Chapter 62

Well, the Opion family believed only in Miracle Herbs and did careless financial management.

Noel glared at her with a cold, subdued stare.

“You’d better be clear on your attitude, mother. If you’re going to continue to treat me as a daughter, convince my father to stop doing this kind of retaliation. Like any parent who cares about his daughter. If not—”

“If not?”

“If you’re treating me like a marchioness, be courteous. I’ll make sure to show you an appropriate attitude, Countess.”

“Now, are you telling your mother to bow her head? Have you forgotten who raised you?! What are you doing using your position cowardly?”

“Coward? I am a stranger when I am not needed, and your daughter only when you feel disappointed.”

Noel smirked. “Now, which one would you like?”

After staring at her daughter for a moment, she replied sharply, “Ha, okay, let’s see how long you can hold your head up so stiffly. I know you won’t even be able to see the Miracle Herbs in Ainel’s territory from now on!”

After shouting that, Alex went back to the tea room with a huff.

A moment later, Noel returned and sat down in her seat. Carla, the hostess, was still in the same seat.

“My dear best friend, Carla.”

“Yes?”

Seeing the dumbfounded Carla, Noel continued talking naturally.

“Your tea party is nice, but there is one unfortunate thing about it.”

Carla agreed, assuming that Noel would do something about the annoying countess.

“Oh, let’s fix it right away. What’s the problem?”

Noel pointed at Countess Opion with a folded fan.

“Excuse me, there’s an intruder who entered without an invitation, right?”

The tea party in the garden quickly became quiet.

“… … .”

The young ladies around us, who grasped the situation, shut their mouths tightly to avoid giggling by mistake.

“Noel Opion!” Alex shouted as she realized she had become the target of ridicule.

“Marchioness Ainel. You forgot even basic manners.”

Then I opened and fluttered my fan and spoke in a theatrical tone, “This is really annoying, could you please send that person back? Please.”

Just as Carla was also troubled by the countess, she naturally joined in.

She said, “I can’t help it because the marchioness herself asked.”

Turning her head, she ordered the guard standing near her.

“Please politely escort Countess Ophion to the exit.”

As the guard approached and sent out unspoken pressure to move, Alex panicked.

“Wait, what is this? How could you do this!”

Watching her half-forced movement, Noel waved her hand gently.

“Then, from next time on, I will expect etiquette appropriate to your position, Countess Opion.”

***

It was refreshing to see the countess get kicked out. But when Noel returned to the mansion, it couldn’t be said that there were no problems at all.

‘I was supposed to convince her.’

It’s a big shame. Noel went to the office first and apologized.

“Sorry.”

Rupert, who received an apology out of the blue, was a little embarrassed rather than taken aback or disappointed.

In the first place, Countess Opion was never considered a rational persuasion partner.

“It’s not your fault, so there’s no need to apologize.”

“But it happened because of my family… .”

Her wife, who responded, looked very depressed.

Rupert felt an unknown nervousness. He’d much rather his wife be brave as usual, and he couldn’t figure out how to comfort her.

“It’s not like I wasn’t able to figure out the personalities of Count Opion and his wife, so I expected that there would be a problem someday. It is not particularly surprising.”

“… … .”

It was a consolation, but for some reason, Noel became more depressed.

He knows he has a lot of problems with the way he interacts with others, but it’s the first time he’s felt this clearly.

“… why did you choose the Opion family?” Noel asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean?”

“The reason you got married was because you wanted to strengthen your unstable position. If you did your research about my parents and me beforehand, why did you choose Opion family?”

It was a very strange question.

“Isn’t that something people usually wonder about when they get married?”

It is. It’s been six years since we got married, so it’s funny to ask now.

“Suddenly, I was curious. Even if it’s not my family, well… if you had chosen a better noble family in terms of personality, this kind of trouble wouldn’t have happened.”

It was nothing to hide in particular.

“First of all, because there is imperial family blood mixed in the bloodline.”

“Oh, I heard that there was a member of the imperial family if you look at the genealogy further.”

“As an illegitimate child, it worked to my advantage. The power of the Opion family was neither too strong nor too weak, so it was just right.”

Other than that, what else was there? He retraced his memory.

“Besides, Count Opion and his wife were greedy, so it was easy to figure out their move.”

“Did you do it because you thought it would be easy to handle them?”

“That’s one of the reasons. I thought we could cut ties without much regret after we used each other.”

He wanted to avoid being kind and friendly. He didn’t want to be tied down.

“And you… oh, I don’t know if I can say this.”

He hesitated as he was about to speak.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing great.”

“Hiding it is even weirder. Please tell me quickly.”

“… … .”

After thinking for a moment, Rupert said, “Blonde hair and green eyes.”

“Yes?” Noel asked in bewilderment, “What do you mean?”

“I told you the other day, my ideal type is blonde hair and green eyes.”

Ideal type?

I heard it the other day when I was drinking and right before I lost my memory.

“Rupert, what’s your ideal type?”

“A woman with blonde hair and green eyes.”

It certainly was.

“Did you mean it?”

He knew he would get that kind of reaction from his wife.

“There may be things I won’t tell you, but I won’t lie. I told you this, too.”

Suddenly, his sullen wife’s eyes began to shine with interest.

‘I shouldn’t have said that.’

It’s too late to regret.

“Why blonde hair and green eyes? Is there any special reason?”

Although much better than a droopy one, Noel’s curiosity often got him into trouble.

“No.”

“You said you wouldn’t lie.”

He had dug his grave. Rupert reluctantly opened his mouth.

“I met someone—”

Before she even listened to the end, she burst out in admiration.

“She’s your first love!”

“No.”

More than that, why is she so happy talking about a first love to her husband? Rupert felt an inexplicable displeasure.

“You don’t have to hide it.”

He sighed. “… not really, she was my savior when I was a child.”

“A savior?”

Perhaps out of curiosity, she came closer.

He clenched his fists tightly, feeling like he was going to harm her unknowingly.

“I fell into icy water when I was young, and she saved me.”

Noel admired a little. “What an amazing person. Do you remember her face?”

“No, for some reason her face is blurry… she was a grown woman, and all I can think of is blonde hair and green eyes.”

“Isn’t she also your first love?”

“No.”

Her husband’s denial made her excited.

“In your young heart, you fell in love at first sight with the person who saved you.”

“Noel.”

“… okay, I’ll stop teasing you.”

He went on to finish the story. “Anyway, after she saved me, she talked to me very kindly. It was the first time an adult treated me like that.”

However, that does not mean that Noel at that time was a substitute for his savior.

In the past, he was not an emotional person. It’s more like he decided casually because she’s simply a woman with a bright appearance.

Anyway, all the families that were candidates at the time had similar conditions.

“I wish I had been as kind as your savior back then, it’s a pity.”

“I don’t care about that.”

Noel smiled softly. It seemed to be brighter than before, and he was a little relieved.

She didn’t seem to realize it, every time Rupert told her about his past, she was very curious and passionate.

‘It’s not even a particularly fun story.’

“You’re interested in trivial things.”

“It’s always nice to know trivia like that.”

It’s a very rare story since it’s related to his first love. It was a strange coincidence that the person who saved him when he was a child was blonde with green eyes.

“That’s fine as long as it cheered you up.”

She didn’t miss his words and asked in a teasing voice, “Are you worried?”

“… I haven’t even had the confidence to comfort Leah yet.”

Noel squinted and grumbled inwardly.

‘No, why are you treating me like you did to Leah?’

As usual, her husband quickly changed the subject which was uncomfortable for him.

“Anyway, you don’t have to worry about the Miracle Herbs. We have quite a bit of Elpida in reserve in preparation for such a situation.”

Elpida is a medicine made using Miracle Herbs.

Since it was difficult to store Miracle Herbs for a long period of time, it was made into a medicine. Although the efficacy is a bit low, it is suitable for long-term storage.

“… but it’s just to buy time.”

Noel, who replied like that, was lost in her thoughts.