Ch.176176. Fuck, It’s Me!?

“So, who is it anyway?”

“How would I know who it is when I’ve never kissed anyone!?”

I waved my palm indignantly, and Miriah Alphonse leaned her head toward me once more.

“Oh my, are you lying?”

It’s the truth.

Isn’t a kiss that beautiful act where a woman’s tongue and a man’s tongue intertwine?

If I had actually kissed someone, I wouldn’t feel so wronged.

No doubt, this must be something the original ‘Selden Alphonse’ did before I possessed his body.

Of course, I hadn’t expected a man who frequented pleasure houses to mess with noble women.

But.

Who would understand my grievance?

Now my image has been cleaned up, but in the past, I was known as ‘the scoundrel from the edge of the Eastern Continent.’

And besides.

That noble woman is ridiculous too.

Selden Alphonse was clearly a scoundrel.

Did she know that and still kiss him?

And after keeping quiet all this time, she started blabbering about kissing me at the party just because my reputation improved?

My head was getting complicated, but I decided to think simply.

Right now, I needed to make some kind of excuse to Miriah Alphonse.

“Sister, I’m a grown adult now. I can certainly kiss someone.”

“If it were a woman from a pleasure house, that would be one thing, but if rumors spread about a noble, you might have to marry her, you know?”

“Well, it might have been so long ago that I don’t remember, but I’m certain I haven’t had any contact with women since I’ve been in the Lake territory.”

“Hmm, are you sure?”

“What could I have done while being confined all that time?”

“Then why did that woman say at the party that she had kissed you?”

I shrugged my shoulders at Miriah Alphonse’s words.

“Have I become famous? Perhaps she misspoke during an argument. Or maybe you misheard.”

“…I see…”

“Now that we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, about my conversation with Derickson Ebert—”

“Hold on a moment.”

Cutting off my words, Miriah Alphonse turned back toward Derickson Ebert.

She slammed her palm on the table forcefully, just as before.

“Hey! Why are you spreading unfounded rumors!?”

Startled by Miriah Alphonse’s piercing, venomous gaze, this time Derickson Ebert jumped in surprise and made an aggrieved expression.

“Why would I lie to you, Lady Miriah Alphonse? What would I gain from it?”

“Then do you know who spouted such nonsense?”

“Yes! Do you know the Parsece family that recently won the war against the Cardrian family?”

“The Parsece family?”

“Elina Parsece—I clearly heard her shouting it with my own ears.”

It wasn’t Selden Alphonse before my possession…

Shit, it was me!?

I never kissed Elina Parsece.

We just bumped lips against each other.

In this world, there must be a clear distinction between a kiss and a peck…

Could Elina Parsece not tell the difference!?

Pedericks, sitting across from me, was giving me suspicious looks.

Miriah Alphonse was doing the same.

At times like this, I needed to respond calmly.

*Screech-!*

I rose from my chair.

Then I casually sat down in the chair between Derickson Ebert and Miriah Alphonse.

“Mr. Derickson Ebert, I apologize for my late greeting. I’m Selden Alphonse.”

“Ah… pleased to meet you.”

Derickson Ebert had an awkward expression.

Understandable.

He must think he made some mistake by excitedly blurting things out when Miriah Alphonse reacted to my story.

“Lady Elina Parsece and I see each other often due to business matters.”

“I-I see.”

What difference would it make if I said it was a peck and not a kiss?

Taking a deep breath, I racked my brain to escape this urgent situation.

“Did you personally hear Elina Parsece announcing that she kissed me at the party?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“I asked her to do that.”

“…Pardon?”

Derickson Ebert looked at me with rabbit-like eyes, clearly surprised.

Of course, Miriah Alphonse and Pedericks also had bewildered expressions.

I put on a relaxed smile and spoke.

“As you mentioned, Mr. Derickson, after stopping the monster wave, I’ve had troublesome situations—women sending love letters to the Lake territory, or causing difficulties when I visit other territories with my father’s permission.”

“Troublesome situations…?”

“I can’t count how many times I’ve been awkwardly surrounded by women who somehow knew I was Selden Alphonse.”

“Ah…”

I never knew speaking highly of myself could be this painful.

Fighting through my curling toes, I continued.

“So I asked Lady Elina Parsece for her understanding and requested that she pretend to be in a marriage relationship with me.”

“And she agreed to that?”

“What you may not know is that I’ve helped the Parsece family a great deal in business matters. Of course, I didn’t expect her to claim we kissed.”

Miriah Alphonse, who had been listening, paused and stared at me intently.

“Isn’t Elina Parsece the woman who wanted to marry you before?”

“That’s right. Now she’s just a business partner.”

“Was it really necessary to go so far as to lie?”

“Brother Leonard is a special case who married early, but I couldn’t possibly marry before you, Sister, could I?”

I passed the baton to Miriah Alphonse.

Realizing that I might be unable to meet women because of her, her face gradually turned red.

“…Alright, that’s enough. You can go now.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll handle the conversation with Mr. Derickson myself, so don’t worry about it anymore and go.”

My intention seemed to work as Miriah Alphonse gestured for me to leave.

I rose from my chair with a faint smile.

Even though I had spoken with such a guilty conscience, there was no guarantee that Miriah Alphonse would connect with Derickson Ebert.

However, if it changed things even slightly, it would be meaningful.

Looking back and forth between Miriah Alphonse and Derickson Ebert, I bowed.

“Then I’ll take my leave. I hope you two enjoy your conversation.”

*

“Hmm!”

A dust-free desk and books neatly arranged on the bookshelf.

This was Selden Alphonse’s personal study before he was exiled to the Lake territory.

“This is my first time here.”

I heard that his mother, Ellaria Alphonse, had consistently asked the maids to clean the room despite her youngest son’s absence due to exile.

That’s how it maintained such cleanliness.

*Swish-!*

Curious about what the scoundrel from the edge of the Eastern Continent kept in his drawers, I sat in the chair.

Then I opened the drawer.

*Rattle-!*

A notebook filled with meaningless doodles and women’s names.

And a half-empty bottle of vodka. That was all.

“I came hoping to find something useful, but I guess a leopard doesn’t change its spots?”

Shaking my head, I was about to check another drawer when there was a knock at the study door.

*Knock-knock!*

I wondered if Miriah Alphonse and Derickson Ebert had already finished their conversation.

Before I could speak, the study door opened.

*Creeeeak-!*

The one who entered was none other than Seri Familia.

To be honest, she was still incredibly beautiful.

If it weren’t for her mental issues, she would have been almost too good for Leonard.

“What brings you here?”

“I felt I hadn’t properly greeted you, so I came.”

“Ah… you really didn’t need to come all the way here to greet me…”

Seri Familia pointed to the chair opposite me.

“May I sit?”

“Please do.”

The atmosphere was suffocatingly awkward.

If not for the hourglass, she could have been my wife.

As we sat in silence, Seri Familia gave a faint smile.

“…Congratulations. When I heard about the monster wave in the Lake territory, I firmly believed you would be able to stop it.”

“‘Young master’… that form of address feels so strange.”

“It can’t be helped. We’re family now, aren’t we?”

“Haha! Anyway, thank you for believing in me.”

“As I thought, my eyes weren’t wrong when I first met you.”

“…Pardon?”

I tilted my head, and Seri Familia made a dreamy expression, as if lost in past memories.

“When you fell off the cliff, you told me you were fine despite bleeding. I think someone with such patience naturally would be able to stop a monster wave.”

What connection is there between having patience and stopping a monster wave?

I wanted to ask, but fearing it would only prolong the conversation, I simply nodded.

“I’m grateful that my sister-in-law thinks so highly of me.”

“I wanted to talk with Selden Alphonse so much back then… Do you think it’s still not too late?”

“…Pardon?”

Suddenly, Seri Familia twitched as if electrocuted, her body jerking once, then again as she looked at me.

I sighed briefly and opened my palm.

“Hypnosis.”

“…”

After casting the hypnosis skill, Seri Familia’s seductive gaze disappeared, and she stared blankly into space.

“Seri Familia, I didn’t want to do this, but if you’re married, you should settle down and stop looking elsewhere!”

“……”

Still under hypnosis, Seri Familia remained silent.

I leaned my face toward her and grinned.

“Go right now and spend a very passionate night with Leonard!!”