“Drag it out.”
At that single word, the knights dragged Count Delmore and his mother down the stairs.
The two people looked confused, as they could not understand the situation at all.
"No, seriously, why, why are you doing this?"
"Who are you to be acting like this?"
Carcel looked down at the man who had been dragged out of his sleep in the middle of the night.
In fact, even as a Marquis, Carcel was not the type to frequently attend social events.
Moreover, the atmosphere was so frightening that no one saw his face properly, so not many people remembered Carcel in the first place.
That is why the man standing in front of Carcel with a bewildered expression did not recognize him.
"Who on earth are you to break into someone's house in the middle of the night and run wild like this?"
Still, it was Count Delmore who raised his voice in his own way, acting like a Count.
Carcel simply continued to stare blankly at them, who were chattering away, with a bored expression.
Then, this time, Yurizella asked, feeling wronged.
"Ah. No! Are you trying to act like a robber? Someone must have reported you by now, so you should know how scary the law is!"
"You should fear the law..."
Carcel, who had muttered that low, laughed through his nose.
"Do you know the law better than me?"
"Wouldn't you have to tell me who you are so I can answer?"
Count Delmore's spirits were significantly dampened by Carcel, who naturally spoke informally to him.
There were not many people in the empire who could command as many as ten knights as their own limbs.
"Then tell me. Tell me what you did to Linea Delmore, the former Count Delmore's daughter, and Asha Delmore, your daughter-in-law, who lived in this house."
Upon hearing those words, Yurizella suddenly went into a frenzy.
"You... You crazy bitch, you're determined to ruin the family! Is farting abuse really abuse?"
"It's certain that something happened."
"What could have possibly happened? I didn't starve her, I didn't hit her, and it's not like I treated her worse than others!"
Asha's face, wagging her tail like a vixen, came to Yurizella's mind.
'This man was definitely summoned by that thing, too!'
Maybe Mary was right when she said there was a man.
Yurizella was convinced that this man, who was not the commoner she had invited to the house, might be the guy her daughter-in-law was seeing.
So she screamed.
"I don't know what on earth in that liar's words you are believing to overpower us so roughly, but even if it is a child abuse accusation, you shouldn't be barging into someone else's house in the middle of the night!"
"Ah... One charge of child abuse isn't enough?"
"Ask the kid sleeping soundly upstairs! Ask them if I really did anything to that child!"
Yurizella knew Linea well.
She was the kind of child who would instinctively keep her mouth shut if she saw herself in danger.
She was incredibly gentle, just like her mother.
And seeing that this man came in the middle of the night, it was clear that Asha Delmore had escaped.
Yurizella, having roughly realized that the daughter-in-law would not be in the warehouse room, raised her voice and insisted.
"Tell them to wake her up right now and bring her here!"
"It's no use; we've already secured the child's safety."
"Yes?!"
Honestly, at this point, even she was dumbfounded.
"I-If you do not tell me who you are, I will immediately have an audience with His Imperial Majesty and denounce this outrageous atrocity!"
First of all, she had to be careful about who she attacked.
If it is a family that is like trying to break a rock with an egg, it would be better to shake that man's faith in Asha rather than fight.
However, Yurizella's hopes were soon shattered miserably.
"I am Marquis Carcel Rivandel. I have come with the warrant authorized by His Excellency Duke Lakan, and from now on, I will investigate the allegations of child abuse that have taken place in this household over the past ten years."
Carcel took a warrant stamped with the Duke's seal from his pocket and tossed it in front of the hat.
Count Delmore's face turned pale as he hurriedly picked up the warrant that had fallen to the floor.
He, too, had heard much about Duke Lakan's notoriety.
Is that all?
He was even trusted by the Emperor second only to Count Tabes.
Carcel continued speaking.
"Ah. And I heard there are also allegations of gambling and the apocalypse related to Count Delmore."
"Yes?"
Count Delmore's hand trembled.
Whether that was the case or not, Carcel looked down at them languidly and smiled.
"The allegations are merely a case of coercion, so as of this moment, we plan to secure this household's ledgers, secret records, and even the servants to conduct a full-scale investigation."
"Um, um, if you could give me a moment."
"Ah. Also, please be aware that Linea Delmore will be under the care of the Marquis de Rivandel family until she is completely cleared of the child abuse charges."
As Carcel signaled to the knights, they scattered in perfect order.
Only the mother and son, placed in an unimaginable situation overnight, looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.
However, there was no one anywhere to help them.
Carcel, who was supposed to be their only lifeline, had long since lost interest in them.
He was simply itching to go see the fresh, clean Asha he had seen just before falling asleep.
And so the hectic dawn passed.
***
"Ugh!"
I woke up in a hurry to the sunlight that felt like it was stinging my eyes.
I woke up, and it was already 9 AM!
Of course, I did wake up early compared to going to bed late yesterday!
"Oh no! The Count's family hasn't put a wanted notice on me, have they?"
In a fight for child custody, if I make a mistake, it is bound to be a disadvantage.
Of course, Carcel isn't the type to just sit around, so I assume he contacted a lawyer last night.
'It's my job, so I can't just dump it on Carcel.'
I sprang up, simply washed my face and brushed my teeth, and changed my clothes.
'Linea had a hard time yesterday, so I should let her get a good night's sleep, and then I need to meet with Carcel to finish our conversation.'
As I was thinking that and about to get up from the dressing table, a ring case suddenly came into my view.
A very luxurious velvet case.
"Oh, right."
Yesterday, I agreed to a contract marriage with Carcel, and we even got engaged.
Since it was practically a rushed engagement because of Linea, I wasn't sure if it was a real engagement, but I cautiously opened the ring case.
"If I looked at this on a sunny day, I would seriously go blind."
With this one thing, it seems like I could light a fire anytime, even if I went back to the Stone Age.
It was only after looking at the ring that the events of last night felt real.
Carcel and I are engaged.
“I feel weird.”
Since he said we would even register the marriage today, it means we are getting married just a few hours after the engagement.
It happened so suddenly that I still can't think of anything.
I didn't even think it was a real marriage because he referred to it as a 'contract marriage.'
Right now, thoughts of duty and necessity took precedence over excitement or anticipation.
...I thought at first.
Until Carcel, who had gone somewhere and returned in the morning, said this.
"We have mostly settled the matter with the Count Delmore family, so let's go register our marriage."
"You say you solved it? How? My mother-in-law isn't the type to agree to taking Linea away so easily."
"Well, more than my granddaughter. There are always things more important to protect."
At those words, I found myself nodding my head without even realizing it.
'In the original story as well, the biggest issue the Imperial Family took issue with before Linea married Lucian was the Count Delmore family.'
More precisely, it was about the various misdeeds of Count Delmore and the former Countess Delmore.
The Imperial Family intended to somehow get rid of Linea and instead forge a connection with the Baron Attilini family to secure the magic stone mine.
'Even if it’s less than 10 years from now, he must have definitely committed at least one act of tax evasion.'
Even I knew that they were keeping double books.
"Shouldn't your daughter come along and watch us register our marriage?"
"First, I should let Linea know about the engagement."
I don't know how Linea will feel about the sudden news of my marriage, considering how much has already happened to her.
Linea opened her eyes with a disheveled face only in the afternoon.
I waited by the bedside until Linea woke up, and then acknowledged her when she did.
"You woke up. Baby?"
The child's eyes were still swollen from crying profusely yesterday.
I cautiously approached, knelt beside the bed, and looked into Linea's face.
"Yes."
Today, the child's face was especially swollen, looking like a steamed bun, which was funny and also adorable.
Pushing her fluffy blonde hair back, I asked cautiously.
"Mom is getting married today. Can you come with me?"
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