Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Fall of Libertan

She looked at herself in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

Pale white skin, pink-blonde hair, indigo-blue eyes.

A pretty and skinny doll-like body… with scars engraved on it.

Her face and arms looks very fine, without any wound on it, so the presence of the scars in the back feels so out of place and bizarre.

It was awkward because she had never shown her scars to anyone.

“Isn’t it very ugly to look at?”

“No, lady. How come…”

Betty’s astonished gaze passed near the scar on her waist up to her thigh. The more she looked at the scar, the harder Betty’s face became.

“Sorry. If I had told you in advance, you would have been less surprised.”

Actually, it doesn’t look pleasing to her sight either.

‘How did I get this scar?’

She thought as she touched the scars on her back.

All of these scars had suddenly appeared upon waking up. So she doesn’t know how it appeared either.

There were only one or two scars at first, but the more she woke up, the more the number of scars suddenly increases.

‘But I’m glad I didn’t feel any pain.’

It looked like it had been beaten or stabbed somewhere, so it looked painful, but there was no pain because it happened while she was sleeping. That’s why treatment wasn’t needed either way.

‘Well, Libertan is not even a place where I can be healed when I’m sick anyway.’

She was often sick. Just by receiving a lot of stress, she will end up with a high fever and extreme shivering. For this reason, the Duke of Libertan was very reluctant to send a doctor for her, even though she was often sick.

‘Perhaps he just didn’t want to care that much.’

Surprisingly, there were no misunderstandings because it only appeared in the parts where can be hidden by clothes.

“I can wash by myself, so if you are very disgusted, you can leave now. Just bring me a change of clothes.”

Betty carefully grabbed her hands and wept, but she still seemed to be holding back her tears.

“It’s not. It’s not bad at all.”

That can’t be true.

“You don’t have to lie. I have eyes too.”

“A scar is just a scar. You’re still a beautiful person as you are.”

Betty blatantly mourned for her wounds.

It makes her confused as to whether her attitude was just Johann’s command.

‘But there’s no way that Johann knew beforehand that I had a scar.’

Betty, who had stopped talking for a moment and met her eyes, opened her mouth slowly with a distorted face.

“And my brother also has a big scar, so it’s not unusual for me.”

“Your brother have a scar?”

“Yeah. He suffered serious burn after he rebelliously responded to the nobles. But in fact, it wasn’t just because of that.”

Among the original characters, there was a person with such a past., but she couldn’t think who was it right now. In the beginning, the original story was centered on her, so the circumstances of the other characters did not come out very much.

“…It must be very painful.”

“It was, but madam was in pain as well.”

After a moment of hesitation, she answered casually.

Although it was a bit of a tragic story about her family history, she still had a conscience to tell a lie. In particular, she even suffered burns for some absurd reasons.

“No, I didn’t feel hurt at all. It’s probably different from Betty’s brother.”

“It was.”

“And this scar happened because of my fault.”

She hesitated in fear that her words might reach Johann.

‘Because there is no way that an adopted child who is rumored to be loved would have such a scar.’

Wouldn’t it be a little less strange if she insisted that it was a scar caused by the mistake of a stupid adopted child?

She smiled softly, wiping Betty’s tear-filled eyes.

“So you don’t have to look too serious. Contrary to how it looked, it didn’t hurt at all.”

Then Betty, who had been weeping, finally burst into tears. Transparent tears streamed down her freckled face.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, lady. I’m so sorry.”

It seems that the misunderstanding has deepened.

“Don’t cry.”

“I…I was wrong.”

“What did you do wrong?”

She honestly doesn’t know why Betty is crying and apologizing like this.

Betty struggled to wipe away her tears, finally calming her breathing and opening her mouth.

“Ah, can I take care of my lady’s bath from now on? I will make sure no one finds out.”

“If you want to, then sure you can.”

Somehow, she didn’t know that her words worked on Betty too much since she just told the truth.

She went into the bathroom, which was warm enough to feel good just by soaking her body. She especially liked the sweet smell of perfumed oil.

‘A luxury that she could not enjoy in Libertan duchy’

As for the delicious desserts, there were a lot of things she was able to enjoy even though she’s just been here for a while.

‘Even a fake wife deserves this much.’

Betty hesitated for a moment, then opened her trembling lips.

“… And.”

But even in the midst of her dripping tears, her eyes were determined as if she had made a great resolve.

“I will keep this scar a secret.”

That’s weird. In the original story, Betty wasn’t very nice to the Blanchett’s fake wife?

‘Although she wasn’t a supporting role that was important in the first place.’

As she looked at Betty’s face as she held her hands tightly, she was troubled. It’s easy to see through people who hate her. Most of the time, even unconsciously, they revealed their inner feelings.

However, it was difficult to determine whether Betty’s reaction was sincere or not.

‘Why doesn’t it look like Betty is lying?’

It’s probably because she wants to think that way.

‘… Since it’s really sad that no one is on my side.’

Betty will go to Johann and tell him about her scars, because she’s the spy assigned for that.

Closing her eyes in the warm water, she just answered casually.

“Thanks.”

***

Betty was a member of the vassal family of the Duke of Libertan.

Precisely, she was until the Duke of Libertan used her family as a tool for their benefit. She probably wouldn’t have been alive if she hadn’t been saved by Johann’s grace.

‘Estelle Libertan.’

That hateful Libertan’s adopted child.

When her family was struggling, she was living in Libertan’s goodwill.

Even if Estelle did nothing, Betty hated Estelle as much as Libertan. She, at least is a bystander, if she’s not a perpetrator. She pretended to be ignorant of the terrible things that were going on at the duchy.

So when she was assigned as Estelle’s full-time maid, Betty followed the commands that she has been ordered without hesitation.

“Stay by her side as much as possible and befriend her.”

“Yeah. I will.”

“Tell me everything you hear from that woman.”

A spy to stay at Estelle’s side and keep an eye on her. Betty had no sympathy to give for the Libertan’s daughter.

…Until she met Estelle in person.

“Nice to meet you.”

The first Estelle she saw up close to was quite different from the woman Betty had envisioned.

‘This person is that Estelle Libertan?’

Betty, who acted as her spy, heard more rumors about Estelle than any other. Especially among her subordinates, the rumored Estelle was very notorious. This woman, who is very cruel to her servants, was just lucky to become a Libertan. No matter how vicious she behaved, within a few days, the people who served her will just change every time, and their whereabouts ends up unclear.

‘But it doesn’t look like that at all.’

She is a pretty person, as if she embodied the word lovable as a human. She, in particular, had long, white eyelashes, classical and hazy, like a white bird of snow.

‘It seems that her personality is different from her appearance.’

Among the nobles, there were countless of such people. In particular, in the case of Estelle, who was a commoner that only raised in status, this was more like that.

But it turns out that Estelle wasn’t vicious either. She rather went so far as to take care of her wounds and genuinely care about it.

“It must be painful though.”

“After work, atleast go for a treatment.”

Even after looking at her adorable face, Betty’s vigilance continued to collapse without realizing it. So Betty took her innocence as something that was protected and preserved by the Libertan’s evil deeds.

However, Estelle also continued to shake her determination.

“It’s the first time I’ve slept in such a nice bed.”

Her bedroom in Blanchett, which was given to her by the duke, was dark and her bed was not of good quality, but she was not angry and was genuinely happy instead.

“To the extent that I’m worried about whether I can stay as a hostess in such a good family.”

She is the woman who was loved so much in Libertan.

‘Is it possible that the duke didn’t actually treated her properly?’

She began to crack the image of the woman she had made with hatred. Such person expressed her condolences when she saw the terrifying black cloth portrait on sight.

“They are such important people in the Duke of Blanchett that should not be forgotten. It’s not that scary when you think about it that way.”

“I just feel grateful.”

Estelle Libertan didn’t look like a Libertan at all. She grew up being loved in Libertan since she was very young, so Betty was sure she would atleast have a rude personality.

“But I also know who I am. I’m not that good of a person, and I’m not that good at anything.”

“So, if Betty doesn’t want to be near me, just tell me. Because I understand enough.”

Rather, she seemed unloved. In particular, Estelle, who had a faint smile in front of the paintings, looked too small and fragile.

A remorse of conscience arose inside her.

‘Can I use this woman for revenge?’

She was simply adopted by Libertan.

Her trembling heart completely collapsed the moment she entered to attend Estelle’s bath.

“Can’t I wash by myself?”

With the face that had been hesitating for some reason, she still forced herself into doing it. It was to find out the secret she was hiding even a little.

…And the secret Estelle was hiding was unlike anything Betty had imagined.

“Isn’t it very ugly to look at?”

A secret that probably no one in the world would have dared to know.

‘Why…’

The scars were skillfully engraved only on the part covered by her clothes. It was a mark of being severely beaten and trampled upon by anyone. There were even burn marks.

That cruel secret brought in a truth that she did not want to believe at all.

In the first place, there’s no way that those ruthless people could have cared for an adopted child without a drop of blood, so she still believed what she wanted to believe.

…But on the contrary, Estelle was the one who apologized to Betty instead.

“Sorry. If I had told you in advance, you would have been less surprised.”

She made several excuses,as if pushing the fault on herself. But there’s no way that those scar was just from a mistake.

“And this scar happened because of my fault.”

Estelle’s smile appeared in Betty’s eyes.

“So you don’t have to look too serious. Contrary to how it looked, it didn’t hurt at all.”

That smile had a faint light as if it was about to break.

This woman whom everyone hated and criticized for being lucky…

That innocent smile, which seemed lovely and harmless, felt so pitiful. She was never lucky, nor became the princess of the hateful Libertan.

In the end, Betty completely collapsed.

“I will keep this scar a secret.”

And from then on, she decided to be on Estelle’s side.

Although she has no power, she wanted to be on the side of this poor woman whom everyone hates.

***

The Duchy of Libertan has regained the vitality, which they had lost. They married their adopted child so they were able to pay off all those debts at once.

The Duchess of Libertan took her wine glass and visited the Duke of Libertan.

“I’m so glad she could be a little useful.”

“Yes. In the end, I’m glad we were able to paid back all those debts. Even so…”

The eyes of the Duke of Libertan landed on one part of his office.

“She was a good kid.”

It was the exact spot where Estelle always stood when she was being scolded.

‘She used to stand there every time and struggled to be loved.’

After thinking for a while, strangely, he started to worry about, although that girl is nothing more than just a girl brought in out of usefulness.

‘She wouldn’t be able to live peacefully in the Duke of Blanchett.’

He knew that, but he still didn’t tell Estelle anything about Libertan. The Duchy of Blanchett is the family that Libertan blamed for treason, and it is clear that they will take revenge while using Estelle out of hatred.

‘Is this really the end of this?’

At first, he thought he had sold the useless adoptee as a sacrifice. But the more he thought about it, the more strange it felt.

‘There’s no way he can end his revenge with just using Estelle.’

It is a grudge that destroyed their whole family. It can’t be finished this easily.

‘But it is also true that they did not take advantage of the opportunity to bring down Libertan.’

The Duke of Libertan was convinced that there was a trap.

“Wife, were there any strings we put in the Duke Blanchett?”

“Are you talking about those incompetent bastards who didn’t even know about the Duke Blanchett’s trap?”

Roselia, Duchess of Libertan, frowned and nodded her head.

“I was so busy that I couldn’t get them out beforehand. Do you have anything to do with them?”

“I think Duke Blanchett must’ve checked the internal situation-”

A commotion suddenly began to arise from outside the office, which makes the forehead of the noble Duchess of Libertan frowned heavily.

“What’s the fuss on this fine day?”

The harsh footsteps and screams grew louder and louder. The butler hurriedly opened the door while his body was covered in blood.

“Duke, it’s a big deal. I think you should come out right now.”

“What’s going on?”

“The knights from the Imperial Palace stormed into the mansion…!”

At that time, the knights of the Imperial Palace who arrived behind the butler moved the butler aside and strode into the office.

“What the hell are the Imperial Palace Knights doing here?”

However, the knights of the Imperial Palace did not give any answer. Only after the situation was settled, a man slowly entered among the knights.

Unlike the knights of the Imperial Palace, the man was wearing a black suit rather than armor.

The man who walked in slowly glanced at the Duke and Duchess of Libertan with a perfectly restrained gesture.

“In the meantime, your faces have improved.”

“Duke Blanchett?”

Duke of Libertan stared fiercely at Duke Blanchett.

“The debt problem would had been resolved. What are you doing with the imperial palace knights? Hopefully our deal-”

“All debts have been settled.”

Johann sneered at him with an expressionless face that raised only his lips. His arrogant gaze turned towards the Duke of Libertan as if to press him down.

“This is a different matter.”

Standing in front of Johann, the Duke of Libertan involuntarily trembled at the feeling of intimidation he felt. The Duke of Libertan opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“What’s the problem?”

“Treason.”

Johann took a step and gracefully tapped the Duke of Libertan on the shoulder.

“The treason of the Duke of Libertan has been revealed.”

“That, what nonsense…”

“How could you commit such a terrible sin?”

Johann whispered softly in the ear of the Duke of Libertan, who had turned blue in an instant.

“It’s starting now, so it would be great to look forward to it.”