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“That’s…”
“And a maid’s child at that! Are you truly going to sully the precious blood of the historic House Valentino with that wretched, lowborn blood?”
At those words, Theodore’s expression hardened coldly.
He replied with a low, icy tone.
“Aunt. You’re being out of line.”
However, Missus Seymour did not back down either. The staunch reaction she was faced with only affirmed what she thought.
“I have not said anything wrong, Theodore.”
“……”
“I’m so disappointed in you. You’re the household head of the Valentino family, and yet you’re being so irresponsible! You’re siding with a child of that House Everett, and an illegitimate bastard of theirs, too!”
Missus Seymour was trying to control Theodore, asserting that he was doing such a great sin.
However, the look in Theodore’s eyes remained unperturbed. Rather, his demeanor only sharpened as he listened to her silently, as though he was seeing through Missus Seymour’s intentions.
“Even if the deaths of my older sister and my brother-in-law were just an accident… There are so many things left unclear about Camillus’ death. That’s why you’ve been investigating his death, right? Have you not been suspecting House Everett as well?!”
And the moment Missus Seymour uttered Camillus Valentino’s name, Theodore’s eyes changed.
If they were only cold before, right now, they were clearly harboring a look of ferocious wrath.
At once, Theodore let out his raw, unbridled fury at Missus Seymour.
“Right now… Are you trying to use my brother’s death to justify your actions?”
His anger was flowing out like boiling lava. It was like a river of fire that looked tranquil at first glance, but it would burn everything that it would touch in no time.
Missus Seymour flinched a little, as though she only belatedly realized that the heat had gotten to her. However, there was no way to stop a volcano that had already erupted.
“Aunt, you just don’t like Lily, that’s all. The fact that Lily is from House Everett is just an excuse, isn’t it? Am I wrong?”
As Theodore provoked her, even the last semblance of rationality in Missus Seymour’s eyes had vanished.
She did not look at Theodore properly, then she proceeded to voice her innermost thoughts without any hesitation.
“That’s right, I dislike that child. You might not know it, but that wench is a true devil! She looks meek and gentle, but do you think that’s really how she is? I’m not convinced. That wench is a poisonous snake!”
There was not a single hint of a noble, dignified air to her any longer as Missus Seymour screeched. It also seemed convenient that the ‘weakness’ that she’d been hiding so far was now revealed.
No, I’m sure of it. She must have already been falling apart at the seams ever since ‘infertility’ had been mentioned.
But this entire situation was her own making.
‘…I mean, when Theodore’s memories come back, he and I would naturally get divorced anyway.’
Missus Seymour detonated a bomb that she could have waited patiently for instead.
‘What’s making you so anxious…’
…There were many factors that I could think about.
First, perhaps Missus Seymour couldn’t bear watching Theodore take my side while rebuking her.
Second, she must be getting anxious after seeing Theodore in this state—that he might not divorce me in the end.
That’s why she brought this up as a pretext today.
“…It’s difficult to listen to any more of this.”
“What? How could you—”
“I am the head of House Valentino, Aunt.”
With a tone that continued to boil with fury, Theodore said this as he stared straight into Missus Seymour’s eyes.
“This is my household. It is I who makes the decisions in this household. And.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, then let out a deep, heated sigh. But when he looked at her again, what covered his face now was unmistakably contempt.
“Aunt. The reason you’re still here in House Valentino is not just because of my mother’s will.”
Staring pointedly at Missus Seymour with an exceedingly cold expression, Theodore slowly rose from his seat. Shocked by everything that transpired, Missus Seymour was as stiff as a stone.
“…Lily, you should rest more. I’ll take you to your room.”
Theodore’s voice was both as scorching as lava and as biting as a glacier.
I stared at his hand as he reached out to me.
If I were to take his hand and follow him out of this room, that would most likely only provoke Missus Seymour more, but…
‘…Well, it doesn’t matter.’
I don’t need to walk on eggshells around her. And it’s not like I need to be on good terms with her.
Carefully reaching forward, I took Theodore’s hand and interlaced mine with his.
And, we left the living room without looking back.
* * *
“Even though I’m barren, are you really going to side with me?”
I asked with a casual tone. It didn’t matter what Theodore would say in response. In the first place, I didn’t even think hard about the question I asked just now.
Theodore stopped walking, then answered back seriously.
“Regardless, you’re my priority, and I’ll protect you first. …And as for a child, we can adopt a distant relative.”
He said there was no need to worry because adopting an heir would solve the succession problem.
I shook my head and laughed quietly.
I didn’t know that Theodore Valentino was such an idealist.
All this time, I thought that he was a terribly realistic, practical man.
Perhaps this perception was an idealistic dream of my own—to see him as the ideal man I could reach out to.