Chapter 13

5. This Novel (1)

Translated by alyalia

That night.

After the sun in the sky had disappeared, I returned to the mansion.

‘It was crazy that I was going to marry such a frivolous man! Come to think of it, he has been arrogant around this time!’

Fortunately, the pain I felt, which was the price of using Io, had disappeared. Of course, I had to stay awake until midnight to see ‘Dangerous Love,’ so my eyes were wide open.

“Lady Vanora, I will blow out the candles.”

“Okay.”

However, I, who had only been conscious of my mind, suddenly began to feel let down when my room became dark.

‘I can’t believe I have to borrow someone else’s hand to break my unwanted engagement.’

It would be nice if I could overcome this situation alone. But in the end, didn’t I borrow someone else’s power again? Now I feel bitterly how weak I am.

‘I can’t help it. Because I was in a hurry…’

And at this moment in my mind, I thought of a desperate reason why I had to set up a fake fiancé.

“…”

At the moment before I killed Haures. Around that time, Naverius kept asking for a divorce. I had once suffered from insomnia under the influence of his abusive language.

“As expected, would it be better to tell father to break the engagement? If he hates me that much…”

After spending a long night with my eyes wide open, I naturally started taking a walk at night. The sound of my footsteps, who had always crouched while looking at others, couldn’t be heard, so I literally wandered around the hallway at night like a mouse.

But one day.

When I came out for a walk at night, I accidentally overheard my stepmother talking with someone. The light of the candlestick was faintly leaking through the door.  I was drawn by the woman’s voice and listened to it quietly.

“…Unless she belongs to another family, her succession right will not disappear no matter what she does, so I have to get rid of her.”

“Madam, that means…”

“That’s right. If this marriage fails, I have to get rid of her even if it means to kill her.”

At that time, I understood the content of their conversation instantly.

“Mother… She’s going to kill me!?”

Hanar Celcius was plotting to murder the first daughter of the family. Why was she so cruel to me?

At that time, I couldn’t think of it because I was scared. But it was strange no matter how much I thought about it. Regardless of age or gender, the successor position of the Celcius family is different. There was no way my younger brother, who had been favored by the Count since childhood, would be deprived of his position.

“Why…!?”

The probability for her stepmother to plant that should only be one in a billion.  Or was it because I, who already lived like a ghost, was a thorn in her eyes and tarnished my family’s honor?

After that, I became obsessed with my engagement and lived half of my life in fear. Of course, I could still feel it even though I had already regressed.

‘If there is such a thing as hell, it would be the same with this mansion.’

Slide.

I rested my body on the bed and waited for midnight to come. The pain of my insomnia, which had been forgotten with the joy of the revenge, slowly raised in my head.

「1#Guelder’s Countryside Mansion (Daytime while raining)

The old-style mansion hall is noisy with the servant’s footsteps from the morning. This is because Vasago’s mother said she would hold a party there. It was rare for the Geulder family to hold a party, so their servants were busy preparing for it.

Servant 1: Today is the Duchess’s first party of the year, so there should be no mistakes.

Servant 2: (V.O) Of course, the honor of entering this Guelder’s mansion is only granted to high-ranking nobles who are well-known in the Kingdom!」

* * *

5. This Novel

Another week later, the novel appeared at midnight. What I saw there seems to be repeated. But the mansion was noisy today.

‘I was already annoyed because I had already read about the preparation for the tea party at midnight. And now that sound of moving things makes me wake up.’

I got up from my seat, served by my exclusive servant, and looked at the situation. I wondered why it was so noisy in the morning, and then the schedule I had forgotten was in front of my eyes.

“Is today the day for the jeweler to come?”

“No, the items from the dressing room Lady ordered the other day have arrived.”

“Aha.”

Come to think of it, I used it as an excuse when I sneaked out to find Io.

Before the end of this month, there was a big event in the Kingdom of Kasius. It is the King’s birthday banquet. No matter how poorly I’m treated in this family, I’m still a noble. The old me couldn’t avoid attending the birthday banquet. Therefore, the Countess had brought a new dress to make me somehow look like a noble.

“Hey! Cecil! I brought the Lady’s clothes. You know where to put it, so guide me.”

“Lady Vanora, I will be away for a moment.”

“Okay.”

I distanced myself from the noisy scenery and fell into my own thoughts.

‘In about three days, I will participate in the birthday banquet, so now…’

* * *

Creek, thud.

The mansion door that looks too huge for a child to pass by, two servants appeared when it was opened and closed. It was Cecil, Vanora’s exclusive maid, and the mansion porter, who were on their way out after work.

“Is this really the end of the Lady’s clothes?”

“That’s right. Is it too frugal to get just one new dress? Lady closet is also full of outdated items.”

The male servant, who brought the new dress to the second floor, chatted briefly with Vanora’s exclusive maid, looked around, then whispered.

“Cecil, isn’t that Lady will be going crazy because she only gets a few new clothes? What if she hurt you?”

“What?”

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“No… that… They say Lady Vanora’s personality is not good, right? In the past, Seir told me how hard she was going through.”

Hearing his worried sentence, Cecil stood and agonized for a while.

Although Cecil was not close friends with Seir, they often talked because they were ordinary colleagues. While Seir was alive, she occasionally talked about the hardships she had experienced while serving Lady Vanora and how bad Lady Vanora was in those stories.

Cecil used to respond to Seir’s words that Lady Vanora’s must be not that bad. But right now, by only served Lady Vanora for just a few days…

“I don’t know yet. I was worried about that too, but when I actually met her… She’s just calm. She doesn’t get angry. Sometimes, she tries to avoid me.”

“Then I guess Lady is in a good mood these days. She is the kind of person who treats you well when she’s in a good mood.”

“Rather than that, she’s so gentle that doesn’t fit her age, so I don’t know how she suddenly changes.”

After a brief conversation, Cecil came to her own conclusion. She has yet to let go of the suspicion that Lady Vanora is a vicious lady who abused Seir. Still, she didn’t feel discomfort while serving her. If she didn’t have a good relationship with Seir, she would rather serve Lady Vanora for the rest of her life. Lady Vanora gives her plenty of time for rest. Like any other nobles, their relationship is just a business relationship. Isn’t she just the ideal master Cecil was looking for?

* * *

‘Let’s see. Should I use a family carriage this time because I don’t have to keep my destination a secret?’

Whether Cecil positively evaluated me or not, I didn’t really care. Rumors among the mansion servants could be dealt with later, but on the other hand, there was something that couldn’t be postponed.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes. La-Lady… Vanora?! Oh my gosh, what brings Lady all the way here!”

“When this carriage is already repaired, I will ride it. Bring the coachman as well. One escort is enough to accompany me. I’m going to visit the Count’s mansion.”

I spoke it clearly. Then the stable servant began to move diligently. It made me smile a little.

Why is my expression so bright for today?

Because of the sunlight? Or is it because I’m planning to take a walk from now on?

It couldn’t have been because of those reasons.

“Ah! I also have to stop by the fruit stall on the way.”

It was because I had already started my revenge for the next target from today.

“Then… Where is Lady’s final destination?”

“Sir Ronwe’s mansion!”

The place where I will visit is none other than a place where a butler named Ronwe lived. The reason I targeted him was simple. There were times when I hated those who stood by more than those who tormented me.

* * *

“Hello, I’m Vanora Celcius, who sent a letter in advance…”

“Master is waiting for you, come in.”

Two hours later.

Hurrying the carriage, I arrived at my butler’s mansion. The mansion was splendidly decorated for a former knight.  

‘Sir Ronwe seems to be more extravagant than I thought.’

I made my way through the long hallway with my best behavior. Then I met the owner of the mansion that I had been looking forward to.

“Hello, Sir Ronwe.”

He had dark gray hair that was neatly combed. A monocle was worn due to damage to his eyesight while training as a knight. There were gray eyes beyond that monocle. Even though he is quite old, he still has a neat appearance. The skinny man soon greeted me.

“Hello, Lady Vanora. I’m sorry that I’m unable to provide Lady with proper hospitality due to my circumstances.”

The figure, named Ronwe, greeted me while lying on his bed. At this, I put my hand on my chest and bent my legs while keeping my upper body upright to finish the official greeting.

‘Ronwe… You still have the energy to get up from your seat, but how dare you lie down while greeting me with the excuse that you’re sick? Okay, that’s nice. If you like to lie down like that, I will let you sleep in a paulownia coffin for the rest of your life!’

Anger was already boiling behind my gentle face.

* * *

Five years before I killed Haures.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

“Is Lady crying because Lady feels good at what Lady has done? I’m innocent, but I was scolded because of Lady!”

On that day, it was hard to understand why I offended Seir. Barely recall it, it seems that I made a mistake of stepping on someone’s stuff at a formal party, and Seir was scolded instead of me. Seir seemed to be retaliating against her master again.

I was quiet, but Seir acted more harshly to me than usual, probably because she felt it unfair to be scolded. It was one-sided harassment.

Seir took my clothes, and I waited for a long time for her to put them on me without wearing anything. When I tried to dress up by myself, Seir quickly snatched the dress from my hands. When I tried to cover myself with a quilt-like cloth, she prevented me from doing that and made a scary expression.

“…”

So I eventually stopped rebelling while shivering in the cold wind. After that, all I could do was bend down and hide next to the bed. I had never succeeded in rebelling against Seir. My life was a series of failures. Just being bullied like that is enough to make me into a shrinking human being.

But a few seconds later.

“Hey, Seir. I heard from Gail that when you were organizing the supplies…”

“!”

“!”

The door opened without even knocking.

A person named Ronwe had a habit of ignoring knocks the door from the beginning. Still, it was Seir’s mistake of forgetting to lock the door before harassing me.

“Sir butler…”

“Ah, this, I was changing Lady Vanora’s clothes. Please get out for a while.”

Seir began to make excuses like flowing water, but of course, it didn’t work for Ronwe. The scenery reflected in his left eyes was the young Lady of Celcius, whose eyes were swollen after crying for a long time, shivering in the cold. What he could see over the monogram on his right eye was Seir holding a dress that had been scuffled by me. The situation was obvious.

“…”

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And that moment, I realized something.

Seir had never been caught by others in her abuse process, but she was discovered by the butler of the mansion that day. That was an opportunity for me. Hope began to bloom in my dark heart.