172 – Scene 172# 5 billion
*
“At that time, Blanche should have seen the Count’s expression!”
“Is that so?”
“Whoops… . The moment the marbles stop at 0, how cute it is to pretend that nothing is wrong! No matter how I look at it, I never get tired of it.”
In the carriage to school, Bella covered her mouth with a fan and let out a laugh.
These days, whenever we were together like this, Bella would bring up the story of Tristan.
Blanche, who was nodding calmly from the other side, said.
“Come to think of it, the lady seems to laugh often whenever she talks about Count Ruelberta.”
“ah?”
Bella paused.
“It could be. I always laugh a lot.”
“That’s right, but it’s different from the usual smile.”
“As usual… Different?”
“Yes. If the lady usually smiles faintly, now it seems that she is smiling even more clearly. If you always smile like this… .”
“Huh… . Maybe I didn’t see something right?”
“no. I saw it. While the lady was talking about the Count for over a week-”
“Blanche.”
“Yes?”
widely.
Bella folded her fan.
“I wasn’t talking about the count. It’s just that I went to the gambling house to pick up my father, and I used a lot of luck to surprise the count. The Count is only an incidental figure in this story. In other words, they are extras.”
“Yes… That’s right.”
“So I’m not laughing because of the Count.”
It seems to have touched something that shouldn’t be touched. I could feel the pressure in Bella’s smile.
Blanche quickly decided to change her words.
“By the way, did you know that the game will yield zero?”
“Yes. To some extent.”
“Yes?”
It was an ambiguous answer.
Seeing Blanche’s questioning face, Bella continued.
“I get very lucky sometimes. No, I don’t know if I should call it a certainty about luck.”
“If you say you’re sure… ?”
“To give a specific example, there are times when I wake up in the morning and have a strange feeling that something good will happen. But on that day, something really good happened to me. Finding a lost earring in the pocket of a dress, or finding an emergency fund hidden by your father in a book… .”
“That… . The last one seems odd… .”
“Maybe it’s because I’m receiving God’s protection. The God of Paradise once said something similar… . I must have the ability to detect luck.”
Being able to detect your own luck is a very convenient ability. As if reading Blanche’s thoughts, Bella shrugged.
“However, this ability is not omnipotent. I just feel like I’m going to be lucky, and I can’t detect all the luck. Of course, bad luck cannot be avoided.”
“-!?”
rattle!
As Bella spoke, the carriage rocked violently and came to a halt.
The sudden shock almost bit my tongue.
“… look. Aren’t you omnipotent?”
“miss. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Blanche is fine too, right?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Miss, please wait here for a while. I’ll check what’s going on.”
Blanche got off the carriage and surveyed the situation.
At the back of the wagon, the driver was examining the wheels.
“What happened all of a sudden?”
“That, that… Suddenly the wheel broke.”
“You mean the wheel?”
“Yes… . It’s been a while since I changed to a new wheel, but I don’t know why… .”
The rear wheel pointed out by the coachman was broken to the point of being unusable.
“Can’t we just put new wheels on it?”
“That’s right. By the way… . Even the spare wheels I brought are all in a mess… .”
“Yes?”
The extra wagon wheels the coachman was carrying were really rotten.
The coachman said with a face that he did not understand at all.
“I was fine when I checked the other day, but to see it rot like this in just a few days… .”
As the coachman said, it was strange that a perfectly fine wheel rotted until it became like that.
The coachman who forgot to check could have been flirting, but as far as she knows, the coachman is a sincere person. I don’t think there’s any chance of that.
no That’s not what I’m thinking about right now.
“Then, to start again… .”
“Even if I rode to the mansion, it would take well over an hour… .”
“this… .”
Blanche was troubled.
In that case, the lady she attends will not be able to arrive at school on time.
“What happened?”
Bella got off the carriage and checked the situation.
However, there was no right number.
“ah… . there!”
Just then, I saw a strange carriage approaching from the other side.
Bella let out a sigh of relief.
“phew. It wasn’t bad luck after all this time.”
“That’s right… . If you take a wagon to the vicinity of the school, you will be on time.”
Blanche waved at the carriage.
Then the carriage stopped in front of them.
Sigh.
The door is open.
Bella froze as she checked the face of the man who had emerged from the carriage.
And it was the same with Blanche.
“You seem in trouble, can I help you? Beautiful Princess.”
Patrick Wolfwert twirled and laughed.
Looking at the greasy look, the two realized.
It wasn’t just bad luck for the two of them, it was just filthy unlucky.
*
“At least, the princess was almost late for school. Aren’t you glad I was there?”
“is that so.”
Bella just watched the passing scenery out of the carriage window.
I had no choice but to hit Patrick’s wagon, but I couldn’t help but feel bad.
Patrick said with a grin.
“It’s the first time since the Seven Star Festival.”
“is that so.”
“Yes. I really missed you.”
“is that so.”
“I missed you every night. I can’t sleep when I think of your beautiful face.”
“is that so.”
“Didn’t the princess miss me?”
“No.”
“… You know how to answer something else.”
Bella just stared out the window, not even paying attention to Patrick.
Embarrassed, Patrick showed interest in Blanche, who was clinging close to Bella.
“this. I saw it last time, but the princess’s escort knight is also quite beautiful.”
“… It is too much praise.”
“hahahaha. I’m curious what kind of training you usually do. From what I can see, the driver seems to have a really solid body. Can I touch you once?”
“Oh, yes? What do you mean by touch? .”
“Patrick.”
Bella stopped Patrick from reaching out to Blanche.
“Is it sexual harassment to my escort driver now?”
“It’s not fair to say it’s sexual harassment. The escort knight has a beautiful body, so I want to check it out. I’ve been training myself, so I can tell for sure just by touching my muscles. What kind of training did you do?”
Patrick smirking.
Even so, it gave me goose bumps as I glanced over Blanche’s body with my eyes.
yes. Because of this, I instinctively felt a sense of rejection when I saw this man.
“… Check that by touching your own muscles. Don’t be harsh with my escort driver.”
“Ahahahaha. It seems that the princess is very jealous. Do you hate me so much when I have my eyes on another woman?”
“You are free to be mistaken, but you are making a very unpleasant mistake. Patrick.”
Bella glared at him with blatant disgust.
But for this man, it had the opposite effect.
“You look so elegant when you get angry. I’m more interested in you. Did you read the letter I sent you?”
“Yes. I didn’t see it.”
“That is strange. He must have sent it to the Isakhel family.”
“Iknow, right. It’s very strange.”
“Next time, I will have to personally deliver the letter to the princess. When is a good time?”
“it’s okay. I have a prior arrangement.”
“Yes… ? Have you ever asked?”
“Anyway, I have a prior arrangement.”
“Hmm… ?”
Patrick looked at Bella intrigued by her cold reply.
Then he pulled out a letter from his pocket and handed it to him.
“If so, I will send you the letter now. Please read it.”
“Oops. Because I can’t read.”
“Then I will read it to you.”
“What? Because I was deaf.”
“… … You seem to like humor.”
Patrick hangs on tenaciously.
Bela sighed in the end as it seemed that there would be no end to dealing with him.
“Patrick. Please stop the wagon.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for the ride. But I will walk from here.”
“Why are you doing that all of a sudden? If you go on foot from here, you will surely be late.”
“It’s okay if you’re late.”
“I’m on my way to the university because I have some business to do, so let’s go together.”
Bella shook her head remorselessly.
I’ve already endured enough.
“Nope. After all, I don’t think I can mix words with a person like you. I appreciate your kindness, but more than this is too much. We go our separate ways.”
“Is it because of Count Ruelberta?”
Bella hesitated at Patrick’s sudden question.
“… What?”
“I understand very well why the princess couldn’t budge on the count.”
“Yes?”
“Five billion kaels.”
The amount that came out of Patrick’s mouth was an amount Bella was very familiar with.
An enormous debt that brought down the most honorable family in the empire, Isakhel.
Why did that suddenly come out of this man’s mouth?
“It’s a debt the Isaachel family owes to the Ruelberta family.”
“… … What do you want to say? Patrick.”
“I will pay that debt.”
Patrick smacked his lips.
And he stared at Bella with eyes like a wolf.
“If only you would be my woman.”