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Chapter 5. The Fall of Libertan
2021.12.17
I saw my reflection in the bathroom mirror.
Skin so pale it was almost white, platinum hair with a soft pink sheen, navy-blue eyes.
A doll-like, slender, and beautiful body—
and on it, countless scars.
Because my face and arms were unblemished and fair, the scars looked all the more alien and grotesque.
It felt strange, since I had never shown them to anyone before.
“It’s quite unsightly, isn’t it?”
“Ah—no, milady. How… how did you…?”
Betty’s horrified gaze traveled from my waist down to the scars on my thigh.
The more she looked, the more her expression hardened.
“Sorry. If I’d warned you beforehand, you wouldn’t have been so startled.”
Honestly, I didn’t think it was a pretty sight either.
How did I even get these scars again…?
I touched the ones around my waist, lost in thought.
They had all appeared suddenly—overnight—without me knowing why.
At first, there were only one or two,
but each time I woke up, more had appeared without warning.
At least they don’t hurt.
They looked like the result of beatings or stabbings, painful just to look at,
but perhaps because they appeared in my sleep, there was no pain.
No treatment had been necessary.
Of course, Libertan wouldn’t have treated me even if they did hurt.
I was often sick. Just getting stressed would send my fever spiking.
Maybe that’s why the Libertan household had always been reluctant to send for a doctor for me.
They probably just didn’t care enough.
Strangely, the scars only appeared in places hidden by clothes,
so there had never been any awkward misunderstandings.
“I can wash on my own. If it’s too unpleasant for you, you can leave. Just prepare a change of clothes.”
Betty carefully took my hands, her voice trembling as though she were holding back tears.
“N-no… it’s not unsightly at all.”
That couldn’t be true.
“You don’t have to lie. I have eyes too.”
“A scar is just a scar. Milady, you’re still such a beautiful person.”
Betty openly mourned over my wounds.
I began to wonder if this reaction was part of Johann’s orders.
But Johann couldn’t have known about my scars beforehand…
Betty paused for a moment, then met my eyes with a distorted expression.
“Besides… my older brother has a large scar too, so it’s nothing strange to me.”
“Your brother?”
“Yes. He once spoke impertinently to a high noble and was severely burned as punishment… Though that wasn’t the only reason…”
Someone in the original story had such a background… but I couldn’t quite remember.
The original plot focused on me, after all, so little was said about others.
“…That must have been painful.”
“It was. But you must have been in pain too, milady.”
I hesitated, then answered casually.
It felt wrong to lie when she’d shared something so tragic—
especially since her brother had been burned over something so absurd.
“No, it didn’t hurt at all. I’m sure it’s different from your brother’s situation.”
“I see…”
“And these scars… well, I accidentally got them through my own fault.”
I blurred the truth, worried word might reach Johann.
A beloved adopted daughter wouldn’t have these kinds of scars.
If I insisted they came from a foolish mistake, it might seem less strange.
I gently wiped the tears from Betty’s eyes and smiled softly.
“So you don’t have to look so serious. Despite how they look, they don’t hurt a bit.”
Betty, who had been trembling, finally broke into tears.
Clear drops streamed endlessly down her freckled face.
“I-I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, milady.”
Somehow, it felt like the misunderstanding had only deepened.
“Don’t cry.”
“It’s my fault…”
“What could you possibly have done wrong?”
Honestly, I didn’t understand why she was apologizing like this.
She struggled to wipe her tears, calmed her breathing, and finally spoke.
“Um… could I be the one to attend you during your baths from now on? I’ll make sure no one else finds out.”
“If that’s what you want, go ahead.”
It seemed nothing I said was getting through.
Oh well. I had told the truth, after all.
I stepped into the bath.
The water was pleasantly warm, instantly relaxing my body.
It smelled sweet, as if scented oil had been added.
A luxury I could never enjoy in Libertan.
Between the delicious desserts and other small pleasures,
I had experienced quite a bit of joy in the short time I’d been here.
Being a fake wife isn’t so bad after all.
Betty hesitated, her lips trembling.
“…And…”
Even as tears fell, her eyes were firm with resolve.
“I’ll keep the matter of your scars a complete secret.”
This was strange.
In the original story, Betty hadn’t treated the fake wife of House Blanchet so kindly.
And she wasn’t even an important side character.
I studied her tearful face as she held my hands tightly.
It was usually easy for me to see through people who disliked me—
most betrayed themselves in little ways.
But with Betty, I couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or not.
Why does it not feel like she’s lying?
Perhaps… it was because I wanted it to be true.
…It’s sad to have no one on your side.
But that was exactly why I needed to stay rational.
I’d been burned too many times to trust in chance kindness.
Betty would go to Johann and tell him about my scars—
that was why she’d been assigned to me in the first place.
With my eyes closed in the warm water, I replied carelessly:
“Thanks.”
Betty had once belonged to a vassal family of House Libertan.
At least, until they used her family as tools and discarded them.
If not for Johann’s mercy, she wouldn’t even be alive.
Estelle Libertan.
The despised adopted daughter of Libertan.
A girl who had lived in comfort while Betty’s own family suffered.
Even if Estelle had done nothing directly,
Betty still hated her just as much as the rest of Libertan—
because at the very least, she had been a bystander.
She had pretended not to see the horrors that happened in Libertan.
So when she was ordered to serve as Estelle’s personal maid,
Betty had obeyed without hesitation.
“Stay close to her and become friendly with her.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Report every word she says to me.”
It was a spy’s role, right at Estelle’s side.
Betty felt no pity for the daughter of Libertan—
at least, until she met her in person.
“Nice to meet you.”
Up close, Estelle was nothing like Betty had imagined.
This is Estelle Libertan?
Betty had heard more rumors than most, especially among the servants:
that Estelle was cruel to those beneath her,
that she used her luck in becoming a Libertan to trample on others,
that she was so vicious her attendants never lasted long before disappearing.
She doesn’t look like that at all.
She looked like the human embodiment of the word “lovely.”
Her long white eyelashes were like delicate birds molded from snow.
Maybe her personality is different from her looks…
Among nobles, that was common—
especially for someone like Estelle, a commoner raised to nobility.
But she wasn’t cruel at all.
She even showed genuine concern for Betty’s injuries.
It must have hurt… Make sure you get treated afterward.
Looking at her sugar-doll face,
Betty found her wariness crumbling without realizing it.
She tried to remind herself that this sweetness was merely a shield
against the cruelty of Libertan—
but the more time she spent with Estelle,
the more that conviction wavered.
Estelle was overjoyed at things as small as a decent bed—
things House Libertan had surely given her in abundance, or so Betty thought.
Could it be… she wasn’t treated well there after all?
Cracks began to form in the hateful image she’d built.
Estelle even paid her respects to the black-draped portrait
that most found frightening,
saying only that they must be important to the Blanchets.
She didn’t seem like Libertan at all.
If she had been cherished there since childhood,
surely she would have inherited their arrogance.
Instead, she seemed like someone who had never been loved.
Especially when she smiled wistfully at the portrait—
she looked so small and fragile that Betty’s conscience stirred.
Is it right to use her for revenge?
Estelle had only been adopted into Libertan.
When Betty attended her bath,
it was with the intent to uncover any secrets she was hiding.
What she found was nothing like she expected.
Scars.
Skillfully placed where clothing would hide them.
Signs of severe beatings, even burns.
It was a cruel truth Betty didn’t want to believe—
that the monstrous Libertans would never have cherished a girl
with whom they shared no blood.
And yet, Estelle apologized for not warning her sooner,
even taking the blame as if the scars were her own fault.
That fragile smile looked as though it might shatter at a touch.
Everyone had called her lucky and hated her for it—
but to Betty, that smile was unbearably pitiful.
She was no lucky girl.
She was no princess of Libertan.
Betty’s resolve crumbled completely.
“I’ll keep your scars a secret.”
She decided to take the woman’s side—
weak and powerless though she was,
despised and hated by all.
House Libertan had regained its vigor.
By marrying off an adopted daughter,
they had been able to clear all their debts in one stroke.
The duchess approached her husband with a wine glass.
“Isn’t it fortunate? Who would have thought that girl would be so useful?”
“Yes. At least she paid us back in the end… Though still…”
The duke’s eyes drifted to one spot in the office.
“She was a good girl.”
The very place Estelle had always stood when being scolded.
She always tried so hard to be loved, standing right there.
Now that she was gone, he felt oddly worried for her—
though she had only been brought in for her usefulness.
She won’t be able to live peacefully in Blanchet.
He had deliberately told her nothing about the truth:
that Blanchet was a ruined house destroyed by Libertan’s false charge of treason,
that they surely hated her and would seek revenge.
Is this really the end?
At first, he thought he had simply sold a useless adoptee
as a convenient scapegoat.
But the more he thought about it,
the stranger it seemed.
A man like that wouldn’t end his revenge with just Estelle.
It was the kind of grudge that destroyed entire houses.
It wouldn’t end so easily.
And yet… he hasn’t used this opportunity to strike at Libertan.
That oddity convinced the duke it was a trap.
“Wife. We had a contact inside Blanchet, didn’t we?”
“You mean those incompetent fools who couldn’t even warn us about their trap?”
Duchess Roseria frowned and nodded.
“We were too busy to pull them out in time. Do you have use for them?”
“We need to confirm the situation inside Blanchet—”
Just then, a commotion erupted beyond the office.
The duchess’s brow furrowed.
“What’s all this noise on such a fine day?”
The heavy footsteps and shouts grew louder.
The butler burst in, pale-faced, his clothes spattered with blood.
“Duke! It’s urgent! You must come at once—”
“What is it?”
“Knights from the imperial palace have stormed the estate—!”
Before he could finish, the palace knights shoved the butler aside
and strode into the office.
“What is the meaning of this? Why are imperial knights here?”
They gave no answer.
When the room fell silent again,
a man entered—utterly out of place among the armored knights.
Dressed in a tailored black suit,
he walked in at a measured pace,
his movements perfectly controlled as his eyes swept over the duke and duchess.
“You both look well.”
“…Duke Blanchet?”
The Libertan duke glared sharply at him.
“The debt is settled. Why bring imperial knights here?
Surely you’re not going back on our deal—”
“The debt is settled.”
Johann’s lips curved faintly,
but his face remained expressionless.
His arrogant gaze bore down on the Libertan duke.
“This is another matter.”
Standing before him,
Johann’s sheer presence made the duke shrink back without realizing it.
“What matter?” the duke asked, his voice trembling.
“Treason.”
Johann took one elegant step forward
and tapped the duke’s shoulder.
“The crime of treason committed by House Libertan has been exposed.”
“Th-that’s absurd—!”
“How did you come to commit such a terrible sin?”
Johann leaned in, his voice low and cutting in the duke’s ear.
“This is only the beginning. You can look forward to it.”
