A Cold-Hearted Prince Who Has Had 23 Engagements Broken off Is Manipulated by a Useless Young Lady From the Countryside - Chapter 5

Dinner at the Bahnhof household was always like a wake. But that day was different.

“Ophelia! You’re spilling the soup.”

“Don’t make the cutlery rattle like that!”

Everyone thought (Huh?).

The lady’s behavior was clearly different from this morning.

Madame Nicola was nagging, but she seemed to be having fun. Her gaze was somehow gentle. And she seemed to be eating well. It was rare.

(What on earth happened today!?)

“Nicola, it seems that you got some exercise after going out and your appetite has improved. I’m relieved.”

The Marquis, who loved his wife, was happy to see his wife looking healthy.

“Ophelia has been making me do things for her!”

Even though she seemed angry, the lady was lively like a different person from the morning.

“Ah!” Ophelia threw the carrot.

“Oh! Ophelia! You’re such a child… you don’t use your fork calmly and slowly, you drop your strawberries in the middle of the day… oof!”

The lady burst out laughing after saying that.

Then she started giggling as if she found it amusing.

She remembered Ophelia’s dejected state after dropping her strawberries.

Adonis was truly surprised. He had never heard his mother laugh out loud before.

Marquis Bahnhof was so moved that he was holding back tears.

His wife always looked sulky and listless.

“Oh, that’s right. Marquis, thank you so much for buying so many dresses today,” Ophelia said as if she had just remembered.

“That’s fine. Buy as many as you like. Did you buy the dress you’re wearing today too? It looks good on you.”

“I chose it!” the lady said proudly.

“Yes, to be able to wear such a beautiful dress… I feel like I’ve really become a noble.”

‘…I am a noble.’

Ophelia suddenly stood up and spun around to show off her dress.

…But then she hit the flower stand behind her, and the vase fell and shattered.

“Ahhh!”

“Are you okay?”

“Lady Ophelia!”

“Why are you so restless?”

Mrs. Nicola hurriedly stood up and went over to Ophelia and took her hand.

Without even looking at the broken vase.

“Are you hurt, Ophelia?”

Her voice was gentle, concerned about Ophelia.

(It’s quite an accomplishment to tame your mother in just one day.)

Adonis looked at the scene as if he had seen something unusual.

“Lady Adonis”

After the meal, as he was about to return to his room, Ophelia called out to him from behind.

“What?”

“Um… I actually bought a souvenir for Adonis-sama while I was out in town.”

“Hmph.”

It’s a common pattern.

There had been many young ladies who had given gifts to attract Adonis’s attention. There were usually two types of gifts.

They were either extremely valuable and expensive, or handmade and made with love.

In either case, the “imposition of feelings” behind them is unpleasant.

“There’s no point in giving gifts. I don’t think I can even remember your name.”

“You can’t remember my name?”

“Yeah. I don’t have the slightest bit of motivation to remember.”

He was sure she would say something like “I’ll try my best until you remember my name someday.”

He hated the noble ladies who chase him like carnivores while saying modest things. They dressed up gaudy and made exaggerated faces and pulled me close. They were really annoying. He hated the noble ladies, but he also hated the aristocratic society itself. He hated everything about it.

…And while Adonis was thinking negative thoughts as usual,

Ophelia said quietly.

“Necrophilia.”

Suddenly, a word with an impact popped out.

“Huh?”

“Necrophilia is a person who likes corpses.”

“N-no, I know that, but what are you trying to say?”

“Ophelia, necrophilia… they sound similar, don’t they? It might be easier to remember if you associate them and memorize them.”

“…”

“Fufu. I’m really relieved that Adonis isn’t a necrophilia.”

“…???”

“Yes. This is a souvenir. Good night.”

Leaving Adonis standing there speechless in shock, Ophelia disappeared into her room.

For a moment, he was completely caught up in Ophelia’s pace.

(Fu… What a thing to do with me. Oh dear…)

Adonis slowly opened the package that was handed to him.

“Ahhh!”

An extremely tasteless and ugly dog ​​figurine appeared.

What kind of taste does it have?

What was he aiming for when he chose this?

‘…Oh, I’m surprised. My heart is pounding with shock.’

What a strange young lady.

“Ophelia, Necrophilia…”

…Adonis had unwittingly remembered the name of his fiance for the first time in his 24th engagement.

That night, the head chef was busy in the kitchen preparing food for the next day.

The head chef was a chef that Marquis Bahnhof had scouted from the palace kitchen.

The Marquis had offered him special treatment for Madame Nicolas.

He was proud of his cooking.

He never compromised, never neglected his research, and always tried to make the best food. But the people in this mansion!

They wouldn’t even savor the food.

No matter what she made, she had no expression or reaction. That made the head chef sad.

In the midst of all this, a skinny young lady arrived from the countryside.

She was skinny but ate a lot.

She ate all the food, saying it was delicious.

He was honestly happy.

(That’s the kind of reaction I wanted!)

The tearful head chef covered his eyes with a dish towel.

Then he was called by the Marquise, who had barely spoken to him up until now.

She asked him to prepare a dessert with plenty of strawberries for tomorrow’s snack. This was the first request he had heard, and he was excited.

“And please make sure you prepare extra strawberries to decorate the top.”

“…Extra?”

“Yes. Extra in case the girl drops one.” the lady said very seriously.

“That girl must have been so depressed when she dropped the strawberry. Poor thing. Hehe.”

“…?”

He didn’t really understand what’s going on,

“I understand, ma’am.”

He thought of a cute dessert that uses strawberries that women would like.

(It might be fun if there was a surprise inside when it was cut.)

The chef excitedly prepared the dessert, imagining Ophelia’s eyes sparkling when she saw the dessert.

After getting ready for bed, Madame Nicolas chuckled to herself as she remembered the events of the day.

It had been a fun day.

It had been years since she had laughed out loud.

In just one day, Madame had grown to love Ophelia.

When she thought about it, her only son, Adonis, had been a very easy child from an early age.

The Madame had never had anyone to pour out her overflowing maternal love on. But suddenly, someone appeared out of nowhere. And she’s a very difficult child to take care of.

To top it off, she lost her mother at a young age.

(I’ll be her mother and raise her to be a proper lady!)

Table manners, how to wear a dress, all kinds of social skills…

There’s a lot to do, but she’s a diamond in the rough that’s worth polishing.

‘If I don’t do it, who will?!’ thought the lady.

If she was her own daughter, she would eventually get married and move far away.

But Ophelia will be with them forever from now on.

(And then they’ll share half the cake together again… hehe)

Oh, she was just too cute!

The lady was so happy that she kicked her legs in bed.

(My life is so great. I can’t wait for tomorrow.)

As she thought about her future plans, Mrs. Nicola went to sleep with a feeling of satisfaction.

From that day on, the lady never again suffered from migraines or insomnia.