Orange Quiet Forest couldn’t just stay indifferent.
She had to confront the source of this mess.
‘Old bastard!’
‘You’re pissing me off!’
‘If you’re blind, just step down.’
But no matter how much she cursed inwardly, she had to keep up appearances.
Today, she was storming the Main Family alone—she didn’t want to trouble Mother.
She needed to talk person to person.
Even if that legal relationship couldn’t be changed anymore, at least she had to ensure that old man wouldn’t come up with any more nasty schemes.
Then came the visitation procedure that Orange Quiet Forest had memorized by heart.
After all, this was the most important Main Family’s old residence—vast and historic.
If some mischievous middle schooler broke something in there, it would be a huge mess.
They couldn’t even be compensated, because in those old fools’ eyes, these antiques were worth more than human lives.
So as Orange Quiet Forest walked along the wooden corridor, she even controlled her footsteps to be as light as nothing.
She had even secretly asked some kind relatives to help arrange today’s appointment.
She didn’t want Orange Peach and Orange Berry to know.
Even though she kept cursing inwardly, Orange Quiet Forest still had to put on her original gentle and virtuous long black-haired young lady persona in the Main Family.
“Ah, Quiet Forest? Long time no see! You’ve grown even more beautiful.”
“Aunt, you flatter me. It’s been a while, but you still look so radiant.”
All along the way, facing the comings and goings of Main Family members who were putting on airs, Orange Quiet Forest kept a gentle smile on her face.
‘Heh, what can you do? The Main Family thinks they’re superior.’
‘They’re probably sneering behind my back now, since I’m neither favored nor outstanding.’
‘At least they got a chance to put me down.’
‘But is a “correct” life really a “good” life for me?’
Orange Quiet Forest was starting to loathe living by society’s standard answers.
She slightly bowed, and her long black straight hair slid smoothly over her shoulders.
But she still had to put on the act.
Perfect.
She was a textbook-perfect long black-haired young lady.
But inside, Orange Quiet Forest was cursing all this red tape to hell.
After passing through three security checkpoints, Orange Quiet Forest finally arrived at the main residence where the Family Head lived.
“Family Head, Young Lady Quiet Forest is here.”
‘Old bastard!’
Originally, Orange Quiet Forest thought that returning to the Main Family to face that rigid Family Head would start with a storm of one-sided lecturing.
But unexpectedly, the Family Head’s attitude was much more amiable than she had imagined.
How could she tell?
Actually, she couldn’t pinpoint the specifics.
The dignified old man had been sitting stiffly behind his large desk since she entered, with a stern face, not saying a word.
But Orange Quiet Forest just sensed it.
After all, when she was a child and still the flawless ‘Perfect Young Lady,’ she had spent plenty of effort trying to please him.
It wasn’t hard to read this old man’s little thoughts.
Since he wasn’t speaking, Orange Quiet Forest decided to take the initiative and bring up old scores.
She straightened her back, gracefully folded her hands on her knees, and curled a flawless, gentle yet distant smile on her lips.
This was her most adept and invulnerable ‘Perfect Young Lady’ mode.
“Family Head, regarding the arranged marriage with the KujÅ« Family that you previously arranged for me…”
Orange Quiet Forest broke the silence softly and melodiously.
This persona was indeed the old codger’s favorite.
The old man’s eyelids twitched slightly as his gaze fell on the most beautiful and most troublesome junior of the Branch Family.
Orange Quiet Forest knew very well that this rigid and old-fashioned fossil didn’t actually want to push her into a pit of fire.
In his outdated values, he simply thought that for an eighteen-year-old girl who had dropped out of school, the only path to happiness was to quickly settle down with a suitable family.
His starting point might have been a wish for her happiness, but that didn’t mean he was right.
Because the man he had chosen was completely unreliable.
Besides, Orange Quiet Forest had no interest in that.
Orange Quiet Forest didn’t waste any words.
She took a thick document folder from her handbag, stood up, and gently placed it on the Family Head’s spacious desk.
“You’ve always believed he was a promising young man who remained virtuous after being widowed, but unfortunately, that’s just his one-sided story.”
Inside the folder was irrefutable evidence that the man was philandering and had heartlessly abandoned his own biological daughter.
To obtain these materials, Orange Quiet Forest had specifically gone to see Miho a few days ago.
At the time, she was actually nervous, thinking it probably wouldn’t work.
After all, before this absurd marriage had even started, the groom had turned into charcoal.
From beginning to end, she was only a nominal ‘stepmother.’
Why would they show such private documents that exposed their own wounds to an outsider?
But unexpectedly, Miho and Umimi agreed readily.
That Miho, who always acted like a little adult, not only didn’t stop her.
Instead, she sorted out all the detailed transaction documents of that man and their high-end apartment in the city center, as well as copies of the agreement that secretly bought off the father-daughter relationship, and handed them over.
“If Sister Quiet Forest can get past the Family Head’s hurdle through this and resolve some of the tangled relations between the two families, then our side will also be in a better position.”
That’s what the sisters said to her then.
They also asked about what to pay attention to when sitting on the KujÅ« family’s side.
But it seemed they had been marginalized for a long time and didn’t know the details, only some basic etiquette.
That was mostly similar to the Orange family’s, so there wasn’t much progress.
She could only hope that the Family Head would be reliable.
The Family Head opened the folder with some skepticism.
As he flipped through the transaction records and private agreements page by page, the old man’s already stern face visibly darkened, and finally, veins even bulged on the back of his hand holding the paper.
Only at this moment did this shrewd old man realize how careless he had been regarding the marriage of a younger generation.
‘Hmph, I bet he didn’t even investigate.’
The man who had appeared gentle and refined in business dealings and was seen as a perfect partner in the eyes of the outside world turned out to be a complete scumbag behind the scenes.
For a new lover, he used a high-end apartment as compensation to buy off his relationship with his biological daughter, like discarding a burden.
This shady transaction was done discreetly, and the outside world had no news of it.
Seeing the Family Head’s expression of shock mixed with regret, Orange Quiet Forest knew the timing was right.
She still sat upright in her chair, maintaining that dignified and elegant posture. The smile on her face didn’t change a bit, and even her tone was as gentle as a spring breeze.
“Family Head, I know that out of concern for the younger generation, you were eager to find me a place to settle down.”
Orange Quiet Forest’s voice was so soft that no flaw could be found. She slightly lowered her eyelids.
‘Is this okay?’
“It’s just that, Quiet Forest ventures to think, in handling this matter, you didn’t seem to be… that attentive.”
She raised her head, her clear eyes meeting the Family Head’s gaze directly, her tone still that of the perfect elegant lady.
“What you called helping me find a marriage partner was actually just an additional bargaining chip when the two families were pushing forward their mechanical cooperation, wasn’t it? You never seriously looked into the other party’s true character, and just thought the business conditions were suitable, so you hastily decided.”
Orange Quiet Forest used her perfect young lady tone—clear and articulate, gentle and refined.