Chapter – 33
Regardless of whether the count had collapsed, the servants went about their work.
It seemed that, after three months of neglecting the household and the estate, they had developed quite negative feelings toward the count.
The butler and the maid guided Biretta to her room, repeatedly taking her hands and pleading with her to somehow resolve the matter, no matter what it took.
Naturally, Biretta promised that she would resolve it by any means necessary.
After washing up thoroughly, she was escorted to the guest room, where she flopped onto the bed and rolled around.
Attempting a handstand while lying on the bed, Biretta abruptly put her legs down when she saw Iola standing in the doorway.
“Iola! Why didn’t you say something before coming in?”
“Ah, Biretta. So you’re here.”
Iola, freshly washed and tidy, entered the room. Wearing light pajamas, he seemed to carry the scent of cotton. Biretta didn’t know exactly what “cotton scent” was, but the clean, fresh smell reminded her of freshly dried laundry.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“The Count of Bechdelrace is truly delicate, isn’t he? He collapses at just a few words. How he plans to serve as lord with such frailty, I have no idea.”
Iola moved to sit beside the bed where Biretta had plopped down. She adjusted her loungewear and stretched her legs while perched on the edge of the bed.
“You’ve worked hard too, Iola.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. You handled everything, Biretta. I always seem to be in your debt.”
“Helping a man in trouble is a woman’s pleasure, after all.”
“I was worried something might happen along the way, but it all worked out in the end. Truly impressive to knock out the count without lifting a hand yourself.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Biretta naturally forgot in her mind that the count was their ally.
Really, as long as he recognized her as someone remarkable, that was enough.
“By the way, I didn’t know you had a lawyer’s license, Biretta.”
“I don’t.”
“Oh.”
Iola made a sputtering noise. He quickly recovered and lowered his voice, speaking as if sharing a secret.
“To participate in the trial, you need a lawyer’s license.”
“Any lawyer can be called in and speak on my behalf. A lawyer’s role is to respect the client’s wishes, after all. It doesn’t matter if the order is reversed.”
“That… is quite a revolutionary approach, ignoring existing conventions.”
Iola, ever kind to Biretta Medletidge, interpreted her actions as something grander than they were.
“Exactly, Biretta. With such a method, even non-specialists can present their opinions.”
Iola’s clear, approving gaze bolstered Biretta’s confidence.
“Of course. I am a woman who has never lost in court. You can trust me on that.”
Biretta puffed out her chest proudly, claiming the title of undefeated, 0 wins, 0 losses, 0 draws—a legend simply because she’d never fought.
Though it wasn’t exactly a record to boast of, Iola, unaware of the circumstances, smiled warmly and praised her. That kind of reaction fueled Biretta further.
“Now all I need is someone who actually has a lawyer’s license.”
“I have one.”
“Huh?”
“I obtained a lawyer’s license in Filian while preparing my thesis. No practical experience, though.”
“R-Really?”
Truly, there was nothing Iola couldn’t do.
He even had a lawyer’s license to support Biretta in her trial.
At this point, nothing about him was surprising anymore. That a man as handsome and versatile as him even possessed a license to practice law was just… another ‘again.’
Faced with the fact that a licensed man was encouraging her to fight a trial where he foresaw defeat, Biretta gritted her teeth while trying to maintain her smile.
“Huh, haha… well, a license doesn’t speak for everything. Even without one, I can win.”
“Of course. Everyone in court will have a license, so it doesn’t guarantee victory. Still, you are remarkable. Honestly, I can’t even imagine a way for Count Bechdelrace to win.”
“Oh? I thought it would be a complete victory.”
Biretta and Iola glanced at each other, puzzled.
Neither understood what the other meant, finding each other’s remarks rather strange.
“Is that so? I assume Ayran is being raised under his mother’s guidance. With the count’s meager arguments, it would be hard to win.”
“Not at all. I have a secret strategy.”
“Oh? And what secret might that be?”
“You’re curious, aren’t you? You’ll find out tomorrow, so let today be a test of patience.”
Biretta, fluttering lightly in front of a resigned Iola, felt delighted.
If she could win despite a licensed man predicting her defeat, nothing could be better.
She puffed up her chest in pride—only to be met with an unexpected response. Iola’s eyes widened, rejecting her words.
“Excuse me? That’s not it. I was told this was my room, which is why I came here.”
“Huh? I was told the same, so I came here. Could there have been a mix-up?”
Biretta had followed the servant’s guidance to get here.
Iola tilted his head, looking straight at her. There was no trace of confusion this time.
“No, it seems they gave it to us correctly. Two pillows, two sets of clothes, two sets of toiletries, even heart patterns everywhere. This is a couple’s room.”
Following Iola’s gesture, Biretta slowly noticed.
A bed big enough for two, two pillows, and two sets of personal toiletries.
“Perhaps they considered we are engaged, so they prepared accordingly.”
“Huh?”
The room also had a bird statue wishing for marital prosperity and pleasantly scented candles.
“Wh-what?!”
Unlike the calm Iola, Biretta gawked, her mouth agape.
“Whaaaat?!”
She spun her eyes around and even slapped her own cheek.
To Biretta, who had never had a lover, the thought of sharing a bed with someone was overwhelming.
“No! We can’t sleep in the same bed already. This is moving way too fast!”
Blushing crimson, Biretta wiggled her hips while sitting on the bed.
“Things like that are after catching the dragon.”
“Then we break off the engagement and become strangers.”
Logical reasoning from Iola prompted Biretta to push him hard.
“Tsk, Iola! How can you be so unsentimental?”
“Huh?”
Iola fell back onto the bed from her push—probably leniently—but still looked puzzled. Biretta glared at him while slapping her own blushing cheeks.
“T, right?”
“Huh?”
“When you think sentimentally, things like this happen after the engagement.”
“Why?”
“Oh my, how can a lady speak such words? I… aaah, I can’t say it.”
Biretta’s mind raced like a high-speed carriage. The carriage ran so fast that Iola seemed to have been thrown off outside, leaving her alone.
“Two people in the same room…”
Just then, a savior arrived from the shadows.
“Rangken! Why are you here?”
“Rangken! Oh, thank goodness. Come quickly.”
Their third companion, long neglected, Rangken, had entered the room.
Wearing his own set of loungewear, he leaned against the doorway at an angle. He gave a mixed look at the overjoyed Iola.
“Why is Iola more thrilled than me…?”
“You must’ve been embarrassed.”
“Ha. Wow, this really is a shared room for two.”
Rangken entered, scanning the room in amazement.
He was surprised at the large bed and two pillows, surprised at the statue wishing for marital happiness, and even at the neatly placed shoes for two.
Each time he looked at something and reacted, he glanced at Biretta.
One glance might be tolerable, but four or five in a row made even Biretta blush.
Unable to bear the scrutinizing gaze of an old friend and bodyguard, she groaned.
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I got my own separate room. It’s technically for the servants, but it suits me. You got your own guest room, so don’t worry.”
“Good.”
“But if they were giving two rooms, they probably wanted to pair you with Iola and me with Biretta.”
“Exactly. Even before marriage…”
“So I say! Even before marriage, what is this? They’re deliberately trying to corrupt an innocent person.”
For once, Rangken supported Biretta’s words. He glanced around, then walked over to Iola, firmly grasping his hand.
“If anything happens, yell with all your might.”
Rangken held Iola’s rough hand, offering concern not to Biretta, but to Iola.
Biretta tugged on Rangken’s sleeve, engaging in a silent stare-down.
“What is it? Don’t you trust me?”
“I do. You… can do anything.”
It was painfully clear that she was trusted only in such moments.
“Well, of course… not really! I am a proper, well-mannered lady.”
“A proper lady doesn’t go hunt dragons.”
And indeed, that was quite true.
