I sat down on the sofa and ate my sorbet without a care in the world.
Ice was commonly found within the Morgana residence, so common that even the maids could sit down wherever they wanted with a snack containing ice.
This was a luxury that would've been impossible to achieve in the novel.
In the novel, the Morgana family went downhill after all of their investments failed. Therefore, they didn't even dare to break the contract's requirements.
The magic involved in the contract was no ordinary magic.
It meant that, if you wanted to break the contract, you'd have to acquire a sage's assistance. The thing is, it takes a large sum of money to do so.
The Morgana family didn't have the means to raise money, so they followed Gilbert's every request.
Well, I'm the Gap now, and he's the Eul. [1]
[1] Those who are in a higher position within a contact are referred to as the "Gap", and those who are in a lower/lesser position are called the "Eul".
Unlike the Maevia in the novel, I had nothing to worry about. I was able to break the contract or change partners as I wished.
So I chose Grand Duke Kallakis.
Gilbert treated the Grand Duke like he was some sort of toothless wolf. He had so much confidence in himself that he believed covering the Grand Duke's eyes and ears would stop him from taking action, along with keeping him isolated in the North.
However, Grand Duke Kallakis was and would always be the king of beasts.
As of the moment, I felt too lazy to step in. I'll just sit this one out; it's not like it's going to be fun anyways.
By now, he must've already heard the news and undertaken a background check on me.
I'm convinced that the Grand Duke knows what my life – as Maevia Morgana – with my biological parents is like. But how do I get in touch with him?
Living as Maevia, I did numerous crazy things on purpose, and it gives me a good laugh when I look at my records.
That evening, using the excuse that Gilbert had stressed me out, I booked an appointment with the fine-dining specialist chef so that I could enjoy a gourmet meal. I heard he was hard to book.
Egg dishes with truffle cream, asparagus soup, scallops with trout eggs, oyster gratin… I ate filet mignon steak and had chocolate ice cream as a dessert. All of my worries disappeared.
Money is the best. Delicious food is the best.
I hummed as I opened the door. I heard a tapping sound by the window.
"Hm?"
As I looked over, I caught sight of a bird lingering around outside my window.
A crow? But why is he so small?
The unidentified bird was as small as a crow-tit and had fluffy feathers. It kept pecking at the latch, but it wouldn't open. It rammed itself into the window with all of its force.
Though, the window didn't budge. The pitiful bird limped around.
Sarah was taken aback to find such a little pitch-black bird following me around.
"Ooo, why's the bird like that? Doesn't it know it's glass?"
"Stay here."
I asked her to wait and approached the window.
It wasn't very difficult catching the bird; it'd been flapping around and had looked like it was going to fall.
It was so small, small enough to fit in my hand. I relaxed my palm and the small black bird tried to stand up straight, stretching its legs. Even though it charged head first into the window, the bird was sane and unscathed.
An ordinary bird would have been badly hurt. When I looked at the window, I saw a bird-like imprint.
Hmm, seems like he sent his familiar.
However, this familiar was never mentioned in the novel.
Nevertheless, I knew the set-up for the Grand Duke's family. Their familiars usually came in the form of a snake or a tiger. That's because they were the best when it came to battles.
It also seemed like they didn't send an aggressive familiar; in fact, it seemed to like me quite a bit.
What is this all about? Was it because I rejected your son and said I wanted you instead?
Or was it because of the prince whose name I forgot and whose hair I tore off after he asked me for my chest size?
And when I said I wasn't sorry and told him to just shave his hair off altogether?
But I didn't think he'd actually do it.
Well, what's good is good. I smiled brightly and directed my attention to the crow.
"Hello."
"Gyak! Gyak!"
It's feathers felt nice and soft.
I spoke to the Grand Duke through the familiar, knowing he'd be in contact with me through the bird.
"All the rooms in the Morgana mansion have special windows. They're hard to break. I'll show you how to open it next time, got it?"
".....Gyak?"
The crow tilted its head.
Of course, you owe me a debt now.
"Gyaak, Gyak!"
The Grand Duke's familiar flapped its tiny wings without tire whilst resting on the palm of my hand. Although, it didn't fly away.
I let it down on my table.
It ventured around the table whilst observing my room. The clean tablecloth was now stamped with countless bird footprints.
"Gyak!"
Sarah brought in a water bowl and watched the bird with sparkling eyes.
"I didn't think crows could be so cute. It doesn't seem like one of the common crows of the Empire, rather it seems like it came from far far away. Are you going to raise it?"
"Do you think it's possible for me to tame it?"
Sarah and I questioned each other at the same time. I was also questioning the Grand Duke.
Um, it's probably not worth a shot.
There weren't many beasts, but most of them made up for it with their size. Even the smallest of beasts were as big as an adult male.
Sarah was glowing with happiness.
"Of course! My Lady is good at everything! You're good at dancing, you're good at playing musical instruments, and you're good at poker!"
"Sarah, if you bring me something to eat, I'll pretend I didn't hear that last thing you said."
"I'll be right back!"
She ran off and disappeared. The familiar looked at me, gaze flickering between me and the door.
"Gyak? Gyak?!"
Those big deep-blue eyes seemed very shocked.
It seemed to notice that the servant left, and now it was scared to be alone with me.
Usually people were afraid of familiars and wouldn't know what to do. Even this cute little ol' bird would be capable of killing someone without problem if they sent even the tiniest amount of mana to their body.
On the other hand, killing a familiar wouldn't cause that much damage to their master. It was a one-sided contract of obedience.
Obviously, it's not like just any old wizard could create a familiar.
And, naturally, it's not like just any animal could be a familiar.
Even though it was only mentioned briefly in the novel, Grand Duke Kallakis had a total of eight familiars, with each one of them possessing strong powers.
I told you he was a beast. The only person who was capable of having a beast as a familiar was Grand Duke Kallakis.
And he might not even be the strongest person in the world.
"Gyak! Pak! Pak!"
Like a quick demonstration, the crow jumped. At that moment, Sarah knocked.
I wondered why she came back so early and why she looked like she just ate a bug.
"Miss, the young master sent his attendant. They said they can't go back until you send him a reply."
As expected, it was Gilbert. How insignificant he is.
Gilbert Kallakis doesn't love me. What he wants is the power and the influence of the Morgana family.
Even in the novel, though the Morgana family had lost their wealth due to investment failures, they still maintained their pristine reputation.
Even if he wasn't lucky enough to have a marriage contract, he would've still tried to use his marriage to further his success. I, just like the Maevia in the novel, would've been the perfect match for Gilbert's goal.
〈That woman? I'm not interested since she's easy. She has no worth except her face. This is the first time I've been so done with a woman before even getting with her.〉
Originally, Gilbert was nice to Maevia, but that didn't last long.
Maevia opened her heart to him, but he changed a year after they had gotten married. He treated her like a lump of garbage, not a wife.
If Maevia in the novel had been like me now, it might have been different. But this was a waste of time.
Now that the authority of the Emperor was blooming for various reasons, the most powerful families in the capital were the Morgana, Elaine, and Morgoz family.
Of course, the capital had a lot of power but it never surpassed that of the Grand Duke Kallakis.
The whole Northern territory belonged to the Grand Duke.
Plus, he had so much money that the imperial vault would look like a piggy bank to him. Nevertheless, Grand Duke Kallakis seemed like a distant memory in the back of most nobles' minds.
He doesn't attend social events, nor does he interfere with the country's affairs. Most aristocrats don't even know what Grand Duke Kallakis looks like or how old he is.
Gilbert was the one who revived the Grand Duke's reputation, which was slowly dying off.
A few months ago, Gilbert came to the capital, showing off his noble-like appearance and excellent swordsmanship skills which succeeded those of the Prince.
It was only natural that he hid his true personality and acted naively. For some time, he had quite the number of fans in the novel. They didn't stop sticking to him that easily either. No matter how rude he was, they defended him and claimed his attitude was attractive.
That was only until the real male lead, Rehan, awakened. But I couldn't wait that long.
"Sarah, I need to write a letter."
She misunderstood my intentions and made a tearful face.
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to, miss. You don't have to force yourself to do something just because you're being compared to the young master! I'll be back with the other maids!"
"I'm writing a letter to kick him out."
Sarah, who was about to run out, hesitantly raised her hand.
"Ooh..., will you be sending it to someone else?"
"Yes. I'll need to go shopping."
"Gyak?"
The bird opened its beak when it saw my uncontainable smile.
I'll make him realize how stupid it is to play this game with me.