《The Villainess Hides Her Wealth》


 CH 1

    ¡°Did you hear that? The Imperial Newspaper of Economic Affairs recently updated the list of ¡°10 businessmen who control the Empire¡±, and¡­!¡±


    The heroine of the novel is my sister, Lilika. That was an unchanging fact.


    But at this moment, when everyone in the ballroom was paying attention to me, I felt like I was the protagonist.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t really want to reveal it at this moment, but it¡¯s a bit surprising.¡¯


    A few days ago, my business, which I had been hiding due to fear of it being harmed by my image as a villainess, was revealed.


    It was my great dramatic reversal, as I was known only as ¡®the only stain in the duchy¡¯, or ¡®an idiot who can¡¯t even keep up with her younger sister¡¯.


    ¡°Since she was expelled from the Primrose duchy, she probably didn¡¯t run her business using the family¡¯s power.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, and compared to before, the Primrose family is¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe the Newspaper of Economic Affairs is wrong? For example, maybe they took a bribe from Lady Primrose. Ah, let¡¯s not do this and ask her ourselves!¡±


    ¡°Yes, if she lies, it will be revealed right away!¡±


    In my memory, the nobles of the social world were always stubborn.


    They either looked at me, Lilika¡¯s older sister, disapprovingly, using harsh words that they believed were advice to me, or they didn¡¯t care about me at all because they were looking at Lilika.


    Nevertheless, I guess they were too curious about my business for grace and honor to weigh heavily on their minds.


    Seeing how quickly they were rushing towards me, maybe they weren¡¯t satisfied with chattering among themselves.


    ¡°Hm, ahem. Lady Primrose. It¡¯s been a long time.¡±


    However, unlike their momentum at first, they couldn¡¯t talk to me right away, and seemed to remember the words and actions they had been directing at me all this time.


    ¡®Isn¡¯t it unthinkable to talk to me first like this?¡¯


    I could see that they were pushing Lady Barmin, who had a point of contact with me, forward, even if they knew she was embarrassed.


    At the very least, she only saw me a few times at Lilika¡¯s social gatherings, and she didn¡¯t talk much to me because she was only smiling at the kind Lilika.


    ¡°Ahem. Lady Primrose. How have you been?¡±


    ¡°As you can see.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha¡­ That¡¯s a relief. I was worried because I hadn¡¯t seen you for a while.¡±


    Even though it was difficult to pretend to be close all of a sudden, Lady Barmin continued to talk, firmly.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s really great to see you after a long time. You¡¯re dressed up so gorgeously¡­ Huh?¡±


    When the others poked her sides because she was only asking about my regards, Lady Barmin¡¯s eyes suddenly opened wide.


    ¡°Dear heavens, are the diamonds on this necklace perhaps the ones that were mined recently in the Jenibe Mine?¡±


    Her words were filled with sincerity for the first time.


    When Lady Barmin raised her voice, those next to her also began to intervene by looking closely at the necklace I was wearing.


    ¡°It¡¯s made with not just one of those precious diamonds, but with several of them? That¡¯s unbelievable! Are they real diamonds and not a similar gem?¡±


    I nodded without answering, and the faces of the people changed dramatically.


    ¡°Diamonds of such high quality would only be handled by the Imperial Merchant Guild. Besides, a piece of jewelry of this quality has never been put up for sale¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait. You know ¡°Yunette¡±, which was in a partnership with the Imperial Merchant Guild? Is it true that Lady Primrose is the owner?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re asking me if I established it myself, then that¡¯s correct.¡±


    Hearing my casual answer, a few of them gasped. They looked back at each other and opened their eyes wide as if they couldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°How did the Lady¡­ I thought you weren¡¯t knowledgeable about businesses¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I had a lot of interest. It was a dream I had since childhood.¡±


    I calmly opened my mouth.


    The reason why I could say things that I would not have been able to say in the past due to my inferiority complex was probably because I left the people I was obsessed with and achieved great success.


    ¡°Maybe you didn¡¯t know because you didn¡¯t have any interest other than the fact that I am Lilika¡¯s older sister.¡±


    I didn¡¯t mean to be so sarcastic, but the people I wasn¡¯t even close with seemed to be bothered by what I said.


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm, ahem¡­¡±


    I smiled kindly at them, who were at a loss, but as a vicious villainess and not a friendly protagonist, I did not say that it was fine.


    I didn¡¯t want to claim that the treatment I had received before was wrongful.


    ¡®Would these people have been interested if I had not achieved amazing success in my business and been talked about in all kinds of media?¡¯


    Probably not.


    The protagonist¡¯s older sister.


    Who would have thought that I, a villainess, would get the attention of so many people?


    It was none of my business to feel sorry for those who showed signs of frustration while saying they would have gotten close to me if they knew this would happen.


    ¡°In any case, congratulations on your success.¡±


    ¡°Who knew Lady Primrose would be so successful? Hahaha.¡±


    My expression did not change even as they tried to lighten the awkward mood somehow.


    Then, a lady with aquamarine hair skillfully intervened among the people. It was a familiar face.


    ¡°Sister, it¡¯s been a long time!¡±


    ¡°Lilika.¡±


    ¡°Oh, your younger sister is here.¡±


    The people quickly gave way to Lilika with relieved faces. Even though she hadn¡¯t done anything, I could feel the dreary mood starting to abate just from her appearance.


    ¡°Lady Primrose, I mean, Lady Lilika¡­¡±


    They¡¯re calling Lilika by her name because I¡¯m here. In the past, Lady Primrose meant Lilika without a doubt, so it was a remarkable change.


    Noticing it, Lilika¡¯s brows frowned lightly, then relaxed again. It was a great performance. Skillfully changing her expression, Lilika looked at me with the most pitiful gaze in the world.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you contacted me? Even though you left the family because you did something wrong, I¡­¡±


    Lilika¡¯s eyes started tearing up, but my heart cooled. Her words were secretly pointing out that I had left because I did something wrong.


    ¡°Come to think of it, Lady Yuria Primrose once¡­¡±


    Thanks to that, people seemed to recall what rumors were circulating when I left the family.


    This way, it might expose every single thing that was forgotten because of my great success.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you look good, though. Dear heavens, you even sold the ¡®Ruby of Radietta¡¯ you got from Father. I wondered if you were going to cut off relationships with the Primrose duchy because you sold the family¡¯s jewelry.¡±


    Lilika laughed softly in a trembling voice. But I replied indifferently.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. The fact that I drew a line with the Duke.¡±


    ¡°What? The Duke? Are you perhaps¡­ talking about Father?¡±


    There was a commotion inside the hall. Lilika¡¯s friendly expression turned into shock.


    ¡°That¡¯s too much, Sister! Even if you were scolded, how can you address Father as ¡®Duke¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Well. I only did as he said, that I should never think of myself as his daughter again.¡±


    ¡°How can you say that? No, from saying that you sold the item that Father carefully selected and gifted you¡­ I can¡¯t understand. I can¡¯t say something like that to my father who raised me.¡±


    Lilika shook her head, her thin body trembling.


    It was a peculiar gesture, as if I was a vicious villain who had committed a crime.


    ¡°You¡¯re still the same as ever. Even if you succeeded, nothing changed. Both before and now, you¡¯re always drawing a line with our family.¡±


    It was you who drew the line first.


    ¡®Lilika, who is loved despite being an illegitimate child, and me, who is the daughter of his legal wife but is vicious. That¡¯s how our family was divided.¡¯


    I tried to open my mouth and answer, but someone showed up first and intervened between Lilika and me.


    Lilika, who was always at the center, was pushed back. Few people could do this to her, the protagonist of the novel.


    ¡°F-Father?¡±


    ¡°Lilika, can you step back for a moment?¡±


    Duke Primrose.


    My father, who was infinitely proud of me when I was a child.


    As he was a tall person who covered Lilika in an instant, even I, who was wearing high heels, had no choice but to look up.


    ¡®He¡¯s still the same.¡¯


    I thought a little. I wondered if he would have become haggard while I was gone, because he was worried about his daughter. I wondered if there were any sleepless nights.


    However, Duke Primrose was as bulky as ever, and his expression looked cold. Even in front of his biological daughter, whom he met after a long time, there was not a single speck of paternal love in his expression.


    ¡°You¡¯re calling ¡®duke¡¯ to your own father. Are you satisfied with speaking in such a way until the end?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°But nothing will change if you complain. A family relationship can¡¯t be broken even if you don¡¯t like it.¡±


    Family.


    ¡®How can you say that so easily in front of me?¡¯


    If he remembered the past, at least he shouldn¡¯t have come out in front of me like this.


    Since Lilika came to the family, I had been nothing more than a villain to Duke Primrose, not a biological daughter, who tormented his dear child.


    ¡°F-Father!¡±


    ¡°From this moment on, you are no longer a Primrose.¡±


    How could he say such a thing to me? How could he be so cold-hearted?


    But the surprising appearances didn¡¯t end with him.


    Lilika heard another voice behind her.


    ¡°B-Brother? Why¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    Even the man I used to call my brother came to me, putting Lilika aside.


    Then, he reached out his hand to me.


    Without any greeting or explanation, with a face that looked like that of Duke Primrose.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t take his hand, I just looked at him. Only then did a short explanation follow, as if it was inevitable.


    ¡°It would be better to have your first dance of the ball with your family.¡±


    Nothing more than that. He was so kind to Lilika, but to me, he was blunt and cold.


    ¡°You should take Lilika instead of me. As it always has been.¡±


    I spoke in a flat voice. It was as if he was going to pretend we were friendly siblings now that it had come to this.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I may look ridiculous for suddenly doing something like this.¡±


    I sneered at him, telling him to take care of his half-sister Lilika, whom he always took care of first instead of me, his biological sister, but the son of Duke Primrose answered without wavering.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t know either. Why I came to you instead of Lilika.¡±


    The words that Duke Primrose¡¯s heir had spoken to me in the past flashed through my mind.


    ¡°Why are you always acting sensitive towards Lilika? Why do you only disappoint me?¡±


    ¡°B-Brother. But¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear you calling me brother ever again. You¡¯re not Lilika¡¯s sister, either.¡±


    Even though I, who had been lost in thought for a moment, didn¡¯t give him much of an answer, Duke Primrose¡¯s heir didn¡¯t withdraw his hand.


    ¡®No matter what I said, he never cared. It¡¯s still the same.¡¯


    Then, another man appeared in front of me.


    It was the only person who could intervene in a place where Duke Primrose and his son were.


    ¡°Lady Primrose.¡±


    Count Marcel Vieira.


    My first love, and once, my fianc¨¦.


    I couldn¡¯t believe he was standing in front of me instead of following Lilika around.


    Like this, all three men who caused me great pain had gathered.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t expect to see these people in one place.¡¯


    And then, another hand came up to me.


    Although it would be understandable to be nervous in this place, Count Vieira opened his mouth with a noble expression, as usual.


    ¡°I am asking you to give me the honor of a dance.¡±


    Although they weren¡¯t the person concerned, Duke Primrose and his son became furious.


    ¡°How can you ask Yuria to dance when you unilaterally notified her that you had broken off your engagement?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not an occasion to meddle in before the family.¡±


    Count Vieira did not back down immediately, even though the two people had threatening expressions.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s my fault for misunderstanding Lady Primrose. However, Lady Primrose and I were distant because I left the capital quite a lot. Unlike the two of you.¡±


    As he said that, his voice, which had been soft until just now, became sharp.


    ¡°And you said you were a family, but I don¡¯t think the two people who always sided with each other and kicked her out of the family deserve to criticize me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re impertinent, Marcel Vieira!¡±


    ¡°You even courted Lilika in front of Yuria, you have no conscience!¡±


    Suddenly, the three men appeared to be biting each other. I let out a sneer.


    ¡®My father, my brother, and even my ex-fianc¨¦. I decided to hand it all over to Lilika, but they¡¯re coming to me¡­¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t believe they were reaching out to me now.


    It was ridiculous that the love I had hoped for only came true after giving up.


    Besides, the way they believed that I would be willing to hold their hands was nothing short of arrogant to the end.


    ¡°Lady Primrose. Is it hard to give me just one chance?¡±


    ¡°I have no intention to dance with you.¡±


    And I also added,


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the same for Duke Primrose and his son.¡±


    ¡°Yuria!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I already have a partner.¡±


    After brightening for a moment by my refusal of Count Vieira, the complexions of Duke Primrose and his son cooled down again.


    ¡°A partner? What do you¡­¡±


    It was amazing that they never thought I would have a partner.


    That was why they were asking me to dance first, while still pretending to be merciful.


    ¡®But I really have one. A partner.¡¯


    I wasn¡¯t lying.


    Just then, I saw the man I had been waiting for walking our way with his long legs.


    ¡°Is that person going to Lady Primrose?¡±


    ¡°Could he be the partner that Lady Primrose spoke of¡­?¡±


    I could hear the people gossiping around me, as if they had never expected it.


    ¡°Unbelievable.¡±


    The bold expressions of the three men standing in front of me had long since crumbled.


    ¡°Yuria. I¡¯m sorry for being late.¡±


    I reached out to him as he cut through the crowd with a presence that could not be ignored.


    ¡°No, you were only late because of what I asked.¡±


    I held his arm and leaned my body towards him, as if to show off that we had a good relationship.


    And enjoying everyone¡¯s astonished gaze, I smiled brighter than ever.


    ¡°Do you see? I¡¯m going to dance with ¡®this person¡¯, so don¡¯t bother me anymore and get out of my way.¡±

 CH 2

    ¡°This is the last generosity I give you.¡±


    My father poisoned me. As I shook my head and clung to him, he forced me to swallow the poison.


    Even though his daughter was vomiting blood and struggling in pain, he had no sympathy or regret.


    Being so cold and indifferent, the man I had been following as my brother was the same.


    ¡°Father, you¡¯re too merciful for killing her this easily. Considering what this b*tch has done¡­¡±


    ¡°Be quiet, Jiksen. She was once your sister.¡±


    ¡°No, from the beginning to now, I only have one sister, Lilika.¡±


    The eyes of the same color as mine were filled with contempt.


    Disgust and all sorts of negative emotions poured out on me, worse than looking at the rubbish on the side of the road.


    ¡°From today on, our family name will no longer be tarnished.¡±


    I had been squirming, and as I heard those words, the trembling on my fingertips subsided.


    Betrayal, regret?


    A massive, undefined emotion swirled around.


    ¡®I¡­ What have I been living for?¡¯


    Who knew that at the end of my life, I would be abandoned by my family?


    Maybe I should have guessed from the moment the man who was my fianc¨¦ dragged me as I was running away.


    There was no one in this world who loved me.


    ¡®No, there was one¡­¡¯


    My mother, who had passed away. The love she gave was as real as it could be.


    Even as I closed my eyes, I could dimly picture her in my mind, worrying about me.


    In her arms, when I was young, I knew nothing and was only happy.


    Lilika.


    It certainly was like that, until that child showed up.


    ¡°From today on, she will be your younger sister.¡±


    It was certainly from that moment that my peaceful life was in turmoil.


    The more the child adapted, the more I was ostracized within the duchy and the social world, and the more I felt out of place.


    My father and brother, who used to treat me like family even though we weren¡¯t very close, gave me a sharp look.


    My fianc¨¦, who used to be polite even though he didn¡¯t love me, requested our engagement to be broken off.


    The ritual of endlessly looking back on the past in dizzying memories went back to before I was born and shone a light on my previous life.


    ¡°Have you read this novel? It¡¯s a new childcare story.


    I could see myself in my previous life accepting a novel on the recommendation of a friend.


    ¡°The title is ¡°Please Love the Poor Princess¡±. It¡¯s about the main character, Lilika, who melts her father and brother¡¯s hearts with her cuteness and loveliness¡­¡±


    The brilliant life of Lilika, who became the esteemed daughter of the duke¡¯s family overnight.


    Although she was ignored because she was an illegitimate child, she is loved by her father and brother, and defeats her half-sister, who is a villainess.


    The process was so kindly detailed that I couldn¡¯t pretend not to know.


    ¡®Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡¯


    Yuria Primrose.


    The half-sister who tormented the protagonist.


    That was me.


    Lilika was the protagonist, and I was the villainess in a supporting role. By doing evil deeds, everyone felt sorry for that child and loved her.


    The reason I was dying was because, as of today, I had fulfilled my duty. Now, everyone in the world loved Lilika.


    ¡®Mother.¡¯


    I wanted to see her appearance one last time.


    Even if I was a villainess, to her, I was the most precious treasure in the world.


    Cough.


    I vomited black blood for the last time. I was losing consciousness and close to death, but I could still smile.


    If I died like this, I would be able to see my mother again¡­


    At that moment, something warm enveloped my whole body.


    Someone looked at me and smiled innocently. Like a spirit from a fairy tale I read as a child.


    ***


    ¡°Yuria!¡±


    It was a voice different from the cold one I had been hearing until now. A cozy and sweet voice, so familiar even though I hadn¡¯t heard it in a long time¡­


    ¡°M-mother¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am here. Are you awake now?¡±


    My mother, who died a few years ago, was looking at me with a worried expression.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, your fever is¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother, Mother¡­ I¡­¡±


    I desperately grabbed the hand that was reaching out to me and didn¡¯t let go. My mother looked surprised, but she didn¡¯t push me away.


    ¡°Mommy isn¡¯t going anywhere. Are you still in pain? Did you have a nightmare?¡±


    The hands that wrapped around my extended hand were extremely warm. The feeling was too vivid to be a dream.


    ¡°The doctor said you would be fine as long as the fever went down¡­¡±


    I was sure I was killed by my father. The horrible pain that felt like my organs were burning was too vivid to be called a dream.


    ¡°Mother¡­ Was I not poisoned? Didn¡¯t I meet you after death?¡±


    ¡°Yuria, you must have been in a lot of pain. But why would you die when you¡¯re only nineteen? You will meet the person you love and live happier than your mother.¡±


    No, I died shortly after reaching adulthood.


    And by the hands of my father and brother.


    But there was something else that caught my attention first.


    ¡°I am¡­ nineteen?¡±


    When I heard that, I got up immediately. And looked for the mirror in my room.


    A clean and clear face, with no sign of having vomited blood after being poisoned and no sign of growing thin due to having run away.


    ¡°What on earth¡­¡±


    Then, as I was mumbling, there were a few knocks on the door, and then it opened without permission.


    ¡°Mother, we are here.¡±


    ¡°Sister, you¡¯re awake! That¡¯s a relief!¡±


    It was my brother and Lilika.


    My mother looked at the two of them and stood up as if it was a good thing.


    ¡°You came just in time. I¡¯m going to call the doctor, so watch Yuria for me. I didn¡¯t expect her to regain consciousness while the maid was away!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mother. We will take good care of her.¡±


    Lilika replied with the face of a polite daughter.


    But as soon as my mother left, my brother made an openly dissatisfied expression.


    ¡°You look fine for someone who is sick.¡±


    His cold expression overlapped with his appearance of looking down on me as I was dying.


    That¡¯s right. It certainly wasn¡¯t just a dream I had.


    ¡°I thought you were going to skip Lilika¡¯s birthday banquet using the excuse of resting quietly.¡±


    ¡°Brother, what do you mean?!¡±


    I didn¡¯t say anything, I just stared at my brother.


    According to what my mother said, I was 19 years old right now, and it was the year 363 of the imperial calendar.


    ¡®My brother hated me openly even then¡­¡¯


    I believed that even if not as much as Lilika, he would think of me as family.


    But I was the only one who thought so.


    My only real family was my late mother¡­


    ¡°Sister, don¡¯t pay attention to what Brother says. I¡¯m really glad you¡¯re awake.¡±


    She was glad.


    Lilika was smiling kindly, unlike my older brother, who openly expressed his dislike for me.


    ¡°L-Lilika. This is a false charge¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you pretending you don¡¯t know, or are you really stupid? How could I not know it¡¯s a false charge? I was the one who made it up.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    But I remembered. Lilika, smiling with a cunning face. Something I had never seen before in my life.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t like you from the beginning, Sister.¡±


    On the other hand, I wasn¡¯t hostile to Lilika from the beginning. Of course, I was wary of Lilika as she suddenly appeared, but I was not a villainess who openly and viciously attacked her younger sister.


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re good at embroidery.¡±


    And I remembered clearly how at some point, Lilika used me as a scapegoat and took my place.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m constantly learning how to embroider from my teacher.¡±


    That day, I felt frustrated and tried to help because she mended the precious handkerchief that was left by her late mother with crude sewing.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Give it back.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not done with the embroidery yet.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just pretending to be a noble lady now!¡±


    ¡°What? It¡¯s not like that!¡±


    How can I forget the memory of my goodwill being returned as a betrayal?


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    Like the handkerchief that had been clearly ripped apart, our relationship had become estranged beyond repair.


    Lilika, who had held out the handkerchief gently, suddenly tried to snatch it away. When she pulled it in a still unfinished state, I only applied strength reflexively.


    ¡°Yuria, how could you rip apart the handkerchief, the only thing Mother left for Lilika!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, I was in the middle of sewing it.¡±


    I looked at Lilika in frustration.


    ¡°Lilika, tell the truth!¡±


    ¡°B-because of you, the only thing my mother left me was ruined!¡±


    Instead of explaining what happened, Lilika just cried.


    Was it a reflexive child¡¯s behavior to avoid a difficult situation?


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity, she lost her biological mother¡¯s only relic.¡±


    ¡°Even if the mother is different, she is also the Duke¡¯s child. Poor thing.¡±


    However, after that, as the gazes of the people who used to point their finger at her for being an illegitimate child softened with sympathy and compassion¡­ Lilika began to make up things more and more deliberately.


    She just touched what I wanted to have and the things I cherished.


    ¡°Sister, Madam Tiller is going to teach me!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    When Lilika told me directly that our father had given her the tutor who was supposed to be assigned to me as ¡®punishment¡¯, provoking my anger, she cried sadly as if the spite of when we first met had disappeared.


    ¡°You became an older sister, and yet you make this much trouble because you can¡¯t give up your tutor to your younger sister?¡±


    Even though I was born first, we were born in the same year, and there was only a couple of months difference between our birthdays.


    It was around that time that she started calling me her older sister even though we were the same age, used honorifics, and claimed to be weak.


    ¡®I¡­ I was the villainess Lilika needed to become a saint.¡¯


    Turning my eyes away from the pretentious-looking Lilika, I saw a red dress hanging in the room.


    It was the outfit that had been prepared for me to wear at Lilika¡¯s birthday banquet in a few days.


    ¡®If I was really given a chance, if I really came back in time¡­¡¯


    In this life, I want to be happy with my mother for a long time.


    I just needed to leave this duchy.


    ¡°Fake being sick? It¡¯s disappointing to hear you say that. Is it because I, as an older sister, can¡¯t attend my younger sister¡¯s birthday banquet?¡±


    But there was something I had to do first before I could do that.


    ¡°Happy birthday in advance, Lilika. I hope it will be a day you never forget.¡±


    Because I¡¯ll make it that way.

 CH 3

    After confirming that my fever had lowered, I was finally left alone. Sitting on the bed and looking at the calendar, I was lost in thought.


    ¡®It¡¯s five days before Lilika¡¯s birthday banquet.¡¯


    It was the past, a year before I died.


    I don¡¯t know how I went back in time, but I couldn¡¯t miss the opportunity.


    I will do what I want to do.


    ¡®Since I¡¯m sick, he¡¯ll come to visit me sometime in the afternoon. That¡¯s courtesy.¡¯


    Marcel Vieira.


    My first love, and my fianc¨¦ at the moment.


    He broke off our engagement unilaterally before, but I couldn¡¯t experience the same humiliation again.


    In my previous life, I wore a dress that didn¡¯t fit the dress code, and I became the ugly older sister who wanted to stand out from her younger sister.


    Of course, I can avoid it by wearing a normal dress.


    ¡®But it¡¯s such a waste to end it like that. I think I can turn this in my favor.¡¯


    As expected from the main character of the novel, Lilika wore a light pink dress by herself to her birthday banquet.


    I was thinking about it for a while, and came up with a good strategy. Just as I was organizing my thoughts, Sir Vieira arrived.


    ¡°I heard you were sick. How are you feeling?¡±


    He spoke bluntly. It was formal.


    In the past, when I saw him come visit me even though he might not be good at speaking, I still thought he was worried about me.


    Didn¡¯t he always come to the duke¡¯s mansion without making me travel a long way whenever we had to meet?


    ¡®I didn¡¯t know it was so that he could see Lilika just one more time.¡¯


    Even if he was someone who would become a count in the future, Sir Vieira was slightly inferior in comparison with the Primrose family.


    Even so, the reason there was an offer of marriage was because I liked him very much.


    Maybe it was because we only got engaged in the first place because I begged my father desperately, but Sir Vieira was apathetic towards me.


    It was good though.


    I followed him around to every ball and every meeting he attended.


    So, I discovered it faster than anyone else. Sir Vieira pulling a handkerchief out of his bosom.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Sir Vieira using an embroidered handkerchief before!¡±


    ¡°Since it has the crest of the Primrose family, it must have been given by Lady Yuria.¡±


    I didn¡¯t give it to him.


    I heard what people were saying, but I didn¡¯t try to deny it.


    Rather, it would be more correct to say I didn¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡®When I said I would give him a handkerchief, he said it was a burden and refused¡­¡¯


    In this case, Sir Vieira couldn¡¯t even say that he had used anything other than a handkerchief given to him by his fianc¨¦e.


    ¡®But the handkerchief with the family¡¯s embroidery is only given between lovers?¡¯


    I was rather suspicious of my memory, wondering if I had really given Sir Vieira a handkerchief.


    ¡°I am soliciting to break off the engagement with the Young Lady.¡±


    And it was only after he unilaterally requested to break off our engagement that I learned that it was a handkerchief given to him by my sister.


    ¡°Thank you for your concern, Sir Vieira.¡±


    I didn¡¯t adorn my words, unlike usual. Trying to look good to him was useless.


    Seeing me acting calmer than usual, Sir Vieira surprisingly opened his mouth first.


    ¡°¡­ You must have been very sick. You seem quieter than usual today.¡±


    I never knew what to do in front of him before. Because I loved him so much. Because I wanted to look good to him.


    Unlike me, who could not disobey my father, seeing him confront his own father made me admire him.


    But now, instead of being jealous of someone, I decided that I wanted to be that kind of person.


    ¡°A little.¡±


    ¡°Your complexion is pale¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    In the past, even if I didn¡¯t look well, I applied lead powder zealously and wore a dress with a corset.


    But there¡¯s no need for that now.


    ¡°¡­ I see.¡±


    Well, the other person only said words out of courtesy too. Sir Vieira kept his mouth shut without asking any more questions. His goal was Lilika anyway, not me.


    ¡°I have something to say to you, Sir Vieira.¡±


    So, I had to end the questions of regards. I rushed to the point.


    ¡°I know you really like Lilika.¡±


    ¡°¡­ How do you know that?¡±


    As if he had heard something unexpected, his eyes widened, and he could not finish his words. He wasn¡¯t feigning innocence. He really thought I didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t notice as you pulled out the handkerchief so openly? I¡¯m not that stupid.¡±


    Just until a moment ago, he was pretending to be worried about me. His expression changed in an instant, and he spoke as if growling.


    ¡°If you are angry, be angry with me. If you touch Lady Lilika, then¡­¡±


    He had a threatening look on his face. It would be a tremendous amount of pressure for a noble lady who had never learned swordsmanship or magic.


    ¡®He looks at Lilika like she¡¯s so vulnerable, but he doesn¡¯t even treat me like a civilian, let alone a lady.¡¯


    Despite his bitter attitude, I shook my head calmly. No matter how frightening he looked right now, won¡¯t he just act like before, grabbing me and handing me to my father?


    ¡°No, what I wanted to say is that I support your love.¡±


    ¡°What are you scheming?¡±


    Sir Vieira looked at me as if he was judging me.


    I had been chasing him stubbornly in the meantime, demanding love from him, and acting sensitive against Lilika, so he wouldn¡¯t trust me easily. It was natural.


    I intentionally showed him an uncharacteristic forlorn smile.


    ¡°Actually, I was very sick this time. My fever went up so much that I was wandering between life and death.¡±


    As I lifted my arm and lightly swept over my hair, my loose sleeves flowed with good timing, causing my skinny wrists to be visible. I was so emaciated that it couldn¡¯t be said I was slim.


    ¡°Yes, you were.¡±


    It was only after his sharp energy subsided that his voice became a little docile.


    Did he forget in the meantime that he had come to pay a sick visit and ask if I was okay?


    No, he was not that stupid. Lilika was more important than me being sick.


    ¡°I thought about it in my remote consciousness. Ah, I¡¯ve lived while knowing nothing but myself¡­ I haven¡¯t looked at the people around me.¡±


    It was pathetic of me to notice it only after being shoved in the mud.


    Why have I been so defenseless?


    Clearly, I had the advantage of being the duchess¡¯ legitimate daughter.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie and say I didn¡¯t have feelings for you. But would you believe me if I told you that I want to wish you and Lilika happiness?¡±


    I smiled softly like a spring flower.


    The duchess had always taught me to be elegant, but watching Lilika, I realized that sometimes it was better to pretend to be weak.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Sir Vieira and I stared at each other for a long time. It was the first time he and I had met and faced each other like this.


    After some time passed, he opened his mouth with a low voice.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to hear that from Lady Yuria.¡±


    For the first time, he called me by my name.


    Despite being his fianc¨¦e, I was always Lady Primrose to him. He was always like that, even though it was likely to be unclear because I had a sister, Lilika.


    That¡¯s right, wasn¡¯t Sir Vieira lowering his guard in front of me for the first time because I was wearing a mask and pretending to be docile?


    ¡°However, Lady Yuria, breaking off our engagement isn¡¯t an easy task.¡±


    That difficult thing; in my previous life, he used my reputation as a foothold to take care of it. Because of that, my reputation became covered in mud.


    ¡°Sir Vieira, I¡¯m not asking you to break off our engagement at all. It is quite common for engagement partners to change within a family.¡±


    Engagement to Lilika.


    Hearing that, Vieira¡¯s eyes shone, but they soon faded. It was something he hadn¡¯t even hoped for.


    His engagement with me had barely taken place because I had used all sorts of pestering, but there was no way that he could ask the duke to change his partner.


    ¡°So, I have something in mind. You know it¡¯s Lilika¡¯s birthday banquet in a few days, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but what does that have to do with getting engaged¡­¡±


    No matter what I do, Sir Vieira is supposed to ask me to break off our engagement. He didn¡¯t love me from the beginning, so it was a natural thing.


    If it has to happen anyway, I¡¯ll try to make the most of it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make the relationship between you and Lilika a fixed fact.¡±


    I smiled gently. Speaking as if I had him in consideration until the end.


    ¡°First of all, you can¡¯t come to Lilika¡¯s birthday banquet at the same time as everyone else. The protagonist is always late, right?¡±


    He nodded like he was possessed every time I spoke. He looked like he had no idea what the consequences of his actions would be.


    ¡°If it¡¯s for Lady Lilika¡­ I can do anything.¡±


    Sir Vieira had a determined face. But at the same time, it was the funniest thing I had ever seen.


    He was immersed in what I was saying, even going as far as to write it down, but then was embarrassed and hesitated.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know Lady Yuria was this kind of person until now, and thought that to Lady Lilika, you were just¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Forget what I said.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±


    What was he going to say? That I was someone who was jealous of Lilika? That I was the older sister who was bothering her?


    No matter what negative words came out, they were all correct. He was a good judge of character.


    ¡®Even though he was being vigilant, he let it go the moment I said he could get engaged to Lilika.¡¯


    Looking at that stupid face, I felt pathetic just thinking about why I was hanging on to that man.


    ¡°And¡­ You¡¯re going to give Lilika a surprise. A gift to prove your love for her.¡±


    Looking at the young man¡¯s eyes, filled with expectation, I continued, relaxed.


    ¡°That gift is¡­¡±

 CH 4

    Lilika¡¯s nineteenth birthday banquet was a bit special.


    At some social gatherings during this time, it was fashionable to choose a dress code, so Lilika also wanted to follow the trend and asked me to wear a fancy dress.


    ¡°Sister, since the banquet hall is grand, I think it would be better to wear something fancy so that your dress doesn¡¯t get buried by the surroundings. Like the red dress you wore last time.¡±


    Lilika¡¯s first birthday party.


    My mother, who did not discriminate against her children, tried as hard as she could to do what Lilika wanted.


    On the day of the birthday banquet, which was held with a lot of effort.


    ¡°She must have hated to death seeing her younger sister stand out.¡±


    ¡°I can see she put a gorgeous gemstone on the dress. Whoever sees it will think Yuria Primrose is the one having her birthday today.¡±


    While everyone was dressed in blue, I was the only one wearing an intense red dress that stood out.


    I looked at Lilika, who let me know the dress code, embarrassed. Expecting her to make an excuse.


    ¡°I think Sister just really wanted to wear that dress. Actually, having everyone wear similar dresses is also a disregard for one¡¯s individuality¡­ I was foolish in choosing a dress code.¡±


    ¡°Lady Lilika. You really¡­¡±


    Yeah, she made an excuse.


    But rather than not saying anything, it was going in the wrong direction.


    The moment everyone heard Lilika¡¯s words, they narrowed their eyes towards me, and I wondered how spiteful she was to say something like that.


    ¡°But Lilika, you were the one who asked me to dress like this.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡±


    Why was she making a face as if she didn¡¯t know at all? She told me to wear a fancy dress, and even gave me an example of what color to choose.


    ¡°The red dress, you clearly said¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I think I did. I must have made a mistake! I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    I stepped up late, but it was counterproductive. The eyes of those who had already drawn their own conclusions were stinging even more.


    I only got an apology for what Lilika did wrong, but the atmosphere seemed to have gotten weirder.


    And it wasn¡¯t just my feeling.


    From that day on, rumors began to circulate that I was jealous of the popular Lilika.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it true that she¡¯s more attractive than her older sister?¡±


    ¡°It makes me want to protect Lady Lilika even more. Lady Yuria is too arrogant.¡±


    Unlike back then, when I was helpless, this time, I was thinking of making good use of the dress code she had set to humiliate me.


    ¡°Young Lady, didn¡¯t you say a week ago that you were wearing the red dress? Why are you changing your dress on the very same day?¡±


    ¡°Lilika is the main character today, so I thought it would be nice to wear something a little less flashy.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Mina, my personal maid, didn¡¯t look happy with my words.


    Well, wasn¡¯t it me who had been openly attacking my younger sister? Trying to be considerate of Lilika at this point was bound to sound ridiculous.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to wear a light blue dress.¡±


    I wore a blue dress like everyone else invited to the birthday banquet, not the red dress Lilika told me to wear. It was the opposite color.


    ¡°Then, have fun, Young Lady.¡±


    There was no need for the maid to accompany me as it was being held in the ducal castle.


    When I was ready, I went out to the splendidly decorated garden of the castle.


    I saw it in my previous life, and seeing it for the second time now, it was amazing.


    The fact that I was convinced by Lilika to wear a fancy dress because the banquet hall was so splendid was because it really was like that. My mother really did not discriminate between Lilika and her biological children.


    No, it looked like she put in even more work in case people said anything.


    Even though Lilika was a lowly illegitimate child, this was an occasion to declare that she was undeniably the daughter of the duke.


    Where did she even get all the freshly bloomed flowers even though it was still a cold season?


    ¡®How taxing it must have been on her, when her body condition isn¡¯t all that good.¡¯


    Originally, banquets were also held at the hall inside the duke¡¯s castle on my brother¡¯s and my birthdays.


    But this time, hearing that Lilika wanted to have a birthday banquet outdoors, my mother started preparing several ornaments for her a few months prior. All of them were excellent things that match the duke¡¯s castle.


    Even though originally, there was only a small teatime table on the outside of the castle.


    ¡®She isolated me from such grace, and in the end, had me killed at the hands of my family.¡¯


    But still, since I died only after that person passed away, I don¡¯t know if I should at least say thank you. I entered the banquet hall while forcing my mouth not to show the bitter smile that was about to come out.


    ¡°Hoho, long time no see.¡±


    ¡°I see it takes something like Lady Primrose¡¯s birthday banquet for everyone to gather.¡±


    There was definitely a warm atmosphere in the banquet hall.


    But when I came in, people started giving looks to each other. It wasn¡¯t like I entered in an uproar.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The noisy chatter disappeared at once, and only the eyes of the people moved busily in the silence. Everyone pretended not to, but I could feel that they were all watching me.


    I didn¡¯t hear any whispering, but even if I didn¡¯t hear it, I could guess what they were saying.


    The villainess appeared in the banquet hall of Lady Lilika!


    It seems like she couldn¡¯t ignore it since it was held in the Duke¡¯s castle?


    What evil deed will she do today?


    Why is she like that when she¡¯s her younger sister?


    I endured the heavy gaze of the many people and walked away.


    Those who curse me to prove that they are morally good; those who dare not touch the duke¡¯s family but laugh at me, saying I am a relatively easy-to-handle person but pretend I¡¯m not; and those who look down on me as if they were looking at a clown¡­


    ¡°Thank you for attending.¡±


    But even among such ugly people, Lilika shone as if she were the main character.


    Even those who do not know that this is a world inside a novel, when they see Lilika, they will admit that she is the main character of this world.


    ¡°The Young Lady is also here, thank you very much.¡±


    Lilika was responding to the congratulatory words with a warm smile, but the moment she saw me, her face cracked.


    ¡°S-Sister¡­?¡±


    Lilika¡¯s eyes trembled as she saw me, perhaps because it was unexpected. It was rare to see Lilika agitated like this.


    ¡®That¡¯s right, it¡¯s not the red dress, but a dress in the same blue color as everyone else. You didn¡¯t get the picture you were expecting?¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t dress up splendidly today, like usual, so I didn¡¯t look impatient. Lacking individuality, except for my unusual silver hair, I didn¡¯t really stand out.


    Ah, it¡¯s funny. If it went according to Lilika¡¯s plan, I would have been a fretting, wicked older sister who couldn¡¯t bear to be beaten by her younger sister even at her birthday banquet.


    That way, even those who didn¡¯t look at illegitimate children with good eyes could be drawn to her side. Like what happened in my previous life.


    ¡°Happy birthday, Lilika.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sister. I didn¡¯t know you would come to my birthday party.¡±


    She was somehow making an excessively overwhelmed expression. But I responded as usual, pretending not to notice it.


    ¡°You are saying something obvious. It¡¯s the first birthday party where my only younger sister invited other people.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Lilika just nodded at what I was saying. It wasn¡¯t like her, who usually pretended to be good with her smooth talk.


    ¡®Yeah, you have a lot of trust in the maids, so I didn¡¯t change my dress until the very day just in case you noticed it.¡¯


    Seeing me talking to Lilika so affectionately, the people who expected me to do something evil seemed to lose their spirits.


    ¡°Is the older sister going to stay still today¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just wait. The banquet hasn¡¯t even begun properly yet.¡±


    I want to tell them that they were disappointed too early.


    I had no intention of letting the birthday banquet end while simply staying out of Lilika¡¯s trap.


    ¡°Then, Sister, sit over there¡­¡±


    Still, Lilika skillfully corrected her expression right away and led me away, pretending to be a good sister. But that was also brief.


    ¡°Oh my, Sir Vieira also came to your birthday banquet. But¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, my sister¡¯s fianc¨¦¡­ Huh?¡±


    If the heroine is there, the male lead should also appear.


    I laughed when I saw Sir Vieira wearing a light pink suit, just like the light pink dress Lilika was wearing by herself.


    ¡°L-Lady Lilika¡­? I mean, Sir Vieira¡­ What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°It was impossible not to know the dress code. Why are you wearing that color?!¡±


    Except for Lilika, everyone¡¯s dress code was a blue garment line. To help Lilika, in a light pink dress, shine.


    As such, Sir Vieira, who was equally dressed in light pink, was shockingly noticeable from the moment he appeared.


    ¡°His fianc¨¦e is Lady Yuria¡­ Why is he wearing the same color as Lady Lilika, the younger sister?¡±


    ¡°Only Sir Vieira and Lady Lilika stand out. It looks like they coordinated their clothes like lovers¡­¡±


    A young lady closed her mouth, unable to finish what she was saying.


    But it wasn¡¯t just that young lady; everyone was thinking the same thing.


    Feeling the severity of the situation, Lilika tried to deal with the situation somehow.


    ¡°S-Sir Vieira? You must have misunderstood the dress code¡­¡±


    However, a young man attending an ordinary banquet doesn¡¯t wear a ¡®light pink¡¯ suit because he misunderstood the dress code. No one paid attention to what Lilika said.


    And the most important thing. Sir Vieira was drunk on his own love and couldn¡¯t see anything right now.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want people to mistake the handkerchief you gave me for someone else¡¯s.¡±


    Lilika¡¯s face turned pale. However, Sir Vieira kindly uttered the line as I recited it.


    ¡°Lady Lilika, I can¡¯t hide my feelings anymore. Please marry me.¡±


    That was the end of it.


    Whether it was Lilika¡¯s birthday or whatever, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was destroyed.

 CH 5

    ¡®It is a fixed fact that my engagement is going to be broken off anyway, so wouldn¡¯t it be better for the truth to be revealed that my sister has tempted my fianc¨¦?¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t believe that the man in question, not someone else, was saying it like that. It was something I was very grateful for.


    ¡°S-Sir Vieira. You have my sister, what are you¡­¡±


    Although Lilika tried to make it as if Sir Vieira had unilaterally confessed, regardless of her will.


    ¡°Lilika, there¡¯s no need to deny it like that. You even gave me a handkerchief with the crest of your family.¡±


    I have barely touched embroidery since the misunderstanding when I was fixing her handkerchief, but it seemed she had been practicing really hard.


    It¡¯s great that the result of that was going to my fianc¨¦.


    ¡°I was afraid it would be difficult for my sister, so I did it instead¡­¡±


    At any other time, such an excuse could have worked.


    ¡°No, I refused the handkerchief that Lady Yuria said she would give me and accepted Lady Lilika¡¯s handkerchief!¡±


    But this time I had a stupid ally who was blinded by love.


    Realizing she couldn¡¯t deal with the situation, Lilika¡¯s complexion turned pale.


    I gave a gentle smile, as if I knew everything.


    ¡°Actually, the relationship between you and Sir Vieira¡­ It was too obvious to pretend not to know. Don¡¯t deceive your heart just because of me, when you like him so much. Lilika, since it¡¯s you, I can give him up¡­¡±


    It was awkward because I didn¡¯t usually do it, but it was rewarding in its own way to practice making such a sorrowful face.


    I¡¯ve heard people say surprising things so far.


    Furthermore, I dared to mention my past misdeeds.


    ¡°The truth is, I was jealous of you because of that. I¡¯m sorry. But I realize now that you two can be happy as long as I get out of your way. Will you forgive me?¡±


    Lilika had such a good image that saying that there was that kind of reason behind that was comprehensible.


    ¡®Whatever the case, she seduced her sister¡¯s fianc¨¦, so people will naturally question if she has only been pretending to be nice.¡¯


    I even considered my father¡¯s usual extreme consideration of Lilika, whereas he despised me.


    Before he could say that it was my fault, that I was so clingy that he didn¡¯t know the dignity of the duchy, I laid the groundwork.


    Even my usual image that I hated Lilika and did evil deeds would be diluted if I honestly admitted that I was jealous of her because of Sir Vieira. It would be even funnier if she complained that it wasn¡¯t like that.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t torment her younger sister for no reason.¡±


    It would be a great success if something like that came out.


    ¡®I did everything I could.¡¯


    In my previous life, Lilika did not become engaged to Sir Vieira after our engagement was broken off. He was just one of her courts.


    There were a lot of fish in Lilika¡¯s fishery. Sir Vieira was actually a bit of a loser in the current situation compared to the other male characters.


    ¡®And yet, the reason why she had to seduce him with all her efforts was because he was my fianc¨¦. Because he was someone I liked so much¡­¡¯


    Thanks to Sir Vieira¡¯s excellent public confession, the Primrose duchy was completely turned upside down. Birthday banquet or not, it wasn¡¯t an atmosphere where one could say congratulations.


    My father, who was always calm, was the angriest.


    ¡°How could you look down on Primrose when you are the son of a mere count!¡±


    This was separate from my father¡¯s fondness for Lilika over me.


    A man engaged to Lady Primrose making an open confession to another woman in front of her?


    It was a disgrace to the face of the Primrose duchy.


    He was a father who normally didn¡¯t care about what happened to me, but today was different.


    After Lilika¡¯s birthday banquet, my angered father ordered the entire family to gather in the study.


    Lilika was so surprised that she didn¡¯t come right away when he called, and my brother had to go get her. My father couldn¡¯t hold back his anger while waiting for them.


    ¡°How arrogant must he be to want to change his engagement partner in front of her? An emerging aristocrat like Vieira isn¡¯t supposed to talk about marriage. And so impolitely like this!¡±


    Although if he had just quietly said he wanted to change his engagement partner, my father, who cared about Lilika very much and despised me, despite also being his daughter, would have tried to let it go while blaming me, the victim¡­


    It was important that he said that he wanted to change his engagement partner while I was watching, in front of a lot of other people too.


    It was rare for the family members to gather in the study, but it was worth trying to see the look on Sir Vieira¡¯s face.


    ¡®It was a godsend that I prompted Sir Vieira to confess in public.¡¯


    In this situation, my father has no choice but to take my side against Lilika.


    ¡°Father¡­ I am fine. Lilika¡¯s love is important. I just need to get out of their way.¡±


    ¡°How can you stand by your sister¡¯s side in this situation?!¡±


    Of course, my father was angry not because he loved me, but because it was a situation that hurt the image of the family.


    The eyes of my mother, who always told me that Lilika and I were sisters, trembled.


    ¡°Above all, how could he confess in front of you, in your own house? I never thought you would be so humiliated¡­¡±


    ¡°This is something we cannot turn a blind eye to.¡±


    It was a pretty rare scene for my father and mother to be angry at the same subject.


    ¡°I¡¯m really fine. You don¡¯t need to worry too much. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m lacking a lot, so I think I disgraced the family¡¯s name¡­ I¡¯m sor¡­¡±


    Having said that, I deliberately blurred my words. The time had come for me to look sad.


    My mother, who was looking at me, looking sad, called my name in surprise.


    ¡°Yuria!¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I just want Lilika and Sir Vieira to be happy. But why am I in tears¡­? I¡¯m really fine.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sad at all. Sir Vieira cheered me up so much that I wanted to dance.


    I wiped my face, bewildered as if I didn¡¯t know at all that the tears were flowing.


    ¡®Hm, if I say I¡¯m fine and cry without realizing it, I¡¯ll look even more pitiful, right?¡¯


    It was a sure thing that Lilika would cry and pretend to be pitiful, so I cried first.


    Tears are what it takes to win.


    Though I didn¡¯t think my father would be impressed by my tears, at least the effect of Lilika¡¯s tears would be a little diluted.


    ¡®¡­ What?¡¯


    But it was surprising. The atmosphere in the study room, which was filled with anger, became quiet, and considerate of me.


    Even my father, who had been upset and saying this and that about the family¡¯s status, closed his mouth.


    It was worth staring at the light in the study for a long time without blinking¡­ But why?


    ¡®I didn¡¯t think he would care if I cried or not.¡¯


    I tried to make a pitiful expression while thinking hard.


    ¡®Well, I haven¡¯t really cried until now.¡¯


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that I never cried. Even if I didn¡¯t have tears, how could I not have cried once?


    My pride was so strong that I only cried when I was alone. I didn¡¯t want to show weakness to others.


    It worked so well that I thought about trying it next time, but I let it go. It would be hard for my tears to receive as much attention as they did this time anyway.


    ¡®I don¡¯t know about anything else, but I was sincere enough for my father and brother, who didn¡¯t care about me, to know how I felt about Sir Vieira.¡¯


    I happily waited with my face covered, imagining what Lilika would say and if she would pretend to be pitiful again. Because I felt like it wouldn¡¯t be too good for my eyes to force more tears.


    Knock, knock.


    There was a knock on the door around the time when my hands, covering my face, were trembling with pain. Excellent timing.


    ¡°Father. We¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°I called you long ago, and you¡¯re only coming now?¡±


    Lilika, who came late to our father¡¯s study, was being accompanied by my brother, Jiksen, and hiding behind him.


    My brother opened his mouth firmly despite my father¡¯s vicious vigor.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being late. But I want you to think about how embarrassed and upset Lilika must have been. Although she gave him a handkerchief, they don¡¯t have any special relationship, so it¡¯s best to keep Yuria¡¯s engagement intact¡­¡±


    A calm tone of voice. A straightforward posture. It was a neat and praiseworthy attitude as the heir of the duchy.


    But it wasn¡¯t very good in this situation, and it wasn¡¯t too comparable to me, who had been in tears all along.


    ¡°It seems like you don¡¯t care if your sister has been humiliated like this.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    My brother asked back with a questioning face at my father¡¯s words, which seemed to be for my sake.


    Of course, even at that moment, his calm expression did not change.


    However, let me assure you, being calm in this situation was not an effective attitude.


    ¡°Does it make sense to keep her engaged when he caused such disgrace to a Primrose? Of course, it should be broken off!¡±


    My father¡¯s voice echoed through the living room.


    It was the first time.


    The first time that my brother, who had been speaking smoothly until now, was speechless.


    ¡°Wh-what does that¡­¡±


    Yeah, he wouldn¡¯t have thought that my father would be considerate of me. My brother was just acting like he always did, not caring about me in the slightest, so he was taken aback by this situation.


    And so, the arrow went back to Lilika.


    This time, he asked Lilika directly, who was hiding behind my brother.


    ¡°Why did you give your sister¡¯s fianc¨¦ a handkerchief embroidered with the family crest in the first place?!¡±


    Lilika¡¯s face turned deadly pale.

 CH 6

    ¡°Th-that¡¯s¡­¡±


    My brother tried to stand up for Lilika up to this moment, but this time, Lilika did not avoid it.


    ¡®As expected, my brother is oblivious.¡¯


    The atmosphere was different than usual.


    If Lilika hid it at this point, my father would be angry even if she were his cherished daughter.


    The astute Lilika was able to read the atmosphere.


    ¡°I-I just¡­ Sister isn¡¯t good at embroidery, so she asked for my handkerchief¡­ I didn¡¯t know this would happen. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    In a pathetic manner, she barely followed up with an answer as she trembled behind my brother.


    Instead of denying the facts, she reduced the results and apologized, appealing that she didn¡¯t know at all.


    It was good management. The fact that she was crying in the meantime made it difficult to talk loudly to Lilika.


    ¡°How could you do something so stupid!¡±


    But my father¡¯s anger did not go away.


    Oh, I did well in crying first earlier. Given that my father was pressing Lilika so hard, it seemed that the effect of her tears was reduced.


    But, as expected, Lilika was Lilika.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I was the one who caused big trouble for my family. Even with the good teachings of my father and mother, I came from a vulgar bloodline, so I¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t know about anything else, but mentioning that she is a poor extramarital child was a lethal move for everyone in this family to fall for.


    ¡°Lilika, you don¡¯t have to say that. That bastard Vieira¡­¡±


    For now, at least my brother was feeling more sorry for Lilika than before. He wasn¡¯t even thinking of me, his biological younger sister. I knew that would happen.


    ¡®I have to shut Lilika¡¯s mouth at this point.¡¯


    I was choosing what to say with moderate timing, but unexpectedly, my mother, who had been keeping quiet, stepped forward.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Lilika. You don¡¯t have to say those self-deprecating words. This has nothing to do with your bloodline.¡±


    ¡°Mother, thank¡­¡±


    ¡°How come you and Sir Vieira matched the color of your garments? If you explain that, I think we can somehow rule out the handkerchief situation as a misunderstanding.¡±


    She seemed to be taking sides, but judging from what she said, it was against Lilika. It was a sharp question.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t think my mother would say something so appropriately.¡¯


    It was a little surprising that my mother, who had always obeyed my father, would take action.


    She would have taken a breather if it was over like this, so I wondered if Lilika was embarrassed because it wasn¡¯t.


    Lilika couldn¡¯t think this far and continued to speak in a flutter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. Maybe it was just a coincidence¡­ I told everyone to wear blue, so I don¡¯t know why he came wearing that color. I really don¡¯t have feelings for Sir Vieira. There must be some kind of misunderstanding¡­¡±


    ¡°But you two seemed to complement each other too well to call it a coincidence. Especially since it¡¯s a light pink suit. It¡¯s a color that men don¡¯t really wear.¡±


    It was not an ordinary color; it was light pink. She couldn¡¯t find an excuse for that, so it would be embarrassing for Lilika too.


    It was a dress code that was made to f*ck me over, so she must be wondering why it came back and bit her on the butt. She tried to make me miserable by stealing my fianc¨¦, but she never thought the outcome would be like this.


    ¡°Lilika, you don¡¯t have to make an excuse like that for my sake.¡±


    ¡°Sister?¡±


    My mother laid the situation well for me, so the timing was right to step forward. Even though I was a victim today, I still had the evil deeds I had committed until now. My standing in this household was horribly small. If I even pointed out that they looked like a couple, it might seem like I was attacking Lilika too much.


    ¡°I just decided to acknowledge it. The relationship between you and Sir Vieira¡­ You don¡¯t have to deceive your heart for me.¡±


    I turned to my father, who closed his mouth after interrogating Lilika earlier.


    ¡°Father, it is common for engagement partners to change within families. If I just get out of the way and take Lilika¡¯s side, their relationship can be sorted out without a problem.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Sister. So¡­¡±


    ¡°It will be hard for a family like Vieira to ask for a change of engagement partner because they love Lilika, the esteemed daughter of the Duke. That must be why he did something so unnecessary.¡±


    Lilika tried to intervene, but I didn¡¯t give her a chance. I continued, speaking with a soft tone of voice.


    ¡°Call Sir Vieira here and listen to what he has to say. He¡¯s just a little misguided in how to express the rest of his affection for Lilika.¡±


    ¡°Wait. It will be difficult for Sister to look at his face, so there¡¯s no need to call him!¡±


    ¡°Lilika, I¡¯m really fine. Our engagement was something I forced him to do in the first place¡­ At this point, I just want to bless the relationship between you and Sir Vieira and rest.¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to. I oppose Sir Vieira coming here.¡±


    ¡°But I am fine with it. Or is there any other reason?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    Lilika had no choice but to oppose it.


    What if Sir Vieira refuted the excuse she gave?


    What if he recited the words of love he shared with her?


    In this difficult situation, Lilika was unable to come up with an excuse and just repeated that she didn¡¯t want him to come. Not even Lilika could handle the situation at this point.


    Eventually, my mother intervened and spoke in a soft voice.


    ¡°I understand your concern, Lilika, but even for Yuria¡¯s sake, it¡¯s better to call Sir Vieira now. We need to discuss what to do about the engagement.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to become engaged to Sir Vieira. I wasn¡¯t trying to seduce him. Really. Please believe me.¡±


    Lilika seemed to have decided to just appeal to her emotions rather than speak logically.


    I mean, what else could she say at this point?


    ¡°Lilika, I didn¡¯t mean to say you did something bad¡­¡±


    Seeing Lilika like that, my mother was at a loss.


    ¡°Mother, stop reproaching Lilika.¡±


    My brother hid Lilika, who was panicking, in his arms. He looked like a knight protecting Lilika from her mother.


    The ¡®engagement¡¯ that my mother mentioned did not necessarily mean that Lilika would be engaged to Sir Vieira.


    ¡°The one who is hurting the most right now is Lilika. People are already misunderstanding her; does she need to be scolded even at home?¡±


    As expected, for my brother, Lilika was the only one that existed. Just like he said before I died.


    He seemed to have forgotten because he was heartbroken when he saw Lilika crying, but it was me who saw my fianc¨¦ confessing to my sister right in front of me. And it was me who had been with him since I was born.


    My brother intervened very rudely, but my mother only paused for a moment and was calm at the end. He must have been assuming that everyone¡¯s tone had gotten fiercer because of the severity of the situation.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t scold Lilika¡­ and Jiksen, Lilika must be very startled, but think of Yuria too. How embarrassed and sad she must be right now.¡±


    And so, my mother cut him short and tried to move on to another topic, but my brother added a ridiculous remark.


    ¡°Stop siding with Yuria just because she¡¯s your child, Mother.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    My mother was the one who had been preparing the banquet for Lilika for a few months, even with her sickly body.


    I don¡¯t know about others, but it wasn¡¯t something that my brother, who had been watching the whole process, had the right to say.


    ¡°How could you say such a thing¡­¡±


    My mother seemed very shocked. She had been a mother who even embraced an illegitimate child as if she were her own, always treating her without discrimination.


    But my brother didn¡¯t stop talking.


    ¡°Lilika may not be Mother¡¯s child, but she is undeniably the esteemed daughter of the Duke. Protect your dignity as the Duchess.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother must take care of her own daughter, Yuria. But since I am her older brother, I must protect Lilika. She has no one right now, does she?¡±


    My mother was on my side right now because it was justified.


    Even my stupid brother knew that she had never discriminated against Lilika, and that there were occasions where she cared for her more.


    ¡®He shouldn¡¯t jump to the conclusion that it¡¯s because Lilika isn¡¯t her biological daughter and criticize her. How upset Mother must be.¡¯


    He was also my mother¡¯s son.


    ¡®He can¡¯t say anything to my father, the one who really criticized Lilika. Does my mother seem funny to him?¡¯


    Seeing my mother looked almost disheartened, my teeth clenched spontaneously.


    But as soon as she heard that, my mother looked at me.


    Despite hearing the abusive language, she was taking care of me first, who was only mentioned briefly.


    ¡°Mother¡­ I am fine.¡±


    But I was used to my brother¡¯s cold treatment.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time my brother had discriminated between me and Lilika.


    ¡°Yuria, you¡­¡±


    My mother closed her mouth. Rather, her thoughts seemed even more complicated than before.


    As the duchess, she had always been a dignified and graceful mother, but something seemed to have collapsed inside her. Not even I, who was her daughter, could guess it.


    I closed my eyes tightly and opened them. My brother, who had pushed my mother into such a situation, was coldhearted.


    Well, let¡¯s see for how long he can hold Lilika in his arms. At times like this, you have to get your act together.


    ¡°Father, please call Sir Vieira here. We should give him a chance to explain.¡±


    Now, Brother. Watch carefully how the situation changes after Sir Vieira comes.

 CH 7

    ¡°Ah¡­ Call that bastard here.¡±


    Hearing my words, my father, who had been keeping silent until now, ordered Sir Vieira to be called.


    Fortunately for me, but not for anyone else.


    At the same time as Lilika¡¯s shoulders trembled, my brother immediately protested.


    ¡°Father! Lilika is not in a state where she can see Sir Vieira right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop pampering her. Bring the son of the count here and hold him accountable for this.¡±


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that my father was taking my side and acting against Lilika.


    ¡°Do you really think that siding only with Lilika is for her own good? If you pamper her in this situation, Lilika will truly become the one who seduced her older sister¡¯s fianc¨¦!¡±


    ¡°¡­ But¡­¡±


    ¡°Even if we try to contain it using the power of our family, hundreds of people attended the birthday banquet. Do you think you can shut their mouths? It will only have the opposite effect!¡±


    That¡¯s right. Calling Sir Vieira here was, after all, for Lilika.


    ¡®Father is mad at Sir Vieira because he doesn¡¯t think Lilika really tried to seduce my fianc¨¦. And my brother, too.¡¯


    My brother eventually agreed with my father¡¯s words. It was a natural result. Lilika revealed her refusal once again, but it did not work.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for causing a commotion.¡±


    And how long had it been? Not long after the servant left, Sir Vieira opened the door of the study and came in.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Has he arrived already? Lilika¡¯s face showed signs of despair.


    ¡°You bastard¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for causing a commotion. I was also very worried about what happened today¡­¡±


    Sir Vieira lowered his head.


    He said he couldn¡¯t be at ease because he was afraid Lilika was going through some trouble, so he didn¡¯t go home and continued to hover around here in the carriage.


    ¡°I know you won¡¯t be satisfied with me because I¡¯m the son of a mere Count. But my feelings for Lady Lilika are real. Please allow me.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ You caused such a great commotion and you¡¯re also good at answering questions. You bastard, don¡¯t you feel sorry for Yuria?¡±


    Sir Vieira, who was determined and confronted my father, could not answer immediately.


    ¡®Yuria? I don¡¯t know how long it has been since my name came out of my father¡¯s mouth.¡¯


    And Lilika did not miss the moment of silence.


    ¡°Sir Vieira, I don¡¯t think this is right.¡±


    She thought it would be better for her to intervene before my father interrogated him in earnest.


    Hearing Lilika¡¯s words, Sir Vieira had a betrayed expression on his face.


    ¡°Lady Lilika!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know why you thought I would marry you.¡±


    There were others better than Vieira in Lilika¡¯s fishery, so she didn¡¯t want to be restrained by someone like him.


    It would also be horrible for the image she had built so far to fall apart because she stole her sister¡¯s fianc¨¦e.


    ¡°I apologize if I caused any misunderstanding. But I¡­ I don¡¯t love Sir Vieira.¡±


    At this point it was fair to think that he was manipulated. Sir Vieira merely tried to persuade Lilika with an embarrassed face.


    ¡°I remember very clearly what Lady Lilika said when you gave me the handkerchief. You said you loved me, but you couldn¡¯t come close to me because I was your sister¡¯s fianc¨¦, and so you were sad.¡±


    ¡°No. Father, I never said that. Sir Vieira is lying!¡±


    Lilika tried to prove that she was dignified in front of my father. In fact, in a way, it was more important than her reputation in the social world.


    As he kept seeing Lilika denying it, Vieira¡¯s face turned distressed.


    ¡°Lady Lilika, why are you lying about your feelings?¡±


    ¡°If there is anything between us, my sister will be sad! How could you say something like this in front of my sister, who loved you so much¡­¡±


    Though she was the one who tried to seduce the fianc¨¦ her sister loved so much. She was very good at pretending to think of me.


    ¡°Why are you talking about Lady Yuria? The lady said she would surely bless us.¡±


    And those words, they were not something that he should say in front of my family. Though I did say them for real.


    ¡°How can you say that Yuria has blessed you?! You really have no shame!¡±


    Even my mother, who was distraught by my brother¡¯s words earlier, raised her voice as if she couldn¡¯t stand it.


    ¡°D-Duchess. You may misunderstand. But Lady Yuria really said that she would bless us¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know this is the land of the Primrose duchy!¡±


    My father raised his voice as if he couldn¡¯t listen to it any more.


    Even my brother, who was relentless in covering Lilika, looked at Vieira as if he was taken aback.


    ¡°Just say one more word. How dare you use Yuria as a shield?¡±


    Of course, to my father, I was hardly his child.


    But in this situation, it would be stupid to use me as an excuse and think that he would receive support.


    ¡®Regardless of whether he has any affection for his daughter, I was insulted as Lady Primrose.¡¯


    However, Sir Vieira made a public confession because I pushed for it, so it would be embarrassing to hear this.


    ¡°Sir Vieira, please just go back. How could I, of all people, covet my sister¡¯s fianc¨¦? Don¡¯t act like this in front of Sister Yuria!¡±


    At this point, Lilika wanted to induce Sir Vieira to go back.


    But he stared sharply at one person, holding out as Lilika pushed him with all her might.


    Lilika, who whispered first that he loved him, was denying him, kept mentioning me, her ¡®sister¡¯, and things weren¡¯t going as he wished.


    In this situation, Sir Vieira¡­


    ¡°Yuria Primrose, you. Did you threaten Lady Lilika?¡±


    He chose to attack me.


    ¡°Otherwise, I don¡¯t understand why Lady Lilika would refuse to be engaged to me. Didn¡¯t you say that you were blessing me and that you were planning something?¡±


    The outcome was different from what he expected, so of course he was doubting me.


    I encouraged him to confess publicly, but rather than accepting his love, Lilika was denying him, so he was surely confused.


    But wasn¡¯t it stupid to attack me in this situation?


    ¡°H-how can you say that? I even blessed you to go to Lilika, hoping for your happiness¡­¡±


    If I was attacked by the man who used to be my fianc¨¦ in front of my family, I would look even more pitiful.


    ¡°How much did Yuria think of you, that she earnestly asked me to bring up the marriage talks!¡±


    My father couldn¡¯t stand it and got up from his seat.


    My mother hugged me tightly as my shoulders trembled, and prevented me from looking at Sir Vieira.


    ¡°I ap-pologize. It¡¯s because I was so embarrassed.¡±


    Then, he tried to fix it, but there was nothing that could be done. Sir Vieira had now crossed an irreversible path.


    ¡°Lady Yuria, please say something. Didn¡¯t you say you would bless my love? You said you would let me go. You said you were sorry for forcing me to be engaged¡­¡±


    But Sir Vieira was persistent, as if I had all the solutions.


    ¡°It was Lady Yuria who asked me to confess publicly to Lilika. I am not one to do such a bold thing on my own!¡±


    ¡°Sir Vieira, please stop!¡±


    ¡°Lady Lilika, please let go of me. I have to reveal the truth. When I visited Lady Yuria when she was sick, she told me to wear a light pink suit. If she hadn¡¯t, how could I have worn the same thing as Lady Lilika?¡±


    Hearing that, Lilika, who was pushing Vieira, was startled and released him.


    ¡°Sister¡­ Is what Sir Vieira said true? Was this all planned by you? No, right? You said you were giving me your blessings! There¡¯s no way you were lying to me¡­¡±


    Lilika¡¯s eyes narrowed as she continued to pretend to be feeble.


    Just because she was able to do it once, she was trying to make everything seem like ¡®something my sister made up¡¯, and leaving out what she had done herself.


    At the same time, she did not attack me, but denied everything that Sir Vieira said and drew a line. While supporting that remark.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what color dress Lilika was wearing until the birthday banquet.¡±


    Although she tried hard, I had no intention of letting myself be attacked by Lilika.


    ¡°Everyone here was probably the same. You know, Lilika left her dress in the dressing room and only took it out today¡­¡±

 CH 8

    Chapter 8


    In some ways, a noble lady¡¯s dress was like a soldier¡¯s weapon in a war. Lilika¡¯s dressing room was particularly famous for its iron-clad security. There was no one who didn¡¯t know that.


    ¡°Sir Marcel Vieira!¡±


    Naturally, a rebuttal erupted.


    ¡°Lilika only took out her dress from the dressing room this morning, so how would Yuria know that? Don¡¯t put Yuria¡¯s name in your mouth anymore! How long are you going to use my daughter to talk nonsense!¡±


    But I was surprised that the person who rebutted him was my mother. It was the first time I had ever seen my mother scream like this.


    He suspected me just now and urged me to confess publicly later, but who would believe that? Everyone knows how sincere I was to Sir Vieira.


    ¡°Sir Vieira, I thought about you from the bottom of my heart and stayed quiet. But to say that I manipulated you like that¡­ no matter how much you¡¯re trying to get out of the situation¡­¡±


    I spoke and stopped again, as if I could barely continue. Then, I moved my lips as if I was about to say something, and closed them again.


    ¡°¡­ No, does it matter what I say? I just want Lilika and Sir Vieira to be happy.¡±


    Then I shook my head again and smiled pitifully, as if I had given up everything.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t find out through the dressing room, but I did guess the color of the dress based on the experience of my past life. How could they suspect that I told him about the light pink garment?¡¯


    Considering how I became a vicious sister who wanted to stand out on Lilika¡¯s birthday that time, the current twist was even more thrilling.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Considering the situation, Sister Yuria had no way of knowing the color of the dress¡­ Sir Vieira, do you have any evidence that she did?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any evidence¡­ But doesn¡¯t Lady Yuria have a wicked side?¡±


    Lilika¡¯s expression, which didn¡¯t betray my expectations until the end, cracked. She must have thought it was a card that could reverse everything, so how did it feel now?


    ¡°Lilika, don¡¯t listen to the nonsense this bastard is saying about Yuria being wicked!¡±


    Although Lilika came out belatedly because she was neck-deep in her cunning speech, it would have been nice if she hadn¡¯t intervened in the conversation in the first place.


    She had been pretending the whole time that it was unfair, and that Vieira¡¯s words were not true, so why was she suddenly asking if it was true?


    ¡°Lady Lilika, why don¡¯t you trust me? If not, I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear anymore. I can¡¯t give either Yuria or Lilika to someone like you. Let¡¯s just break off the engagement! What are you doing, drag this scoundrel out now!¡±


    The knights of the duchy who had been waiting stood in order and grabbed Sir Vieira¡¯s arms.


    Although he was also a great knight, he didn¡¯t have his sword with him.


    And even if had his sword, if he took it out here, it would have been a really big problem.


    ¡°Lady Lilika, I remember the day you told me that you loved me. I even wore a light pink suit, which can be embarrassing for a man, to match the Lady. Lady Lilika, Lady Lilika!¡±


    Though she seduced him and then denied it, he has great loyalty.


    For Sir Vieira, Lilika was just a poor heroine who was being threatened.


    It was a shame that Lilika wasn¡¯t getting engaged to him, who didn¡¯t really have anything to show, instead of other male characters, though it¡¯s not like she was being crucified for doing the immoral thing of getting entangled with her older sister¡¯s fianc¨¦¡­


    When Sir Vieira left, my brother, who had been quiet for a while, seemed to feel refreshed and stepped forward.


    ¡°Father, don¡¯t worry about what that crazy guy says. We need to stop it before word about Lilika gets out of the duchy and spreads to the social world. Yuria, you can¡¯t even keep your fianc¨¦¡­¡±


    But my brother never finished his words.


    ¡°Jiksen.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father.¡±


    ¡°Shut your mouth.¡±


    My brother¡¯s face crumpled relentlessly.


    However, my father¡¯s vigor was too fierce to argue back. My brother stepped back, seemingly bewildered, as if he had only now figured out the atmosphere. Still, he tried to open his mouth.


    ¡°But Yuria¡­¡±


    ¡°Brother.¡±


    However, even then, Lilika grabbed his arm and pulled him, forcing him to close his mouth. What a pity, I was wondering what would happen if he babbled a bit more.


    ¡°My Lady, go back with Yuria to her room.¡±


    Then, I turned around with my mother.


    I whispered to my father that I was sorry.


    Since I had cried while acting, my voice came out so unintentionally thin that I couldn¡¯t even hear it.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what kind of face he made when he heard my words, or better, if he could even hear me.


    In the meantime, my mother wrapped her shoulders around me and led me out of the study. It seemed that she was worried that I might be scolded by my father.


    It wasn¡¯t a wrong judgment. My father was always harsh towards me, so today was a bit of a special day.


    ¡®He even killed me with his own hands.¡¯


    I felt the need to look pitiful to my father. My father¡¯s influence in the Primrose duchy was absolute.


    ¡®But that will only be until I become independent from the household.¡¯


    When that time comes, even if my mother doesn¡¯t pull me, I will walk away without regret.


    ¡®There will be no rumors that Lilika stole her sister¡¯s fianc¨¦.¡¯


    It seemed that she was just sad that she didn¡¯t know my inner thoughts.


    ¡°I never imagined that Sir Vieira would do something like this. If I had known this would happen, I would have opposed the engagement! Yuria, how much you¡­¡±


    My mother hesitated, and then added,


    ¡°Do you still have feelings for Sir Vieira? But he¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I decided to forget Sir Vieira now. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s my destiny.¡±


    The fact that I liked him and was flustered was a story of the past, and it had now been a long time since I cleared my mind.


    ¡®Since I was going to destroy the engagement anyway, it¡¯s a good thing that I took the chance to throw a bomb at Lilika.¡¯


    The image of Sir Vieira, grabbing me by my hair and dragging me to my father when I was running away in my previous life, suddenly came to my mind. And his appearance while proposing to my sister in front of me, his fianc¨¦e.


    ¡®If I still had feelings for him after going through all sorts of things, I would be a crazy level of pushover.¡¯


    Fortunately, my mind was sane. My mother looked at me and spoke comfortingly,


    ¡°The Primrose family is a family that can even have marriage talks with the Crown Prince. Of course, it would be much more of a waste if you left the family before that, Yuria.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It would be a waste.¡±


    I smiled faintly in agreement. Only then did the anxiety seem to have disappeared a little from my mother¡¯s face.


    In fact, I knew what was going to happen, so it didn¡¯t matter.


    The only thing that worried me was my mother, who doesn¡¯t take care of herself because she cares for me.


    ¡°Mother, what Brother said to you¡­ No matter what anyone says, I know that you worked really hard for Lilika.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for letting me know.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what my bastard brother was thinking. It wasn¡¯t surprising to me, who had always been treated like that, but I didn¡¯t know he could be rude like that even to our mother.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to your father about what happened today, so don¡¯t worry too much¡­¡±


    ¡°You know, I heard that kind of thing. That the child is happy only when the mother is happy.¡±


    Even if she talked more about it to my father, it wouldn¡¯t have any effect. I spoke emphatically to my mother before the topic of conversation changed. It was the most sincere conversation of the day.


    ¡°Mother, please take care of yourself more. If Mother is happy, I, as your child, will be happy too.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    My mother looked at me without blinking for a moment. Seeing her looking blankly at me, I was worried that I had said something useless. My mother smiled softly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I have to show you a good appearance so that you can follow my example.¡±


    And as if he was making a promise, she muttered something.


    ¡°If I show you that I am unhappy because of a man, and tell you not to live like me¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    My mother¡¯s voice was too low to hear. However, she looked like she had made up her mind about something, so I thought I shouldn¡¯t ask more.


    ¡°Nothing, it was nothing. It was a promise for my actions in the future. I should attend more social gatherings from now on. I think society has underestimated you too much because I haven¡¯t been outside too often.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    My mother¡¯s gaze was firm. It was a strange appearance for my mother, who, both in a good and bad way, was always elegant and composed.


    ¡ª¡ª

 CH 9

    Chapter 9


    The fact that he made a public confession in front of his fianc¨¦e to her own sister, with so many people watching, was surely shocking.


    ¡®My mother is trying to protect me¡­¡¯


    However, my expression couldn¡¯t help but get blurred when the increase in social activities was mentioned.


    ¡®Mother.¡¯


    I called my mother, who was next to me, inwardly and looked at her. In fact, it may be because it had been a long time since I had seen my mother that I suddenly felt strange while looking at her.


    ¡®Mother will die next year.¡¯


    If my mother wasn¡¯t feeling well, it would show up immediately on her skin. Because of that, she always applied powder on her face to cover up her bad skin when she went out¡­


    ¡®The problem is that the cosmetics of this era are made of lead for adherence.¡¯


    In my past life, my mother died of lead poisoning. It was not uncommon for noblewomen to die of this.


    But there was something unconvincing.


    ¡®Even if she isn¡¯t feeling well, it doesn¡¯t seem like she will die right away next year.¡¯


    My mother didn¡¯t go out much, so she didn¡¯t apply powder all that much, so why did she pass away from lead poisoning when other noblewomen who often attended social gatherings didn¡¯t get affected?


    I had the same question at that time. But nothing changed.


    My father and brother didn¡¯t care if my mother died or not, and I was the only one who mourned her death.


    ¡°Father, something is wrong. The noble ladies who have died of lead poisoning until now are more socially active than Mother and apply a lot of powder on their faces¡­¡±


    ¡°If she died because she applied powder with lead on her face to look prettier, what¡¯s the point of making more noise?!¡±


    As a villainess, there was nothing I could do on my own.


    After my mother died, I became more and more isolated from the world. There was no one to love me, no one to worry about me, no one to protect me.


    It was just like that today.


    ¡®This time, I reversed Lilika¡¯s trap. So¡­ I can change other situations in the future.¡¯


    I clenched my fists tightly. I have the memories of the foolish Yuria from my past life, who died as a villainess at the hands of her family, as well as the memories of my life in Korea.


    ¡®I will never lose my mother in this life.¡¯


    I was not going to let my mother apply powder mixed with lead. But¡­ that alone did not reassure me.


    Standing by the window of the study, I looked down at the flowers in the garden that were swaying in the pleasant breeze.


    ¡®It¡¯s the right weather for the Viikos flowers to grow.¡¯


    I recalled the grievous realizations from my previous life and the results of my research.


    A corner of the garden that you can never see from the main building. The time for harvesting the flowers that were growing diligently was approaching.


    ***


    ¡°Mother, the festival is going to be held in a few days, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go together.¡±


    I smiled brightly when I heard my mother¡¯s response.


    My mother seemed to think that I was staying by her side because I was having a hard time due to my breakup with Vieira, but¡­


    ¡°Do you promise? You can¡¯t change your mind later.¡±


    It had a bit of a special meaning to me. Ah, the teatime with my mother that I missed countless times in my previous life.


    Of course, we also went for a walk in the garden or had a meal together. There were also many times when I suddenly went to visit her without making an appointment and acted like a child.


    Someone might look at me and laugh, saying that I¡¯m simple or asking if I¡¯m happy with just that. For me, though, this kind of ordinary routine was more wonderful than ever.


    ¡°When did I ever break a promise to you?¡±


    ¡®You said you would name my child when I gave birth¡¯, the words I couldn¡¯t say just lingered in my mind and then disappeared.


    In my previous life, my mother died before I became an adult, let alone get married.


    ¡°My Yuria, I thought you were all grown up¡­ You¡¯re still a child.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why Mother has to stay by my side.¡±


    Lilika hadn¡¯t shown her face since the commotion last time, and my brother hadn¡¯t been picking fights either, so I was able to be with my mother even more comfortably.


    ¡®Though I¡¯m not just playing around.¡¯


    Of course, I was spending more time with my mother because I missed her, but there was actually something I wanted to investigate.


    ¡®It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a lead bowl among the tableware.¡¯


    We had teatime several times, and we had meals together several times, but there was nothing particularly suspicious.


    Maybe I was being suspicious for no reason? Since my mother wasn¡¯t well, she may have died from a smaller amount of lead than the other noblewomen.


    ¡®But I saw the way Lilika looked at me and my mother.¡¯


    Even in the past, when I was unaware of everything, I often felt a bitter feeling in Lilika¡¯s gaze when she saw me and my mother, who was especially close to me.


    She must not be trying to make me lose my mother because it was my fault she lost her mother¡¯s keepsake, right?


    ¡®And if Lilika isn¡¯t after my mother¡­ there really isn¡¯t anything I can do about it.¡¯


    I felt frustrated and let out a long sigh. At this rate, I was just waiting to see my mother die in a few years.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    That¡¯s right, even on Earth, where everyone knows lead is harmful, did they not use crystal glasses made of lead glass? However, the crystal glasses were not particularly dangerous.


    ¡®Even if the tableware is made of lead, the temperature of the food is lukewarm like this, so it¡¯s not¡­¡¯


    I repeatedly thought about what I was thinking for a moment. What did I just say?


    There was a flash of enlightenment. I thought I figured out what I had overlooked until now.


    ¡®Doesn¡¯t the temperature need to be high for someone who is poisoned by others to die?¡¯


    To do so, rather than having my mother use the tableware made of lead¡­


    I asked my mother to call the butler. Even though my mother questioned it, she listened to my request.


    ¡°I heard you called.¡±


    Shortly after, the butler arrived. Despite the sudden call, he greeted us without the slightest embarrassment.


    His attitude clearly showed that he had worked for the Primrose duchy for many years.


    ¡®He was just as proud of the family.¡¯


    Whenever I misbehaved like the villainess I was, he scolded me several times, telling me to act like a lady and that I was dishonoring the family.


    Because of his uncompromising nature, although he tried to be polite to me, his disrespectful attitude was not hidden.


    Seeing him come running when my mother, the duchess, called was surprising, but it was a relief that my mother was alive.


    ¡°Yuria says she has something to do with you.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I understand.¡±


    The butler¡¯s eyebrows twitched. It was very brief, so my mother couldn¡¯t have noticed. He even showed discipline when he bowed his head after that.


    ¡°Now, we¡¯re going to the kitchen.¡±


    But the butler¡¯s attitude changed from the moment we came out of the hallway. He added right back as if it were a given.


    ¡°If you want something to eat, you can order a maid instead of going there yourself. The kitchen is quite a long way away, so if your legs hurt, you can call a knight¡­¡±


    I cut off the butler¡¯s words that were not worth listening to.


    ¡°Yes, I know that giving an errand to a maid is the right way for everyone. Everyone will be surprised if I suddenly look for them.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I wasn¡¯t someone who regularly looked for him, so the butler didn¡¯t think there was a reason for me to go with him.


    I couldn¡¯t believe my employees looked at me with startled eyes because they thought it would be surprising for me to suddenly look for them. I was amazed at how often they saw me as the worst.


    He seemed to be worried about what else I was going to do, but I was not going to make any misdeeds.


    ¡°¡­ I apologize.¡±


    As expected, despite being the young lady of the family, the treatment I received was oddly poor. But it didn¡¯t matter.


    The work I was going to do from now on required a butler who was trusted by everyone. He was going to do it even if he didn¡¯t like me. He was not the type to harm someone just because he didn¡¯t like them.


    ¡°Young Lady, before we go in¡­¡±


    Arriving at the kitchen, I ignored the butler¡¯s words and opened the door. It was a surprise visit.


    The employees in the kitchen opened their eyes wide as they saw me storming inside, silently.


    ¡°H-huh? Young Lady Yuria?¡±


    ¡°Everyone hurry up and give your greetings. The Young Lady is here!¡±


    The butler clicked his tongue and raised his voice as the employees of the kitchen looked flustered. I guess it came out without me realizing it, but even though I said I knew enough about this earlier, I didn¡¯t think I could trust him.


    But what mattered now was not the butler.


    ¡°Young Lady, for what reason have you come this far? We will prepare food right now and bring it¡­¡±


    ¡°All the employees will stop what they are doing and take their hands off all the tableware.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    All the employees froze as they heard my resolute voice.


    I lined up all the employees on one side and prevented them from doing anything nonsense.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take your eyes off me. I have something to check, so everyone should be a witness.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª

 CH 10

    Saying that, I looked at the employees of the ducal castle with sharp eyes. To see their reaction.


    ¡®I have to consider all possibilities. I was complacent, I was careless, I lost my mother, and in the end, my life was taken.¡¯


    For now, no one had made a noticeably suspicious move at the mention of my investigation.


    But it was too early to feel reassured.


    Everyone had served my mother for a long time and was loyal to her, but Lilika was someone who could dig into a solid relationship as far as she wanted.


    Unlike my mother, who was in the difficult position of the duchess, Lilika, who was kind to everyone, expanded her base.


    Who could dislike Lilika, who was friendly and greeted the employees first?


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    Apart from the Primrose family, many people lived in the ducal castle.


    Including the employees of the kitchen here, there were employees who managed the castle, gardeners, stable keepers, knights¡­


    I took a deep breath and looked around. A mountain of cutlery and cooking utensils used to feed everyone.


    ¡®I can¡¯t overlook anything.¡¯


    As my momentum was unusual, I could see that the employees who were watching me were restless.


    ¡°Y-Young Lady. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but wouldn¡¯t it be better to ask us?¡±


    Clearly, scrutinizing all this tableware would require great stamina and mental strength.


    I wasn¡¯t just taking a look at it; I was looking piercingly at it while thinking it was related to my mother¡¯s death.


    I knew that it would be quicker to get another employee to investigate with me. But¡­


    ¡°No, you¡¯re helping by not taking your eyes off what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    It was a situation where I couldn¡¯t trust anyone.


    If the person who was to help me pretended to check the tableware together and took it away, or if they made a mistake due to lack of attention, all my efforts would be in vain.


    ¡®Of course, it¡¯s usually not difficult to check it alone.¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t let it slide.


    Carefully observing every cutlery and cooking utensil would be a laborious task if I didn¡¯t get help from anyone.


    Even if I used all my might, it would be difficult to lift a large pot that was used to feed many people.


    Just one look at it and it seemed too much for me to lift it on my own.


    It was impossible to check every single thing, even the corners that couldn¡¯t be seen well, to see if something had been hidden.


    That¡¯s why I had something ready.


    Having lost my mother in my past life, I was out of my mind and couldn¡¯t do anything.


    So, what made me come back to my senses was the goal was to clearly confirm my mother¡¯s cause of death.


    I held on to my ¡®blessing¡¯, which I hadn¡¯t even considered until then, with shining eyes.


    I thought there must be a reason why this blessing came to me. I researched for a few days.


    ¡°At this rate, won¡¯t the daughter die after the mother?¡±


    ¡°What are you researching? You can¡¯t save a dead person. Not with that useless ¡®blessing of growth¡¯.¡±


    Ignoring all kinds of gossip about me¡­


    I experimented and experimented with plants that revealed contamination.


    I grew plants that could identify lead poisoning over and over again, and improved them enough to make it easier for humans to sort out what is affected by lead¡­


    ¡®Well. Although not long after I discovered the efficacy of the Viikos flower, I was killed by my father and brother.¡¯


    What I secretly raised in the garden this time was the result of my research from my previous life.


    I couldn¡¯t do anything then, but it was different now.


    The day to experiment with the Viikos flowers had finally come.


    ¡®It looks like a simple flower from the outside, but is it?¡¯


    Swish-


    I threw a flower into one of the pots where food was being prepared.


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°That is for the Duke¡¯s meal¡­!¡±


    The people who were doing their best to stay there obediently flinched.


    While working in the duke¡¯s castle, the food should be thoroughly managed.


    Seeing me suddenly throwing unknown flowers in there, they couldn¡¯t help but react.


    Then, when it seemed like the people were coming to stop me at any moment,


    ¡°Don¡¯t interfere with what the Young Lady is doing.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes! I understand!¡±


    The butler, who was quietly staring at what I was doing, stopped the employees from trying to move from their place.


    ¡®Is it because he came with me at my mother¡¯s command?¡¯


    The butler was more obedient than I thought. I almost had to keep an eye on the servants so that they would stay still, but he saved me the trouble.


    Swish-


    Thanks to that, I was able to keep throwing the flowers with an expressionless face.


    Then, when I had put the Viikos flowers in almost every boiling pot in the kitchen,


    Crackle-


    Deep-black smoke rose from one of the small pots in between the large pots. Immediately, a nasty smell filled the entire kitchen.


    ¡°Cough, cough!¡±


    ¡°What on earth is this?¡±


    Advertisements


    It was noisy for a moment in the kitchen, but sensing that something was weird, the voices of the people stopped.


    It wasn¡¯t the smell of food burning or using the wrong ingredients.


    The people were silent as they felt the strange smell that pricked their noses and saw the smoke that felt somewhat dreary.


    ¡°¡­ I see. It was that one.¡±


    Since I was the only one expecting this, only I reacted calmly.


    ¡°¡­ What is this pot used for? Who uses it?¡±


    When I looked at them with a strange eagerness, the servants immediately pointed to one person.


    A maid who had stepped forward hesitantly replied. It was a familiar face.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m the one who uses it. I¡¯m using it to boil syrup for the desserts.¡±


    I was silent for a moment, not answering right away.


    ¡°You said you were making syrup.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, Young Lady. Is there something wrong¡­?¡±


    The innocent look of not knowing anything she had on her face couldn¡¯t be any more ridiculous.


    I raised the corners of my mouth coldly, thinking about the kitchen maid who would have heated the pot at a high temperature to make syrup.


    ¡°Everyone was watching what I was doing. You must have seen clearly that I did not bring any pots or take away any tableware.¡±


    ¡°Sorry? Yes¡­ That is correct. But why is there a problem¡­¡±


    When the other employees were puzzled because they didn¡¯t know the reason, only the butler who had stepped back came up in front of me and bowed his head.


    Yeah, he was a quick-witted man at times like this. He wasn¡¯t in charge of being the duchy¡¯s butler for decades for nothing.


    ¡°Young Lady, what is your command?¡±


    ¡°Butler. Take that servant.¡±


    He found out exactly why I had brought him here.


    ¡°The one who tried to assassinate the Duchess.¡±


    ***


    I thought I would be furious if this happened. But was it because it was something I had already guessed to some degree, or was it because my anger had reached its limit? Rather, my head had turned cold.


    I spoke coldly to the shivering maid who was kneeling in front of me.


    ¡°I asked who made you use a lead pot to make the syrup for my mother¡¯s dessert.¡±


    The butler and kitchen employees, who were overwhelmed by the fact that the Viikos flowers had caused a strange reaction in only one pot, immediately called the knights when I accused the maid.


    I had discovered a lead pot, so I inspected all the remaining utensils just in case, but that was the only thing related to lead.


    It was obvious that it was only for my mother.


    If wine was boiled to make syrup, how much lead would have dissolved at such high temperatures?


    My mother didn¡¯t like syrupy desserts so much that she would eat them every day. But it was the best for killing people. If you consume it steadily, in a way that isn¡¯t noticeable¡­ it will be enough to die from lead poisoning in a few years.


    Lead poisoning, which was not a rare cause of death for noble women who used a lot of makeup.


    ¡°Y-Young Lady¡­ I didn¡¯t do that on purpose.¡±


    ¡°The fact that you can¡¯t use cooking utensils made from lead must have been sufficiently taught to you when you entered the duchy.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I didn¡¯t know this was made of lead.¡±


    The maid trembled but did not immediately admit her guilt. She also didn¡¯t beg to be spared. She opened her mouth a few times, but shut it immediately.


    The fact that she only said that everything was a misunderstanding was definitely suspicious. Even though she was trembling, she was overly calm for someone who had done something that almost killed the duchess of a noble family.


    ¡®There¡¯s something. It¡¯s suspicious.¡¯


    Realizing that, I glanced at the butler. He seemed to be thinking the same as me.


    I didn¡¯t know about me, but the butler, who was loyal to my mother, shouted harshly and reprimanded the maid.


    ¡°It is deplorable that this person was allowed to work in the kitchen. You are being brought here on charges of trying to murder the Duchess of Primrose!¡±


    ¡°W-What? I never intended to do that!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re denying it to the end. Young Lady, will you allow me to interrogate this person with the knights?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Let me hear the truth from this person¡¯s mouth at all costs. The reason why she made syrup using a lead pot, not any other. Or if there is someone behind her targeting the duchy!¡±


    ¡°I-I made a mistake. I¡¯ll tell you the truth!¡±


    Only then did the maid quickly speak, as she stuck her head to the floor. And then, with her final words, she threw a bomb.


    ¡°This pot was given to me by Lady Lilika!¡±

 CH 11

    This was what the kitchen maid revealed.


    ¡°Are there any difficulties?¡±


    Lilika was friendly to the servants. The kitchen maid was also young, so she often talked to Lilika, who cared about her.


    Then one day, when she was coming back after running some errands, the kitchen maid and Lilika met alone, without any other maid present.


    ¡°It¡¯s a hassle to boil a small amount like syrup in a large, thick pot. But I¡¯m a new maid, will it be alright to complain about the cooking utensils¡­ Ah, I¡¯m not gossiping about the others.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know what you mean. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    The next day, Lilika went out and bought a small¡­ lead pot to give to the kitchen maid.


    ¡°I never intended to murder the Duchess. Lady Lilika must have misunderstood something, too.¡±


    The kitchen maid thought that it would be no problem because it was given to her by Lilika, but she was worried that this would cause her harm.


    She looked completely unaware of what Lilika had done using her and what would happen next.


    ¡°The maid said I gave her the lead pot. Yes, that¡¯s right. But¡­¡±


    Lilika¡¯s reaction to the incident was bizarre.


    Although she was taken aback, she denied the fact that she was trying to murder the Duchess.


    ¡°Because I also ate the syrup that was made in that pot¡­¡±


    Lilika claimed that she was also a victim of the incident. Although she blurred the end of her words as if she were heartbroken, she looked like she had already thought about them and was speaking without any trouble.


    ¡°I bought it on a street I used to go to long ago when I was a commoner¡­ The color was weird so it caught my attention, but I never thought it would be a lead pot. I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    Why was her repertoire always so obvious?


    She came from a lowly background, so even if she didn¡¯t intend to do anything wrong, she did it because she didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡®My mother almost died, but I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s calling herself a victim. Shouldn¡¯t an apology come first in situations like this?¡¯


    I could still vividly remember seeing my mother buried in the coffin in my previous life.


    I hated myself for just brushing it off when she said she was sick, as she had always been weak. I continued to blame myself. And regretting it.


    I didn¡¯t know that my mother was slowly dying, and lived my life as usual, foolishly.


    If Lilika had brought in a lead pot to slowly kill my mother without leaving behind evidence, how much dessert did she eat knowing that the syrup was made in it?


    No, Lilika wasn¡¯t one to eat sweets in the first place. It wouldn¡¯t have been noticeable at all even if she ordered a variety of desserts and just didn¡¯t eat the ones with syrup.


    ¡°Lead poisoning? Isn¡¯t that dangerous?!¡±


    My father, who heard about this later, didn¡¯t blame Lilika either. He just directed all the blame to the kitchen maid.


    ¡°Even if Lilika didn¡¯t know, you, a maid who works in the kitchen of a noble family, used a pot made of lead? Was the education of this ducal family that lax?¡±


    ¡°B-But I didn¡¯t doubt it since it was given by the Young Lady, I just¡­¡±


    When instead of being solved easily, things got bigger than she expected, the kitchen maid begged Lilika. She, who remained calm even though she was taken aback earlier, was now hanging onto her while weeping.


    ¡°Lady Lilika, you know that I only used the pot that you gave me. Please help me! I will work harder from now on, so¡­!¡±


    But Lilika acted like she didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°What have you done to my sick mother!¡±


    ¡°L-Lady Lilika¡­?¡±


    The kitchen maid froze in place when she saw Lilika roughly avoiding the blame.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine that you fed me lead. I am young and healthy after all¡­ But my mother is not well¡­¡±


    The kitchen maid must have felt that Lilika was betraying her.


    However, Lilika would have to get angry in this situation to prove that she had no malice, so she wouldn¡¯t side with the maid unless she was a fool.


    ¡®Is it going to end with just the maid being punished?¡¯


    I didn¡¯t feel sorry for the kitchen maid. The maid, who was close to Lilika in my previous life, had confronted me several times.


    Still, if someone that Lilika was able to use were to be dismissed, it would be successful to some extent.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t think I would be able to take care of Lilika right away anyway.¡¯


    Even when the name ¡®Lilika¡¯ came out of the kitchen maid¡¯s mouth, I wasn¡¯t expecting much.


    If Lilika had intended to kill my mother, she would have prepared a way out of it.


    Rather, Lilika¡¯s cold-hearted reaction to it gave me a new conviction.


    ¡®Lilika, as expected, I can¡¯t go with you.¡¯


    Yeah, it would have been rather vain if the person who twisted the situation so that I would die at the hands of my family in my previous life collapsed with only this.


    Well, it¡¯s not like Lilika wasn¡¯t hit at all by this.


    ¡°I thought Lady Lilika would take her side, I didn¡¯t expect her to get upset instead¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t that maid just do what Lady Lilika asked¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t do anything outrageous to attract the attention of the kitchen servants.


    The punishment of the kitchen maid reached everyone¡¯s ears. The Viikos flowers, which showed a tumultuous reaction to the lead, must have left quite an impression on the kitchen people.


    ¡°If we do what Lady Lilika says and end up becoming someone who tried to murder the Duchess¡­¡±


    Of course, this was not the only reason Lilika lost the confidence of the servants.


    Lilika didn¡¯t tell me the color of the dress she had fitted in the dressing room the other day.


    Except for Lilika herself, the only people in this world who knew that it was light pink were the designers in the dressing room and a handful of her close maids.


    Lilika suspected that the maids next to her had tipped me off.


    So, when the lead pot incident happened amid such a chaotic atmosphere¡­


    ¡°It is best that we do not associate as much as possible with the higher people.¡±


    ¡°Besides, the fact that she was involved with Lady Yuria¡¯s fianc¨¦ is a bit¡­ isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The servants who knew Lilika as a friendly and good-natured girl felt betrayed by her. If people with a nice image from the beginning do something bad once, won¡¯t the opinion about them get worse?


    ¡®It¡¯s interesting to see how Lilika, who was close to the servants, is now slowly becoming isolated in the castle.¡¯


    I smiled brightly as I recalled the fact that Lilika had moved the servants to attack me in my previous life.


    Advertisements


    ¡°The kitchen was examined again and again, and the retraining of the servants was completed. You can rest assured now.¡±


    Even though it was something he didn¡¯t have to do, the butler brought the tray for teatime himself, gave a greeting, and withdrew.


    Our eyes met when he glanced back at me, and his gaze was a little different from the previous look of disapproval.


    ¡®Maybe this will help me later.¡¯


    Since he was the person who my father trusted the most, wasn¡¯t it beneficial? Though I wasn¡¯t even aiming to attract the butler¡¯s attention.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I have been eating syrup made in a lead pot all this time¡­¡±


    It seemed that my mother was shocked when she realized that she was almost suffering from lead poisoning.


    ¡°Mother, we don¡¯t know how much lead has accumulated inside your body, so wouldn¡¯t it be better not to apply any powder? I¡¯m very scared. If Mother is not by my side, I¡­¡±


    In fact, I wasn¡¯t expecting much when I said this.


    However¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I have to protect you. You also must have had that syrup when you were having teatime with me.¡±


    Certainly, after what happened during the last birthday banquet, in which Sir Vieira publicly confessed to Lilika, my mother had changed.


    Her heart ached for a moment, but a determined light appeared in her eyes again.


    ¡°I used to apply that powder to cover up my haggard complexion. But, Yuria, you are more important than that. I have to be by your side.¡±


    It was as she said.


    After my mother died, my father, brother, and servants, who had been conscious of her, did not hide the fact that they only loved and cherished Lilika.


    Even if rumors filled with malice were spreading in the social world, no one could control them.


    The other ladies my mother associated with were only close to her, not me, so those who would have taken my side if my mother were still alive turned away from me.


    ¡°Mother¡­¡±


    Instead of powder, I made a cream for my mother to apply on her skin.


    Of course, her body wasn¡¯t good either, but it seemed that she hadn¡¯t been moisturizing properly even though she had very dry skin.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t think my hobby of making natural cosmetics in my previous life would help.¡¯


    I explained the ingredients and effects of the cream.


    At least it would be much better than grinding bovine bones or spreading the intestines of monsters on one¡¯s skin, like they did in this era.


    ¡°It¡¯s a cream made with Calendula flowers. It will be effective.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, thank you. How did you make this?¡±


    My mother, who had taken the cream with a cheerful face, asked after a moment, puzzled.


    ¡°No, wait. Calendula flowers? It¡¯s a flower that doesn¡¯t bloom at this time of the year. How did you make it?¡±


    Honestly, it wasn¡¯t that hard to make the cream. If you mix the ingredients properly, it will not take more than a few minutes.


    If there was a problem, it was the ingredients¡­


    ¡°It was my worthless blessing of growth. But still, it should be used well. I was exploring it whenever I had time, without telling anyone.¡±


    The power that descended on the Primrose family.


    ¡®But I¡­ I received this worthless blessing of growth.¡¯


    Blessing of growth.


    It didn¡¯t work with animals, because it was an ability to grow plants well.


    ¡®It isn¡¯t farming either. I hid it because I felt ashamed as it was an unfit power for a noble lady¡­ but I decided to do everything I could.¡¯


    Researching like crazy to uncover my mother¡¯s death in my previous life.


    And even now, I was still studying when I wasn¡¯t with her.


    There was more to discover about the blessing of growth.


    It was a fact that the plants I had cultivated with sincerity contained special powers.


    ¡®It¡¯s a little different from the sacred power of the temple¡­ It can just be called the power of a blessing.¡¯


    In any case, even if it was just a small amount, I wanted to believe that this particular energy would be much more effective than ordinary cosmetics. It was a power that¡¯s called a blessing in the Primrose family, after all.


    So, while I was growing the hard-to-find Viikos flowers, I made everything I could get on the market with crops that I grew on my own.


    The ingredients were limited because I could only make it with things that could be grown secretly without clashing with the garden of the castle, but the results were not bad considering that.


    ¡®Blessing of growth¡­ When I poured my energy into them, the flowers bloomed even though it was not the season for that.¡¯


    Of course, I couldn¡¯t grow flowers, dry them, collect seeds, turn the collected ingredients into oil, and mix it all with beeswax in the garden of the castle, so I was thinking fiercely about replacing them with something else¡­


    Honestly, the process was never easy.


    As I poured my heart and soul into each ingredient, it was much more tiring and complicated than in my previous life, where I easily made it.


    ¡®I made all that effort, but the result was just a few small containers of cosmetics.¡¯


    A bitter smile was about to appear on my lips, but I was in front of my mother. I just smiled softly.


    Anyway, after some patch testing, it didn¡¯t seem to be a bad ingredient for my mother. I comfortably gave my mother a cream and lotion made with calendula, which was effective for moisturizing.


    No matter how dry her skin was, it would be too much to even give her oil, so this was enough.


    ¡°A cream Yuria gave me. Thank you. I¡¯ll use it well.¡±


    But I didn¡¯t know at this point. How much of a sensation one of the cosmetics I made would cause.

 CH 12

    My mother was someone who never went to social gatherings.


    ¡°Duchess Primrose¡­ right?¡±


    For now, my mother¡¯s goal was successful. No one had talked about Sir Vieira publicly confessing to Lilika when she was there.


    However, neither I nor my mother expected that it was due to other facts, not the power that came from her status as a duchess.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you were really the Duchess of Primrose at first!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe your skin is so good when you don¡¯t even apply powder. I¡¯m so jealous!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t go around with powder on your face when your skin was this good, right? On the contrary, you look even more beautiful than when you did.¡±


    When my mother, who used to thickly apply powder to cover her face due to her poor skin, stepped forward with no makeup on her face, the people at the gathering were surprised. Then, they gave up their usual graceful appearance and poured questions.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re asking so many questions at once, I don¡¯t know where to start.¡±


    ¡°Ah, our apologies. We must have surprised you.¡±


    ¡°But how can I endure it when I¡¯m so curious?!¡±


    I also felt that it was a dramatic change after seeing my mother¡¯s face every day. How amazing it would be for people who had not seen her in a long time?


    ¡°I used to have extremely dry skin¡­ My face, which was prone to eczema, has improved.¡±


    Even though cosmetics using calendula are good for moisturizing, I didn¡¯t expect them to be so effective.


    It had a proper moisturizing effect, unlike the crappy cosmetics that circulated around, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be this effective even if it contained the power of the blessing due to being a crop I grew.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to use powder either, like the Duchess¡­¡±


    ¡°There are some ladies who died because they used powder with lead. But there is no other substitute, so I can¡¯t not use it¡­ Duchess, what is your secret?¡±


    The pestering for information reached its peak, but because I asked her not to tell anyone about the calendula cosmetics when I gave her the cream¡ªI didn¡¯t expect this kind of response¡ªmy mother tried to be evasive so as not to break her promise.


    ¡°It¡¯s a difficult question for me to answer¡­¡±


    She was unintentionally playing hard to get. An unintended mysticism.


    My mother¡¯s changed skin was a tremendous sensation.


    Everyone wondered what secret she had used to improve her skin so much that she didn¡¯t even need things like powder.


    My mother¡¯s purpose for attending the social gatherings¡ªbecause she was afraid that I would be attacked¡ªseemed to have been achieved enough.


    Having my fianc¨¦ make a public confession to my sister at Lilika¡¯s birthday banquet¡­ was something I did at the risk of suffering some damage in the first place.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t her fianc¨¦ fall for her sister because she has such a nasty personality?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying this because I¡¯m a man, but honestly, who would want to have her as their wife¡­¡±


    I was sure there would be a lot of talk about Lilika seducing her sister¡¯s fianc¨¦, but it was equally funny that I had lost my fianc¨¦ to my own sister.


    However, everything that was going to flow badly towards me was only driven in the direction of damaging Lilika¡¯s image. My engagement was broken anyway, so it was inevitable that there would be talk about it.


    In the meantime, when my mother made her appearance with healthy skin without applying powder, it made those who tried to attack me calm down. When my mother didn¡¯t tell them the secret, they were even more anxious.


    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m getting more invitations than ever. But I decided to go out with my daughter today.¡±


    My mother did not appear to apply any powder even when she went out with me today.


    She had been depressed ever since the birthday banquet, but when the social world moved on to talk about her, she seemed relieved.


    ¡®She¡¯s less stressed, and goes out more often. No matter what, now that the cause of lead poisoning is eliminated, she will be much healthier than she was in my previous life, right?¡¯


    I talked about all sorts of things with my mother while looking at the flowers that were in full bloom as the seasons changed.


    ¡®I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been since I walked down the main street with my mother.¡¯


    The path I had walked alone; I felt more comfortable than ever walking it with my mother.


    ¡°The flowers are really beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they have a different feeling from the ones in the castle¡¯s garden.¡±


    ¡°The sky is really blue, too.¡±


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s a nice day, but, um, aren¡¯t there some clouds?¡±


    My mother and I both burst into laughter at the same time. Everything seemed beautiful to her, maybe because her worries had disappeared.


    ¡°Mother, we¡¯ve walked more than usual. Are you alright? You often go to gatherings these days, I wonder if you¡¯re not overdoing it¡­¡±


    ¡°Still, my body is more relaxed than before. Shall we just go to the boutique to check the dresses I got fitted the other day and go back?¡±


    Like that, my mother and I headed to the boutique in the downtown area. Normally, the designer was called to the castle because my mother didn¡¯t feel well, so this was the first time she visited the boutique like this.


    ¡°Oh my, Duchess. Young Lady.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for coming here without saying anything. But since I was nearby, I wanted to check out some of the completed dresses.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, it¡¯s no problem. You can follow me.¡±


    I sat in a prepared seat in the boutique and waited for my mother. The boutique clerk approached me and asked if I needed anything.


    Advertisements


    ¡°Just a warm cup of tea.¡±


    How long had it been since my mother disappeared to try on the dresses and I sat down in the chair?


    An unwelcome face opened the door to the boutique.


    ¡°Ah, Lady Yuria?¡±


    ¡°Sir Vieira.¡±


    He also looked dumbfounded to see me.


    It was a perfect day, so why did I have to come across this human? My calm face stiffened slowly.


    ¡®Did he come to the dressing room because he wanted to give Lilika a gift?¡¯


    Sir Vieira strode towards me with a smile as I clicked my tongue inwardly.


    ¡°Word that the Duchess¡¯ skin has improved has swept through the social world, but it seems the mother and daughter are living confidently?¡±


    I didn¡¯t have a good premonition as I looked at his harsh tone, with no intention of being polite, and crimson eyes.


    I was alone. My mother was changing clothes elsewhere, and it was customary not to have an escort knight inside the boutique because it was cumbersome.


    When the man with a big frame lowered himself over me, I felt a sense of physiological intimidation.


    ¡°Your face is looking great. Lady Lilika and I are rolling in hell.¡±


    No wonder my face looked better. I also applied the cream I made for my mother. I also have dry skin, even if not as dry as hers.


    Sir Vieira grabbed my wrist without saying a word.


    ¡°¡­ Let go of my wrist and say what you want to say.¡±


    I clenched my teeth to avoid groaning. Was he threatening me, or thinking I was going to run away? How tightly was he going to squeeze the wrist of a noble lady like me?


    ¡°At least make an excuse. Was it good to pretend to be nice all by yourself? While saying that you were praying for our happiness!¡±


    ¡°Then, would you have been satisfied if I had cursed you who betrayed me, and cried that I couldn¡¯t let you go?¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± I let out a low groan, hopelessly. He had squeezed my wrist even more tightly as I spoke.


    ¡°Whoever heard you might think I was threatening Sir Vieira to like Lilika.¡±


    ¡°Ha, you must have threatened. But Lady Lilika, not me. Isn¡¯t that why Lady Lilika, who said she loved me, didn¡¯t accept me? After making acting so abominable in front of me¡­¡±


    ¡°I wonder why you think I am the cause of everything. Why do you think it¡¯s me who is abominable?¡±


    As opposed to the exasperated Vieira, I smiled coldly. It was funny how he resented only me, not Lilika, until the end.


    ¡°S-Sir Vieira. You can¡¯t do this.¡±


    The boutique clerk tried to pull Sir Vieira. But he didn¡¯t even budge. He didn¡¯t win the swordsmanship contest for nothing.


    ¡°The fact that I made a public confession was all¡­¡±


    ¡°If Lilika had said she would accept you, even if I objected to it or whatever, you would have been together already. Why are you angry with me for the fact that Lilika¡¯s emotions have cooled down because Sir Vieira is unattractive?¡±


    In the end, Sir Vieira was just a trophy for Lilika in her battle against me.


    ¡°Shut that mout¡ª!¡±


    Then, as Sir Vieira raised his voice, and just as I was about to squeeze my eyes shut,


    ¡°I was going to pretend not to notice because it¡¯s a private conversation, but since I also have a younger sister, I am dumbfounded and can¡¯t help but interrupt.¡±


    My wrist, which was being squeezed, was released. I gently opened my closed eyes.


    In front of me, there was a man dressed in a neat suit. He had such a wide back that even if it was Sir Vieira, who had a big build, he could not push against him.


    ¡°Your Highness¡­?¡±


    ¡°Sir Vieira. Aren¡¯t you just directing your anger at Lady Yuria, who is your ex-fianc¨¦e, because Lady Lilika, her sister, didn¡¯t accept you?¡±

 CH 13

    ¡®Why is His Highness Crown Prince Enoch here¡­? Since when was he here?¡¯


    I gazed at the familiar back and recalled the memories of my previous life.


    Something similar also happened then.


    It was a day when I was jealous of the relationship between Lord Vieira and Lilika, and even insisted on entering the hunting contest I wasn¡¯t invited to.


    ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s disgraceful, isn¡¯t it? She¡¯s the duke¡¯s daughter, but she isn¡¯t much different from us. She¡¯s impatient because she can¡¯t even get a man.¡±


    ¡°She is from the Primrose family, so it must be hard to be this unpopular. To be honest, even if I were Sir Vieira, I don¡¯t think I would like Lady Primrose, that evil lady!¡±


    ¡°Haha, why did she have to be a Primrose, like Lady Lilika? I mean, it¡¯s confusing!¡±


    My face became hot with embarrassment. It wasn¡¯t that I wanted to do this.


    They couldn¡¯t say much in front of me, but the moment I turned my back, they raised their voices right away¡­ If I was that disgraceful, why didn¡¯t they say it openly? I tried to laugh at them as they did, but it didn¡¯t work.


    Even if I thought about it, I was unsightly.


    I couldn¡¯t stop my beloved fianc¨¦ from dancing with my sister, and I looked disgraceful following him around.


    I thought about what would happen if I stepped up in this situation. Even if I rushed in and got an apology, it wouldn¡¯t be sincere. On the contrary, they would only trust my family and treat me even more like a ruffian.


    I lowered my head with a hot face as I thought.


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t Sir Vieira have a problem too for requesting his fianc¨¦e¡¯s sister to be his partner?¡±


    ¡°Y-your Highness?¡±


    Hearing that, I bravely looked back. I was just going to leave because it was hard to see people laughing at me¡­


    The sleeves of the white uniform hanging from his shoulders fluttered. Back then, I also came across that hair of an ecstatic color.


    Crown Prince Enoch spoke like that, as he did now, in a way that could never be ignored while lightly bringing up what others found difficult to say.


    ¡°Sir Vieira. What are you doing right now, against a powerless lady?¡±


    ¡°Th-that¡­¡±


    ¡°I thought you were an extraordinary knight, but it seems I was wrong.¡±


    Feeling the power that was being exerted on the hand that was grabbing me, Sir Vieira, who had been raging for a moment, stepped back with a bewildered face. And only then did he become polite as if he had come to his senses, but it was already too late.


    ¡°No, Your Highness. There is a misunderstanding. Your Highness. The humiliation I experienced because of this woman¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, did Lady Yuria Primrose threaten you to like her sister? In that case, I¡¯ll admit that you experienced some humiliation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, I was deceived¡­¡±


    Sir Vieira hurriedly tried to explain himself, but it was to no avail. Without giving him the slightest chance, Crown Prince Enoch scolded him harshly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the one who was deceived Lady Primrose, who was engaged to you without knowing you were going to propose to her sister?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a slightly different matter.¡±


    ¡°Can you explain what¡¯s different? I must be dumb, as I can¡¯t seem to understand.¡±


    ¡°No, Your Highness is not dumb!¡±


    I was amazed at this situation where someone showed up to confidently take my side. He didn¡¯t just take my side either. He made Sir Vieira sweat with every word he uttered.


    Is he well-spoken because, as a wizard, he is smart? No, but his opponent is a knight, so isn¡¯t he overpowered? Come to think of it, I had heard that he was also good at swordsmanship.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll be going now because I remembered something important, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°Why are you leaving without saying anything to Lady Primrose, after being rude to her?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    In the end, Sir Vieira couldn¡¯t handle the situation and left as if he were running away. I stared blankly at his back, and only returned to my senses after Prince Enoch turned to me.


    ¡°In the end, I couldn¡¯t make him apologize to you, Lady Primrose.¡±


    While he was dealing with Sir Vieira, Prince Enoch spoke in a voice that showed that he clearly knew he had the upper hand. He dealt with him relaxed and comfortable, or so I thought¡­ Surprisingly, his eyes were not smiling.


    ¡®I wonder if he would have made such a face in my past life¡­¡¯


    I blinked for a moment before bowing my head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the delay in greeting you. Thank you for your help, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to act so formally, it¡¯s alright. You must have been very surprised.¡±


    When his low voice reached my ears, I realized it.


    Ah, so this was the tone of voice used by Prince Enoch when he spoke softly.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright now. Thank you for your concern.¡±


    I pretended to be strong in front of Sir Vieira, but I guess I must have been a little nervous. When I sighed, my breathing must have trembled.


    ¡®Did I overestimate Sir Vieira? I didn¡¯t expect to meet him all of a sudden, but I also didn¡¯t expect him to be ignorant enough to use force.¡¯


    It seemed that Sir Vieira couldn¡¯t really feel any guilt towards me. Just like the time in my previous life when he caught me and sent me to my father and brother who would kill me.


    Advertisements


    ¡®I don¡¯t know about Lilika, but I didn¡¯t expect him to treat me as an equal¡­¡¯


    Maybe it was because the tension was suddenly relieved, but I didn¡¯t have the strength to bluff. I didn¡¯t like to show my weakness.


    But although I was hiding it, Prince Enoch seemed to have noticed that I was less energetic than before.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a seat first?¡±


    I headed to the sofa on the other side of the boutique. The Crown Prince looked at my bruised wrist and clicked his tongue.


    ¡°Luckily, I don¡¯t think you got badly injured, but¡­ you seem to have quite a bruise.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it will get better over time.¡±


    After that, I didn¡¯t say anything. I couldn¡¯t open my mouth because I was too out of my mind to speak, but realizing that the Crown Prince was next to me, I wondered if I should talk about something. When I was about to,


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything. Rest.¡±


    The Crown Prince spoke first. And I just accepted his consideration. Hm, would it be correct to say that I had no choice but to accept it?


    And after a while, my mother, who was changing dresses upstairs, came running as if she had heard the news late.


    ¡°Yuria!¡±


    ¡°Mother.¡±


    ¡°How can that jerk cause this disturbance in a boutique in the middle of the capital¡­ Dear heavens, look at the bruise on your wrist!¡±


    My mother repeatedly thanked the Crown Prince for helping me. Prince Enoch shook his hand, saying that he had only done what was natural.


    ¡°I just came to the boutique, but I didn¡¯t expect to witness something like this.¡±


    ¡°Thank you again. Your Highness. By the way¡­ This boutique mainly makes women¡¯s dresses¡­¡±


    Prince Enoch smiled softly as he heard my mother¡¯s story and shook his head.


    ¡°Aah, I just came here as requested by my sister Vivian.¡±


    Princess Vivian, the prince¡¯s younger sister, was famous for not coming out of the palace or calling anyone to the palace. To the point that not even I, who was the daughter of the duke, could remember her face well.


    ¡°Come to think of it, it¡¯s been a long time since I saw her. Is Her Highness doing well?¡±


    The Crown Prince answered my mother¡¯s question, not positively or negatively. It was just a simple question about how she was doing, but why did it feel strange for a moment?


    ¡®Should I change the topic?¡¯


    But he didn¡¯t seem offended. The Crown Prince looked at my mother and continued.


    ¡°I wish Vivian would be healthy¡­ Just like the Duchess.¡±


    ¡°Is Princess Vivian feeling unwell?¡±


    I didn¡¯t know anything about her being seriously ill, I was just told that she had an introverted personality, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.


    Except for the fact that she has a good relationship with her brother, the crown prince, I didn¡¯t know much about Princess Vivian¡­


    ¡°If the Ladies can keep Vivian¡¯s secret, I have something I want to ask you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how we can be of any help, but we will not tell anyone what we talked about here today. Right, Mother?¡±


    My mother nodded hastily at my question.


    ¡°Of course. Your Highness, regardless of what is wrong with Princess Vivian, we will keep her secret.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m deeply moved to hear you say that.¡±


    The voice of Crown Prince Enoch sank more seriously than ever. He adjusted his posture once again and spoke to us face to face.


    ¡°Vivian does not have a major health problem, as you were concerned about. However¡­¡±


    To summarize, what the Crown Prince said was as follows.

 CH 14

    He said that Princess Vivian¡¯s acne had worsened in recent years. Because of that, she didn¡¯t want to meet people, and she didn¡¯t even go to banquets.


    ¡®It¡¯s not for nothing that I can¡¯t even remember the color of Her Highness¡¯ eyes. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s so bad that she doesn¡¯t even want to call designers to the palace¡­¡¯


    Except for a few maids who had been there since childhood, she did not intend to meet anyone.


    However, the crown prince said that he had come to the boutique because he noticed she was curious about what dresses the ladies were wearing these days. He wanted to tell her things like this.


    He wondered if she would want to meet someone or come out at least once if he did so.


    ¡°If the Duchess has a secret to improving her skin¡­ Can you tell me?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, you¡¯ve worked hard to find a way, so it must be difficult to tell me about it, but I won¡¯t forget your kindness.¡±


    The crown prince seemed very eager. There was a reason why people said he had a good relationship with his siblings.


    In any case, if he said he would pay her back for helping him just now, my mother wouldn¡¯t be able to refuse. Even if he didn¡¯t, since he was the crown prince, he could just assert his authority.


    ¡®I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s soft or friendly.¡¯


    Even though the crown prince stepped forward with a requesting attitude, my mother did not answer right away. Instead, he took his time and looked in my direction.


    ¡°Yuria¡­ What do you think?¡±


    Yeah, I was the one who made the cosmetics. My mother was only keeping it a secret, as I asked her to.


    I pondered as I listened to Crown Prince Enoch, but it didn¡¯t take me that long.


    ¡®He helped me today¡­ and he was also on my side in my past life.¡¯


    Though the crown prince couldn¡¯t remember what happened in his previous life. I wanted to return the comfort I had received back then. Wouldn¡¯t the crown prince at the time have known that I was listening to him?


    ¡°Your Highness. The fact that my mother¡¯s skin improved¡­ was because of the cosmetics I gave her.¡±


    ¡°Then if you give me the same product that the Duchess used¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t do that.¡±


    I replied sternly.


    ¡°Everyone has a different skin type. What is right for my mother, may not be right for Her Highness. My mother had dry skin and almost no acne.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do about Vivian¡­¡±


    ¡°I think I should meet Her Highness in person.¡±


    I hesitated for a moment before adding,


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who made the cosmetics for my mother.¡±


    The crown prince¡¯s eyes widened at my words.


    ¡°Is that true? No, I¡¯m not doubting the Lady¡¯s abilities¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know what you mean. So far, there have been no cosmetics that are sure to work. Even if I was the one who made them, it must be hard to believe.¡±


    Isn¡¯t this a situation where people say that the secret is to mix the powder made by grinding the horns of a beast with milk and apply it? And it is mixed with lead powder to make sure it is effective.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you know, but I have awakened the power of the Primrose family into a blessing of growth. I have continued to research and develop crops with the power of my blessing.¡±


    Even though he had my mother as a precedent, I didn¡¯t know if he would be willing to try cosmetics made by me.


    It wasn¡¯t just a few ladies who died after applying powder. In this situation, could he trust me to apply cosmetics?


    Until now, not only have people said that I have a bad personality, but they also looked at me like I was stupid. I did all kinds of things because I was obsessed with Sir Vieira, and I was laughed at several times by the socialites because I fell prey to Lilika¡¯s schemes.


    I was willing to fully understand even if the crown prince hesitated at my proposal. Except for my mother, how many people would trust me?


    ¡®I don¡¯t care if he doesn¡¯t believe me. If I ask him to pretend he didn¡¯t hear that the person who made the cosmetics was me¡­¡¯


    However, Crown Prince Enoch replied without hesitation.


    ¡°Then please, Lady Primrose. Vivian may be reluctant to confront the Lady in person, but I will try to persuade her in some way.¡±


    ¡°¡­ What?¡±


    Did he trust me right away? I asked back in surprise even when I was the one who mentioned it.


    ¡°Does Your Highness trust me?¡±


    But on the contrary, Crown Prince Enoch strangely asked me the opposite.


    ¡°Did I perhaps miss something? Why should I doubt the Lady¡­¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t think Your Highness would know my reputation. What do you see in the stupid and vicious me that you want to entrust me with Her Highness¡¯ skin?¡±


    It was too revealing. However, he continued to be kind to me all the time, so I was rather suspicious.


    It was hard to pinpoint exactly when, but from some point on, people have always looked at me with vigilance or ridicule.


    Advertisements


    ¡°Yuria¡­¡±


    My mother pulled my hand under the table and grabbed it. Feeling the warmth coming from her, I acknowledged that I was being sensitive.


    After being spoken ill of several times for being a villainess, his words that he trusted me seemed to have triggered a defense mechanism. This time, it was my mistake.


    ¡°Lady Primrose, as easy as it may seem for me to say¡­ I want to do anything for Vivian.¡±


    Under the sunlight shining through the window, I could see the clouds of dust floating in the boutique.


    A warm spring afternoon that felt like it would melt away. His green eyes were looking at me with a kind glow.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to happen.¡±


    Crown Prince Enoch¡¯s eyes curved gently. His voice touched my ears sweetly and clearly.


    ¡°Since you are a young lady who studied cosmetics for a long time because you were worried about your mother, I don¡¯t think you would treat the worries of others who were troubled for similar reasons as if they were nothing.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I was speechless. I couldn¡¯t say anything to the trust that was given to me for the first time by someone other than my mother.


    ¡°So please, Lady, take care of my sister.¡±


    Crown Prince Enoch bowed his head politely. To me, who was called a villainess in the social world.


    ***


    ¡°I may not be able to send an invitation right away. I am ashamed to ask you, but could you please wait a little while?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy¡­ Why are you going this far?¡±


    ¡°Because I am Vivian¡¯s family.¡±


    He was such a kind older brother. To the point of being overly comparable to someone else. My brother Jiksen flashed through my mind and disappeared.


    ¡°I have to persuade her. Vivian can¡¯t just keep avoiding people.¡±


    Then, an invitation came to me, making me wonder if he had persuaded her.


    Accompanied by a carriage from the imperial family.


    ¡°No, Yuria¡­ I mean, the Young Lady? Are you not mistaking her for Lady Lilika¡­¡±


    ¡°Not at all. It is correct that I should bring Lady Yuria Primrose.¡±


    I wondered what they had heard as the knights were courteous even to me, who was infamous. And asked me to go with them to the imperial palace. It was a respectful attitude that I didn¡¯t even receive from the knights of the duchy.


    ¡°Thank you for accepting the invitation. If it is alright with Lady Primrose, we will depart now.¡±


    Then, as I was about to get inside the carriage escorted by the knight,


    ¡°Sister, what¡¯s with the carriage coming from the imperial palace?!¡±


    Lilika, who was nowhere to be seen just a moment ago, came running in front of me.


    It was rare for Lilika to look so disheveled. I stopped climbing on the carriage for a moment and looked at the girl in front of me.


    ¡°It just so happened. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    I was evasive. It was an unknown secret that the princess had a complex with her skin, so I couldn¡¯t say that.


    The moment I answered in moderation and tried to climb back into the carriage, Lilika spoke nervously in a loud voice.


    ¡°What? What do you mean, ¡®it just so happened¡¯? As if it¡¯s such an easy thing to be invited to the imperial palace¡­!¡±


    As I looked back in surprise at her high-pitched voice, Lilika smiled again as if she had never done so.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry for speaking so loudly. I¡¯m just worried about Sister.¡±


    Wasn¡¯t she secretly trying to push me away from the carriage as she spoke?


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to the imperial palace for matters related to our family, I¡¯ll go instead.¡±