesitated before speaking with trembling lips.
“I… I did. But… how could I possibly? Didn’t you see my wife? She’s so small…”
Furrowing his brow, Jester traced Cassia’s outline in the air with both hands.
“…And so pale… It’s just… I feel like she’s not someone I should touch…”
“My dear heavens. Dear heavens above. Please, let the poor Baroness still have even a shred of patience left. Grant her a heart as vast as the sea, willing to take in this pitiful beast…”
Closing her eyes, Florette clasped her hands together and muttered in exaggerated mock prayer.
Embarrassed, Jester bit his lip and slammed a fist onto the desk.
“I thought she’d hate it! How could I dare?!”
“Baron Jester, I don’t think she could possibly dislike you any more than she already does, so why not be bold? From this point on, you’re hopeless enough that I’ll start using very direct language. That’s acceptable?”
“…Do as you must.”
“Listen carefully. If you shove your dick in the moment things begin, it’ll be a disaster. First…”
“AAAGH!”
For quite some time afterward, agonized screams echoed from Jester’s office.
For an entire week, Cassia truly did nothing except eat, rest, and relax.
Apparently Jester had spoken to Paul, because the butler came by only a few times to ask whether she lacked anything. He never once brought up managing the estate or pressured her with household responsibilities.
It was an unbelievably peaceful week.
After twenty-seven years of working without pause, her body almost felt restless from having nothing to do.
Even so, she was happy.
Her body was finally at ease, and although Jester remained in the castle, he never hovered around in front of her.
She spent plenty of time talking with Vita while hiding her true thoughts.
As expected, Vita said many things that twisted Cassia’s insides.
Stories about how they had been each other’s first kiss as children.
Stories about Jester beating up a thug who had picked a fight with her.
Cassia had heard all of those stories in her previous life as well.
Back then, they had bothered her, but she had merely thought, I see, and let them pass.
Now she felt foolish for having done that.
This time, however…
She wasn’t jealous.
She wasn’t even irritated.
She felt absolutely nothing.
When had she discovered Jester and Vita secretly meeting?
As Cassia searched through her memories, she decided to keep Vita close for the time being, no matter how unpleasant it was.
Vita found more than one way to make Cassia miserable.
Cassia wanted nothing more than to lie around all day, but Vita constantly urged her to take walks.
Today she insisted they tour the castle, so Cassia reluctantly dragged herself along.
That was when everything happened.
“Who’s that?”
Vita’s voice, low and tense, sounded beside her.
They encountered the suspicious woman while passing Jester’s office during their stroll through the castle.
The mysterious lady wore an expensive fox-fur shawl and had her head wrapped in a brightly colored silk scarf that was all the rage in the capital.
Her face was half hidden.
She looked suspicious at first glance.
She was clearly an outsider and appeared to have just come from Jester’s office.
What is this? Did he invite a woman here?
Aside from his peculiar relationship with Vita, Jester had never been involved in any scandal with women.
Cassia didn’t think much of it.
As much as she hated to admit it, Jester was almost absurdly faithful.
As far as she remembered, Vita was the only woman he had ever kept close.
Vita, however, clearly thought differently.
She stared sharply at the mysterious woman standing before them.
“Oh… oh dear… This isn’t the right way.”
The woman looked even more suspicious.
The instant she saw Cassia and Vita, she visibly panicked before awkwardly turning around and hurrying in the opposite direction, as though fleeing from people she absolutely didn’t want to meet.
“Excuse me.”
It was Vita who stopped her.
Unless the woman was deaf, she should have heard Vita’s voice.
Instead, she pretended not to and quickened her pace.
“Hey!”
Vita rushed forward and grabbed the woman’s shawl.
Unable to continue walking, the woman reluctantly turned around.
“Who are you? Who invited you into this castle? You just came out of Baron Jester’s office, didn’t you?”
Vita questioned her like an interrogator.
“N-no, I…”
The woman trailed off and glanced nervously at Cassia over Vita’s shoulder.
She seemed to have come to see Jester.
And now she was watching Cassia’s reaction.
She certainly looked suspicious.
With a quiet sigh, Cassia walked over.
“Miss Vita, that’s no way to treat a guest. Let her go.”
“Can I see your face? You seem suspicious, and I think that needs to be confirmed.”
“Eek!”
Without hesitation, Vita pulled away the scarf covering the woman’s face.
Her thick crimson hair fluttered through the air.
“Huh?”
She was a breathtaking beauty.
A beautiful woman.
Her husband’s office.
Suspicious circumstances.
There was every reason to be suspicious.
Yet Cassia felt angrier at Vita than at the woman.
Even in this life, Vita was acting as though she were Jester’s wife instead of Cassia.
“Miss Vita, I said that’s enough.”
“My Lady, she’s a prostitute.”
“What?”
“She’s famous even in the capital. A cheap prostitute who sells her body to nobles for money! What exactly were you doing in our Baron’s office?”
“Miss Vita!”
“Oh, what is wrong with you? Who are you to call me cheap? If I’d actually come here to take money and have fun, at least that accusation would make sense!”
“W-What? Are you insane?”
The woman apparently had a fiery temper herself.
She had no intention of meekly accepting Vita’s insults.
Rolling up her sleeves, she snorted.
“I was going to leave quietly, but since things turned out like this, I suppose I should introduce myself so there aren’t any misunderstandings. You’re Baroness Greze, aren’t you? My name is Florette Roseline. The castle’s butler contacted me regarding Baron Jester, so I merely came for a visit. In any case, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Straightening her rumpled shawl, the woman who introduced herself as Florette Roseline shot Vita a sidelong glance before bowing politely to Cassia.
Cassia didn’t entirely understand what Florette meant, but she accepted the greeting anyway.
“I see. Since Paul invited you first, you’re a guest of this castle. It seems our young lady acted rudely because she misunderstood the situation. It looks as though you were just leaving, so please have a safe journey.”
“My Lady!”
Vita cried out sharply, but Cassia paid her no attention.
As if to say serves you right, Florette gave another dismissive snort and turned away.
But there was no way Vita would quietly let an unfamiliar woman walk away after coming out of Jester’s office.
The commotion erupted in an instant.
“Ahhh!”
“Vita!”
With wild eyes, Vita grabbed Florette by the hair from behind.
The forceful yank made Florette’s head whip violently.
Florette was no pushover either.
She immediately reached up and seized Vita’s neatly braided hair.
Complete chaos.
“Let go!”
“You let go, you cheap whore!”
“Vita! Stop it!”
Cassia stood frozen in shock.
She knew Vita had never tolerated women who got close to Jester and always found a way to punish them.
But she had no memory of her openly starting a hair-pulling brawl inside the castle.
Since when did her combat skills improve this much?
“Ow! She’s ripping all my hair out! Baroness! Help! Please help me!”
“W-wait, Miss Roseline—Aaah!”
Cassia became entangled almost immediately when she tried to stop them.
Florette, who was gradually losing to Vita’s astonishing strength, flailed wildly, accidentally grabbing the front of Cassia’s dress.
The three women stumbled around in a tangled mess.
It was complete chaos.
Hearing the commotion, the door to Jester’s office suddenly flew open.
“W-What’s going on here?!”
Paul’s horrified voice rang through the air as he emerged alongside Jester.
By then, the world was spinning around Cassia.
She had never experienced such a ridiculous catfight, even in her previous life.
“Cassia!”
“Ahhh!”
“Eek!”
Cassia’s body, which had been tossed around by Florette’s grip, was suddenly caught by a pair of strong hands and pulled free from the chaos.
It was Jester.
He yanked her away with such force that both Vita and Florette lost their balance and fell to the floor.
Through her dizzy vision, Cassia could still see the two women.
Furious, Vita reached out and grabbed Florette’s hair once more just as she tried to escape.
“Ow!”
What a disaster.
An absolute disaster.
How could everything become such a complete mess?
Who was responsible for this?
Vita?
Florette?
No.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
Jester grasped Cassia by the shoulders and turned her toward him.
His face was filled with the same desperate concern she had seen just before her death.
Why had he invited a woman who worked as a courtesan into the castle?
What sweet words had he been whispering to Vita behind her back, making Vita act like the true wife while the actual wife was left standing aside?
Why am I the one suffering this humiliation?
That day, Cassia Greze, Baroness Greze, finally exploded.
It was the release of emotions that had been buried for ten long years.
“I’m not all right, you idiot!”
