CH 50

Then, the women began to talk about something.

With nothing else to do, I listened in, knowing it wasn’t a good thing to do. At the same time, I recognized a voice I had heard before and furrowed my eyebrows.

It was the voice of the woman who had abandoned Dario.

How far would she continue to haunt me? Despite feeling annoyed, this was finally an opportunity to catch the honey-colored haired woman. I decided to wait, accepting that there was no other way.

The conversation continued with trivial gossip and talk about fashion.

I was impressed in a bad way that they could continue to talk about such meaningless things endlessly.

Then, the topic turned to marriage, and that woman began to speak.

“Well, I never had any dreams or hopes for marriage. What’s most important is that the man sees me and thinks I’m desirable. I did my best, but if I couldn’t find someone to propose to me, then I wouldn’t be able to get married. Being proposed to is the most important thing.”

The women let out impressed sighs, as if in agreement.

“That’s right. No matter how wonderful a man is, it’s inappropriate for a woman to propose to him.”

“Next, you have to properly discern what the other person can give you.

I wanted to marry someone who would give me what I wanted. It was tough, but now I’m very happy. After all, this dress is at the forefront of fashion, and I can attend gatherings of nobles like this, and he will buy me anything if I ask.”

I heard several sighs that seemed to want to say “I’m envious.”

But I felt nauseous. Did she throw away the man who loved her and the old things she no longer needed for something like that?

“You don’t want to live a miserable life, do you? Besides, if I walk with someone who looks inferior, I’ll be embarrassed, and above all, men who can’t dress well are no good. It’s also painful to have boring conversations, but my current husband has everything.”

She said with a slightly boastful tone while laughing.

A perplexed atmosphere enveloped the room. While praising her husband, she seemed to want to say that she herself was amazing. Sensing that, hesitant agreements were murmured.

I couldn’t help but want to see their expressions, so I peeked.

Among them was that honey-colored girl.

While the other women showed a faint jealousy on their faces, only that girl was smiling quietly.

“In any case, it’s an enviable story. We also have to work hard to be noticed by someone like that.”

A lady in the room speaks up, “By all means do so, what’s important is knowing what you want. And then, being in a position to choose someone who has that from among those who propose to you. That’s the secret to being happy in marriage.”

The laughter that followed was haughty and sounded truly enjoyable. It seemed that her words had stirred up jealousy among the other ladies in the room.

Because it’s not something that just anyone can do.

First of all, one must have beauty that can captivate men. And, importantly, she was probably the most beautiful among the women in the room.

She implied that if she could do it, they should give it a try.

Then, a quiet voice interrupted.

“That may be one form of happiness, but I don’t want that.”

It was a woman with honey-colored hair. The gazes of the ladies in the room were focused on her. She seemed uncomfortable with the attention, but began to speak calmly.

“Oh, why is that?”

“I don’t want you to take it the wrong way, but if there was someone in there who genuinely liked me, I would have to betray those feelings, wouldn’t I? I think it would be too difficult for me to accept and move on from that. I could never feel happy about it.”

“Well, I think it’s better than being miserable because of a lack of money.”

That’s true.

Many of the fallen nobles meet tragic ends. Especially for women, job opportunities are limited, and there are actual stories where their fate is something they want to turn away from.

“Of course. It’s important to have a certain level of financial stability. What I mean is that I don’t think wealth gained by betraying someone can lead to happiness. It’s more painful to betray someone… If it means enduring such unbearable feelings, then being a little poor is much better.”

The woman with honey-colored hair spoke firmly and clearly, denying her.

“Yes, that’s one way of thinking. But my husband loves me, and I am happy.”

“I see. That’s just my personal opinion.

That’s why what I think is important in marriage is having enough assets to live on and a good personality. You’re going to spend your whole life with them, so you don’t want to marry someone unpleasant.”

She deliberately raised her voice at the end and said it playfully.

“Oh! I understand that. I was thinking the same thing.”

One lady followed her lead.

The atmosphere of the room suddenly changed. The previously unpleasant air caused by her boasting turned into a cheerful one.

I stepped back from the door and pressed my forehead, feeling dizzy from the shock.

It was the moment when I met the woman with honey-colored hair and felt genuinely happy. It was a refreshing and exhilarating feeling. Above all, her words seemed to speak for my heart, and I was deeply moved.

Betraying someone to gain happiness.

I easily dismissed such a thing as true happiness. I had always thought so, but no one understood me. It was said that it was natural for the strong to take from the weak, but doing so only made me feel worse.

Above all, the part where the woman with honey-colored hair said that she could never come to terms with a man who fell in love with her. She couldn’t just throw him away easily.

Something warm settled in my heart.

The ideal woman I had thought was never there.

Even if I loved someone, it would be better not to fall in love at all if I would only receive formal feelings in return. But if I could hold such feelings that could blow away even those thoughts… if there was such a person…

“No, it’s still too early. I don’t know what kind of person she is yet… I need to get to know her better. Besides, maybe this time she just responded because that woman’s comment was unpleasant.”

I muttered under my breath as I put my hand to my mouth.

Because of my status, wealth, and appearance, women come to me on their own. It’s a difficult task to find a woman who isn’t interested in my wealth, income, Marquis’ son status, or good looks.

What I want to see more than anything is herself.

And family.

The woman who can give me that is probably someone who can understand someone else.

I stopped and listened to the conversation again.

Her voice was slightly high-pitched but calm, and I remembered it. But what I wanted to know most now was her name. As I listened quietly, I heard her voice.

Next, a lady who seemed to be an acquaintance laughed.

“I have the same kind of thinking. It makes me happy, Lady Lorraine.”

“Well, so do I. I’m glad I told you.”

A lovely laughter echoed.

I grinned. I knew her name now.

“Lorraine.”

I put her name on my tongue as if savoring a fine wine. Lady Lorraine with honey-colored hair. Now I could narrow it down to who she was.

To be honest, I wanted to keep watching her more, but I decided to stop today.

My mother should be coming soon. If I don’t go pick her up, she’ll be angry.

With a clear mind, I walked away from the door at a leisurely pace.